Oil Kings seize the night
Expansion WHL team wins its first regular-season game with 1.2 seconds remaining before sellout crowd on home ice
Scott Petersen, The Edmonton Journal
Published: 1:52 am
EDMONTON - When everyone else was waiting for overtime to begin, J.P. Szaszkiewicz was making sure it never started.
The local product decided to script his own storyline in the final 14 seconds of Thursday's home opener, turning a mean-nothing puck race into a mean-something game-winner for the Edmonton Oil Kings. His last-second desperation swipe sending the puck at the net delivered the franchise a 4-3 win to kick off its inaugural Western Hockey League season with a bang.
The fluttering puck seemed to bounce off the stick of a Kootenay Ice defenceman and through the goalie's legs, stopping the clock with 1.2 seconds left and sending the sellout Rexall Place crowd of 6,782 to its feet.
"Not many guys get the chance to play in their hometown and I'm going to take advantage of that and do the best I can every night," said Szaszkiewicz. "We earned it and I think we're going to have that trend all season and that's what's going to make us successful."
It was the Ice calling a time-out with 14 seconds left and a faceoff in the Oil Kings zone. And once Edmonton won the faceoff and chipped the puck out, forward Craig McCallum said he simply breathed a sigh of relief from the Oil Kings bench and waited for overtime to begin.
He was likely joined by the Ice defence in that thinking, as Szaszkiewicz was able to beat Paul Kurceba to the loose puck and create his own luck. It's the type of play head coach Steve Pleau has come to expect from Szaszkiewicz. Pleau was Szaszkiewicz's assistant coach with the Spokane Chiefs last season.
"It wasn't just the winner, I thought he was the best player on the ice all night, I really did," said Pleau.
"He worked and he competed and his second effort was second to none. He wasn't taking no for an answer tonight and that's what we need from our guys. We're not going to be flashy, we're not going to be the most skilled team around, but hopefully we can work hard like that together."
While Szaszkiewicz delivered the winner, Brandon Lockerby got credit for the franchise's first goal, relieving some nervous tension for the club by sliding a loose puck into the net just two minutes in. He set up linemate Braeden Adamyk for a shot from the slot, then followed the play to the front of the net in time to jump on the puck after it slid through goalie Kris Lazaruk's pads.
Arnaud Jacquemet, Kevin King and Chad Greenan notched Kootenay's three goals, with Greenan's screened shot from the point giving his club a 3-2 lead heading into the third period. For the Kings, McCallum redirected in a perfect pass from Cameron Cepek on the power play for their second goal and Brett Breitkreuz pounded in a rebound to knot the score 3-3 early in the third.
The teams traded chances down the stretch only to be turned away by Lazaruk and Oil Kings goalie Alex Archibald, who collected 25 saves. That set the stage for the late-game heroics.
"I think (Szaszkiewicz's goal) just lifts all of us up and makes us realize if we work hard, good things happen," said McCallum. "He's a good leader by example."
Ice defenceman Ian Barteaux said he didn't know if the winner redirected in off his stick as he skated to the front of the net, but feels he should've beared down more on the play.
"It was just bad luck and you always wish you had the last one back," he said.
Edmonton went one for four on the power play, while Kootenay was one for three.
spetersen@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2007