|
|
 | It was a furious finish, but Team White narrowly held on for a 4-2 win over Team Red in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ annual Red vs. White intrasquad match-up Wednesday night at the Jubilee Rec Centre. Forward Curtis Lazar stole the show with a couple of highlight reel plays, rocking import rookie Mads Eller with a big hit in the first period. Then he sniped home a shot right off an offensive zone faceoff for White’s third goal, surprising pretty much everyone in the building. | | Edmonton - August 29, 2013 - It was a furious finish, but Team White narrowly held on for a 4-2 win over Team Red in the Edmonton Oil Kings’ annual Red vs. White intrasquad match-up Wednesday night at the Jubilee Rec Centre.
White jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three goals in six minutes late in the second period, but Red cut the lead to 3-2 with 3:22 left and applied furious pressure trying to tie before Cole Benson iced the win for White with an empty net goal.
“Composure probably has something to do with it, but our will to win really showed,” said White captain Curtis Lazar. “Red they were struggling a little bit, but we just kept our foot on the gas and got the result we wanted.”
Lazar had a couple of highlight reel plays of his own as befits the 17th overall selection in the 2013 draft. First, he rocked import rookie Mads Eller with a big hit in the first period. Then he sniped home a shot right off an offensive zone faceoff for White’s third goal, surprising Red goalie Patrick Dea, his faceoff counterpart Henrik Samuelsson and pretty much everyone in the building.
“I’ve always wanted to score a goal like that ever since I’ve been little,” he said. “When I saw the opportunity I said why not. I think Henrik sort of helped me out a little bit, but to see it go in was pretty cool.”
Lazar made an impression on the crowd, but also some of the younger Oil Kings, like 15-year-old forward Davis Koch, Edmonton’s first pick (42nd overall) in the 2013 Bantam Draft.
“Curtis sat beside me in the Main Camp dressing room. When he first came in, it was kind of weird seeing him because you see him on TV and stuff,” Koch said. “After a while he was really nice and I got to know him a little bit.”
Koch, who suited up for Red in a losing cause, relished his chance in the game, facing off against older opponents and getting a slice of what life is like in the WHL.
“It was a little more intense than the Main Camp games, but it was nice to play against the returning guys,” he said. “It was nice to get a taste of it and be able to compete out there.”
Logan Ferguson and Cody Corbett had the other goals for White, while Branden Klatt and Brandon Baddock scored for Red. In the crease, Tanner McCorriston and Austin Shaw combined for the win, with McCorriston posting a perfect 30 minutes in net, making 14 saves, and Shaw making 16 more. In the Red net, Tyler Santos made 25 saves without allowing a goal, while Dea gave up three goals on 17 shots.
The Red vs. White game wraps up Oil Kings training camp. The team will be back in action Saturday and Sunday at their Seventh Annual Preseason Invitational, presented by Toyota RAV4 Game On at Servus Place in St. Albert. Edmonton plays at 7:00 p.m. both nights, first against Swift Current and then against Red Deer.
Tickets are just $10 at the door, and one ticket will get you into three games each day as six teams compete in the tournament. Games begin at 11:00 a.m., 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. each day.
|
