As heard on 96.5 CKFM, not even a third period rally by the Canmore Eagles could deny the Olds Grizzlys the gift of two important points Tuesday, December 7th.
Wearing their holiday inspired sweaters, Olds would outlast the Birds 3-2 in a pre-Christmas contest which would require not only 65 minutes of action on the ice but a ridiculous 11 round shootout to decide the winner at the SportsComplex.
Connor Seeley (2005), Captain of the Elves, would score the lone goal of the breakaways in round 11.
Seeley also had a pair of assists during the victory. The West Kelowna, B.C. product has ramped up his production as the festive season approaches with 4 goals and 5 points in his last 7 games.
The youngest Elf in the lineup staked Olds to a 1-0 lead in the first period as 16-year-old forward Kaden Hayes (2008) from Chestermere light the lamp for his first Alberta Junior Hockey League goal in his first AJHL game.
Junshi Hideshima (2005), Alternate Captain of the Elves, became the first player to score a shorthanded goal for the Grizzlys since September 25th when he pushed their lead up to 2-0.
Hideshima’s 10th goal of the 2024-2025 season came two minutes exactly after Hayes had opened the scoring. The Edmonton product has 7 goals and 6 assists in his last 13 games and he is now the fourth member of the OGs to hit the 20 point plateau this year.
The only blemishes on the night for Santa Claus, also known as Ben Dardis (2004), were a pair of goals by the Eagles in a span of 44 seconds as the visitors peppered him with over 10 shots in the first 6 minutes of the third period. However, the veteran netminder from Minnesota would stop 47 of 49 of Canmore’s shots during the four periods of play before a showstopping performance where he went 11 for 11 in the breakaways to cap off the shootout victory. It is the second shootout win Dardis has helped Olds record this year and he has been sleigh’in it in those situations allowing just 1 goal in 18 tries (6 out of 7 in a 5-4 shootout win over the Camrose Kodiaks in Olds on October 5th).
The Grizzlys are now 5-0 in O.T or shootouts this season (3-0 in overtime, 2-0 in shootouts) with all of those wins coming at home. Olds is the only team in the AJHL this season without a loss in extra time.
The Black & Gold (and Green and Red) have now surpassed the team’s win total from all of last season (10-41-3-3 in 2024-2025). Olds will carry a record of 11-15-0-0 into the Lakeland swing this weekend with stops in Bonnyville (9-13-1-1) on Friday and Lloydminster (14-10-1-3) on Saturday before closing out the 2024 portion of the schedule at home versus Calgary. 96.5 CKFM will have live coverage when the Grizzlys entertain the Canucks (17-8-1-2) on Tuesday, December 17th at 7pm.
Hear post-game reaction with Santa Claus for a night – Ben Dardis.
96.5 CKFM also caught up with another key contributor for the Elves – Junshi Hideshima.
CKFM had this conversation with Assistant Coach Colten Hayes prior to Tuesday’s game.
Goalie jerseys for Olds on December 10th (Photo via Olds Grizzlys).
Skater jerseys for Olds on December 10th (Photo via Olds Grizzlys).
Junshi Hideshima shooting on Ben Dardis in warm ups on December 10th.
