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Edmonton Oil Kings

Edmonton Oil Kings Rally For Franchise High Fourth Straight Win

November 30, 2008 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Edmonton, AB - What a turnaround for the Edmonton Oil Kings. They erased an early 2 goal deficit and battled back with a shorthanded goal and 3 powerplay markers to beat the Prince Albert Raiders 5 - 3 on Sunday night at Rexall Place. Two streaks remain intact with the result. The Raiders have dropped 8 in a row while the Oil Kings have tied a franchise record with their 4th straight win and have the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference all to themselves right now.

"One word comes to mind after that - character." stated Oil Kings Head Coach Steven Pleau. "We battled through all the adversity that you could and we prevailed. We found a way to win. Our powerplay was very good. They got 2 on their powerplay so our penalty kill has got to be better. We've got to clear the puck better, we've got to support the puck but our powerplay had jump. I thought Craig McCallum was the best player on the ice. That's the best game I've seen him play since he's been an Oil King."

The Raiders struck first thanks to a gutsy effort from their leading scorer Justin Bernhardt. He broke into the Oil Kings zone by himself and took the puck hard to the net while he waited for his team mates to catch up to the play. The puck was tangled up in defenseman Drew Nichol's skates for a moment but Bernhardt found the handle and somehow squeezed it by Torrie Jung who wasn't quite hugging his post tight enough. Bernhardt's team leading 16th of the year made it 1 - 0 just under 10 minutes into the game.

Prince Albert's powerplay didn't take long to click in this game. Just 16 seconds after Brett Breitkreuz got tangled up on an aggressive forecheck and was called for hooking, Ryan McDonald fired a shot from a wide angle at about the top of the circle that beat Jung. The only assist on the play went to Ryan Button. It was 2 - 0 for the visitors through the first 20 minutes.

Edmonton found the scoresheet about 7 minutes into the second period. Tomas Vincour and rookie Mark Pysyk worked a nice looking give and go. Vincour gained the Prince Albert zone and dropped a pass for Pysyk who seemed to draw the attention of all the back checking Raiders. Pysyk spotted Vincour all alone in the slot and he buried his 13th of the year. Brent Raedeke also picked up an assist and the Oil Kings picked up a little steam. They went on a stretch where they outshot Prince Albert 11 - 1.

Even a powerplay for the visitors wouldn't slow down the Oil Kings. Brenden Dowd made a nice play in his own zone blocking a shot and then he was off to the races beating Ryan Button with great speed through the neutral zone. From there, the Saskatoon native slid home a nifty backhand between the legs of Steven Stanford. Dowd's 10th and the team's third shorthanded goal of the year tied the game at 2.

"I think our coach just looked to our veterans to pick it up." said Dowd. "He laid it out for us and put all his effort into us and we just out there and played hard. It was a full team effort by all means. We got the powerplay going and we scored when we had to."

Prince Albert may have been on a long losing streak but their powerplay has been decent all year and it got them their 1 goal lead back before the period was through. Edmonton native and recently acquired defenseman Jordan Rowley just ripped a high shot from the point over the sliding block of Michael Burns and past Torrie Jung who was screened in front by Brandon Herrod. It was 3 - 2 Prince Albert after 40 minutes.

The Oil Kings caught a break with another powerplay early in the third period. Adrian Van de Mosselaer started the play by teeing up a one-timer for Brenden Dowd down low on the right wing. His shot pulled Steven Stanford way out of his crease to make the first save but a rebound went right to Tomas Vincour. He bounced one back to Dowd who finally hammered it home to tie the game at 3.

Then the Raiders started to get into some penalty trouble. Matt Robertson took a high-sticking penalty to put the Oil Kings on their third powerplay of the night. They worked the puck back to the blue line for a big shot from Brandon Lockerby. The seeing-eye shot deflected off Nathan Deck's skate and then off his defense partner Jordan Rowley's leg and in. Brett Breitkreuz and Jeff Lee picked up the assists on the powerplay goal to make it 4 - 3.

And finally fans didn't go home hungry from the Oil Kings game. For the first time in 4 contests since the Wendy's Drive For 5 promotion started, the Oil Kings tallied a 5th goal so every fan in the building won a Wendy's Big Bacon Classic. They can all thank Craig McCallum for the treat. He scored a beauty on the powerplay when he roofed a shot short-side over Stanford for his 9th of the season to make the final score 5 - 3. The Oil Kings have now scored 8 powerplay goals in their last 3 games.

That's the Oil Kings third comeback when trailing after two periods of play. The 4 game winning streak matches a franchise high set last year when they won 4 straight in late October and early November with wins against Calgary, Lethbridge (shootout), Everett, and Swift Current (shootout). Edmonton's record improves to 13-14-1-3 while the Raiders suffer their 8th straight loss and have now lost 12 in a row on the road.

Next up for the Oil Kings will be a quick mid-week road trip with stops in Medicine Hat on Tuesday followed by the Lethbridge Hurricanes on Wednesday. The next home game for the Oil Kings will be Friday December 5th when the Kamloops Blazers are in town. It should be the loudest game of the season. It's Megaphone night. The first 2500 fans will get a free Oil Kings Megaphone.

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