Calgary 2, Edmonton 3

Lineup

Line 1: Kovalenko  Beranek    Guerin      Mironov   Niinimaa

Line 2: McAmmond   Marchant   Falloon     Hamrlik   Poti

Line 3: Lindgren   Murray     Grier       Brown     Millar    

Line 4: Smyth      Devereaux  Buchberger  



Starting Goaltender: Shtalenkov

  Backup Goaltender: Essensa

Scratches: Doug Weight, c, torn acl; Marty Mcsorley, d, dislocated shoulder. Bill Huard and Craig Millar were healthy scratches. Kevin Brown is being bothered by an groin strain. It is a complicated injury that isn't exactly a groin strain, but we are aware that he will be out awhile now.

Game Summary

If it's a Friday night this season, you can put your money on the fact that Andrei Kovalenko will be the first one ringing the doorbell.

Last week it was Craig Hartsburg who watched his Ducks battle back to the tie the game only to see Kovy finish it thirty nine seconds into the extra frame on a nasty move on Hebert that must have left the Anaheim goaltender with sore ankles.

This week it was the Flames who were feasted upon by the Tank when he broke a 2-2 tie and Tyler Moss=s heart at 4:10 of the third period.

When the Battle of Alberta was at its zenith in the mid 80's, Friday nights usually meant watching the TV show Dallas. On this night, however, the Oilers gave the Flames more problems than Digger Barnes caused the Ewing clan headaches.

To put it bluntly, Tyler Moss's outstanding play was the only reason Flames faithful were still around for the third.

The Oil came out flying from the start with all four lines going at equal aplomb. The team effort was not lost on Ron Low. His revised power play units reflected it. The first team consisted of Beranek, Kovalenko and Falloon with Guerin bumped to the second unit with Murray and, for the second game in a row, Ryan Smyth.

Moss was equal to the task until 8:10 of the first period when Hamirlik scored on a bullet to the stick side as a result of a nice three way passing play from Guerin and Beranek. I predict that Hamirlik will jump into the play on a regular basis as he gains more confidence in his defense partner Tom Poti.

The Flames were quick to respond when Pat Falloon failed to check Phil Housley and the swift Calgary rearguard put one past Shatalenkov to knot the game just a 1:40 later. The Flames went ahead just over three minutes later at 13:20 when a harmless looking shot from Fleury went off Poti=s posterior and past a helpless Misha.

It was 2-1 after the first period but the Copper and Blue led in the shots department 17-10. You sort of had the feeling that it was only a matter of time. Calgary had hung on in the first only because of a herculean effort by Moss. Included in his bevy of saves was a particularly great one on a one timer by Falloon.

The Oilers brought the same game in the second period and Grier converted a nice piece of work by Marchant at 12:44 to bring the contest back to a draw. The Flames had a golden opportunity to take the lead but Hamirlik broke up a developing 3-on-1. About three minutes later, Smyth was robbed in the crease by Moss to preserve the tie. This is the second game that Smyth impressed, so much so in fact that he had two shifts in the last five minutes of the game when the Oilers were protecting the lead.

The Oilers again outshot the opposition in the second and continued to put the pressure on in the third until Kovalenko sent the fans home disappointed. At least those in southern Alberta anyway.

The Oil played conservatively for the rest of the way and the only tense moment came when a Hamirlik give away resulted in a scoring chance that was deftly turned away by Misha.

OSM's Three Stars

1. Tyler Moss
2. Roman Hamrlik
3. Todd Marchant

Next Game

Sunday night at home vs Chicago- It's extremely important that we beat the weaker sisters of our conference with Weight still injured. The points that you should gain loom a lot larger than games against Dallas and Detroit when you're jockeying for playoff positioning in April. I=m of the belief that playing a team with a five game losing skid is much more dangerous than a game versus a team on a five game winning streak. A must win.

Fire a few pucks at: Dennis King

Final Thoughts

A solid team effort. Defense was impressive and will be more so when McSorley returns next week. Marchant was almost impossible to contain in the first two periods, Falloon must have had at least 6 shots and McAmmond's speed was on display. They were our best line. What do you think would happen if both Smyth and McAmmond played to their potential? Let's hope we find out.

Edmonton              1 1 1--3

Calgary               2 0 0--2



FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring:

  1, Edmonton, Hamrlik 3 (Beranek, Guerin), 8:10

  2, Calgary, Housley 2 (Shantz, Iginla), 9:50

  3, Calgary, Fleury 11 (Pankewicz, Smith), 13:20

Penalties:

  Morris, CGY (fighting major), 6:49

  Buchberger, EDM (fighting major), 6:49

  Hulse, CGY (roughing), 10:24

  Housley, CGY (interference), 16:11

  Fleury, CGY (roughing), 19:54



SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring:

  4, Edmonton, Grier 5 (T Marchant, S Brown), 2:44

Penalties:

  Niinimaa, EDM (roughing), 14:43



THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring:

  5, Edmonton, Kovalenko 9 (Guerin, Hamrlik), 4:10

Penalties:

  Mironov, EDM (interference), 19:51



Shots on Goal:

  Edmonton              17 13  6--36

  Calgary               10 10 11--31



Goalies:

  Edmonton, Shtalenkov (31 shots, 29 saves; record: 8-4-1)

  Calgary, Moss (36, 33; record: 2-5-0)



Power-play conversions: EDM - 0 of 3, CGY - 0 of 2

Referees: B McCreary

Linesmen: Cameron, Lazarowich

Attendance: 17,104 (out of 20,000)



                             Player Stats

                             ------ -----

Edmonton                              Calgary

               G   A   +/-  Shots                    G   A   +/-  Shots

B Devereaux    0   0   even   2       Bure           0   0   even   0

Beranek        0   1   +1     3       Cassels        0   0   even   2

Buchberger     0   0   even   0       Dubinsky       0   0   even   1

Falloon        0   0   -1     6       Fata           0   0   even   4

Grier          1   0   +1     3       Fleury         1   0   -2     6

Guerin         0   2   +1     1       Gauthier       0   0   even   1

Hamrlik        1   1   +1     1       Housley        1   0   +1     3

Kovalenko      1   0   even   4       Hulse          0   0   even   2

M Lindgren     0   0   even   2       Iginla         0   1   even   1

McAmmond       0   0   even   3       Morris         0   0   -1     2

Mironov        0   0   even   1       Pankewicz      0   1   -1     1

Murray         0   0   even   2       Shantz         0   1   even   1

Musil          0   0   +1     0       Smith          0   1   -2     0

Niinimaa       0   0   -1     2       Stillman       0   0   even   2

Poti           0   0   +1     1       T Simpson      0   0   even   0

S Brown        0   1   +1     0       Ward           0   0   +1     0

Smyth          0   0   even   3       Wiemer         0   0   -1     3

T Marchant     0   1   even   2       Wilm           0   0   even   2

Huard          Healthy                Helenius       Healthy

Millar         Healthy                Albelin        Groin

McSorley       Shoulder               Roche          Healthy

Weight         Knee Injury            Bassen         Knee Injury

K Brown        Groin                  Nylander       Knee Injury