CHAMPIONS!!!
Edmonton, AB – The Edmonton Oil Kings captured their first ever Ed Chynoweth Cup on Sunday night with a definitive 4-1 victory over the Portland Winterhawks in Game 7 of the WHL Championship series. The win marked the Oil Kings first WHL Championship title since 1972 and the first in the modern era of the franchise. Edmonton will now represent the Western Hockey League at the 2012 MasterCard Memorial Cup starting later this week in Shawinigan, Quebec.
The atmosphere was electric at Rexall Place with a new Oil Kings playoff crowd of 12,514. Just under two minutes into the game, 20 year old Rhett Rachinski was able to shovel home his 7th of the playoffs to give the home team the start they were looking for. Rachinski posted 4 goals and 2 assists in the WHL Championship including the overtime game winner of Game 3 in Portland.
The Oil Kings looked to settle in as TJ Foster followed up with a 2 on 1 chance just past the midway point of the period that rattled off the crossbar. Curtis Lazar had a trio of chances turned away by Portland goaltender Mac Carruth as it was all Edmonton in the early going. Tyler Maxwell scored the eventual game winner with 17.6 seconds in the opening frame to really turn the momentum to the home team.
Pelss then showed some patience to outwait his defender and make another great feed to find Michael St.Croix in the slot for a 3-0 goal five minutes into the second period. The Oil Kings continued to pour it on in the second frame, outshooting the Hawks 16-9. Foster then broke out of his scoring slump with a vengence as he broke down the right side, put on the brakes, and wired home his third of the playoffs to make it a 4-0 lead midway through the period.
Portland would then break the shutout just over a minute later as Edmonton native Oliver Gabriel made a nice play to net his sixth of the playoffs. Portland struggled to push back in the third as the Oil Kings defense went into shutdown mode. The Winterhawks thought they narrowed the gap about 13 minutes into the final frame but a tipped goal from Brendan Leipsic was quickly ruled a high stick.
Laurent Brossoit would finish the night with a 19 save performance. Brossoit, the Eastern Conference Championship MVP added to his collection of hardware by being named the MVP of the WHL Championship series. “LB” finished the Championship with a 2.82 GAA and a 0.910 save percentage.
FOLLOW THESE LINKS:
IN FOCUS GAME RECAP / IN FOCUS POST GAME SIGHTS AND SOUNDS
GAME DAY PHOTOS / POST GAME PHOTOS
By virtue of their victory in the 2012 WHL Championship the Edmonton Oil Kings will now represent the WHL in the 2012 Mastercard Memorial Cup. The Memorial Cup Tournament will run from May 18th to 27th and will also include the OHL Champion London Knights, the QMJHL Champion St.John Sea Dogs and the host Shawinigan Cataractes. The Sea Dogs are the defending Memorial Cup Champions.
2012 Memorial Cup Schedule (All Game Times Mountain and subject to change)
May 18, 2012 – Edmonton (WHL) vs Shawinigan (HOST) – 5:00PM
May 19, 2012 – St.John (QMJHL) vs London (OHL) – 5:00PM
May 20, 2012 – Shawinigan (HOST) vs London (OHL) – 5:00PM
May 21, 2012 – St.John (QMJHL) vs Edmonton (WHL) – 5:00PM
May 22, 2012 – London (OHL) vs Edmonton (WHL) – 5:00PM
May 23, 2012 – Shawinigan (HOST) vs. St.John (QMJHL) – 5:00PM
May 24, 2012 – Tie Breaker Game (if necessary) – 5:00PM
May 25, 2012 – Semi Final – 5:00PM
May 27, 2012 – Memorial Cup Championship Final – 5:00PM
