Game one didn’t go as planned for the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night at Rexall Place, as they suffered a 6-1 loss to the top seeded Edmonton Oil Kings in the WHL Eastern Conference Final.
The Oil Kings were led by some unexpected scoring as Stephane Legault, Klarc Wilson and Henrik Samuelsson each picked up three points in the win. Curtis Lazar and Rhett Rachinski chipped in with two points as well for Edmonton.
The scoring started midway through the opening period when Wilson beat Luke Siemens for his first of the post-season, but it would stay that way for the rest of the period as the two teams felt out each other following a nine-day break.
The second period is when the Oil Kings really took the game over, scoring three straight goals from Legault, Rachinski and Lazar to pull ahead 4-0 on Moose Jaw just 12:55 into the second. They also outshot Moose Jaw 16-9 in the period, something that happened only three times during the first two rounds. Jordan Wyton, who was playing in his first game since breaking his hand just before the start of the playoffs, got the Warriors on the board with 5:30 to go in the frame, but the Oil Kings’ Tyler Maxwell killed any momentum with a snap shot from the boards and a 5-1 Edmonton lead.
Legault's second of the game would come midway through the third period and was the only special teams goal of the hockey team with Edmonton going 1-for-2 on the power play, while Moose Jaw was 0-for-6.
Siemens made 19 saves in forty minutes of work before being replaced to start the third period by rookie Spencer Tremblay, who stopped 8-of-9 shots in relief. Laurent Brossoit was solid in goal for Edmonton, making 29 saves on 30 shots.
Game two of the best-of-seven series goes on Sunday from Rexall Place in Edmonton.
Out west, Marcel Noebels got the overtime winner for Portland, as they beat Tri-City 5-4 on the road to open the WHL's Western Conference Final. Game two is tonight in Kennewick, Washington.
Sat, Apr 20, 1:00 PM
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