The Natural
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Edmonton, AB - Michael St.Croix netted a natural hat trick and Laurent Brossoit notched a 26 save shutout as the Edmonton Oil Kings cruised to a 5-0 win over the Prince George Cougars on Wednesday night at Rexall Place. Tyler Maxwell notched his 25th of the season 14 minutes into the first period as he skated in an wired a shot high for the opening goal of the night for the third straight game. Maxwell is still on a torrid pace with 32 points and 14 goals in just 22 games with the Oil Kings. But once again it would be the Oil Kings leading scorer who would steal the show as Michael St.Croix tallied his first of the game with under a minute to play in the opening period off a nice feed from Maxwell.
Fast forward to the second and St.Croix would strike again shoveling home a rebound off a shot from Jordan Peddle to give the Oil Kings a 3-0 lead with the nine minute mark of the period. Just minutes later the Oil Kings would find themselves on the power play courtesy a too many men call on the Cougs. Martin Gernat just missed with a point shot that bounced straight out to the side of the net - St.Croix picked it up and wristed the puck over a sprawled Drew Owsley to complete the natural hat trick. St. Croix continues to lead the team with 70 points placing him in a tie for fifth in the WHL scoring race and just eight points off the Oil Kings modern franchise record set last season by Dylan Wruck. The hat trick was St.Croix's second of the season and the third of his career.
Cody Corbett would make a strong move to the top of the circles and snap home a nice shot for his fourth of the season to make it a 5-0 game midway through the third. Brossoit would then shut the door for the remainder of the game as he continues to add to his Oil Kings club record with his 26th win of this season and second shutout. Of note, Oilers draft pick Martin Gernat had three helpers while Wruck and Maxwell would have 2 point nights. The Oil Kings dominated play on the offensive side of the puck as they went on to outshoot the Cougars 55-26 on the night.
The win gives the Oil Kings a 30-11-1-4 record on the season for 63 points as they remain in sole possession of first in the WHL Eastern conference. The club is only one win away from the modern era franchise high of 31 wins from last season. For the fifth week in a row the Oil Kings were ranked in the Canadian Hockey League Top Ten rankings, this week - ninth in the CHL.
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Edmonton will now set out on their final East division road trip of the regular season as they take on the Swift Current Broncos and the Prince Albert Raiders this weekend. All games this season will be broadcast live on the TEAM 1260 and streamed live at WHL.ca
The Oil Kings next home game is NEXT Wednesday, January 25th as the Oil Kings play host a heavyweight tilt with one of the Western Conference's best - the first place Tri City Americans. This will also be another K97 Weiner Wednesday at Rexall Place with $2 hot dogs all night long! Puck Drop is set for 7PM MST at Rexall Place.
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