Oil Kings Begin Four Straight on Road in Calgary
Calgary, Alta. – The Edmonton Oil Kings begin a stretch of four straight games away from Rogers Place tonight as they visit the Calgary Hitmen.
It’s just the third meeting of the season between the two rivals as the two will meet five more times in February and March. Calgary won the first two meetings of the season by a combined score of 9-5. Andrew O’Neill has two points against Calgary this season to lead the way for Edmonton.
Heading into tonight’s contest, Edmonton holds a 31-9-3-2 record on the season and are third in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. They sit five points back of division leading Medicine Hat, but with two games in hand. The Oil Kings are coming off a big 5-1 win over Saskatoon on Sunday afternoon, highlighted by three points from Ethan MacKenzie, and Matt Williams first career WHL goal.
Meanwhile, Calgary has won back-to-back games and are 24-12-6-1 on the season, fourth in the Eastern Conference, but 12 points behind the Oil Kings. Calgary defeated Red Deer and Regina on Friday and Saturday respectively.
An intriguing matchup to keep an eye on in this game would be the Edmonton penalty kill against the Calgary powerplay. The Oil Kings are running an 81.5% penalty kill, best in the East, while the Hitmen’s 30.3% powerplay is second in the conference.
Puck drop from Calgary is 7 p.m.
