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Oilers Edge Flames In Preseason, 4-3

September 22, 2006 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Abbotsford Heat News Release


Calgary, AB - Eric Godard did the punching, a lot of punching. Matthew Lombardi did the scoring. Both made Thursday's Battle of Alberta exhibition game at the Pengrowth Saddledome what we expect -- entertaining hockey.

Lombardi, centering the Calgary Flames top two guns, Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay, stole the offensive show, potting two goals in the first period of a 4-3 overtime Edmonton win over the Flames.

Godard the Flames new heavyweight, who happens to be wearing the same No. 17 as the Flames last heavyweight, served notice that he means business.

He absolutely demolished Zachery Stortini, one of the heavyweights auditioning to become the Oilers new tough guy.

As auditions go, Stortini failed as Godard repeatedly landed haymakers. Give the kid credit though, he did stay on his feet and he didn't bleed. But we wouldn't want to be his face Friday morning.

Lombardi, meanwhile, scored two nifty goals, one on the power play when he walked out from the corner and slid a puck past goalie Jussi Markkanen and then, on a five-on-three breakway, he tucked a backhand underneath the Oilers goalie.

The crafty Lombardi almost had a natural hat trick in the first period but his backhand just went over the net. He also had a decent chance in overtime, driving hard to the net and just missing.

The Oilers scored with 1:02 left in overtime when Shawn Horcoff scored shorthanded (yes, that's four-on-three in overtime) on a breakaway.

Iginla, on a backhand from the crease with the man advantage, also scored for the Flames in the first period. Iginla, Tanguay and Lombardi saw some power play time together and, with a couple of more games under their belts, could likely gel into a pretty potent line offensively.

"It's great to play with those guys but things can get changed up pretty quick," said Lombardi, not reading much into being the first line center.

Iginla and Tanguay teamed up with rookie Dustin Boyd on a power play late in the third period and, after working the puck neatly behind the net, Iginla fed Boyd a pass on the crease but Boyd rang it off the post.

While Iginla scored and Lombardi shone, Tanguay wasn't very happy. The Horcoff goal came as a result of a giveaway by Tanguay in the Oilers zone. It was the second giveaway in a sequence Tanguay would rather forget -- he had to hustle back to prevent Steve Staios from getting a breakway after coughing up the puck in the neutral zone.

"That's pretty much as bad as I can play," said a very straightforward Tanguay. "Nothing was working."

Marc Antoine-Poulet, Patrick Thoresen and Jarret Stoll, with a great wrister to the short side, also scored for the Oilers.

Flames No. 1 goalie Mikka Kiprusoff started the game and allowed three goals, one where he didn't close his hand on a shot quick enough, on 15 shots. He was replaced by Brent Krahn in the second period. Krahn was steady, allowing just one goal on 10 shots.

ICING: Flames D Rhett Warrener is considered day-to-day with a knee injury. He went for an MRI on Thursday afternoon.



American Hockey League Stories from September 22, 2006


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