Heading off to the Western Hockey League, the Edmonton Oil Kings team had not much experience as they faced the Medicine Hat Tigers. The took the lead by 3-2 and enjoyed a 5-4 victory. Andrew Fyten, Andrei Pavlenko and Scott Atkinson added score although it was Trey Fix-Wolansky that led the way via goals. Captain Fix-Wolansky later said in an interview that the team started well and then slowed down a bit until their opponents took the lead. They got their second breath, which is what got them back in the game.
A Lead Much Bigger Than Oil Kings Wanted
The lead achieved on Friday is more than the Oil Kings wanted, they did not expect the Tigers to take the lead, and they kept coming back to claim more score. The Medicine Hat Tigers did not have much luck as Linus Nassen missed, following the first goal achieved by the Tigers. The Oil Kings won, and that is the most important, Brad Lauer the head coach was proud that the team enjoyed an exceptional game. During the outstanding first period, they experienced a 4-1 lead. He also felt it was unfortunate that they relaxed after the lead although the game overall was decent.
Scoring within First 16 Seconds
The team bursting out to the gate to score within 16 seconds was the Oil Kings, Pavlenko push down the left and took the puck wide. Mads Sogaard the goaltender of the Tigers ended with 34 saves. Twenty-three seconds later, Medicine Hat tied the game via the power play. Fyten, who enjoyed the game restored the Oil Kings lead. Fyten then commented that both teams played hard and that they were lucky to win.
In the end, the team remained calm and focussed on blocking out the noise by concentrating on the play. Fix-Wolansky managed to score his first goal in the series. He rushed past Sogaard, succeeded and the Oil Kings were 3-1 in the lead.
Even with a 4-1 lead, Lauer said they could make the lead bigger, but the young team is still learning and is going through a team-experience growth period.
Oil Kings to Focus on Positives
The Oil Kings have plenty of positives to take from the game. They defeated the Medicine Hat Tigers in front of a crowd of more than 6,335 fans on Friday night at Rogers Place. It is the first lead in the best of seven series. It took only 16 seconds to get a score on the board for the Oil Kings, and Trey Fix-Wolensky scored his first two goals, which also included the winning goal. Matthew Robertson, Conner McDonald and Wyatt McLeod skated as alternate captains to the chief captain that was Trey Fix-Wolansky.
The star performance of the night goes to the caption, Trey Fix-Wolansky who scored two goals and continued to motivate his team. The next game is on Sunday the 31st of March and game seven on Tuesday the 2nd of April.