Bounces don't go Oil Kings' way at Memorial Cup
SAINT JOHN, N.B. The Oil Kings were a team built to win Memorial Cup championship, but in a one-game elimination, the puck doesn't always co-operate.
The Oil Kings lost 4-2 to the Hamilton Bulldogs at Harbour Station arena on Friday, which brought an end to their season at the 2022 Memorial Cup.
Edmonton outshot Hamilton 42-36 in the contest and dominated the last two periods of the game, but could not find the tying goal after battling back from a
2-0 deficit.
“I had a wide open net and I couldn't finish and there were some other chances that didn't go in,” said Oil Kings captain
Jake Neighbours. “It's tough to look back on it right now, but a lot of things could have gone differently, which you can probably say about any game. At the end of the day, it's over.”
The Oil Kings fell behind 2-0, giving up two power play goals in the first period. They came out and dominated the second, but were unable to find the net, despite outshooting the Bulldogs 15-9 in the period.
Jalen Luypen scored a short-handed goal early in the third to open the door and it appeared as though it would only be a matter of time before they tied it, but Bulldogs star Mason Mctavish scored what proved to be the game winner.
Mctavish scored a second into an empty net as time expired in the third period.
“You never want to end the season like that on a game I thought we controlled most of,” said Oil Kings forward Jaxsen Wiebe. “That was our best game of the tournament and it's tough to process right now, but I'm proud of our group. I wouldn't have wanted to do it with any other group of guys.”
SPECIAL TEAM
Under normal circumstances, this could have been the third Memorial Cup tournament for the core of Oil Kings, most who are moving on from junior hockey next season.
The COVID-19 pandemic, however, robbed the team of a chance to play in two WHL playoffs despite being one of the top teams in the league.
This season, the Oil Kings were able to compete in the playoffs and won the WHL championship before coming to the Memorial Cup, which was being held for the first time in three seasons.
Unfortunately for the group, they fell a goal short and were eliminated.
“We had a bunch of chances that were an inch away or guys just missed on their stick,” said Oil Kings defenceman Luke Prokop. “I'm so proud of the group in there and we had a hell of a run. It was a special team. A lot of these guys made it the funnest year of hockey I've ever had. I made so many memories with these guys and I want to thank management from picking me up from Calgary and taking me on this journey. I'm so thankful to them and so happy to be with those guys and go to war with them every day. It's going to be hard to let go of this one.”
MOVING ON
A good chunk of the Oil Kings roster is leaving, which is why losing to Hamilton was so difficult for the team.
The Oil Kings are graduating forwards Carter Souch, Justin Williams and defenceman Simon Kubicek, while the eight drafted players will likely be moving on to the professional level.
“Some of these guys, we've had for four years now,” said Oil Kings head coach Brad Lauer. “We expect a lot, we demand a lot of our kids, we push them every day and they come to the rink every day and work hard. It's great to see the kids grow like they have and you can be proud of that.”
DUCK SEASON
Mctavish started the season with the Anaheim Ducks before embarking on a journey that took him through six different teams.
Mctavish had two goals with the Ducks in nine games before spending some time with the San Diego Gulls prior to heading back to junior. While with the Ducks, Mctavish played for Dallas Eakins, who was once coach of the Edmonton Oilers.
“I love Dallas, he's a great guy, a good coach,” Mctavish said. “I have nothing but good things to say about him and he checks on me too, and he doesn't have to do that. He was at a game in Hamilton, so it's not often an NHL coach does that, so I have nothing but good things to say about him.”
Mctavish is the youngest player to ever score for the Ducks. He looked set to stay in Anaheim for the entire season, but the Ducks decided to send him back to junior for another year.
“I think they just wanted me to play centre and play a lot more, too,” Mctavish said. “Those were the two biggest things for my development. It's definitely an exciting future for me, but I'm mostly focusing on the Memorial Cup for now.”
Along with playing with four different teams, Mctavish was also played for Canada at the world junior championship and Olympics. The jury is still out whether he'll suit up for Canada again at the rescheduled world junior tournament in August after the event in December had to be cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak.
“I would love to play in the world juniors, I'm not sure that's up to me, but I haven't talked to anyone about that,” he said. “It's a kid's dream to play in the world junior and it's probably the best competition you'll get outside of the NHL. I'd love to play, but we'll see.”