WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings let lead slip away, but pick up valuable point in Moose Jaw

Published on February 28, 2009 under Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


MOOSE JAW‑ It was a third period the Edmonton Oil Kings would like to forget.

Up 4-2 against the Moose Jaw Warriors and with everything seemingly in control, the Oil Kings fell apart and lost a 6-5 overtime decision Saturday.

Dylan Hood, who joined the Warriors at the trade deadline, scored the overtime goal at the 1:57 mark of the extra session.

"Going into the third period, I didn't think we had everything in control," said Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau.

"It was a crazy game and Moose Jaw played very well. You hope you are mature enough to handle these situations, but we were drained a little bit from last night, and Moose Jaw capitalized on us."

With the loss, the Oil Kings record drops to 27-31-4-5, but maintain their spot in eighth place in the Western Hockey League's Eastern Conference with 63 points.

Tyler Hlookoff scored twice for Edmonton, and T.J. Foster, Brenden Dowd and Brent Raedeke all scored singles, while stay at home defenceman Drew Nichol chipped in with two assists.

Cody Smuk (two goals, one assist) and Corey Scott (one goal, two assists) each had three point nights and Kevin Smith and Matt McKay replied for Moose Jaw.

It was a tough weekend in Southwest Saskatchewan as the Oil Kings dropped back-to-back games in overtime to Swift Current and Moose Jaw, but at this point in the season, every point is valuable and they are separating themselves from the Regina Pats. With the win, the Oil Kings now sit seven points clear of Regina, leaving the Oil Kings in a very tight battle with Prince Albert for the final playoff spot.

"The way I look at it, we go home from this trip .500 (0-0-2-0)," said Pleau.

"We would have liked to put one in the win column, but to get points in two tough buildings isn't bad at all. It keeps us in the race."

Torrie Jung (18-17-3-5) made 26 saves, 16 in the third period alone. He was very busy as the Warriors dominated the third period as they fought their way back into the game.

Moose Jaw struck just 59 seconds into the third, when Smith found a seam and let a quick shot go that beat Jung. Just 2:41 later, Smuk scored his second of the game short-handed.

The Oil Kings would reply after the short-handed goal when Hlookoff would score his second of the game and third of the season just 36 seconds later, but McKay would tie the game at 5-5 just 1:29 later to end the crazy start to the third period.

"You're in their building and you know you have to battle for 20 minutes," said Pleau.

"We seem to have a knack lately to give up goals early in the period, and that's key because it gave them a chance to get back in the game."

It was a scary third period for the Oil Kings on the scoreboard, but they were faced with an even scarier incident when 17-year-old rookie defenceman Jesse Pearson, who proven to be a tough and rugged rearguard in his first WHL campaign was struck in the chin with a blast from Warriors defenceman Travis Hamonic midway through the third.

Pearson was down on the ice for several minutes and had to be taken off on a stretcher and sent to hospital.

"It's tough for both teams seeing an incident like that," exclaimed Pleau.

"He took a slap shot right in the face, and it's difficult to see something like that, but you have to battle through it.

"He'll probably have to stay over night (in Moose Jaw). His season is done, but for him the most important thing is to get his health back."

The Oil Kings struck first blood just 2:39 into the contest when Nichol's point shot was kicked out by Moose Jaw goaltender Jeff Bosch, but the rebound went right on to the stick of Foster for the early 1-0 lead.

Dowd gave the Oil Kings a 2-0 lead after he followed in off the rush and jammed the puck past Bosch, who made the initial save off of Clayton Cumiskey off the rush.

Smuk cut the Oil Kings lead in half just before the first intermission when he tipped a Hamonic point shot past Jung.

The Oil Kings initially held a 4-1 lead when Raedeke scored his 19th goal of the season on the power play, but that three-goal lead disappeared after the Moose Jaw outworked Edmonton in the third period outshooting them 19-9 and outscoring them 3-1 in the process.

"Moose Jaw played hard, and they didn't back down one bit and they deserved the two points," said Pleau.

"We held in there and we did a good job getting a point. Any point right now is going too big for us as we control our own destiny."

The Oil Kings next home game is March 6, against the Broncos and it will be Faith and Family Night. Hip-Hop group and two-time Grammy award winner GRITS will perform during intermission and Edmonton Eskimo Patrick Kabongo will be a guest speaker after the game.

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Western Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2009


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