Edmonton Oil Kings Shut Out Seattle Thunderbirds in Game 3 of 2022 WHL Championship Series

June 8, 2022 - Western Hockey League (WHL) News Release

Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa vs. the Seattle Thunderbirds
(Edmonton Oil Kings, Credit: Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds)

But as has also been the norm in the series, the opening period was scoreless; Cossa turned aside eight shots including a sliding left-to-right stop on a back-door effort from Thunderbirds forward Conner Roulette.

At the other end, Seattle netminder Thomas Milic parried away all nine shots he faced in the opening frame including a flurry of action from the Oil Kings' top line of Dylan Guenther, Jake Neighbours and Justin Sourdif midwya through the period.

The goaltenders continued to shine through period two. Milic denied Edmonton captain Jake Neighbours on a rush from the right wing.

The product of Coquitlam, B.C. then brought the crowd to a frenzy, denying Neighbours on a two-man breakaway while his Thunderbirds side was on the power play. Milic split his legs, sliding across his crease to deny the Oil Kings with his left arm.

But Edmonton would get on the board before the end of period two. Vegas Golden Knights prospect Jakub Demek charged into the Seattle zone and patiently cut across Milic's crease before deposting the puck into the net with a fore-hand effort at 17:02 of the middle frame.

Czech defenceman Kubicek made it 2-0 Oil Kings 4:10 into the third period, cashing in with a heavy shot from the left wing on an Edmonton power-play.

Kubicek, who was selected by Seattle in the 2018 CHL Import Draft and spent two seasons with the Club, was joined on the scoresheet by fellow blueliner Kaiden Guhle at 11:47 of period three. The Montreal Canadiens first-round pick jumped on a loose puck in the high slot, snapping a shot over Milic's shoulder.

Carter Souch added an empty-net marker for the Oil Kings, who outshot the Thunderbirds 14-5 in the final frame and 37-21 overall.

Milic made 33 saves in the loss for Seattle.

"I thought we played well for 60 minutes, we did the things we needed to do," Edmonton head coach Brad Lauer said. "Our guys made the changes they needed to make, and it helped us get the win tonight."

"I thought the first half of the game was good for us, we were doing some good things, it was pretty tight-checking and not a lot of chances either way. I thought the turning point was their goal right after our power-play, it was a momentum swing for them," Thunderbirds head coach Matt O'Dette said following the game.

Edmonton went 1/4 on the power-play, while the Thunderbirds were 0/3.

Cossa recorded his fourth shutout of the 2022 WHL Playoffs with his 21-save effort, while the Oil Kings got their third and fourth goals from defencemen in the series Tuesday.

"Our system is designed so that it's not about forwards and creating offence, it's done by committee," Lauer noted.

The Oil Kings and Thunderbirds resume the 2022 WHL Championship Series Wednesday, June 8 with Game 4 at accesso ShoWare Center (7:05 p.m. PT, TSN3).

Edmonton Oil Kings goaltender Sebastian Cossa vs. the Seattle Thunderbirds (Brian Liesse, Seattle Thunderbirds)

Western Hockey League Stories from June 8, 2022

• Pats D Salame Commits to Grant MacEwan University - Regina Pats
• Warriors Sign Top Three Picks from 2022 Draft - Moose Jaw Warriors
• Blazers Send Belton to Tri-City for Draft Pick - Kamloops Blazers
• Americans Acquire Reese Belton from Blazers - Tri-City Americans
• Hurricanes Acquire Carrier from Pats - Lethbridge Hurricanes
• Pats Deal Carrier to Lethbridge for Sixth-Round Pick - Regina Pats
• Oil Kings Shutout Thunderbirds in Game 3, Take Series Lead - Edmonton Oil Kings
• Edmonton Oil Kings Shut Out Seattle Thunderbirds in Game 3 of 2022 WHL Championship Series - WHL
• T-Birds Shut Out in Game 3 - Seattle Thunderbirds

The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.