Twice was not the charm for the Olds Grizzlys in their special holiday themed jerseys.
The Black and Gold – and Green and Red – were unable to stuff a win into their stocking before the conclusion of the 2024 portion of the Alberta Junior Hockey League regular season as the Calgary Canucks won 7-2 at the SportsComplex on Tuesday, December 17th.
With the players for Olds dressed as Elves and the goalies in Santa suits, the home team had beaten the Canmore Eagles (18-8-3-1) by the score of 3-2 in a shootout back on December 10th.
However, things were different this time around as the visitors from Calgary came down the chimney and jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead. The Canucks – who are the defending AJHL champions – were up 6-1 after 40 minutes of play.
Calgary was 1 for 5 on the power play, while the Grizzlys were 0-1.
The Canucks outshot Olds 45-20. Goaltender Connor Johnson (2006) from Calgary made 38 saves for the Grizzlys.
The goals for Olds were provided by Alternate Captain Junshi Hideshima (2005) from Edmonton and Captain Connor Seeley (2005). Hideshima from West Kelowna, B.C. Hideshima also had an assist and he has now put up 8 goals and 17 points in his last 16 games. Seeley has points in 5 straight games with 3 goals and 3 assists during that streak.
This is the second time the Canucks have won 7-2 in Olds this season. 7-2 was also the score when Calgary visited the SportsComplex on October 4th. The six game season series between these South Division foes will see the final four meetings take place in 2025. The next one is on February 1st when the OGs face off with the Canucks at the Siksika Deerfoot Sportsplex. It will be just the second ever AJHL regular season game to be played on the Siksika Nation grounds.
Olds enters the holiday break with a record of 11-18-0-0 to occupy sixth place in the division. The Grizzlys are 12 points back of the Drumheller Dragons (16-12-2-0) who are currently holding down the division’s fourth and final playoff spot.
The second place Canucks are 18-9-1-2 and they are just one point back of first place Canmore. Calgary wil finish up 2024 by hosting Grande Prairie for games on both December 20th and December 22nd.
The Grizzlys will ring in the new year by welcoming Bonnyville to town on January 3rd and live coverage can be heard on 96.5 CKFM.
