The Edmonton Oil Kings faced off against the Kootenay Ice for a matinee game down at Rogers Place this 
Wednesday, with the Oil Kings taking a 3 – 2 Overtime Win in Hooky for Hockey.
The first period featured a pretty high pace considering the rarity of an afternoon game. The Oil Kings out-shot the Ice 12-8, with a 0-0 score through twenty. With a number of injuries to the Oil Kings blue line, rookie Jayden Platz made his Rogers Place debut and looked fairly confident early on, making good, simple plays, while utilizing his body well. Ethan Cap, the Oil Kings 11th overall pick in the 2015 WHL draft saw a good amount of ice time, double shifting throughout the course of the first given the aforementioned injuries. There was some good end to end action early on with Davis Murray making a strong push down the wing and driving the net, something you’d like to see him do a little more against a younger, less physical Kootenay Ice team. Murray later went on to fight Ryan Pouliot which ended with him taking 6 or 7 big right hands before going down. Vincent Loschiavo (Undrafted ’98) had a strong first, generating chances off the rush and using his large frame to drive the middle. Draft eligible defenceman Cale Fleury took two minors in the first, though Kootenay’s powerplay looked fairly strong, forcing weak outside shots. The closest scoring chance for the Oil Kings came off the stick of Artyom Baltruk late as he beat Payton Lee, but rang it off the post.
The second period saw three goals scored, two of which came on the power-play for the Ice as the Oil Kings found themselves in penalty trouble early on, with four minors in the first ten minutes. Reed Morison got the ball rolling when he found himself all alone in front and after a nice feed from Ryan Pouliot, was able to tuck it past Dea. Vincent Loschiavo got his name on the score sheet shortly after the first Ice goal, as he was able to beat Dea from good distance far side. The Ice out-shot the Oil Kings 12 – 6 in the second, but were unable to escape unscathed as Davis Koch was able to sneak in with ten seconds left and bury one past former Oil King Payton Lee.
The third period mirrored the first with a lot of end to end play, though neither team was able to generate any substantial scoring chances, until Trey Fix-Wolansky tied it up with 3:17 left in the third period, recording his 16th goal of the year. Defenceman Conner McDonald picked up an assist on the play, and has continued to look good for the Oil Kings since they acquired him in the Lane Bauer deal at the deadline. It took the Oil Kings only 1:18 to cash in in overtime, making it two wins in a row for them. The goal came off the stick of Colton Kehler after the Oil Kings were able to capitalize on a tired group of Ice forwards.
The Ice now head back home where they face Saskatoon on Friday. The Oil Kings hit the road on Friday, facing Calgary on Friday and the Medicine Hat Tigers on Saturday.
Three Stars
- EDM -Colton Kehler – OTW
- KTN – Vincent Loschiavo – 1 G
- EDM – Jayden Platz – 1st Home Game – 3 SOG
