The Okotoks Oilers will be back at the Pason Centennial arena, and in front of a crowd, for their home opener tonight (Sept. 24).

They'll be facing the Canmore Eagles in their third game of the season.

Head coach Tyler Deis sees a lot of potential among the eager young squad.

"They're fast, they're tenacious, they play with a lot of those qualities that make the game exciting. They're gritty and they've got a lot of good skill, their skill level is high, but they're going to make mistakes. That's the one thing you want to make sure about, to learn from those mistakes and things obviously will kind of take care of themselves."

The Oilers opened their season with a pair of games in Camrose last weekend, suffering a 4-2 loss on Friday and retaliating with a 6-2 win the following night.

Deis saw the cogs turning on during the rematch and thinks that might be the way things go for a while as the boys find their feet and get comfortable.

"You can see that we were young, a little bit nervous, and a little tentative in the sense of what our game plan and what we wanted to do with our execution. Then you see the second game and they kind of settled down, played the brand of hockey we want to play and stuck to the game plan. It's going to be a lot of learning curves throughout the year but they're exciting to watch and to work with."

The last time fans saw the Oilers in person was during the 2019-2020 playoff run, when they were tied for top spot in the province during an impressive season that was cut short by the pandemic.

It’s quite a legacy to live up to, something Deis says the new squad is very much aware of.

"They come in and they work, they want to get better. When you have a group of guys like that you do find that success, it just might take a little bit longer throughout the year or it might take this year to get that success that we've had in previous years."

He’s glad hometown supporters will be able to watch along.

"It's been a long time and I'm just excited to be able to coach a game with some people in the stands. I’m excited for the payers too, and the community. It's a good thing to get back to some type of normal."

Puck drops tonight at 7 p.m., with a bout against the Drumheller Dragons scheduled for the same time tomorrow.

Related: Oilers Provide Update on COVID Protocols Ahead of Home Opener

 

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