Oil Kings find themselves in a battle with Seattle
Resilient Thunderbirds proving they belong in league championship through two games
Two games into the WHL final and the Edmonton Oil Kings know they are in tough against the Seattle Thunderbirds.
The Oil Kings were favoured heading into the best-of-seven series after breezing through the first three rounds of the playoffs, losing just one game along the way.
But a surprising 2-1 loss in the opening game of the series, and then a hard-fought 5-4 win in Game 2 on Sunday, have convinced the Oil Kings they might be on a long, hard road.
Game 3 of the series is at the Showare Center in Kent, Wash., on Tuesday, with Game 4 on Wednesday before the scene shifts back to Edmonton for the last three games of the series.
“Obviously, we hadn't played them all year, so Game 1 was an eye-opener for us,” said Oil Kings forward Brendan Kuny, who scored the winner on Sunday. “They were a lot better than we anticipated. But I think we came out (Sunday) and showed how we are capable of playing. I think we have to go into Game 3 with the exact same mindset.”
The Oil Kings might be the most talented junior hockey team ever assembled.
They have four NHL firstround picks in defenceman Kaiden Guhle (Montreal Canadiens), forwards Jake Neighbours (St. Louis Blues) and Dylan Guenther (Arizona Coyotes), and goaltender Sebastian Cossa (Detroit Red Wings).
The Oil Kings have four other drafted players in forwards Justin Sourdif (Florida Panthers), Jakub Demek ( Vegas Golden Knights), Jalen Luypen (Chicago Blackhawks) and defenceman Luke Prokop (Nashville Predators).
Guhle, Neighbours, Guenther, Cossa and Sourdif are also all members of the Canadian team set to compete at the world junior championship rescheduled for August in Edmonton. The five are the most ever selected from one team to represent Canada.
“Obviously, Game 3 is going to be important and we have to bring our best game,” said Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer. “We're not going to change what we're doing; we might tweak things here and there. There are obviously things that we can do better and we'll go through the video and make those adjustments and bring it into Game 3.”
After being upset in Game 1, despite outshooting the Thunderbirds 44-22, the Oil Kings changed their approach by trying to get more traffic in front of goaltender Thomas Milic.
Prokop had an exceptional game with two goals and two assists. The Oil Kings blew a 4-2 third-period lead, but were able to pull out the victory when Kuny tipped a Prokop point shot past Milic.
“When we have home-ice advantage, you don't want to go down 2-0 going into Seattle,” Prokop said. “But the mindset was to get bodies in the paint. He's a smaller goaltender and we're going to try and make it hard for him to see the puck. That's what we said in the locker-room before the game and we did that very successfully.”
ANOTHER BUMP IN ROAD
The Thunderbirds have been a tough team to put away during the WHL playoffs, which they credit to their resiliency as a group.
Seattle was down 3-1 in its second-round series against the Portland Winterhawks and 3-2 in the Western Conference final against the Kamloops Blazers, then came back to win both in seven games.
So, it was little surprise they were able to battle back from a two-goal, third-period deficit against the Oil Kings before giving up the winner with a little more than 11 minutes to go in the game.
“Adversity seems to bring out the best in us,” said Thunderbirds head coach Matt O'dette. “We've been in difficult spots before in the playoffs and they've shown that resolve to battle back.”
Things won't get any easier for the Thunderbirds, as scheduling conflicts with school graduations will give them access to their building only on Tuesday and Wednesday. The remainder of the series will be played at Rogers Place, with Seattle designated the home team in Game 6 if it goes that far.
“The next two games at home are going to be huge,” said Thunderbirds defenceman Jeremy Hanzel. “We're going to try and build some momentum coming back for Game 5 and we'll see what happens. It's unfortunate, but we'll still get last change in Game 6.
“It is what it is, we can't do anything about it, so it's just another hurdle for us to get over.”
A REAL HUMANITARIAN
Prior to the series, Prokop was named WHL Humanitarian of the year and presented with the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Trophy.
Prokop, 20, is the first openly gay player to sign an NHL contract, inking an entry-level deal with the Nashville Predators. He was an advocate for Kids Help Phone, establishing the Shots for Impact program, where he donated $10 for each shot on net he took this season.
Prokop's donations were matched by the Predators, Oil Kings and the Edmonton Oilers Community Foundation.
“It's a huge honour,” Prokop said. “I think the most proud part of it is my partnership with Kids Help Phone. I think that goes a little bit unnoticed. I think a lot of people thought I got it for me coming out in July, but I helped raise over $12,000 for the program with Shots, and had multiple donations from friends and family and fans.
“That was something I was really proud of and I couldn't have done it without Heather (Lefebvre, Oil Kings co-ordinator community relations and social media) as well. She was amazing throughout the whole process. I'm just super honoured to win the award.”