WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Fall To Red Hot Rebels

January 3, 2010 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


EDMONTON- It can be tough to change your identity at any point in the season, and Edmonton Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau is trying to do just that.

They've done a good job in trying to be a tougher team, a grittier team and a team with better structure, but the one thing they've battled with in this new transition period is scoring goals.

Playing their arch-rival Red Deer Rebels in the second half of their home-and-home series Sunday afternoon they were implying their new identity quite well, but Rebels netminder Darcy Kuemper got the best of the Oil Kings for a second straight night making 30 saves as the Oil Kings fell 3-0 to the red-hot Rebels.

The loss drops the Oil Kings record to 10-22-4-6.

"We played hard, and that's the way we have to play. We got ourselves in (penalty) trouble at certain times, but I did like our emotion," added Pleau after the loss.

"You're starting to see it (identity). Guys are playing gritty and hard and that is what we have to do.

"In the first period we came hard, we bumped, we played hard, and we went to the net, outshooting them 13-7. We need to learn how to do that over 60 minutes, and learn how to be a little smarter and control our emotions."

Defenceman Simon Witt and Alex Petrovic scored first and second period goals and Jordie Deagle added a third period marker in the victory. Petrovic and Deagle's goals were both scored on the power play.

Oil Kings goaltender Cam Lanigan (3-4-2-2) was solid, making 28 saves in his second consecutive start.

For the second straight night, the Oil Kings came out with a lot of jump taking the game physically to the Rebels, but they missed a chance to take the lead with a couple power play opportunities.

Witt's goal came with just 3:55 remaining to give Red Deer a 1-0 lead.

"We didn't back off that goal. We still played a great game," said Pleau.

"We had our chances to score, we just didn't bury it. That is something we have to work on. Whether we need more traffic or more finish I don't know what the situation is at this point. I thought we created some good chances, it's just a matter of a little confidence here and there."

Kuemper was very good in the first period, and he didn't allow many second chance opportunities for the Oil Kings.

"You have to give their goalie credit. He was excellent tonight, and he made it look easy," said Pleau.

"You get 30 shots, and you figure you'll be able to get one or two. Rachinski was in by himself, Kreuzer (Brett Breitkreuz) was wide open in the slot.It wasn't like we didn't create chances tonight."

It's been a tough week for the Oil Kings. They said good-bye to two long-time players in Clayton Cumiskey and Brent Raedeke and they've extended their losing streak to five games (0-4-0-1).

"It's survival. You have no choice, you have to do it. We are playing all these guys and they are developing all their roles," said Pleau.

"We want to win every game. We aren't going to accept losing, but the situation we are in playing the young guys, we have to stick to that program we have to have patients and we have to continue to teach."

Oil Kings defenceman Mark Pysyk, who was given a new role as alternate captain this week agrees with his coach's sentiments.

"It's a different look in the room. We aren't relying on the same guys. It's a good opportunity for other people to step up. Everybody is working hard because they know an opportunity there," Pysyk added.

"There were a few times in the game where we hit everything that moved. We were outplaying them, but a couple of lapses and you lose momentum and they kept building on it. That was the difference today."

The Oil Kings have another busy week as they search for their first win of 2010. They will face the Vancouver Giants on Friday January 8th and then tangle with the Swift Current Broncos on Saturday January 9th.

Friday's visit by the Giants is Jersey Friday and the ATB Crawl for Cash, while Saturday is Celebrity Saturday and an Olympic Torch relay celebration.

For tickets, contact any Ticketmaster location or call 780 414 GOAL (4625) or at oilkings.ca

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Western Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2010


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