It has been a rough stretch for the Oil Kings, as their losing streak now grows to three games after falling in a royal clash against the Brandon Wheat Kings 5-4 in a shootout.
The team put themselves down early, allowing four unanswered goals by the Wheat Kings in the first half of the game. Cole Reinhardt and Ben McCartney each scored within the opening minute of the first and second periods respectively. On top of that, Edmonton also took two minor penalties within the first five minutes of the second period, giving themselves little to no chance of getting off to a good start.
“As a team, we really stress the first and last minutes of every period,” said fourth-year WHL veteran Wyatt McLeod on his team’s poor opening effort. “To come out and get scored on right off the bat is not ideal, but in saying that, we have to rely on our leadership group and our team as a whole to stay positive and we need to do a little bit of a better job at bouncing back the next shift after that.”
The Oil Kings were able to find their legs halfway through the second period. A slick goal by David Kope started what was almost a remarkable comeback effort.
? WHL Highlight of the Night ?
November 17, 2019 @alistrov12 of @EdmOilKings
#WHLHoN pic.twitter.com/7nn17iMBTb— The WHL (@TheWHL) November 18, 2019
The surge from the Oil Kings also included a goal from Vladimir Alistrov, who potted his sixth of the season with a highlight-reel between-the-legs move in front of the net. Also, 16-year-old Dylan Guenther played one of his best games of the season, collecting a goal and an assist. He also put four shots towards Wheat Kings goaltender Ethan Kruger.
The game-tying goal came from new addition Loeden Schaufler. Not only was it a big goal for the Oil Kings but the tally was a milestone that the defencemen will never forget. A pass from Guenther found Schaufler on the point, and he loaded up to rifle in his first-ever WHL goal, which ended up bringing this game to overtime.
Big shout-out to @L_Schaufler_4 for potting his 1st career WHL goal tonight! #loademup pic.twitter.com/2cY7hrUDIF
— Edmonton Oil Kings (@EdmOilKings) November 18, 2019
Overtime solved nothing and didn’t generate many significant scoring chances for either team. In the shootout, draft-eligible forward Ridley Greig put his hands on display for the Wheat Kings, beating Todd Scott with a filthy array of moves. Colorado Avalanche prospect Luka Burzan added a second goal for the Wheat Kings in the shootout. Guenther was able to add a commendable shootout goal himself. However, it stood as the lone marker for the Oil Kings as Brandon held off the comeback with a 5-4 win.
A big positive from the game for the Oil Kings was the beginning of some new-found chemistry. Head coach Brad Lauer shook up the line combinations, which played a significant factor in sparking the comeback effort.
“We made some adjustments with line combinations and just kind of mixed everything up,” stated Lauer. He later added, “I liked all four lines that we finished with. It gives us some options and some decisions getting on the road here as we go into Prince George.”
One of the biggest beneficiaries of the new lineup was Guenther, who was buzzing all night on the second line next to Jake Neighbours and Riley Sawchuk. Guenther looked the most comfortable he has all season and appears to be on the verge of taking his game up a step at the WHL level. Tonight, he tallied a goal and an assist, along with a shootout goal and several other scoring chances that included a laser of a shot that nailed the post. Now with 8 points in his last five games, Guenther seems poised to take on a more significant offensive role with the Oil Kings.
Oil Spill…
- The three stars of the game were 1) Cole Reinhardt 2) Ben McCartney 3) David Kope
- The Oil Kings are in 2nd place in the WHL standings despite their current three-game losing streak
- Dylan Guenther extended his point streak to 5 games
- The Oil Kings power play went 0-for-5, while the Wheat Kings went 1-for-4 on the man advantage
- Shots on goal finished tied at 34-34
Next Up:
The Oil Kings begin a five-game road trip through B.C. in Prince George, where they will face off against the Cougars on November 19th. The next time the Oil Kings will be at home is when they play host to the Calgary Hitmen on November 30th at Rogers Place.
