The visiting Okotoks Oilers slid past the Alberni Valley Bulldogs 4-3 Friday night, in their first ever encounter.
Will Watson broke a 3-3 draw in the third for the eventual game winner, giving the Oilers their second straight victory.
“It just wasn’t a great decision by us, followed by a funny bounce – but it’s still in the back of the net.” said Alberni Valley Head Coach and GM Joe Martin on the deciding goal.
After opening the scoring, the Bulldogs trailed 2-1 after 20 minutes, and then clawed back from 3-1 to even the score before heading to the final frame.
“I give most of the group credit to find a way to keep going and to not fold – and that’s a good sign.” said Martin of the comeback,
“If we found a way to win tonight, it would have been a little bit lucky. I don’t think that we really deserved it at the same time. There were a couple of guys who struggled to stay within the way we wanted to play.”
Alberni Valley had a goal waived off after a lengthy video review in the middle frame, which subdued momentum. The Bulldogs also lost forward Eduard Mishikov in the first period, and did not return.
The club had been idle since last Saturday.
“It’s still frustrating to have (bad decisions, or trying to do too much) after we talked about it and practiced all week. Even though it’s small examples on the ice, they’re big moments because they resulted in goals against.” quipped Martin.
Alberni Valley had a goal and assist night from Kieran Litterick and Max Ly, with a single from Arman Adamyan. Okotoks got goals from Ben Deacon, Nolan Dupont, and Cohen Carter. Conner Radke added 2 assists.
“With the level the league and teams right now, every single player carries a lot of weight. It’s not just a handful that are scoring, it’s everybody that’s on the ice at any given moment that needs to bring their utmost, and make sure that they’re dialed in.”
Netminder Justin Giguere earned the win with 23 stops, while Derik Brouillard also kicked out 23 shots in the defeat.
Special teams did not play a factor as the Bulldogs went 0 for 1, and the Oilers 0 for 2.
Okotoks will continue their 2 game Island road swing in Victoria Saturday night, while the Bulldogs will look to get back in the win column when they host the Grizzlies Sunday afternoon at 4pm.
It’s their second meeting of the season, with Victoria edging Alberni Valley 3-1 September 19th at the Multiplex.
“It’s a very important game, they stole one from us here. They’re a good team. I feel like we know how they’re going to play, they don’t really change.” assessed Martin,
“We have to make sure that we’re not sitting through this again on Sunday night, you don’t want to have this feeling, and we don’t want to be looking at guys and wondering where they are.”
Text Scoring Summary:
Okotoks Oilers 4 at Alberni Valley Bulldogs 3 – Status: Final
Friday, October 2, 2026 – Alberni Valley Multiplex
Okotoks 2 1 1 – 4
Alberni Valley 1 2 0 – 3
1st Period-
1, Alberni Valley, Ly 1 (O’Dell, Litterick), 4:30.
2, Okotoks, Deacon 2 (Guille), 8:32.
3, Okotoks, Dupont 3 (Radke, Kastamo), 19:06.
Penalties-George Av (interference), 9:23.
2nd Period-
4, Okotoks, Cohen Carter 1 (Clarizio), 4:34.
5, Alberni Valley, Adamyan 4 (Semenov), 17:50.
6, Alberni Valley, Litterick 1 (Ly, Magner), 18:53.
Penalties-Kastamo Oko (tripping), 8:41; Watson Oko (roughing), 16:04; O’Dell Av (roughing), 16:04.
3rd Period-
7, Okotoks, Watson 2 (Radke), 6:46.
Penalties-Bowe Av (high-sticking (minor only)), 16:41.
Shots on Goal-
Okotoks 8-9-10-27.
Alberni Valley 8-14-4-26.
Power Play Opportunities-
Okotoks 0 / 2; Alberni Valley 0 / 1.
Goalies-
Okotoks, Giguere 2-2-0-0 (26 shots-23 saves).
Alberni Valley, Brouillard 0-2-0-0 (27 shots-23 saves).
A-1,160
Referees-Steve Brown (12), Carson Prescesky (45).
Linesmen-Isaac McDonald (73), Matt Williams (61).
