The Calgary Flames Young Stars team was looking to bounce back last night after a meek performance against the Vancouver Canucks in their first game. The Flames fell 7-1 in the contest and had much to improve on heading into their second game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Flames take it in OT
Calgary bounced back with an overtime victory 4-3 in a rough and tumble game that felt like a regular season Battle of Alberta matchup.
The game concluded with both teams combining for 46 penalty minutes.
All three of Edmonton’s goals came on the powerplay with the Oilers finishing the game 3/8 on the man advantage. The Flames evidently struggled with the same penalty killing issues we saw against Vancouver.
The Flames went 2/7 on the man advantage, their second goal coming on Adam Klapka’s game winning tip in overtime.
The game had a similar feel to a regular season Battle of Alberta. Both sides played aggressive with plenty of chatter and extra curricular activity after the whistle.
Recap
First period
Ilya Nikolaev opened up the scoring in the first period after making a great pinch play along the Edmonton blue line. Nikolaev poked the puck free off of the Oilers stick and quickly jumped on the loose puck, carried into the high slot and scored with a beautiful wrist shot high glove.
Matthew Coronato took a double minor penalty for high sticking, leading to the first Oilers goal.
Both teams played a very back and forth period with the Flames dominating on scoring chances until the double minor penalty.
Second period
The second started slow until Flames 2023 second round pick, Etienne Morin, drew a penalty. Parker Bell had a solid scoring chance on the powerplay but the Flames couldn’t capitalize.
Shortly after, Flames goal scorer Nikolaev took a minor penalty. Flames goaltender Connor Murphy had a strong showing on the penalty kill. He utilized his stick to break up multiple passes from behind the net and strung together some difficult saves with great body positioning in his net.
Right after the penalty ended tempers really began to flare. Jayden Grubbe of the Oilers cross checked Flames prospect Mark Duarte hard into the boards. A scrum ensued after the whistle and Grubbe’s cross check along with two offsetting roughing minors were handed out to both teams.
The resulting powerplay saw the Flames burst into high gear. Coronato had a couple great scoring chances and moved the puck well, with the Flames nearly capitalizing on a scoring chance early in the powerplay. Oilers defenceman Dan Mulligan pulled a slow rolling puck off his goal line just before it crossed into the net after a Morin shot from the slot.
Duarte got his revenge for the cross check shortly after. The young forward set up Nikolaev for his second goal of the night with a beautiful saucer pass into the slot from behind the net.
The Flames took a hooking minor and then shortly after killing that penalty, went on the man advantage again when Edmonton returned the favour with a hooking minor of their own.
Third period
The energy stayed high to start the third period with Ilya Nikolaev narrowly missing his third goal of the night on a great scoring chance in tight on the Edmonton goal.
The puck was quickly worked up the ice by the Oilers after the scoring chance, with Edmonton scoring a deflected goal off a skate 44 seconds into the period.
With the game back even at 2-2 tempers sparked up once again. Edmonton took a high sticking penalty which the Flames couldn’t capitalize on.
Shortly after, Flames prospect Lucas Ciona took a roughing penalty. Ciona hit Edmonton’s Stonehouse late in relation after he hit Flames forward William Stromgren behind the play with no penalty called.
Stromgren got his revenge with a big hit on Stonehouse after the Flames couldn’t capitalize on their 4th powerplay.
Momentum started to shift in the Oilers favour after two offsetting minors were handed out for roughing later in the period. The Flames had two bad turnovers in their own zone that lead to strong scoring chances for the Oilers at four on four.
The Flames were the next to receive a powerplay, with Coronato sniping a one timer goal to take the lead 3-2.
The rough stuff continued with two more offsetting roughing penalties. Four on four was fairly even sided with Coronato using the extra space well once again showcasing his skating and puck handling ability.
Calgary once again took another penalty, leading to Edmonton’s game tying goal.
Two more minor penalties were called on each side. Both teams left their last regulation man advantages empty handed. Setting up an overtime period.
Overtime
OT was consistently back and forth for the first two minutes before Klapka drove the net and drew a tripping penalty.
The Flames didn’t waste any time, with Klapka tipping in a shot from Morin to win the game 4-3 in OT.
Standouts
It was a rough and tumble game for the young stars on both sides of the ice but Calgary gutted out a hard fought game and found a way to persevere with their continued penalty kill trouble.
Nikolaev played an exceptional game, standing out with his two goals and high energy all night. He played an aggressive game with a fast pace and made great decisions on both sides of the ice.
Coronato had a great game as well. Although he struggled with some penalty trouble, he had 3-4 high danger scoring chances and looked very good on the powerplay especially. His pace and puck sense was on tonight and he showed of his shot that scored him 20 goals at Harvard last season.
Beyond Coronato and Nikolaev, forwards Klapka, and Duarte stood out. Both played well tonight with great passing and heads up decisions in the offensive zone. Additionally, Ciona had another solid game showcasing his physical style of play.
Morin stood out on the back end, running the powerplay for most of the game and making some good plays in his own end.
Who’s next?
The Flames will play their last game of the Young Stars Classic Monday at 11am MST against the Winnipeg Jets.
The Flames will undoubtedly look to minimize their penalties going into their third and final game and capitalize with a win after gaining some momentum in this hard fought victory.
If you’re looking for more of the Young Stars Classic, the Jets and Canucks play today, Sept.17 at 3pm MST. The concluding game of the showcase starts after the Flames game, Monday Sept. 18th. The Canucks and Oilers will close it out at 2:30pm MST.
