It was a do-or-die situation on Sunday, Jan. 31, as the Oil Kings hosted the Devon Barons at the Big Valley Agriplex for game four of the North Central Hockey League (NCHL) southern division semi-finals.
The day before, the Oil Kings had played game three in Devon. Hopeful of a win, the Oil Kings were disappointed when the only goal was scored by Gregory Hennessey — one goal to the Barons' four. The loss brought the best-of-five series to 2-1 for Devon, with the next day's game potentially being the end of the Oil Kings' season.
When the Oil Kings hit the ice before a small but dedicated crowd of hometown fans on Sunday, though, it was clear they meant business and had no intention of letting the season die on home ice. Less than five minutes into the first period, Brett Nixon scored for the Oil Kings, a quick and neat goal that bypassed the Barons' netminder like he wasn't even there.
Three minutes later, team captain Matt Kinnunen fired a shot over the shoulder of the Barons' goalie, bringing the score to 2-0 Oil Kings. He repeated the trick just over seven minutes later, bringing the tally to 3-0.
While the Oil Kings seemed to have little trouble scoring, their penalty killing is what really shined. The team spent eighteen minutes short-handed courtesy of nine penalties, half that of the Barons. Despite spending one third of the game in a short-handed state, the penalty-busting Oil Kings' lines kept the puck away from the net. When that failed, the team's goalie, Chance Clark, batted away puck after puck.
Clark stopped a total of 32 shots on net during the game and was named the game's first star, with Kinnunen and Luke Boyer also getting nods.
The Oil Kings play the final game in the series in Devon on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 8:10 p.m. If the team is successful, it will go on to play former Battle River Hockey League rival Daysland Northstars, who melted the Edson Ice in three straight games. Head Coach Dustin Edwards said he had hoped to finish up Devon this weekend to give his team a chance to rest before going up against the strong and healthy Northstars, but is now hunkering down for a challenge if they make it to the next round.