Playoff spot on the line for Oil Kings against Bulldogs
Loss in regulation would end team's Memorial Cup run, Derek Van Diest writes.
The Edmonton Oil Kings lived to fight another day with an overtime win against the Saint John Sea Dogs at the Memorial Cup on Wednesday.
Now, the focus is on securing a berth in the knockout round when they face the OHL champion Hamilton Bulldogs on Friday (4 p.m. MT, TSN) at Harbour Station arena.
A win would see the Oil Kings move on, while a regulation loss would have them on a flight home. The Bulldogs lost 3-2 to the Shawinigan Cataractes on Thursday and do not have a point from their first two games.
“That win was definitely important, you don't get too many chances at this thing; you play three round robin games and one team is not going to make it to the knockout round,” said Oil Kings forward Josh Williams. “Getting a win was huge for our group, and hopefully we can continue that momentum against Hamilton.”
The Oil Kings found themselves in practically a must-win scenario against the host Sea Dogs after dropping their first game of the tournament to the Cataractes.
The Oil Kings were able to pull through with a 4-3 overtime victory as forward Jaxsen Wiebe collected his first junior hat-trick, which included the overtime winner.
The win gave the Oil Kings two points in the standings, while the Sea Dogs earned one for the loss.
A new points system introduced on the eve of the tournament awards three points for a regulation win and two for an overtime victory.
The CHL also changed the overtime format for the round robin, with the teams playing three-on-three.
“This is definitely different than your average playoff series,” Williams said. “So far, it's been a really good experience for our group and we're excited to keep it going.”
Two points will not be enough for the Oil Kings to get into the next round under the new system, so they'll need at least one more in their final game against the Bulldogs to move on.
Hamilton needs to earn all three points for a regulation win to move past Edmonton in the standings. If the game goes into overtime, the most the Bulldogs can earn is two points and the
Oil Kings would be awarded one with an overtime loss, giving them three in total.
The top team after the round robin earns a direct trip to the final, while the next two teams will face each other in the semifinal.
“When our backs are against the wall, we have a pretty determined and very resilient group, and we get the job done,” said Oil Kings forward Justin Sourdif, who had two assists in the win against Saint John. “The older core has been really good throughout the entire playoffs, but so have our young guys. They've stepped up big time when we've needed them to and they've given us life on the bench when things haven't been going our way. Overall, it's been a great, collective team effort.”
The Oil Kings came into the four-team tournament as one of the favourites based on their dominance in the WHL this season. But in a short tournament such as the Memorial Cup, there are not many guarantees. The Oil Kings gave up two third-period goals in the loss to the Cataractes.
“It's been really good hockey, really skilled and fast-paced,” Sourdif said.