Battle of Alberta family affair for couple who became engaged during playoff game

An Alberta girl with an Oilers fan for a mom and a Calgary fan for a dad attended her first NHL game in Edmonton on Wednesday.

The Battle of Alberta has become a family affair for a couple who were engaged at a playoff game three years ago.

Payden and Tessa Partaker took their daughter Eara to her first National Hockey League game on Wednesday at Edmonton’s Rogers Place – where the Oilers played the Calgary Flames to open the regular season – with tickets they received as a wedding anniversary gift from one of his groomsmen.

“It was just our anniversary on Sept. 30, and he graciously gifted us for our anniversary three tickets for this game,” Payden told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

“He said, ‘I want your daughter to experience what you guys got to experience three years ago,’ and I want her to remember it forever. And Harrison Bull succeeded in that.”

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Payden asked Tessa to marry him while they attended a 2022 Oilers-Flames postseason clash in Edmonton. She said yes.

But while the family hails from Kikino Metis Settlement, located 135 kilometres northeast of the Alberta capital and 40 kilometres south of Lac La Biche, not everyone’s an Oilers fan.

Payden cheers for the Flames and Tessa the Oilers, leaving Eara divided on who to cheer for.

And it literally shows: she wears a beaded Oilers/Flames medallion created by her mom around her neck while her parents sport their teams’ logos and colours.

The Oilers scored the game’s first three goals on Wednesday, leaving Payden disappointed early on.

“There was such a crushing lead, 3-0 in the first period,” he said, recalling the initial feelings of dejection. “My girl just looked at me like she felt sorry for me sometimes. When they were up cheering, she’d look down at me and kind of pat me on the head, “It’s OK, dad.”

Tessa said Eara tried to appease both sides of the provincial rivalry by not cheering too much when Edmonton scored.

“She didn’t really want to stand with me every time they scored at the beginning because she was feeling bad for her dad,” Tessa said, chuckling.

Payden had the last laugh, however, after his team roared back in the third period to tie the game. Centre Nazem Kadri scored in the shootout to lift the Flames to a 4-3 win.

And on Thursday, Eara decided her favourite part of her medallion is the Calgary side.

“I like that,” Payden said. “Maybe it has to do with the game-winner. Thank you, Kadri.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Sean McClune