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The streak is over!
February 1, 2010
EDMONTON, AB- The streak is over!
The Edmonton Oil Kings finally got their first win of 2010 with a thrilling 5-4 overtime victory over the visiting Prince Albert Raiders Sunday evening at Rexall Place.
It was sweet justice for Edmonton in how they pulled out the victory.
Holding a 4-2 lead, the Raiders fought back to tie the game with just 1:23 remaining sending the game into overtime.
The Oil Kings have struggled in overtime and in shootouts this season, posting a combined 1-11 record, with their only other victory coming via the shootout.
With all the momentum and stats on the Raiders side, Oil Kings defenceman Adrian Van de Mosselaer almost played the role of the goat as he was sent off for interference in the extra session.
But he quickly changed it to the role of hero, snapping the Oil Kings 16-game losing streak. The veteran defenceman jumped on a Raiders turnover coming out of the box, blazed down the left wing and made a beautiful move on Prince Albert goaltender Garrett Zemlak giving the Oil Kings their first win since Dec.18.
“It’s been a long haul and you get so fragile and the emotions… it was so tough,” said Oil Kings head coach Steve Pleau.
“It was a great play by Vandy (Van de Mosselaer) and I am proud of the way we did this too. We showed a lot of character and we didn’t quit.”
Van de Mosselaer has been a physical force on the Oil Kings blueline since the Christmas break, and he’s starting to become and offensive force too. The 19-year-old scored his third goal in his past six games.
“I was just praying to myself that I could get that chance and take off and that we could kill it off,” said a relieved Van de Mosselaer after the win.
“I think that is the second time that has happened to me against them (scoring in overtime). It was exciting for sure and it was good to get a win under our belt.”
Oil Kings rookie forward Michael St. Croix led the attack with two goals and one assist, and Sebastian Svendsen, T.J. Foster also replied for Edmonton.
Foster, who took home player of the month honours for the month of January, had a two-point effort, and Svendsen’s goal was his first as an Oil King.
Justin Maylan scored twice for Prince Albert and Jordan Rowley and Brandon Herrod replied for the Raiders.
Lost in all the hoopla was a ton of positives for the Oil Kings on many fronts.
Cam Lanigan was superb making 46 saves for his fourth win of the season. The 17-year-old came up with two monster stops.
He faced 20 shots alone in the second period, and he came up with a potential save of the year and definite play- of -the -week save off of Herrod.
Lanigan got crossed up with defenceman Drew Nichol behind the net, and pulled out the memorable Curtis Joseph like save when the netminder played for the Edmonton Oilers in the 1997 playoffs against the Dallas Stars.
That save sparked the Oil Kings and they were able to end a goalless drought that lasted 197:40 with two quick goals from Michael St. Croix and Svendsen.
“He caused that save, so he owed us that one,” smiled Pleau about the big save by Lanigan.
Lanigan wasn’t done there as he came across his crease to stone Raiders forward Jordan Hickmoot with a right pad save late in the second period.
“He played great and he showed maturity,” said Pleau.
“It’s a very tough situation. He knows that the team is basically on his back at times.
“There were times in the first and second period where we weren’t able to make a five-foot pass, and he kept us in it.”
After being shut-out the past two games, and the team struggling to score goals since Christmas, the Oil Kings five-goal outburst was the most goals they’ve scored since a 6-5 overtime loss to Kamloops on Nov.6.
The line of St. Croix, Foster and Garry Nunn was a force to be reckoned with the entire night as they combined for seven points
Another line combo that also stepped up big was the line of Michael Burns, Cameron Abney and Svendsen.
“We need a no.1 line and that is what I expect to see from St. Croix, Foster and Nunn,” said Pleau.
“Burns and Svendsen and Abney have been excellent, and it was a great goal that Sevy got.”
The last half of the season has been very tough on the Oil Kings as they’ve shifted their focus on rebuilding for the future.
During the losing streak, Edmonton’s played quite a few games where they most likely deserved a better fate. There were also times where when they fell behind, their confidence crumbled, but they battled the Raiders extremely hard.
“It was a testament of our resiliency of what we’ve learned through this tough stretch,” said Lanigan, who was named the first star of the game.
“It was nice to see us snap back and fight back and battle hard to get the victory.”
I was wondering when we were going to win again. If any team were a good enough team to end the streak against, glad it was P.A. Tough times this season, but now we're just playing out the schedule and watching these kids develop.
