GDB #11 vs Moose Jaw

Oil Kings (11 5-3-1-2) vs Warriors (10 5-4-0-1)

Tonight it's a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Final as the Oil Kings host the Moose Jaw Warriors.  The Kings have been treading water as of late, losing three straight, but picking up points in four of their last five outings.  On Wednesday night, the Kings fell 5-4 in a shootout to the Kamloops Blazers in a very entertaining game at Rexall Place.  Edmonton fought back and took their first lead of the hockey game with 1:59 to go in regulation on a Henrik Samuelsson power play goal, only to see the WHL's leading scorer, JC Lipon score a shorthanded goal 25 seconds later to tie it.  Colin Smith and Brendan Ranford, both Edmonton products, sealed it in the shootout.  The Warriors are coming off a 5-2 home win over the Everett Silvertips on Tuesday night.  They fell behind 2-0 early in the second, then scored five straight goals to win going away.  Torrin White led the way with a pair of goals and four points.

Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

Last Year:  The Oil Kings were 3-0-0-1 against the Warriors last season.  Moose Jaw won the East Division with 98 points and finished second behind Edmonton in the Eastern Conference.  The Warriors got by Regina and Medicine Hat in the playoffs before bowing out in five games to the Kings.  They did end Edmonton's 22 game win streak in game four of the conference final.

The Opposition: The Warriors are off to a decent start.  The team graduated a lot of offense in the off season.  No longer in Moose Jaw are Quinton Howden, Cody Beach, Kenton Miller, and Cam Braes up front, and Dylan McIlrath and Dallas Ehrhardt on the back end.  Sam Fioretti is off to a great start to the year with 10 goals in 10 games, and 16 year old Brayden Point will be a leader offensively.  They do return a solid defence core which includes Morgan Rielly, Joel Edmundson, Kendall McFaull, and Travis Brown.



Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

Leaders:

Goals- EDM- TJ Foster (9)

MJ- Sam Fioretti (10)

Points- EDM- Michael St. Croix (14)

MJ- Fioretti (18)

Wins- EDM- Laurent Brossoit (4)

MJ- Justin Paulic (3)

PIMS- EDM- Travis Ewanyk (36)
MJ- Joel Edmundson (25)

Next Up: The Oil Kings continue their five game home stand tomorrow night when the Medicine Hat Tigers make their first visit.  The Tigers include former Oil King Cam Lanigan in goal, having just acquired him from Portland.  The Warriors open a two game road trip tonight.  They open a home and home with the Hurricanes in Lethbridge tomorrow.


Photo: Andy Devlin/Edmonton Oil Kings

Drafted:

EDM- Keegan Lowe- Carolina Hurricanes (3rd, 2011), Travis Ewanyk- Edmonton Oilers (3rd, 2011), Michael St. Croix- New York Rangers (4th, 2011), Martin Gernat- Oilers (5th, 2011), Laurent Brossoit- Calgary Flames (6th, 2011), Griffin Reinhart- New York Islanders (1st, 2012), Henrik Samuelsson- Phoenix Coyotes (1st, 2012), Mitch Moroz- Oilers (2nd, 2012).

MJ- Kendall McFaull- Winnipeg Jets (6th, 2010,unsigned), Joel Edmundson- St. Louis Blues (2nd, 2011), Morgan Rielly- Toronto Maple Leafs (1st, 2012), Travis Brown- Chicago Blackhawks (5th, 2012)
 

Draft Watch (NHL Central Scouting Preliminary Watch List)

A Skaters- Curtis Lazar (EDM),
B Skaters- Mason Geertsen (EDM)
C Skaters- Cody Corbett, Edgars Kulda, Ashton Sautner (EDM), Carter Hanson (MJ)
B Goaltenders- Tristan Jarry (EDM)

Injury Report:

EDM: #7 Stephane Legault, lower body, week to week

#28 Martin Gernat, upper body, indefinite

MJ #21 Miles Warkentine, upper body 1 week
Roster Notes:  Ashton Sautner did not practice yesterday after leaving Wednesday's game against Kamloops.  Moose Jaw's Nikita Zagryadskiy has yet to play a regular season game this season.
 

Notes: Red Deer Rebels traded Colten Mayor and Stephan Hak to Regina in exchange for 4th and 6th round picks in the 2015 bantam draft. The Blades swapped Brent Benson to the Broncos for Graeme Craig.  TJ Foster is 5th in goal scoring (9).  Sam Fioretti is tied for 5th in scoring (18) and is tied for second in goal scoring (10).  Brayden Point is tied for 3rd in rookie scoring (9).  Morgan Rielly is 3rd in scoring amongst defencemen (14).  The The Oil Kings power play ranks 3rd, and they have the top ranked penalty kill. The Warrior's PP is ranked 6th, their PK is 12th. Tonight is one of  seven games on the schedule. Pregame at 6:45, puck drop at 7:00 on the Team 1260.