Mental health was in the spotlight for an Okotoks Oilers school day showcase.
The third annual Minds Matter Mental Health Game brought a season high crowd of 1,512 to the Viking Rentals Centre on Jan. 14 with the students treated to a 6-2 Okotoks victory over the visiting Spruce Grove Saints.
“That was a lot of fun and a cool experience,” said Oilers forward Kade Duell. “They bring the energy so it makes it easy to come out and play even though it was a pretty early game.
“You just try and stay focused and do all of the same stuff even though it’s a little different”
Easier said than done with the decibel levels in the arena.
“It was so loud I couldn’t hear anything on the ice, off the ice, the crowd was awesome,” Duell said. “We do a lot in practice about where to be so we just trusted each other.”
Huge thank you to the Minds Matter organization for all their hard work in making this game possible! We appreciate all you’ve done to make this game unforgettable 👊 pic.twitter.com/EEDxvxb8fk
— Okotoks Oilers (@OkotoksOilers) January 14, 2025
Duell said he hopes the students in attendance took home the message to work hard, have fun and be a good person.
The Tuesday contest marked the third Minds Matter Mental Health Game, a partnership between the Oilers and Foothills School Division, with this year emphasizing green flags.
The Minds Matter team – Teressa Ferrario, Cortney Vines and Ila Tanna – spread awareness around mental health for the students in attendance.
That message was also passed on in pre-recorded videos with Oilers players Jacob Goudreau, Bowen Burke, Brett Wilson, Michael Kowalski and Ryder de Nys discussing topics ranging from handling resiliency to staying positive.
Students from Westmount, C. Ian McLaren, Percy Pegler, Cameron Crossing, Blackie, Cayley, Big Rock, Dr. Morris Gibson, Senator Riley, Meadow Ridge and Red Deer Lake participated in the school day game.
“It was awesome to play in front of that many fans,” said Oilers forward Teo Pisani. “Mental health is a big thing and if you need help with anything, just reach out and don’t be quiet about it.”
On the ice, Okotoks surged to a three-goal first period with Brock Souch, Kowalski and Pisani turning on the red light with unanswered tallies.
Pisani, playing his former squad for the first time, scored what held up as the game winner late in the opening frame, with a powerful slapshot on a partial breakaway on the left wing.
“That was the end of a long shift, I felt like I could have beat him if I was fresh out there,” Pisani said. “But I was pretty gassed and just ripped a shot and that felt pretty good.
“It was an important game with the mental health (theme) going on, but I just tried to treat it as any other game and tried not to focus on things that happened or things in the game.”
Okotoks added three powerplay goals in the third period to finish with four in the game with Duell scoring twice and Souch adding his second of the afternoon.
“We’ve been battling on the powerplay all year, but we’ve been practising it a lot lately,” Duell said. “It was just hard work and we kept it simple and got lucky today.”
Okotoks improved to 16-17 and snapped a two-game losing streak with a pair of defeats in West Kelowna and Trail over the weekend.
“It’s just getting better every game and trying to win games on the road as well,” Duell added. “We’re good at home, but that next step is winning games on the road.
“I think it’s just preparation, even though it’s a different atmosphere when you’re playing somewhere else, it’s having that same preparation and trying to get the same result.”
Okotoks is off the ice until the Jan. 24 weekend with this coming week featuring the BCHL All-Star Game in Salmon Arm. Captain Jackson Rowland will be representing the team.
For more on the Oilers, go to okotoksoilers.com.
