Gord Rufh

Rookies shine In Oil Kings’ 5-0 win over Moose Jaw

A dominant offensive second period from the Edmonton Oil Kings put them on track for a comfortable 5-0 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors. 

Heading into this Friday night contest, the Oil Kings were coming off a big character win against the Everett Silvertips — a team challenging them for the number one spot overall — on New Year’s Day. 

Edmonton’s offence fired 15 shots on Adam Evanoff in the Warriors crease in the first 20 minutes. However, they were unable to beat him. The penalty kill was active in the first period, forcing the Oil Kings to kill three minor penalties. Despite the early lack of discipline, they took only two more penalties in the next 40 minutes. 

Jake Neighbours (photo-Andy Devlin)

“Taking three penalties in the first period is not a recipe for success usually, but I thought we were just a little slow,” said assistant coach Luke Pierce on the Oil Kings’ opening period. “I think coming off the emotional game the other night (versus the Silvertips), it was a little tougher for our guys to get going.”

Edmonton finally got on the board early in the second period. As the goal horn bellowed, Brendan Kuny turned to celebrate his first career WHL goal in his sixth game with the Oil Kings. Kuny initially stole the puck away from the Warriors defenceman which sparked the Oil Kings attack. After being denied by Evanoff, the Sherwood Park native found a second opportunity when Matthew Robertson‘s shot rebounded out for him to tap into an empty net. 

“It felt great. I was just lucky it bounced to my stick, and I just put it in the back of the net,” said Brendan Kuny on his first WHL goal. “I went completely blank. I put my hands up in the air and celebrated. It felt great to get my first one.” 

“It’s always exciting to see your teammates get their first goal,” commented Ethan McIndoe on his rookie teammate. “It was about five years ago since my first goal, but I remember how I excited I was, which makes me happy for him.”

Ethan McIndoe had quite the night himself. The Oil Kings veteran forward chipped in with three assists and was named the first star of the game. McIndoe is currently playing a checking role on the Oil Kings third line, alongside Liam Keeler and David Kope, and is doing a great job at bringing another dynamic to Edmonton’s offence. 

“I thought I was moving my feet tonight and it was just one of those games where it (the puck) was coming to me more,” said McIndoe on his overall performance. “I felt good with the puck on my stick, and it was great to see a ton of the guys contribute tonight too.” 

Along with McIndoe and Kuny, the Oil Kings had nine more players contribute to the scoresheet, including Sebastian Cossa who registered his first WHL point. Not only was Cossa an offensive threat, but he was excellent between the pipes, once again. The Oil Kings shot-stopper made 14 saves to pick up his third shutout of the season while Beck Warm — the newest Oil King — served as the backup in his first game with the team.

Riley Sawchuk (Photo-Andy Devlin)

The Oil Kings scored four goals in the second period to split the game wide open. Carter Souch, Riley Sawchuk, and Scott Atkinson registered goals in the second. And then, in the third, Liam Keeler added a fifth goal with his 10th of the season after some great work down low from David Kope to create an easy opportunity for Keeler.

“The depth scoring has been a strength of ours all year,” said Pierce. “I think you even look at the first period and we weren’t playing that well. Jaylen’s (Luypen) with Brendan Kuny and Vladimir Alistrov — they provided some energy for us. We need those kinds of kickstarts from different guys and different groups throughout the year.” 

Also, after the Oil Kings scored four goals in the second period, the Warriors made a goaltending change putting Jackson Berry between the pipes. He stopped 18 of 19 shots. 

With the win, Edmonton now moves to 26-7-7 on the season and sits atop of the WHL.

Oil Spill… 

Three Oil Kings took home the star of the games awards tonight – 1. Ethan McIndoe, 2. Matthew Robertson, and 3. Sebastian Cossa

As mentioned, they went perfect on the penalty kill, denying the Warriors on their five chances. 

Carter Souch got the insurance goal on the power play as the Oil Kings went 1-for-3 on the man advantage.