Oilers win Young Stars tourney again
Edmonton edges Vancouver in overtime to finish with 3-0 record
The South Okanagan Events Centre continues to be a happy hunting ground for the Edmonton Oilers organization.
Kirill Maksimov scored on a fine solo effort at 2:39 of 3-on-3 overtime as the Oilers edged the Vancouver Canucks 5-4 Monday afternoon to maintain their undefeated record at the Young Stars Classic tournament in Penticton.
The Oilers have now swept the four-team tourney in each of the last two years and are 10-0-2 going back to the 2014 event that features many of the top prospects from the four Western Canadian NHL teams.
The Oilers appeared to have Monday’s tourney finale won in regulation time, but the Canucks scored twice in the last six minutes to tie it and force the only overtime game at this year’s event.
Joseph Gambardella scored twice for the Oilers and Chad Butcher capped off a terrific weekend with three assists, giving the Kamloops native three goals and seven points in the three contests. He was named the MVP.
Ziyat Paigin and Ostap Safin also scored for the Oilers, who overcame a 2-0 deficit after 20 minutes.
Mike Carcone scored twice in the first period and Jonah Gadjovich and Matt Brassard, with the tying goal with 1:33 to play in the third, connected for the Canucks, who finished in second place with a 1-1-0-1 record.
The Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames both finished at 1-2-0 after the Jets beat the Flames 4-1 on Monday.
Goalie Shane Starrett was terrific to keep the Oilers in the game until the offence got untracked. The Canucks outshot Edmonton 16-4 in the first period and 46-26 for the game.
Thatcher Demko had a tough game for the Canucks, stopping just 10 of 13 shots before giving way to former Penticton Vees goaltender Michael Garteig to start the third period.
Garteig surrendered a goal to Safin on the first shot he faced 45 seconds into the period but made some spectacular saves after that to keep the Canucks close.
Gadjovich, who also had a helper on Carcone’s first goal, gave the Canucks hope by making it 4-3 on the power play with 5:46 to go.
Brassard’s shot from the right point found its way through traffic to even the game at 4-4 and force overtime.
Butcher, a 21-year-old who racked up 103 points in his fifth and final season with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 2016-17, signed an American Hockey League contract to play for the Oilers top affiliate Bakersfield Condors this season.
Butcher had two goals and an assist in a 4-2 win over Calgary on Friday and also scored in a 3-0 triumph over Winnipeg on Saturday.
Gambardella also had a productive tourney with three goals and four points after being held off the scoresheet in the opener.
Gambardella, Maksimov and Gadjovich finished tied for second in tourney scoring with four points.
Butcher, Gambardella and Winnipeg’s Jansen Harkins tied for the goal-scoring lead at three.
Jets 4 Flames 1: Harkins scored twice to lead the Jets to their only win in three games at the tourney in Monday’s early game.
Cristiano DiGiacinto and Kristian Reichel into an empty net with 1:21 to play also scored for the Jets.
Dillon Dube, of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, scored at 12:45 of the first period to give the Flames the lead, but the Jets scored twice in each of the last two periods to pull away.
Mikhail Bardin needed to make just nine saves to get the win, while Mason McDonald blocked 31 shots for Calgary.
Dube finished with three points, including two assists, to match the tournament stat-line of Kelowna teammate Kole Lind. Both are expected back with the Rockets this season.