Oil Kings fall to Ice; losing streak hits 10

Baer scores pair of goals as Kootenay prevails 4-3 over struggling Edmonton

Alec Baer has been the perfect offseason acquisition for the Kootenay Ice.

Kootenay went into the 2017-18 season needing an offensive spark and the 20-year-old veteran has given them a big shot in the arm.

The former Lethbridge Hurricane did some serious damage against the Edmonton Oil Kings on Friday night at Rogers Place.

Baer scored two third-period goals and added an assist in a 4-3 victory over the Oil Kings, who have dropped 10 straight games.

Liam Keeler and fellow rookie defenceman Matthew Robertson, along with Davis Koch scored for Edmonton while Kaeden Taphorn and Peyton Krebs replied for the Ice.

Playing in his 100th Western Hockey League game, Travis Child made 20 saves in the loss, while Ice netminder Bailey Brkin made 18 saves in the victory.

When you’re engulfed in a long losing streak like the Oil Kings are, one bad shift, one bad mistake can prove to be extra costly. That’s what burned them against the Ice.

After Edmonton battled back from a 2-0 deficit, the Oil Kings had back-to-back bad shifts midway through the third period and Baer made them pay.

Baer scored twice in the third period to break a 2-2 tie.

His first tally in the third period came off the rush. He broke in across the blue line and snapped a shot over Child for his ninth goal of the season. He added his 10th goal just over six minutes later when he crashed the net and deposited the loose puck past Child.

Playing their first game on home ice after a six-game road trip through the B.C. Division, the Oil Kings were looking to get back on track. They failed to score on an early power play just seven seconds into the game. The Ice opened the scoring just 5:57 into the contest when Taphorn provided a screen in front and tipped home a Martin Bordak point shot.

Just 1:46 later, the Ice increased their lead after Krebs converted a perfect cross-ice pass in the slot from Baer to give Kootenay a 2-0 lead.

The Oil Kings looked flat in the opening period, and were in need of a spark and Child gave them that with a big save early in the second period. After Wyatt McLeod turned the puck over behind the net, it allowed Baer to be all alone in front of the slot, but Child stacked the pads to deny Baer.

That big save gave Edmonton a wake-up call and Robertson cut Kootenay’s lead in half after he jumped into the rush and took a Trey Fix-Wolansky pass and beat Bailey Brkin with a perfect shot under the cross bar for his fourth goal of the season at the 3:41 mark of the second period.

The Oil Kings continued to pour on the pressure in the middle frame and were rewarded with their hard work as Keeler’s second goal of the season tied the game with 2:44 left in the second period.

Keeler and his linemates Ty Gerla and David Kope broke into the Ice zone and Keeler took a feed from Kope and as he broke into the slot, he let go a off-balance wrist shot and it beat Brkin over the blocker.

Edmonton had a three-minute stretch in the third period where they struggled in their own zone and Kootenay took advantage.

After Baer’s heroics gave the Ice a two-goal cushion, Koch scored his ninth goal of the season with just 59 seconds left, but it wasn’t enough.