Edmonton Oil Kings

Oil Kings Streak Ends At Home Versus Kelowna

February 27, 2010

Edmonton, AB - The Edmonton Oil Kings four game win streak came to a halt after a 4-0 loss to the Kelowna Rockets Friday at Rexall Place. Despite being outshot 12-10 in the opening frame, the Rockets opened the scoring on a 1st period power play goal from captain Lucas Bloodoff. Kelowna doubled their advantage on with Max Adolph finding the net in the 2nd. 16 year old Klarc Wilson would try to change the momentum for the Oil Kings early in the 3rd, beating 19 year old Evan Bloodoff in a one-sided scrap. But despite the best efforts of goaltender Cam Lanigan, Kelowna would get late goals from Evan Bloodoff and Canadian World Junior silver medallist Brandon McMillan to secure the 4-0 victory.

Head Coach Steve Pleau was disappointed the Oil Kings didn’t match the Rockets work ethic and battle level. “They played like a team that hadn’t won in five and were desperate. We played like a team who had won four in a row. We circled. They stopped. We poked. They went in there with the body and the willingness to win it.”

Rockets goalie Adam Brown stopped 24 shots to earn the shutout. Cam Lanigan was the best Oil King on the night with 49 saves. Lanigan says the game against the defending WHL champs was a good lesson. “They came out hard and caught us flat footed. They took advantage of our battles on the wall. They just had a whole team effort. It’s a good lesson for our guys. We get back at it tomorrow and it’s a good opportunity to not step back and start kicking ourselves, but to get right back on the bandwagon we were on before.”

The Oil Kings wrap up the weekend Saturday at home against the Red Deer Rebels. It'll be another Celebrity Saturday against their arch rivals from the Central Division. Oil Kings alumnus and Oilers Head Coach Pat Quinn will be the featured guest. Faceoff at Rexall Place is set for 7:00.

Plenty of great seats available at any Ticketmaster location or on-line at oilkings.ca.