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WHL Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Record First Shutout Of The Year

October 29, 2008 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Edmonton Oil Kings News Release


Edmonton, AB - What a wild night it turned out to be for Rodeo Night at Rexall Place between the Edmonton Oil Kings and Kootenay Ice. A series of fights and a bunch of goals capped off by a 29 save performance from goalie Torrie Jung making his Edmonton Oil Kings home debut ended in a 4 nothing shut out for the Oil Kings over the Ice. The game that had a little bit of everything. It's the first shut out of the season for the Oil Kings and second career shutout for Jung, as the Oil Kings are starting to roll thanks to 5 of a possible 6 points in their last 3 games.

"He's played 3 real good games in a row." said Oil Kings Head Coach Steven Pleau when talking about his 19 year old netminder. "He's got experience in this league and he's stabilized our team right now. A few years ago when I was in Spokane, and he was in Kelowna, he played 19 games in a row, I think he was CHL Goalie Of The Month, so he's played. We'll see over the long haul where he settles in with us but it's nice to have his experience right now."

"Obviously it's nice anytime you get a shut out , it's a pretty good feeling." said Jung. "It's early on in the season and I'm sure we're going to have a lot of good battle games coming up so it's nice to enjoy it for tonight but it's right back to business for the road trip."

The Oil Kings found themselves killing penalties in the first period and dug a bit of a hole on the shot clock but gradually got better as the game wore on. Their hard work paid off and they caught a bit of a break with a late powerplay right at the end of the first period.

Edmonton used a pretty simple philosophy with the man advantage, throw the puck on net when there's lots of traffic in front and bang away the rebounds. Oil Kings co-captain Jeff Lee had the first couple of cracks at the puck and then eventually Tomas Vincour put it home for his 7th of the year. That's the 6th time this year the Oil Kings have scored the game's first goal and they haven't lost a game yet when they open the scoring.

Edmonton extended their lead about 5 minutes into the second period courtesy of some heads up passing and a fallen member of the Kootenay Ice. An Ice defenseman caught an edge and tripped himself up allowing speedster Logan Proulx to get behind the defense. Tyler Hlookoff delivered the blue line to blue line pass and Proulx had a clear cut breakaway. He roofed it for his 1st even strength goal of the year to go along with his penalty shot goal earlier this season. That made it 2 - 0.

Tempers flared in the middle frame and really came to a boiling point when Ice defenseman Brayden McNabb caught Shayne Neigum with his head down at centre ice. The devastating blow lead to unlikely combatant Craig McCallum jumping to his fallen team mates defense. However, the momentum stayed on Edmonton's side.

"To me, that was tremendous by Craig McCallum." stated Pleau. "Shayne got hit and he didn't even hesitate. He just grabbed him and addressed it and that was it. We've got character in that room. They've got some big guys but that's hockey. If you want to survive in this game, you've got to do that for each other. You've got to know the guy next to you has got your back."

The third goal of the night was one of the nicest the Oil Kings have scored on home ice this season. The Ice tried to clear their own zone by rimming it around the end boards. Tyler Hlookoff kept it in at the point and heard Brent Raedeke calling for a pass from the high slot. Hlookoff's slap pass was tipped perfectly by Raedeke into the top corner. Raedeke's 7th of the year made it 3 nothing.

The 4th goal was a lot like the first. Lots of bodies in front and this time rookie T.J. Foster fought off a check and tucked a backhand through a maze of legs past Ice goalie Nathan Lieuwen. Jesse Pearson and Brenden Dowd earned the assists to make the final score 4 - 0. That's the first shut out of the season for the Oil Kings.

Tempers really flared and calling cards were left as the teams erupted for a flurry of penalties with just 8 seconds left in the game when Jesse Ismond, Kevin King, Ian Barteaux from the Ice tangled with Mark Pysyk, Shayne Neigum and Jesse Pearson for the Oil Kings. Ice Head Coach Mark Holick and Oil Kings Assistant Coach Rocky Thompson were both given game misconducts for an animated shouting match between the benches. The two teams play each other again Saturday November 15th in Cranbrook.

Edmonton has picked up valuable points in the standings in 3 straight games and their record improves to 7-9-1-1. That's the first regulation loss for the Ice in 9 games. The Oil Kings will turn into road warriors for the next couple of weeks. They have an 6 game road trip that spans 2 provinces and 2 states with stops in Everett, Kelowna, Portland, Seattle and Chilliwack.

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