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Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Settle For Split On Saskatchewan Road Trip

January 24, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Saskatoon, SK - The Edmonton Oil Kings played another solid road game Saturday night but the problem was they were playing the only team in the WHL without a regulation loss in their last 10 games. The Saskatoon Blades extended their winning streak to 8 games with a 3 - 1 win over the visiting Oil Kings but Edmonton didn't go down without a fight. The Blades needed a powerplay goal, an empty netter and a little luck to keep their streak going after a very tight game from start to finish.

The Blades are a team that consistently gets off to great starts. They've scored the game's opening goal 32 times this season including Saturday night against the Oil Kings. Their first goal was a tic-tac-toe play from Stefan Elliot, to Dan Hulak to Milan Kytnar. The Oilers' 5th round draft pick from 2007 scored his 13th of the season to make it 1 nothing at about the midway point of the first period.

The Oil Kings dodged a bullet in the last minute of the first period right after they turned the puck over in the corner. Adam Chorneyko took a swipe at the puck in the feet of the Oil Kings defenseman and it found its way to the front of the net and on the stick of a wide open Gaelen Patterson. He had 2 point blank shots that were stopped by Torrie Jung to keep it a 1 goal game after 20 minutes of play.

Edmonton responded with a great start to the second period and cashed in on their second powerplay of the game. Brandon Lockerby moved the puck back to the blue line where Brent Raedeke sets up with the man advantage. The Regina native blasted a one-timer that beat a screened Braeden Holtby. Brenden Dowd got credit for the second assist but Robin Soudek deserves a lot of credit too for providing all the traffic in front. Raedeke's 16th of the season tied the game at one just 97 seconds into the second period and at the same time, extended his point streak to 5 games.

Saskatoon scored a very similar goal to re-gain their lead. They had a powerplay that was just about to expire when Adam Chorneyko leaned into a shot that looked like it may have hit something before it beat Torrie Jung high on the glove side. It was Walker Wintoneak providing the screen in front. Chorneyko's 18th of the season made it 2 - 1.

Edmonton came centimeters away from tying it up moments later. Czech rookie Robin Soudek gained the Blades line and absolutely wired a slapshot that beat Holtby but not the post.

The Oil Kings would come very close with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker and threw everything they had at the Blades. The best chance came with about 40 seconds to go when defenseman Adrian Van de Mosselaer was pinching in on the play but had a puck hop over his stick in the crease. Moments later, Curtis Hamilton potted the empty netter to make the final score 3 - 1.

Saskatoon is a very impressive 24-0-2-0 when they lead after 2 periods and have picked up points in 12 straight games which includes their current 8 game winning streak. The Oil Kings finish up their 4 games in 5 nights stretch with just the lone win Friday night in Prince Albert. Edmonton's record falls to 22-25-2-4 and will wrap up their January schedule with a pair of home games against Brandon on Wednesday and then the Regina Pats on Saturday January 31st. That's a game that's guaranteed to set an Oil Kings attendance record with over 11,000 tickets already sold for the Minor Hockey Night.

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2009


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