GDB #35 vs Regina

Oil Kings (33 22-8-1-2) vs Regina Pats (36 18-15-2-1)

The first half of the season wraps up for the Oil Kings this afternoon at Rexall Place.  The Kings continue to roll, coming off a 2-1 win over the Hitmen on Saturday night.  Mitch Moroz scored the teddy bear goal to tie the hockey game late in the first.  TJ Foster scored on the power play in the second and the Kings closed the door from there.  The win pushes the Oil Kings run to 11 straight wins, 10 of them on home ice.  They have 15 straight home games.

Photo:  Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

The Pats will be playing their third game in two and half days.  They downed Calgary 3-2 on Friday, before losing 2-1 in Red Deer last night.  Jack Rodewald score the lone goal.  Jordan Weal had a goal and assist against the Hitmen.

Photo:  Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

Players to watch: 

Edmonton: TJ Foster.  The 19 year old forward has been one of the Oil Kings most consistent players this season.  Foster has 16 goals and 37 points on the season so far and is riding a seven game point streak heading into this afternoon.  Foster's speed and finishing ability is attracting a lot of attention from scouts as the season progresses.

Regina:  Matt Hewitt.  The 19 year old guardian is the backbone of Regina's first half success.  Hewitt was down right sensational in the Pats two victories over the Oil Kings this season.  He has been a rock in goal for the Pats, after being an afterthought heading into last season.  Hewitt earned a backup role last year and wrestled the starter's job away from Damien Ketlo.  This year he is the Pats go to guy between the pipes.

Season Series: The Pats have taken both meetings so far this season.  They handed the Kings one of their two home loses on the season 6-3 in October, before winning 4-1 at the Brandt Centre in Regina a couple weeks later.  The teams will hook up again after on New Years Day in Regina.

Photo:  Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

Leaders:

Goals- EDM- Michael St. Croix (18), Tyler Maxwell (18)

REG- Jordan Weal (18)

Points- EDM- St. Croix (50)

REG- Weal (51)

Wins- EDM- Laurent Brossoit (20)
REG- Matt Hewitt (17)

PIMS- EDM- Keegan Lowe (76)
REG- Art Bidlevskii (71)

Drafted:

Michael St. Croix

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)

Injury Report:

EDM:#15, David Stephens, Upper body, week to week
#21, Travis Ewanyk, Upper body, 1 month +


REG: #3, Brandon Underwood, Lower body, day to day
#36, Nathan Zimbaluk, Upper body, day to day


Players away at International Tournaments:


EDM: Mark Pysyk (Canada U20), Martin Gernat (Slovakia U20)


REG: 

Notes:  Oil Kings forward Michael St. Croix is tied for 8th in league scoring (50), Dylan Wruck is15th (43).  Defenceman Martin Gernat is tied for 10th in rookie scoring in the WHL, Curtis Lazar is tied for 15th (18). Gernat is also 12th in scoring amongst defencemen.  Gernat has left to attend the camp for Team Slovkia for the upcoming World Junior Hockey Championships.  Captain Mark Pysyk will play for Team Canada.  Kristians Pelss has been named to the Latvian preliminary roster.  Curtis Lazar, Mason Geertsen, and Tristan Jarry will play for Team Pacific at the U-17 Challenge in Windsor.  Oil Kings netminder Laurent Brossoit is 3rd in GAA (2.33), and is tied for 2nd in wins (20).  The Oil Kings have the second rated PK in the league, their PP is 4th.  For Regina, Jordan Weal is 7th in league scoring (51).  Matt Hewitt is 8th in goals against average (2.68).  Morgan Klimchuk is 14th in rookie scoring (21), Dominick Volek is tied for 15 (18).  Kyle Burroughs and Morgan Klimchuk will play for Team Pacific at the U-17 Challenge.  This is the third of four meetings between the two clubs this year.  Pregame show at 1:45, the puck drops at 2:00 on the Team 1260.