GDB #15

Oil Kings (14 9-3-1-1) vs Regina Pats (14 9-5-0-0)

The Kings kick off a quick roadie tonight in Regina.  Edmonton has won three straight and six of their last seven.  The lone loss was a two weeks ago at Rexall Place at the hands of the Pats.  Mark Pysyk led the way on Wednesday night picking up three assists in a 4-1 win over the Everett Silvertips.  Rookie Tristan Jarry stopped 20 of 21 shots in his first WHL start to earn the victory.  The Kings also officially announced the signing of defenceman Cody Corbett earlier in the day.  More on that here.

Regina dropped their last game 5-3 in Saskatoon, after taking both ends of a home and home with Prince Albert.  The Pats may be one of the bigger surprises so far this season.  They are a young team that competes hard every night out, playing a disciplined game under new head Pat Conacher.  Tonight's game will feature pink ice at the Brandt Centre as the Pats are hosting their annual Breast Cancer Awareness Night.  

Players to watch: 

Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

Edmonton:  Keegan Lowe.  The Carolina Hurricane prospect picked up his first goal of the season against the Silvertips last game out.  He, alongside defence partner Mark Pysyk has raised his game in the last few outings.  Lowe led the Kings in plus/minus last season (+33) and now sits at +2 so far this year.  Once again look for he and Pysyk to draw the top assignment defensively for Edmonton.

Regina:  Jordan Weal.  The Los Angeles Kings 3rd rounder is the Pats leader offensively.  He registered a goal the last time these two teams met, and has seven on the season.  Weal has always put up big numbers for the Pats, 70 points as a 16 year old rookie, 102 playing alongside Jordan Eberle in '09-'10 and 96 last season.

Season series: The Pats and Kings will square off four times in '11-'12.  The Pats took the first meeting 6-3 at Rexall Place.  The Oil Kings are 7-9-0-1 all time against Regina, including 3-4-0-1 at the Brandt Centre.

Leaders:

Goals- EDM- TJ Foster (7)

REG- Jordan Weal (7)

Points- EDM- Martin Gernat (17)

REG- Weal (19)

Wins- EDM- Laurent Brossoit (8)
REG- Matt Hewitt (9)

PIMS- EDM- Mason Geertsen (32)
REG- Art Bidlevski (28)

Drafted:

EDM- Mark Pysyk-Buffalo Sabres (1st Round, 2010), Kristians Pelss- Edmonton Oilers (7th, 2010), Keegan Lowe- Carolina Hurricanes (3rd, 2011), Travis Ewanyk- Oilers (3rd, 2011), Michael St. Croix- New York Rangers (4th, 2011), Martin Gernat- Oilers (5th, 2011), Laurent Brossoit- Calgary Flames (6th, 2011)

REG- Jordan Weal- LA Kings (3rd, 2010), Brandon Davidson- Oilers (6th, 2010), Ricard Blidstrand- Philadelphia Flyers (7th, 2010)

Notes:  Oil Kings defenceman Martin Gernat is tied for 12th in WHL scoring with 17 points.  He is tied for the lead in rookie scoring and leads D-men in scoring.  Regina's Jordan Weal is tied for 9th in WHL scoring (19 points).  Lane Scheidl of the Pats is tied for the lead in game winning goals (3).  Pats goalie Matt Hewitt is tied for the lead in wins with nine, Edmonton's Laurent Brossoit is tied in third (8).  Oilers draft pick Brandon Davison of the Pats has registered 14 points in 14 games and is tied for 3rd in scoring amongst defencemen.   For Edmonton Michael St. Croix (3-8-11) and TJ Foster (4-6-10) are riding seven game point streaks, while Curtis Lazar (1-4-5) and Griffen Reinhart (2-2-4) have points in three straight games. The Kings open a quick two game road trip in Regina tonight, and wrapping up tomorrow in Brandon.  Pregame show at 6:45, the puck drops at 7:00 on the Team 1260.