Sports stats

WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Earn A Point Against Hitmen

February 3, 2024 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Edmonton, AB - The Edmonton Oil Kings erased a three-goal deficit in the final four minutes of regulation on Friday night as they salvaged a point in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Calgary Hitmen at Rogers Place.

A Calgary dominated first period left the Oil Kings in a 4-0 deficit after 20 minutes of play.

Fraser Leonard and Maxim Muranov each scored in the opening four minutes to get the Hitmen out to an early 2-0 lead.

Late in the period, the Hitmen were granted a four-minute player on a slew-footing call and cashed in twice with both Keets Fawcett and Oliver Tulk putting in shot from the left-circle of the Edmonton zone.

In the second period, the Oil Kings were able to carry the play for much of it and at the 10:29 mark Gavin Hodnett got Edmonton on the board after taking a lead feed from Adam Jecho, breaking in alone of the Calgary net and elevating a backhand shot over the left pad of Ethan Buenaventura.

The Oil Kings would outshoot the Hitmen 10-6 in the middle frame but remained down 4-1 at the second intermission.

In the third period, the Oil Kings made it a 4-2 games early after Marc Lajoie punched home his 17th goal of the season on a 5-on-3 power play, but the Hitmen responded midway through the second period on Muranov's second goal of the night to pull back ahead by three.

With just over four minutes left in regulation time, the Oil Kings pulled off an incredible comeback scoring three times to push the game in overtime.

Roan Woodward collected his 12th goal of the season at the 15:43 mark after muscling a shot under the pad of Buenaventura on a setup from Skyler Bruce.

Lajoie's second goal of the night with 1:58 left in regulation brought Edmonton to within one after he was able to sift a seeing-eye shot through a maze of bodies from the right point.

In the final seconds, Hodnett cashed in his second goal of the game on a shot through a screen from just inside the Calgary blue line to send the game into the extra session.

In overtime, the Hitmen snuffed out the Edmonton comeback thanks a power play goal from Carter Yakemchuk 3:57 into the 3-on-3 period.

Kolby Hay and Hudson Perry combined 32 saves in the Oil Kings crease, while Buenaventura turned in 35 for the Hitmen. Edmonton went 1-for-6 on the power play, Calgary was 3-for-3.

Next up, the Oil Kings hit the road to kickoff a six-game road trip starting Sunday in Calgary when they tangle with the Hitmen at 4:00 P.M. You can catch all the action on the Oil Kings Radio Network, iHeartRadio Canada.

The Edmonton Oil Kings next home game is their Superhero Night on Saturday, February 17 when they welcome the Red Deer Rebels to Rogers Place at 7:00 P.M.

The Oil Kings are Edmonton's first choice for family fun with great seats starting at $20 and season seats for as low as $9 per-game for an entire season of thrilling WHL action!

Head to OilKings.ca to secure your seat today!

Check out the Edmonton Oil Kings Statistics



Western Hockey League Stories from February 3, 2024


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.

Other Recent Edmonton Oil Kings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central