OIL KINGS DRILLING FOR SECONDARY SCORING OPTIONS
Captain Fix-Wolansky has been strong on the attack, but he can’t do it all by himself
Make it 200 points in 171 career games with the Edmonton Oil Kings for captain Trey Fix-Wolansky.
But coming off a 4-3 overtime loss to the Calgary Hitmen Saturday, the number capturing his team’s attention is the five-game losing streak they are looking to end Wednesday at Rogers Place against the Regina Pats (7 p.m., TSN 1260).
With 75 goals and 125 assists to his career credit, Fix-Wolansky once again will lead the charge on an Oil Kings squad currently sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference with a 14-11-3-2 record.
The 19-year-old native of Edmonton sits second overall in Western Hockey League scoring with 19 goals and 38 assists in 30 games this season, while Quinn Benjafield (11 G, 21 A) and Brett Kemp (19 G, 11 A) are also among the WHL’s top 25 scorers.
Beyond those three big guns, the Oil Kings’ secondary scoring — or lack thereof — is a concern.
“I think we got to watch a pretty special run there that Trey was on and some guys maybe watched for too long and felt like he was just going to win us hockey games,” assistant coach Luke Pierce said. “Instead of maybe taking that opportunity to learn from him and see why he was having the success he was because he works his butt off.
“You watch teams now and they pretty much follow him around the ice and I would, too. So we need other guys to make sure they’re ready to contribute.”
And they will have an opportunity to do just that against a Pats team coming in on a five-game skid of their own that’s plummeted their record to 8-20, ahead of only the Swift Current Broncos at 4-21-1-1.
The Oil Kings’ last win came on the road Nov. 21, a 4-1 decision over the Brandon Wheat Kings, but two of those five losses have come in overtime, including their most recent outing in Calgary.
It was Calgary’s fourth win of the season in the friendly confines of the Scotiabank Saddledome.
As for their own home ice, the Oil Kings went 0-for-November, dropping the only three games they played at Rogers Place last month to reverse what had been a three-game home winning streak coming out of October.
Teams that live by the streak all too often die by it as well.
The challenge lies in keeping the streakiness pointed in the right direction where it becomes ingrained in the culture of the locker-room.
And that’s difficult to do when said space is occupied, for the most part, by a young roster of up-and-comers, as is the case with this year’s crop of Oil Kings.
“For sure, maturity’s a big factor in it,” Pierce said. “The mental part of it is really big with every level of athlete, but especially with these kids. It’s a process and we got to watch a really experienced team come in here the other night in P.A.”
Indeed, the Prince Albert Raiders appear to be on a quest for the Lost Ark this season, having doubled up the Oil Kings 6-3 one week ago on their way to a nearperfect, if not unprecedented, 26-1 record coming into Tuesday’s David-versus-Goliath tilt against the last-place Broncos.
“They’re on some special type of streak and I don’t see them going on a streak the opposite way,” Pierce said of the Raiders’ run. “And that’s maturity, understanding how to put an end to those things. We’ve got to find a way and I’m confident with our group going in tomorrow to have a better effort.”
But having youth on their side can also be a blessing, as showcased in the third period of their last home game.
I think we got to watch a pretty special run there that Trey was on and some guys maybe watched for too long.”
Although it resulted in a 3-1 loss to the Moose Jaw Warriors, the Oil Kings controlled the final 11 minutes with a racetrack attack that was about as power play as it gets without actually having a man advantage.
“I don’t think there’s any reason we can’t sprint that game, that’s who we are, we want to play fast,” Pierce said before using a NASCAR reference of his own when it comes to trading paint.
“The way we played there with that urgency, we can be that and we have to be that for 60 minutes because that’s how we outpace teams.
“The problem for us there is we have to adjust our game a little bit and not be afraid to get some other colour on our jersey. We didn’t have a lot of contact, we’ve got to adjust and be willing to grind a little better.”