EDMONTON – Laurent Brossoit made 28 saves Friday as the Edmonton Oil Kings defeated the Calgary Hitmen 5-1 to grab a 3-2 lead in the Western Hockey League’s Eastern Conference final.
Martin Gernat, Henrik Samuelsson, Travis Ewanyk, Michael St. Croix and Curtis Lazar, into an empty net, scored for Edmonton. Dylan Wruck and Stephane Legault each added two assists.
Brooks Macek had the lone goal for Hitmen, who will look to avoid elimination on home ice in Game 6 on Sunday afternoon.
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Chris Driedger made 34 stops in taking the loss for Calgary.
Gernat opened up scoring at 7:38 of the first, finishing off a quick passing play with a shot over Driedger’s shoulder.
Samuelsson doubled the Edmonton lead at 18:13 by wiring a pass from Legault just under the crossbar and Ewanyk finished off a tic-tac-toe play just 44 seconds later to make it 3-0 Oil Kings.
After a scoreless second period, St. Croix put Edmonton up by four at 13:47 of the third, beating Driedger on the short side.
Calgary got one back at 15:04 on the power play with Macek’s shot from the high slot beating Brossoit along the ice. But with Calgary desperate to cut the deficit further, the Hitmen pulled their goaltender on the ensuing faceoff and Lazar scored into an empty net to put the game away.
Calgary finished the night 1-for-3 on the power play, while Edmonton was scoreless on its six opportunities.
Note: Samuelsson’s ninth goal of the playoffs for Edmonton set a new franchise record for a single post-season.
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