Saints edge Oilers in emotional Game 1

As puck dropped on the AJHL final it was clear both teams were playing for more than a championship.

The Okotoks Oilers and Spruce Grove Saints stood side-by-side to honour the Humboldt Broncos in a show of solidarity Friday night at Pason Centennial Arena prior to the Saints 4-3 overtime victory in Game 1 of the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship series.

"I, for one, had a couple buddies on that team I grew up playing with and it's a tragic incident that happened," said Oilers defenceman Kylor Wall. "It was pretty classy, no words were said, we all lined up and we respected those who were lost.

"It's always in the back of your mind, but when you're playing you try to think that you're doing it for them. If you've got buddies on the team you're trying your hardest for them."

Both teams shared strong connections to the Broncos.

Two of the victims of the April 6 bus crash - Conner Lukan and Parker Tobin - started the 2017-18 season with the Saints.

"That had me a little choked up," said Saints head coach Bram Stephen. "It was a nice show of support from Okotoks, very classy of them to do that for the people of Humboldt and for our group especially having two guys that started the year on our team that were there.

"It meant a lot."

Once the action began both teams managed the seemingly impossible task of channeling the emotion back into the game.

The Oilers, playing in their first game in a championship series in franchise history, took the early lead after an even first period through leading scorer Tanner Laderoute.

Spruce Grove tied it up in the middle frame on a penalty shot goal through AJHL MVP and former Bronco Chris Van Os-Shaw and jumped out in front when defenceman Brad Forrest joined the rush and scored.

Okotoks responded with two goals in 51 seconds late in the second period as captain Carter Huber served up a sublime saucer pass for Laderoute to score his second of the night followed on the next shift by Jacob Bernard-Docker's fifth of the playoffs on a set up from Quinn Olson.

Spruce Grove's Sean Comrie forced overtime with a seeing eye point shot with just over six minutes left in regulation and Saints captain Josh Harris completed the comeback with the winner three minutes into the extra-session as the visitors took Game 1.

"Okotoks had a better third than us and the better start in overtime," Stephen said. "It just took one really good play on the drive and that's how overtime works sometimes.

"You certainly want to play the series on the front side of it so from that standpoint it's big and puts us one step closer to where we want to go."

Special teams were not a factor with just five minor penalties, two of which were coincidental. The shots finished at 27-26 in the visitors favour.

"We've been working so hard all season to get where we're at," Wall said. "We played well the first 45 minutes and then kind of let off the gas a little bit in the last 10 of the third.

"Unfortunately it ended that way tonight, but we're going to bounce back tomorrow."

Game 2 of the series is right back at the Pason on Saturday evening. Puck-drop is 7 p.m.

The best-of-seven set moves north for two in Spruce Grove on back-to-back nights, April 16-17.

"We just needed to get shots through, they blocked a lot of shots," said Oilers winger Kyle Gordon. "The shots were even, but they tripled us in blocked shots. We had a turnover in the third and they scored off it and we just couldn't find a way to put one past them and win the game.

"We can play with these guys. We're right there with them. We lost a game at home against Brooks and won the series. We've got to come back tomorrow, new day, and win that one."

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