The Oilers tied their best-of-seven games series at 2-2 when they downed the Canmore Eagles 4-1 Thursday in Canmore.

“I thought we played with a little more consistency tonight than we have in the first few games of the series,” Oilers coach Garry VanHereweghe said.

The line of Nolan Huysmans, Ben Gamache and Chris Korpach led the Oilers.

“They don’t have a lot of size but they have a great work ethic,” VanHereweghe said. “They have a lot of energy and the feed off each other.”

The trio helped feed a somewhat lethargic Oilers’ powerplay. The line was on the ice for both of Okotoks’ two powerplay goals in the victory.

The Oilers opened the scoring with a powerplay goal by Matt Strong with assists from Korpach and Gamache approximately four minutes into the game.

Canmore tied the game 1-1 on a goal by Kory Roy in the second period.

The Oilers fired back with three consecutive goals as Korpach scored and Huysmans had a pair for the 4-1 victory.

Okotoks peppered Eagles’ goalie Sam Brittain with 46 shots in the game.

Oilers goalie Sean Cahill was up for practically anything the Eagles threw at him.

With Okotoks up 2-1 going into the third period, the Eagles rifled 16 shots at Cahill in the final 20 minutes. The Okotoks ‘tender turned them all aside to stave off any Canmore comeback attempt.

The series is starting to heat up as it returns to the Centennial Arena for Game 5 on Saturday.

There were more than 30 penalties called in Thursday’s tilt in Canmore.

The puck will be dropped at 7 p.m. for Game 5 in Okotoks. Game 6 is back in Canmore on Monday at 7 p.m.

Game 7, if needed, would be at St. Patrick’s Day battle on March 17 at the Centennial Arena at 7 p.m.

In other AJHL action on Thursday the Camrose Kodiaks took a 3-1 lead in their series with the Brooks Bandits when they downed the Bandits 2-1 in Brooks.

Foothills traded punches with the Chargers in the first half of Game 1 of the best-of-three 4A South Central final Wednesday in Airdrie but they could not hold on in the second half losing 75-52.

“We stayed with them for the first half we were down only 31-27 at halftime,” Falcons coach Amron Gwilliam said. “In the second half we made some mistakes and some turnovers and we ended up losing by 23.”

The Falcons’ top scorer was Cam Copland with 14 points while Lee Campbell finished with 10.

“We are definitely the underdog, but they aren’t unbeatable,” Gwilliam said. “For us to beat them we have to play our very best and we didn’t play our best basketball (on Wednesday).”

He added the Falcons will need more points from their two big men, Campbell and Branden Heslip.

Gwilliam said the Falcons need 20 to 25 points from the Falcons’ duo if they hope to dump the Chargers. In Wednesday’s loss, the pair chipped in 12 points.

The two teams meet again for Game 2 Friday at 7 p.m. at Foothills Composite High School in Okotoks.

Game 3, if necessary, is at Bert Church at 7 p.m. Saturday.

HTA Knights

There was no rising for the Holy Trinity Knights in their 3A South Central Zone boys basketball game against the Springbank Phoenix on Wednesday in Cochrane.

“We were leading in the third quarter and we were only down 60-55 after three,” Knights coach Sam Aiello said. “Then we just ran out of gas.”

They also lost their scoring touch. They scored just four points in the fourth quarter and lost 80-59.

The Knights play the George McDougall Mustangs from Airdrie tonight in Cochrane in the provincial qualifier.

The winner of the game will play at SAIT at 12:45 p.m. on Saturday and would still have a chance at provincials by going through the B side.

The loser would play for seventh and eighth-place in the zone Saturday morning at SAIT.

The Knights beat George Mac in their one previous meeting this year.

The Highwood Mustangs were beaten 72-64 by the Cochrane Cobras in their first game in the zone tourney on Wednesday.

Girls’ action

The Holy Trinity Knights proved they can play defence in their 62-40 loss to the Highwood Mustangs in a 3A South Central girls basketball game Wednesday in High River.

Unfortunately for the Knights, they shot the ball like it was one of those free cups of coffee being distributed by a fast foot chain — everywhere but in the basket.

The Knights shot approximately 20 per cent in their loss to Highwood.

The Knights play their second game in the provincial qualifier tonight at Holy Trinity Academy when they host the Cochrane Cobras.

The two teams have not met this season.

The Oilers tied their best-of-seven games series at 2-2 when they downed the Canmore Eagles 4-1 Thursday in Canmore.

“I thought we played with a little more consistency tonight than we have in the first few games of the series,” Oilers coach Garry VanHereweghe said.

The line of Nolan Huysmans, Ben Gamache and Chris Korpach led the Oilers.

“They don’t have a lot of size but they have a great work ethic,” VanHereweghe said. “They have a lot of energy and they feed off each other.”

The trio helped feed a somewhat lethargic Oilers’ powerplay. The line accounted for both of Okotoks’ powerplay goals in the victory.

The Oilers opened the scoring with a powerplay marker by Matt Strong with assists from Korpach and Gamache approximately four minutes into the game.

Canmore tied the game 1-1 on a goal by Kory Roy in the second period.

The Oilers fired back with three unanswered goals as Korpach scored and Huysmans added a pair for the 4-1 win.

Okotoks peppered Eagles’ goalie Sam Brittain with 46 shots in the game while at the other end of the ice Oilers goalie Sean Cahill was up for practically anything the Eagles threw at him.

With Okotoks up 2-1 going into the third period, the Eagles rifled 16 shots at Cahill in the final 20 minutes. The Okotoks tender turned them all aside to stave off any Canmore comeback attempt.

The series is starting to heat up as it returns to the Centennial Arena for Game 5 on Saturday.

There were more than 30 penalties called in Thursday’s tilt in Canmore.

The puck will be dropped at 7 p.m. for Game 5 in Okotoks. Game 6 is back in Canmore on Monday at 7 p.m.

Game 7, if needed, would be a St. Patrick’s Day battle on March 17 at the Centennial Arena at 7 p.m.

In other AJHL action on Thursday the Camrose Kodiaks took a 3-1 lead in their series with the Brooks Bandits when they downed the Bandits 2-1 in Brooks.

Foothills Falcons Danielle Molvik, left, and Taylor Ardiel sweep a rock at the provincial high school curling championships on March 4. The Falcons won the mixed curling championship by downing Holy Rosary 9-2 on March 5. photo by Bruce Campbell

The Falcons won the provincial mixed championship by downing Holy Rosary High School from Lloydminster 9-2 Saturday in the final at the Okotoks Curling Club.

The Falcons said they worked hard for the win, despite the wide margin, and the tension was evident on the ice.

After landing one particularly tense shot in the fifth end, Foothills skip Kyle Morrison looked to the crowd of cheering parents and teachers and mock-wiped his brow. The gesture was a joke, but the red flush to his face was a telltale sign he was definitely relieved the shot paid off.

Just moments before, he told Falcons co-coach Tim Isaac he wanted to earn a significant lead over Holy Rosary.

“I had talked to him at the fourth end break and he told me he’d really like to get five more points to hopefully put the game away,” said Isaac, who coaches with Laurie Vanoni. “Then, jokingly, he said, ‘Okay, five points in the next end.’ Then he turned around to get four points.”

The crowd watching burst into applause when Morrison’s shot gave the Falcons four points.

“His face is as red as his hair,” commented a parent to the applauding crowd in the observation area at the Okotoks Curling Club.

Ginger-topped Morrison, a Grade 10 student, is the youngest on the Falcons mixed curling team. He is also the most flexible – his splits position allows him to touch his chin on the ice as he watches his rock make its way to the house.

“That’s what being young does for you,” Morrison joked, poking fun at the advanced ages of his teammates.

Third Jenelle Steele and lead Danielle Molvik are both in Grade 12 and second Taylor Ardiel is in Grade 11.

Isaac observed that although Morrison is the youngest he is at home in the leadership role. He is equally comfortable making strategy decisions on his own and opening the decision to a democratic vote with the team.

Their strategy for the gold medal game was to play all hits, knocking Holy Rosary High School’s rocks out of the house.

Morrison said that was their strategy for all the games over the weekend competition and they beat Holy Rosary with that same strategy in the round robin.

It worked again in the final.

“We wanted to keep the game open and have lots of possibilities,” said Morrison. “The way the strategy works is once they miss a hit, you capitalize on it and put another rock in the house. You put a rock on the other side of the house, then they have to chase you.”

He credits his teammates for the victory.

“The sweepers kept us in the game,” said Morrison. “Without them it wouldn’t have worked.”

The Falcons’ main goal was to have fun and on Saturday afternoon they knew they would be taking home either gold or silver.

“No matter how we did out there, we knew we’d come off the ice with a medal and they’re both shiny colours,” said Ardiel.

Ardiel said a big victory usually takes three days before it really sinks in. Indeed, adrenaline was clouding the reality of the situation for Molvik.

“It hasn’t quite sunk in yet,” said Molvik. “We just play to our best ability, no matter what the score is.”

Still, a provincial champion for mixed curling is a sweet victory.

“We’ve been curling in the provincials for a few years, so it makes it extra special,” said Steele.

The Falcons didn’t lose a match during provincials. They were 3-0 in the round robin and continued to roll in the playoffs downing W.G. Murdoch from Crossfield 11-4 in the semifinal.

The Falcons’ alternate Justin Postlewaite did not curl at provincials, however, he was a key factor in Foothills getting to provincials when he had to replace Ardiel in the South Central zone final in February.

Ardiel now begins 10 months of training with Olympic coaches, nutritionists and sports psychologists in preparation for the next Alberta Winter Games.

Results of the Alberta High School Curling championships in Okotoks Friday and Saturday:

Boys — Gold, Notre Dame (Red Deer); silver, Beaumont; bronze, Sundre.

Girls — Gold, Lamont; silver, Beaumont; bronze, South Central High (Oyen).

Mixed  — Gold, Foothills Falcons; silver, Holy Rosary (Lloydminster); bronze, Lethbridge Collegiate.

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

However, when things aren’t going a team’s way it’s easy for the players to shift blame and point some accusing fingers at the men and women in stripes.

A team that has taken some lumps in the win column, the Okotoks Peewee B Oilers, received the Okotoks Referee Association’s 2009-10 Most Sportsmanlike Team prior to its game at the Piper Arena on Feb. 20.

The Okotoks Peewee B Oilers girls hockey team won the Okotoks Referees Association’s Most Sportsmanlike Team award Feb. 20 at the Piper Arena. From left are, Oilers coach Jay McFarlane, from the referee association, Doug Brown and Jason Clark, and Oiler acting captain Jessica Newland. photo by Bruce Campbell

When referee Bryce Honish was putting on his skates in preparation for the game he knew he wouldn’t be having any issues with the Okotoks squad.

“There’s no talking back from the players or the coaches,” Honish said. “They just go out there and play the game. At the end the players make a point of thanking the officials.”

Honish, 16, has been an official for three years. His mom and dad also are officials so he has the wherewithal to handle any guff from players, coaches or parents.

He stressed it’s important for respect to be shown to officials, especially young officials, or else they will quit.

Oilers coach Jay McFarlane paid tribute to his young team for always respecting Canada’s national game regardless of what the scoreboard reads.

“The frustration can elevate when you have a lot of losses, but our girls are out there to have fun and develop as players,” McFarlane said. “It’s crucial that you play within the rules. We rotate our captains every game, so that every girl gets a chance to lead the team. That leadership means shaking hands, respecting the opponents, the officials and each other. Playing safe and fair is something we stress.”

Oiler Zoe Tudor said the team always makes a point to talk to the officials.

“If you want to be a good team, you have to respect them,” she said. “At the end of the game we tell them thank you for helping at the game.”

The Oilers stress respect for everyone involved in the game from the coaches, players to moms and dads in the stands.

Doug Brown, president of the Okotoks Referees Association, said there have been no complaints from officials concerning the actions of parents or fans attending the Oilers’ games.

He said that isn’t always the case for referees.

Brown said one example was a report of verbal abuse from an Okotoks Atom team mother who was yelling at a referee while the official was leaving the ice.

The referee was a 13-year-old girl.

The incident was reported to the Okotoks Minor Hockey Association and the team dealt with the situation.

McFarlane doesn’t raise his voice as a Peewee Oilers coach, but when he’s behind the bench as the Okotoks Junior B Bisons GM, he admits now and then he gets the officials’ attention.

“I shouldn’t because at every level there should be that level of mutual respect,” McFarlane said. “However, every now and then I let them know I am here.”

He is careful not to yell when coaching the Peewees.

“Absolutely not,” McFarlane said. “The officials themselves are handling this level of hockey because they are developing their owns skills as well. We are all learning together.”

In fact, Foothills Falcon Eric Seifert picked himself up, listened to a few words of wisdom from his coach and found his winning ways advancing to the 62kg final.

Seifert was one of six Okotoks Wrestling Club members who qualified for the provincial championships this weekend by finishing in the top five at the rural championships in Lethbridge on Feb. 26-27.

Foothills Falcon Eric Seifert prepares for this weekend’s high school wrestling championships in Calgary during a practice last Thursday in Okotoks. Seifert battled back to win a silver medal at the rural high school championships in February.

Seifert was literally working from the bottom after being pinned in his first match.

“I was really disappointed because I thought I could beat the guy,” said Seifert, a Grade 10 student. “I was nervous in the first match, but after that I started to focus.”

Seifert had better focus than a James Cameron cameraman.

He won five straight matches to reach the semifinal, which he won by pinning his opponent Ryan Izyk of Highwood in the second round.

His winning streak came to an end in the final losing to Brandon Eliason from Lethbridge Collegiate.

“I won the first round 6-4 and then I got pinned in the second round,” Seifert said.

Seifert is one of three Falcons who are going to provincials after only starting to wrestle after Christmas.

Jesse Langford, another new Falcon wrestler, is going to provincials after finishing fifth at 68kg at rurals.

The top five go on to provincials, so when Langford stepped on the mat against Dalminder Bains of High Prairie, he knew it was a win-or-be-done match.

He took advantage of an opening against Bains.

“He left his legs wide open so I would shoot for the double (leg take takedown),” Langford said. “I knew I had to win.”

He beat Bains in two straight rounds.

Falcon Dallas Toso finished third at rurals at 65kg.

“I won my first match and then I lost my second match (to Calvin Osland) when I got pinned in the second round,” Toso said. “I thought I had him pinned in the first round, but I ran out of time.”

However, Toso had the last laugh.

He beat Osland in two rounds, 6-2, 4-0, in the bronze-medal match.

Reid Watkins of Holy Trinity Academy (HTA) will try to do a family first when he goes to provincials this week.

Although older brothers Zach, Lloyd and Spencer won provincial high school championships, none of them were able to win gold as a Grade 10 student.

Reid got off to a good start by capturing the gold at 72kg by beating Cyler Clausen at rurals. He won all seven of his matches.

He has taken advantage of getting pounded on by older brothers for the past few years.

“I have wrestled longer than most people in high school,” Watkins said. “I started wrestling in Grade 3 and most of the guys in high school have only wrestled for a few years.”

Watkins said his toughest opposition at provincials would likely be Clausen and Omari Kevkhishvli of Henry Wise Wood High School in Calgary. Watkins pinned Kevkhishvli in their one previous match this year.

Jordan Wallace of HTA will wrestle at 47kg at provincials. He won by acclamation at rurals because there was no one else in his weight class. However, he wrestled three exhibition matches at rurals against heavier opponents and won them all.

He said he feels he can capture gold at the upcoming provincials at 47kg.

Josh Craig of Edison School also qualified for provincials by finishing third at 50kg.

The Highwood Mustangs from High River won the Boys 3A school championship at rurals.

Highwood’s Matt Izyk from Blackie won at 76kg while his younger brother Ryan was third at 62kg.

The Alberta high school wrestling provincials are this Friday and Saturday at Forest Lawn High School in Calgary.

Diana Bird of Okotoks would scan 2010 Winter Olympic athletes’ credentials as they entered the accommodations at the athletic village in Vancouver.

Diana Bird models some of the apparel she received for volunteering at the 2010 Winter Games. She is with her husband Robert. Bird’s duties included verifying the credentials of Olympic athletes.

When Bird scanned Crosby’s accreditations after Canada’s 7-3 victory over Russia in the quarterfinals on Feb. 25, she broke a small rule when she spoke to him.

“We weren’t allowed to approach the athletes for pictures, autographs or speak to them,” Bird said. “This was their home and we respected that. I told him (Crosby) ‘Good job.’ I know I wasn’t supposed to talk to them, but sometimes you get excited. I wanted to give them a pat on the back.”

Crosby’s response was purely Canadian: “Thank-you.”

She said that was the response from all the athletes. It didn’t matter if they were high-profile athletes like Crosby or a ski jumper from Belarus they were all appreciative of the volunteers’ efforts.

“I didn’t have any problem with any athletes no matter who they were,” she said. “They knew why we were there and they were very appreciative.”

When American speedskater Shani Davis checked his bag and headed to the athletes’ dining area where Bird was working security, he had a few words for her.

“He said to me, ‘You want to see something?’ Then he went back and got his silver medal and let me hold it.”

Canadian Ashleigh McIvor had her skicross gold medal dangling from her neck when Bird scanned her. She insisted the Okotoks volunteer hold the medal.

“So I’ve got to hold a gold and silver medal,” she said with a smile. “Now all I have to do is hold a bronze and I have the full set.”

She also scanned athletes such as curler Cheryl Bernard, Team Canada hockey coach Mike Babcock and short-track speedskater gold medalist Charles Hamelin.

However, her favourite encounter came from a young athlete who didn’t win a medal at all.

When she scanned Canadian ski jumper Eric Mitchell from Calgary, she gave him some Okotoks pins.

“When he walked away, he turned around and said, ‘Thank you for volunteering at the Olympics.’”

It wasn’t all fun and games at the Olympics for Bird.

She worked nine hour shifts with the first two hours dealing with discussion of the work to follow.

Bird spent the majority of her time on her feet and every time she went into work it was like she was boarding a plane to Vancouver.

She would have to empty her pockets and go through a metal detector just like she was at an airport.

“The security was excellent and everyone knew how important it was so they didn’t complain,” she said.

When she put on the greenish-blue colours of the volunteers, Bird always remembered she was representing not only the Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC), but also Canada.

“What you do reflects on VANOC and the country,” Bird said. “I encountered people from the public who were against the Olympics. I just walked away from them.”

The 2010 Olympics was Bird’s second stint as a volunteer at the Winter Olympics. She was also a volunteer at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. She would commute from her Okotoks home to work and then put in a shift with the 1988 Olympics communication department.

She didn’t get to brush with stars like she did in Vancouver, but she got to work with this new-fangled thing called email.

“It was just inner-office communication then,” she said with a laugh. “We sent everything out by fax machine.”

However, she caught the Olympic bug in Calgary. When she had the chance to volunteer again for the 2010 Games, she registered in 2008 and was accepted.

She isn’t done yet. She and a group of volunteers from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics have vowed to volunteer for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England.

Bird has one minor regret from the 2010 Olympics, however. She didn’t get to see Sidney Crosby’s famous gold medal winning goal.

When Canada went ahead 2-0 in the gold medal game on Feb. 28, Bird opted to shop at the souvenir shop at the athletes’ village (volunteers had certain hours they were allowed to shop, so as not to interfere with the athletes).

She was in the store when the United States tied the game at 2-2 with 24 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

“I was so nervous, there was no way I could watch,” she said with a laugh. “When I was taking the bus home I saw people on the streets waving Canadian flags and people were honking their car horns. I knew Canada had won. I think these Games really helped bring the whole country together.”

However, he practically had a smile on his face when it was over because  it meant he’ll be as strong as ever for the upcoming Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs.

Okotoks Oiler Matt Strong is healthy for the AJHL playoffs.

“I took a hit from Brad Drobot of the Calgary Royals (on Feb. 15) and I came off the boards really hard,” said Oilers defenceman Matt Strong. “Before that, my collarbone would kind of reverberate, but it was fine on that hit and it’s been getting stronger and stronger.”

The six-foot-four 220-pound Strong joined the Oilers in November after leaving the Western Hockey League due in part to a span of injuries. After fitting in nicely with the Oilers for a few games, he caught the injury bug again when he broke his right collarbone on a clean hit against the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Dec. 12.

“It was just a fluke, the collarbone is real brittle bone,” the 20-year-old Strong said. “It was tough. Garry (Oilers coach Garry VanHereweghe) helped me a lot. He told me I was still an important part of the team and that when our team went through the good times and the bad times to be a vocal leader. He told me to make sure when I do come back, that I be ready and come back strong.”

Strong returned to the Oilers’ lineup on Jan. 28 against the Camrose Kodiaks.

Strong ripped some scar tissue around the collarbone during the game and missed another two weeks of action.

He admits he wasn’t his usual aggressive self during his second return to the Oilers, but he is fit, focused and confident ever since being belted by the Royals’ Drobot.

“There was a real tough adjustment the first couple of games,” Strong said. “It wasn’t that I was worried about getting hit, it’s just that I didn’t have that strength to really pop a guy.

“I’m back now and everything is just fine.”

Strong had an on-again, off-again relationship in the WHL. He played for three teams, Everett, Red Deer and Chilliwack in his four-plus years in the league. He played in 92 games and had two goals, five assists and 149 penalty minutes.

Strong grew up in a family who knows all about competition and sport. His mother Michelle was a ranked swimmer. His father Brian was an offensive lineman with the Calgary Stampeders in the early 1980s. Brian won a Grey Cup in 1986 with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats before a knee injury ended his career.

“I’m a firm believer, just like my mother and father, that everything happens for a reason,” Strong said.  “I have faced a lot of adversity in a very short career and so far I have been lucky enough to overcome all of it.  People who have faced adversity before, so when they face pressure like the playoffs, they know how to push through it.”

Strong has been on the Oilers’ radar ever since he was playing with the Notre Dame Hounds in Saskatchewan nearly five years ago, according to VanHereweghe.

Strong opted to go to the Western Hockey League as a 16 year-old with the Everett Silvertips in 2005-06. He spent two years in Everett before being picked up by the Bruins. He was later traded to the Vancouver Giants.

“I knew of Matt when he was at the Under-16 development camp and he had just been drafted into the WHL,” VanHereweghe said. “He stood out in that camp and the 1990s (players born in 1990) were very strong.”

The Lloydminster Bobcats had his AJHL rights however, but VanHereweghe didn’t forget about Strong.

“He’s a big strong guy who brings leadership to the team, I think the guys look up to him,” VanHereweghe said. When Strong was released by Chilliwack, he had no hard feelings towards Lloydminster, but he wanted to go to Okotoks.

“I talked to Lloydminster, when I came back from the Western League and they said you likely want to come back to Lloydminster,” he said. “I wanted to go to the Oilers because of their reputation for moving players on (in their careers) and as a winning organization.”

Strong has one more year of AJHL eligibility left and he plans to be back with the Oilers’ next season.

The players make a point of pushing weights on their days off to ensure they have the strength to hold their own with other teams in the league.

Okotoks Oiler Cody Dion pulls down 200 pounds while doing lap pull-downs during a workout at Country Fitness on March 3. photo by Bruce Campbell

Weightlifting is almost a necessity if you are going to play hockey at a high level.

“I started lifting weights when I was in 14 as a freshman in high school (Grade 9),” Oiler forward Cody Dion said. “You have to have core strength. You need upper-body and strong legs because your body gets a hard workout during a game.”

Dion and several of the Oilers were at Country Fitness in Okotoks the morning of March 3. There is an unwritten rule that if an Oiler isn’t at school or at work they are expected to workout on days the team does not have a game.

“Obviously, it depends on how many games we have in a week,” Dion said. “I try to workout four or five times week.”

Dion was working on his upper body on March 3.

He bench-pressed 245 pounds and did pull downs of 200 pounds for his upper body workout. He also did arm curls using 45-pound dumbbells. He topped the workout off with some minutes on the stationary bike to develop his cardio.

“That’s plenty,” Dion said. “We play the Calgary police tomorrow night and I don’t want to be tired for that.”

Andy Stonehouse said the Oilers were given a basic program at the start of the year, but more assessment will happen on the players for individual programs next season.

Oilers coach Garry VanHereweghe is a throwback to the 1970s when a hockey players’ weight training consisted of throwing hay bales on the family farm.

Those days have gone the way of the California Golden Seals.

“When I started coaching Junior A as an assistant with the Calgary Royals there were maybe four or five guys who did weight-training,” VanHereweghe said. “For most of the players, they might have done some off-ice training a few weeks before training camp.”

What a difference nearly two decades make.

He said now all major Midget and Junior programs would have some sort of weight-training program in place. VanHereweghe added that many Junior A players have their own private trainers with whom they work.

Country Fitness provides access to its facilities for several Okotoks teams, including the Junior Ice and Icemen in lacrosse.

“I don’t think any of them use the facility as much as the Oilers do,” he said. “I think we averaging 14 to 15 players a day when they don’t have a game.”

Not all of the Oilers are pressing weights. Some of them are taking advantage of yoga classes — an activity the new age thinking VanHereweghe endorses.

“Some of the guys do yoga to stretch and help them relax for the playoffs,” VanHereweghe said. “I think it’s great. The mental part of the game during playoffs is very important. I have tried it and my wife does yoga all the time when she is getting ready for a long (running) race.”

However, Brian Mayan has grown even more fond of the Okotoks artist who did the drawing. Bernie Brown’s name on the corner of the artwork will be the same name on Mayan’s tarp at his first trip as a driver to the Calgary Stampede’s Rangeland Derby this July.

High River chuckwagon driver Brian Mayan will have an Okotoks business written across his tarp when he drives in his first Calgary Stampede this July. Bernie and Marg Brown of Boot Hill Gallery partnered with 96 Ranch near Okotoks to purchase Mayan’s tarp at the Calgary Stampede Rangeland Derby tarp auction in Calgary on Thursday.

Mayan’s tarp was purchased by Boot Hill Gallery out of Okotoks for $50,000 Thursday at the Calgary Stampede tarp auction held at the Archie Boyce Pavilion in Calgary.

“I’m happy to get connected with some local sponsors,” Mayan said. “I do have some of his stuff. My wife is more in-tuned to art. That’s not my forte but I like the drawing. I hadn’t met Mr. Brown or his wife Marg until the auction. I told them after the auction: ‘I’m working for you’. So we will be sitting down in a few weeks to see what I can do.”

Okotoks resident Earl Hale, who owns 96 Ranch, partnered with the Browns to purchase Mayan’s tarp.

The 42-year-old Mayan has been in the wagon racing business for more than 25 years. He used to travel with his father when dad drove in the old Northern Professional Chuckwagon Association. Mayan has won championships as an outrider at the Calgary Stampede, but 2010 will be the first time he will grab the reins at the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth.

Mayan qualified for the Calgary Stampede by finishing 17^th out of 36 drivers on World Professional Chuckwagon Association tour last season.

He was thrilled to finally be on stage for the tarp auction.

“It was nice to see it from the stage looking down rather than from the crowd looking up for a change,” Mayan said. “I had butterflies, but it was a great thing.”

Although he’s not about to give back the money, he would have been thrilled with virtually any amount.

“I didn’t have any illusions about how much money I would receive,” Mayan said of the auction. “I wasn’t praying for the moon or anything. I am just so happy to be there… it really didn’t matter what I got.”

He said the $50,000 is his biggest paycheque ever from sponsorship.

“Calgary for me now is bonus money because I have never been there before,” Mayan said.

Bernie and Marg Brown of Boot Hill Gallery wanted to buy a tarp to support the Stampede to payback some dues.

Brown participated in the Calgary Stampede Western Art Show for years and the Browns credit that show for helping him get established in the foothills area.

“Bernie was fairly well known in Saskatchewan, but the Stampede has done a lot for Bernie’s career,” Marg said.

In fact, the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth helped them settle in one of the greatest places on earth to live.

The Browns fell in love with the foothills area during a road-trip to Seattle and Bernie made a visit to an Okotoks realtor. The rest is history. He now has the Boot Hill Gallery in Okotoks and Longview.

They had no idea they had purchased a tarp for a foothills area driver until after they had made the winning bid.

“The exciting part was he (Mayan) was new and what a bonus that he came from High River,” Bernie said. “We didn’t have a program so we had no idea where he was from until after we bought him. What a bonus to have someone who has connection to Okotoks.”

Mayan played for the Okotoks 85ers, the predecessor of the Okotoks Junior Bisons.

Earl and Terry Hale are long-time supporters of Okotoks and were instrumental in bringing the Junior A Oilers to town.

Marg said they see buying the tarp as not only supporting Mayan and the Stampede, but also as an advertising investment because the tarp will be seen by more than 150,000 chuckwagon fans during the 10 days of Stampede and countless more on television. Mayan’s tarp will have “Bernie Brown Art Gallery, Okotoks,” along with artwork on it.

Okotoks chuckwagon driver Mark Sutherland’s tarp sold for $75,000 to the Calgary Hotel Association. Sutherland made the final four for the $150,000 Rangeland Derby final last year.

Jason Glass, the two-time defending World Professional Chuckwagon Association champion, had his tarp purchased by Shaw GMC for $70,000. Shaw GMC has been a long-time sponsor of the famed Glass checkerboard-pattern chuckwagon.

The top bid was for defending Calgary Stampede champion Chad Harden who sold for $120,000.

The 36 drivers racing at the Calgary Stampede had their tarps auctioned for $1,966,000 in total, up $274,000 from last year.
It was the fifth highest total in the 32-year history of the event.