Raiders just the fix for Oil Kings
Unlikely sources pitch in to end Edmonton’s losing skid
When Steve Hamilton looks down his bench for a spark, he has some veteran players he can count on, but on Friday night he got a spark from an unlikely source.
With his team trailing 1-0, rookie defenceman Will Warm scored his first-career WHL goal and Trey Fix-Wolansky scored the game winner in a 3-1 win over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders.
The victory was the Oil Kings’ first during their seven-game homestand.
Patrick Dea made 32 saves for his third win of the season. Raiders forward Parker Kelly scored the lone goal for Prince Albert.
Captain Aaron Irving added an insurance marker with 2:32 left in the third with a power-play marker.
Warm isn’t necessarily known for his offensive game, but his first WHL goal will be a memorable one. The 17-year-old carried the puck in from the red line and ripped a snapshot over the glove of Raiders goaltender Ian Scott.
That tied the game at 1-1 at 14:17 of the first period. Prince Albert had all the momentum up to that point.
Edmonton has had their goalscoring struggles during their long homestand and they trailed early after Kelly tipped a point shot past Dea just 2:40 into the contest.
Warm’s goal swung the tide in the favour of the Oil Kings and they didn’t give it back.
The Oil Kings carried that momentum into the second period and they started to pepper Scott with shots from all angles.
The only good chances for the Raiders in the second period came with the man advantage. The Oil Kings took three straight penalties to start the game, but their penalty kill came up huge, frustrating the Raiders’ attack.
Their strong penalty kill boosted their momentum even further as Fix-Wolansky took a perfect feed from Davis Koch and snapped home a perfect shot at the 7:09 mark of the second period.
Fix-Wolansky almost scored his second goal of the game in the dying seconds of the middle period. The 20-year-old veteran used his speed to the split the Raiders’ defence. He made a nice move on his backhand, but Scott sprawled out to make a left pad save.
The Raiders tried to take the game over physically against the Oil Kings.
It was an eventful game for the rookie Warm. He dropped the gloves with Raiders forward Luke Coleman. He didn’t fare well during his first WHL fight, but the Oil Kings didn’t allow Coleman’s beatdown to gain any traction for the Raiders.
The Raiders’ best chance in the second period came in the final minute when Nic Holowko made a perfect redirection from in the slot, but Dea was in the right spot at the right time to make a toe save.
Edmonton shut down the Raiders in the third period. They held Prince Albert to just seven shots and Irving’s late power-play goal sealed the win.
On just their second power play of the game, Edmonton put it out of reach after Irving finished off a perfect passing play. His point shot went through a pile of traffic to give the Oil Kings a much-needed cushion. Losing streak ends: The win snaps the Oil Kings’ four-game losing streak. They have three games remaining on their longest homestand of the year.
They face the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings on Oct. 25 and then face Calgary and Medicine Hat on Oct. 28 and 29.