Oil Kings Record Back to Back Shutouts
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Edmonton, AB - The Oil Kings tallied their fourth straight victory and second straight shutout with a 5-0 win over the Vancouver Giants on Friday. Tristan Jarry made 24 saves as he matched the modern day club record with his third shutout of the season. With the win the Oil Kings raised their record to 27-8-2-3 on the season as they added to their lead atop the WHL Eastern Conference standings.
Edmonton opened the scoring for the fourth straight game as Cody Corbett unleashed a blast from the point for his third of the season. The power play goal came 1:44 into the game and would stand as the only goal of the first period. Edmonton has posted an impressive record of 21-3-0-1 when scoring the first goal of the game.
Despite out-shooting the Giants 18-9 in the second the Oil Kings were unable to extend the lead until late in the period. T.J. Foster did a 360 spin in tight and made a perfect no look pass to Stephane Legault in the slot. Legault roofed a perfect shot for his eighth of the season and fifth goal in his last four games.
The Oil Kings carried the 2-0 lead into the third where they continued to pour it on. Early in the period Henrik Samuelsson emerged from the penalty box to create a 2 on 1 with Dylan Wruck. Samuelsson made a great feed to Wruck and the Saskatoon native finished the play with a nice forehand-backhand deke. The assist was Samuelsson's 18th point in his last ten games as he continues to make up ground in the WHL scoring race.
The goal sparked the home side as Rookie Brett Pollock tallied minutes later as he ripped a shot over the shoulder of Vancouver goaltender Jared Rathjen. Rookie Ben Carroll was credited with the assist for his fourth point in as many games. Sophomore Ashton Sautner would ice the 5-0 victory for the Oil Kings with under two minutes to play.
Special teams remained the story for the Oil Kings as they finished the night 1 for 8 on the power play and a perfect 4 for 4 on the penalty kill. Edmonton remains the number one ranked team in the WHL in both categories with a 27.7% success rate with the man advantage and a 92% penalty kill. The penalty kill has not allowed a power play goal against in four games and 19 opportunities.
Jarry's shutout raised his record to 10-4-0-0 with an impressive 1.80 GAA and 0.930 save percentage. He joins Laurent Brossoit, Torrie Jung and Alex Archibald as the only Oil Kings goaltenders in the modern era to post three shutouts in a season.
HIGHLIGHTS & POST / PHOTO GALLERY
Next up the Oil Kings will make the trip to Cranbrook, BC as they take on the Kootenay Ice on Tuesday, January 8th. Game time in Cranbrook is set for 7:00 p.m. MST. All games this season will be broadcast live on the TEAM 1260 and streamed live at WHL.ca.
The defending WHL Champions will then make their return to Rexall Place on Friday, January 11th as they play host the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. and tickets are available at OILKINGS.CA, at the Rexall Place Box Office or at Ticketmaster outlets.
For more information on season seats or flex packs, call 780-414-GOAL (4625). The Oil Kings 2012-13 season is presented by JLT, Insurance & Risk Management.
