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On a night when every Western Hockey League team was in action, the Edmonton Oil Kings did their part to keep pace at the top of the heap.
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A 6-3 victory over the Regina Pats in front of an estimated 6,500 at Rogers Place on Friday took their Eastern Conference-leading total to 77 points this season as they continue to battle the Everett Silvertips in the race for the overall lead.
Both teams were left without a captain — Jake Neighbors of Edmonton and Logan Nijhoff of Regina. Edmonton extended its winning streak to seven straight games with its fourth and final meeting of the regular season against Regina, earning a 3-1 series advantage.
And with Regina starting goaltender Matthew Kieper sitting in, Drew Sim did the yeoman’s job with 43 saves for the visitors while Sebastian Cossa made 21 saves at the other end as Edmonton finished one blow from his 50 season record.
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strike first
Edmonton took the lead with a goal in less than three minutes when Kaiden Guhle bounced a shot off the boot of Shea Van Olm, who was just outside the crease, to be credited with his fifth goal of the season.
It was the only count of the period, which ended with Pats winger Cole Dubinsky receiving a punishing blow from Edmonton’s Logan Dowhaniuk earlier in the period, assaulting the Oil Kings defenseman with only 12.4 seconds to play.
Dubinsky had a few good shots on his opponent before the referees broke it down as Dowhaniuk didn’t even get a chance to take both gloves off.
It was an extension of a meeting between the two teams on February 8 when Dubinsky landed a leaping elbow at Dowhaniuk.
This time, Dubinsky received an instigator penalty, a major fight and a 10-minute misconduct, which sent Edmonton on a five-on-three to open the second period.
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48 seconds
Edmonton made the most of their multiple advantage with back-to-back goals just 48 seconds apart.
The first saw Josh Williams earn his 200th career WHL point in a shooting range featuring a crowd of Oil Kings playing to find the rebound past Sim’s crease.
Then, still on the power play, Carter Souch unleashed an absolute blast from a difficult angle from the right circle that passed the Pats goalie, whose vision was blocked by a screen from Jalen Luypen.
Hit hard
The rough stuff continued as Regina took a turn to make it a five-on-three, despite it only lasting 19 seconds, after
Carson Godler was penalized for charging a play that sent a Pats player into the visitors’ locker room.
Defender Stanislav Svozil then put Regina on the board with a power-play goal that went through Cossa’s legs, giving the 18-year-old Columbus Blue Jackets prospect his third goal at Rogers Place this month. .
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16-year-old phenom Connor Bedard had the main assist on the game, giving him 22 points in his last 10 games.
But Edmonton led 37-13 in shots going into the final quarter.
Without mercy
Despite falling behind in the shooting department, Regina found herself less than 5:36 from the start of the third period with Matteo Michels passing the puck behind the Oil Kings net for a single shot from Zane Rowan, who passed Cossa.
Regina tied the game 3-3 midway through the period when Tanner Howe grabbed a rebound
Dowhaniuk lined Whitehead up into the cart rails with a clean-and-difficult shot into the boards a split second after Regina was called for a delayed offside call.
On the following shift, Edmonton shifted the energy into offensive production as Dylan Guenther drove hard towards the crease, cutting through the defense and performing all sorts of moves before putting it into the back of the net from his knees to restore the lead with his 150th WHL Point.
After losing his own stick and rising tackle for a deflected puck, Cossa was forced to make a save while borrowing one from Dowhaniuk to hold the lead with two and a half minutes left.
The effort wasn’t in vain either, as Williams found point 201 at the other end of the ice to add the insurance goal with 63 seconds left. And Souch followed suit with another goal of his own with 33.7 seconds left.
Next step : The Oil Kings take on the Prince Albert Raiders at Rogers Place on Saturday (7 p.m.).
Email: [email protected]
On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge
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