CALGARY Mayor Jyoti Gondek will have to wear the Edmonton Oilers’ jersey and full facepaint in that team’s colours following their 5-4 win over the Calgary Flames on a goal in overtime on Thursday night.
The Oilers clinched the series 4-1 with that win and will play in the Western Conference Final for the first time since 2006.
The last time the two teams met in the playoffs was in 1991 — 31 years ago — when the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Calgary Flames on a goal in overtime in Game 7.
Gondek and Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi had made a friendly wager to add some excitement to the Pacific Division finals series. Usually the wager involves only wearing the winner’s jersey, but these mayors took it a notch higher by agreeing that the losing city’s mayor would be in full face paint celebrating the opposing team at the first council meeting following the end of the series.
Also, Calgary City Council will have to donate to Kids with Cancer Society in Edmonton in recognition of five-year-old Ben Stelter’s fight with brain cancer. Ben is a superfan of the Edmonton Oilers.
Gondek had pointed out: “It’s fitting that the month of May is Brain Tumour Awareness Month. Ben has been incredibly brave in this past year and all hockey fans are cheering him on.”