WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Claw Their Way Back Into The Playoff Picture With Win Over Cougars

February 20, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Prince George, BC - A few more healthy bodies can sure make a difference. The Oil Kings welcomed back goalie Torrie Jung and forward Clayton Cumiskey to the lineup and both had a strong game. Jung made 28 saves in his return and Tomas Vincour picked up his first two points since returning from injury in a 3 - 2 win over the Cougars in Prince George. It's been all visitors with the home team losing all 3 times in the season series between the teams. That's a trend the Oil Kings hope holds true as they'll stay put and try a rematch Saturday night at the CN Centre.

The Oil Kings opened the scoring in the late stages of the first period. Tomas Vincour zipped a pass to Brenden Dowd who had some speed heading through the neutral zone. Logan Proulx used his blazing speed to catch up to the play and create a 2 on 1. Dowd elected to shoot on Kevin Armstrong who was well out of his crease to cut off the angle. He made the first save but kicked out a huge rebound to Proulx who had a wide open net for his 4th of the season. That's the start the Oil Kings were looking for. Edmonton's pretty good when they score first too with a record of 20-5-0-1 after Friday night.

The Oil Kings were sharp moving the puck around at will in the second period. There were times when it looked like they were on the powerplay but the teams were even strength. Some great puck movement lead to their second goal. Brandon Lockerby worked the puck laterally near the Cougars blue line and spotted Brett Breitkreuz open along the boards. The 19 year old Springside, Saskatchewan native let a shot go from the bad angle that was stopped by Jeff Lee showed some quick hands to pop in the rebound for his 19th goal and team leading 56th point. It was 2 nothing early in the middle frame.

Edmonton would extend their lead before the period was through on a nice individual effort from Tomas Vincour who had his best game since returning to the lineup. Earlier, he produced the hit of the game when he absolutely leveled Cody Hobbs deep in Prince George territory. Later, he gained the Cougars zone coming down the right wing and tried a drag move towards the slot. It looked like the Cougars defense was going to poke the puck loose but Vincour regained control and roofed a backhand on the short side for his 14th of the season. It was 3 - 0 heading into the third period.

Greg Fraser got the Cougars on the board just over 4 minutes into the final frame. Rookie Kieran Friesen had some trouble clearing the zone and Fraser was smart enough to use the Oil Kings' defenseman as a screen and snap a shot upstairs in a hurry for his 7th of the season. That made it 3 - 1.

Prince George pulled the goalie for the extra attacker and made it very interesting at the end of the game. Former Oil King Cameron Cepek made a nice play to keep the puck in at the blue line. He let a wrist shot go into a crowd and Marek Viedensky tucked the rebound home to make the final score 3 - 2.

The Oil Kings pick up the valuable 2 points to climb back into a tie with the Prince Albert Raiders for the 8th and final playoff spot in the WHL's Eastern Conference. The Oil Kings record improves to 26-31-2-4 for 58 points. The two teams will do it all over again in less than 24 hours. The 7th and final game of the Oil Kings stretch of road games will go Saturday night. The next home game will be Wednesday February 25th. That's another Weiner Wednesday against the Red Deer Rebels.

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2009


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