Candice Ward Photography

Edmonton edges Calgary with late goal

In a season series that had seen the home team victorious in both contests before the November 3rd battle, it certainly seemed as if the Calgary Hitmen were going to continue this trend against the Edmonton Oil Kings for the majority of the game. While Brayden Peters played terrific and the Calgary penalty kill was much better than the last two meetings, it was a late marker from the Oil Kings that sealed the deal for Edmonton. 

The first period started with back-and-forth action after a successful penalty kill by the Hitmen off of a Blake Allan trip just 1:35 in. It was at the five-minute mark that the Hitmen began to press and hem the play in the Oil Kings’ end. Carson Focht was the first to find the back of the net when Orca Wiesblatt fed a beautiful behind-the-back pass while being pinned by an Edmonton defender. Focht snapped the puck past Todd Scott for the 1-0 lead. Despite a relatively clean first half of the period, the vintage style of the Battle of Alberta began to reveal itself just past the halfway mark. Edmonton had three power plays but couldn’t beat Peters. The Calgary goalie had an excellent period with 11 saves, while Todd Scott saved 12 of the 13 shots he faced.

Calgary came out flying to begin the second frame and generated three quality scoring chances in the first few minutes. One of these attempts was a Jonas Peterek backhand that beat Scott but not the right post. Further into the second, the game’s chippy play continued with post-whistle scrums after almost every stoppage in play. One such scrum resulted in three penalties with a power play going to the Oil Kings. Although Calgary had shown terrific penalty killing thus far in the game by blocking nearly every shot lane, it was Jacson Alexander who was the first Oil King to beat Peters. Alexander ripped a shot from the point that found its way through traffic. After catching a piece of Peters, the puck bounced in the net for Alexander’s first goal of the year. In the later stages of the period, discipline was an issue for both clubs, especially the Hitmen. Calgary was called for four minor penalties in the second which helped Edmonton regain control of the play. The score, however, remained 1-1 heading into the third.

Jacson Alexander (photo-Andy Devlin)

Thanks to a Matthew Robertson penalty taken late in the second, Calgary was able to establish momentum to begin the third, outshooting Edmonton 7-0 in the first seven minutes. This fast play from the Hitmen allowed for very few whistles within the first half of the period. The Oil Kings began to pick up their feet which allowed Vladimir Alistrov to display his sweet hands as the Edmonton winger rung a backhand off Peters’ high left post. Just past the eleven minute mark, Riley Stotts sent a nifty pass to James Malm who scored to end a seven-game goalless drought and reclaim the lead. Just over a minute later, Hitmen captain Mark Kastelic slid into Scott which caused Scott to erupt and begin unleashing haymakers on the Calgary forward, subsequently causing another heated scrum. With just over five minutes remaining in the final frame, Ethan Cap jumped on a loose puck and wristed the puck past Peters from the right point to tie the game once again. This tally was also Cap’s first goal of the season. With the game on the line late in the frame, the Oil Kings came down on an odd man rush and forced Peters to make an outstanding save which was swiped away by a Calgary defender. Unfortunately for Peters and Calgary, the puck landed right on the stick of David Kope who was the villain of the first contest between the two clubs as he was suspended for two games following a hit from behind on Riley Fiddler-Schultz. Kope threw the puck on net, and just like that, the Oil Kings had their first lead of the evening with just 54.5 seconds left. Despite a late empty net push, the Oil Kings held on and took the game with a final score of 3-2.

David Kope (Andy Devlin)

Despite the loss, head coach Steve Hamilton was pleased by his club’s effort, saying, “There were a lot of positive takeaways from tonight…over the course of a long year, you have got to get better. That’s what I care about, and that’s what they care about.” Discipline remained an issue for the Hitmen, but on a positive note, the Calgary penalty kill has been steadily improving.

The Hitmen will look to snap their three-game losing streak as they host the Prince Albert Raiders in game four of Calgary’s five-game homestand this Wednesday.

The Hitlist: 

  • Edmonton improved to 4-1-2-0 when allowing the first goal.
  • The Oil Kings are now 6-for-15 on the power play against the Hitmen, while Calgary is 3-for-10 against Edmonton. 
  • Brayden Peters is now 2-2-0 with a 0.933 save percentage.