The Kootenay ICE (11-13-1-0) made their way up to Edmonton to face the struggling Oil Kings (5-16-2-0) in a single game road stint. Bailey Brkin got the start over ’00 Duncan McGovern while Travis Child made his 100th WHL start for Edmonton.
A slow start to the opening frame had Edmonton possessing the puck for the most part in the Kootenay zone. Just six minutes into the first, Kaedan Taphorn opened the scoring on a redirection in front, show coming from Martin Bodak from the corner of the blue line into traffic in front. Shortly thereafter, Kootenay extended there lead with 16-year-old Peyton Krebs knotting his fifth of the season off a cross-ice feed from Alec Baer. It was an open look for Krebs. The first period ended with Kootenay up by two. Shots were 14-10 for Kootenay.
The second frame opened up with a quick bounce-back goal from 16 year old Matthew Robertson. This was his fourth of the season and was set up on a creative backhand feed from Fix-Wolansky found an open Robertson who put the wrist shot over the blocker of Brkin. Later in the frame, the Oil Kings tied the game. Once again, it was a 16-year-old finding the back of the net as Liam Keeler put home his second of the season on an open look from the slot. I came off a good zone entry from David Kope and drop pass to Keeler for the tying goal. The second ended tied at two with the shots being 22-20 for Kootenay.
The third opened up with a power play for the ICE of which they failed to capitalize and regain the lead early. Around the mid-way point however ’97-born Alec Baer’s shot from the outside went over the glove of Child. Shortly thereafter, Alec Baer scored once again to increase the lead 4-2. This came off a strong wide drive to the net by Baer and a shot that bounced off a few skates in front and went by Child’s five-hole. With an extra attacker the Oil Kings cut the lead in half, Davis Koch finally capitalized late on a beautiful cross-ice pass from Trey Fix Wolansky with a minute left. The Oil Kings failed to rally back however or generate anything after the Koch goal. Final shots were 34-32 for the Oil Kings.
Game Notes:
-Oil Kings 16-year-old Liam Keeler had possibly his best game of the season. He looked a lot more comfortable with the puck and seemed to have the green light when it came to shooting the puck. He consistently got pucks to the net and generated his second of the season tonight because of it.
-The Kootenay ICE’s top-nine really impressed, all three lines were able to apply effective pressure and seemed to all bring dynamic features to the game. It really made it hard on Oil Kings defenders in the neutral zone and to defend the rush, added a good pace to the game as well.
-Peyton Kreb’s looked like possibly one of the best forwards on the ice. He’s an all-around intelligent two-way forward who anticipates the play well and consistently forces turnovers. He is very defensively responsible in the offensive zone but still puts himself in soft spots to make himself an option offensively as well.
-Trey Fix Wolansky continues to lead the Oil Kings production. He posted two assists tonight in which he created both goals on creative cross ice passes. He played a real possessive game and really utilized his vision to create offense.
Draft Spotlight:
-Gilian Kohler was alright. I was hoping he would be more effective on the rush and would possess the puck a bit more. He’s a real dynamic winger who plays an up tempo game. He really relies on his quickness and ability to squeeze though lanes to create offense. Kohler’s a real bumble bee off the puck in the offensive zone-always attacking from the defensive side of the puck and supporting the play when loose pucks arise. I was hoping his shooting abilities would flourish a bit more as he couldn’t seem to get shots through. His quick hands made him really effective along the wall and in his own zone, he seemed to consistently get pucks out of the zone or to the middle of the ice for his center man. He’s a fearless kid who competes, continues to produce and a guy who scouts come to watch.
