Oil Kings aim to even series with Calgary
The Edmonton Oil Kings have half a Western Hockey League season to play and they’ll be done with the Calgary Hitmen, their No. 1 rival, a week before Christmas.
Who makes up this schedule, anyway?
The Oil Kings, No. 2 ranked in the Eastern Conference, will play their 35th game of the season on Tuesday night in Calgary. And it will be their sixth meeting with the No. 1 ranked Hitmen in 2012-13.
They won’t see the Hitmen again until possibly the playoffs in April or May, so if there are any scores to settle on either side, Tuesday is payback time.
The teams are battling for points and, off the ice, duelling over Christmas team videos.
“There’s is kind of like ours was last year,” smiled Oil Kings winger Klarc Wilson, who has a playful panache when it comes to leading his merry men in song and dance in the current video.
If a game halfway through the season can be a biggie, at least psychologically, this is it because the surging Oil Kings, with 49 points and four straight wins, only have one regulation win over the Hitmen, who have 50 points, in the first five meetings (4-2 Dec. 8 in Calgary).
The Oil Kings have lost two games in regulation and two others in overtime and a shootout. They garnered four points out of a possible 10.
They need a victory over 60 minutes to even the inspired season series and set the table for a possible meeting in the post-season.
“They’ve had our number a bit,” admitted Wilson, who’s coming off two strong weekend games against the Victoria Royals and Regina Pats. He had a goal and two helpers and a couple of majors. “You play Calgary and it’s always fun, also a little rough.”