WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Drop A Close One In Leduc

Published on September 9, 2008 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Leduc, AB - Organizers for Leduc Minor Hockey like to dub the Western Hockey League pre-season game they host 'The Battle In Oil Country'. Round 2 of the annual affair between Edmonton and Red Deer goes to the Rebels. The visitors jumped out to a couple of early goals and were able to survive the tenacious checking of the Oil Kings in the second period and skate to a 5 - 3 victory in front of a near capacity crowd at the Black Gold Arena.

"I thought we played hard but we gave up 5 goals so our game obviously has holes in it." said Oil Kings Head Coach Steve Pleau. "We had a pretty good puck possession game and could've been on the powerplay all night. We had some holes in the neutral zone and on the penalty kill, but it's the pre-season and we have some time to work on that."

17-year-old returnee Landon Ferraro had a pair of points for the Rebels before the game was 7 minutes old. Fans didn't even have a chance to finish pouring into the arena when he set up Finnish native Tommi Kivisto for a one-timer at the :15 second mark.

Then with Tomas Vincour in the box for the game's first penalty, Ferraro pounced on a rebound with a scramble in front of Oil Kings starter Dalyn Flette. Tomas Polak and Cody Gross picked up assists. It was 2 - 0 Red Deer after the first period even though Edmonton lead on the shot clock 11 - 6.

The Oil Kings came out hitting hard in the second period. Clayton Cumiskey absolutely drilled Rebels defender Tommi Kivisto and Brett Breitkreuz was throwing his weight around on every shift. The hard work was infectious and led to an unassisted goal from Craig McCallum.

The Canoe Narrows, Saskatchewan native was the first player in on the forecheck, killing a penalty and caused Rebels' goalie Morgan Clark to simply cough up the puck right in his crease.

The back breaker in the hockey game came on Red Deer's third goal. Dalyn Flette made the initial save on a Willie Coetzee shot and was lying on his back with the puck covered under his glove. Somehow, Cody Esposito managed to poke it free and across the line before the whistle blew.

Red Deer turned the break into some momentum and Cody Gross extended the lead to 4 - 1 heading into the second intermission. A lot can be learned about your team when you're playing with a deficit.

Vincour made it a one goal game with just over 8 minutes to go on a goal-mouth scramble in front of Clark to make it interesting for a few minutes until the Rebels settled the matter with another powerplay goal on another broken play in front of the net. Brett Ferguson trickled one in barely over the line to make the final score 5 - 3.

The Oil Kings will close out the pre-season this Saturday in Airdrie against the Calgary Hitmen. Edmonton's home opener goes Friday September 19th against the Medicine Hat Tigers. There are plenty of great seats available starting with the ATB Financial Zone tickets for just $17.

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Western Hockey League Stories from September 9, 2008


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