The Edmonton Oil Kings were looking to continue on from a solid game where they defeated the Moose Jaw Warriors 7-5 on Nov. 3, as they entered their matchup against the Medicine Hat Tigers riding a bit of a hot hand. The Oil Kings are a bit short-handed with injuries to Aidan Litke, Nathan Pilling, Rhys Pederson, Ty Nash, and John Szabo, as well as losing Blake Fiddler to the World U17 Hockey Challenge. They still put up a good fight, considering the score and how many players they were missing, but nonetheless, they failed to secure a win and jump to a two-game winning streak and lost 5-1 to the Tigers.
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The Oil Kings rode with Kolby Hay between the pipes and had Presley Kerner and Jager Gugyelka affiliating from NAX U18 in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL). Both of them played quite well, and Hay did everything he could between the pipes but ultimately couldn’t help the team secure a win. Some penalty troubles mixed with a slow start eventually led to the Oil Kings’ loss.
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The stars were shut down as Marc Lajoie, Marshall Finnie, and Adam Jecho were held off the scoresheet and couldn’t get anything going offensively.
Woodward & Miller Continue Hot Stretch
Roan Woodward was acquired by the Oil Kings from the Everett Silvertips earlier this season and has been nothing short of impressive. He was the lone goal scorer in the team’s loss last night and made a difference at both ends of the ice. He continues to be one of the team’s best players since the trade and has scored two goals and added three assists through seven games since joining the team. Cole Miller started the season slow but has picked up his game at both ends of the ice in recent games.
While he only has one goal and six assists for seven points through 16 games this season, he has added a physical side to his game and has made up for his lack of point production with strong hits and smart defensive play. He got an assist on the only goal the Oil Kings scored last night, and he was one of the better players on the ice throughout the full 60 minutes.
Game Summary
The Oil Kings came out flat in the first period, leading to a goal midway through the period from the Tigers from Tyler Mackenzie that put them up 1-0, and they never gave up their lead from there. Bogdans Hodass scored about five minutes later to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. The second period was no different, other than a bit more drive from the Oil Kings, but they still couldn’t get a goal.
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Two power-play goals in the second period from Cayden Lindstrom and Reid Andresen put the Tigers up 4-0 going into the third period, and the game was pretty much done from there. Woodward scored the only goal for the Oil Kings in the third period with assists from Miller and Parker Alcos, but Oasis Wiesblatt got his second point of the night with the Tigers’ fifth goal and sealed the game.
What’s Next For The Oil Kings?
The Oil Kings have a few days off before their next game, which is in Calgary where they’ll face off against the Calgary Hitmen on November 10th. This will be the first of a back-to-back series against the Hitmen, as they’ll come to Edmonton and play the Oil Kings at home on November 11th. Hopefully, they can at least split the series with the Hitmen and find something more to build on as the rebuilding continues.