GAME RECAP: Oilers Rookies 3, Jets Rookies 1

PENTICTON, B.C. – The Oilers Rookies started their weekend off at the Young Stars Classic with a dominating performance on Friday night, defeating the Jets Rookies 3-1 at the South Okanagan Events Centre.

Oilers 2023 second-round pick Beau Akey impressed with a goal and assist in his Young Stars debut, while Camp invite Jake Sloan found the back of the net twice as the Oilers were able to outshoot Winnipeg by a 36-14 margin and carry the pace of play for nearly the full 60 minutes.

"We won the battle. We're thankful for that," Head Coach Colin Chaulk said. "Overall, it was a good team effort. They were coming back to the bench, they were breathing heavy, and when you see that, you know they're giving what they have to."

Jets centre Connor Levis opened the scoring with 11 seconds remaining in the first period, but the Blue & Orange remained undeterred and responded quickly on the other side of the intermission with Sloan's first of two goals on the night only 1:36 into the middle frame.

"It's awesome coming out here and trying to get eyes on me; trying to show what I can do and hopefully, impress whoever's watching and see what happens from there," Sloan said.

The Oilers Rookies benefitted from eight power plays on the night, converting their lone goal with the man advantage before the nine-minute mark of the third period when Akey's unstoppable wrist shot from the right circle beat Jets netminder Domenic DiVincentiis clean into the top corner.

"It still hasn't really sunk in," Akey said. "It's still all new feelings and it's pretty cool to wear that jersey out there."

Netminder Nathan Day, Edmonton's sixth-round selection at the NHL Draft this past June in Nashville, made the 13 saves required for victory, while forwards Carter Savoie, Matvey Petrov, Cameron Wright, Ethan De Jong and defenceman Nate Misskey pitched in with assists.

The Oilers Rookies return to action on Saturday night with the Battle of Alberta in Penticton against the Calgary Flames at 8:30 pm MT.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers Rookies would’ve been plenty happy with their effort during the opening period of the Young Stars Classic despite not being able to find the back of the net – if it weren’t for the final 11 seconds of the frame.

Goaltender Nathan Day didn’t see frequent action in the first period as his Oilers Rookie teammates in front of him pressured the Jets Rookies with a 12-6 shot advantage, tilting the ice toward Jets netminder Domenic DiVincentiis for the majority of the frame.

Oilers winger Xavier Bourgault looked the most dangerous over two power plays for the Blue & Orange in the first period, but Carter Savoie would be sweating Edmonton’s best opportunity before the three-minute mark after he struck the crossbar off an offensive-zone faceoff.

With time dwindling before the intermission, Connor Levis would change the direction of the intermission talk slightly in the Oilers dressing room when he one-touched Danny Zhilkin’s pass off the rush through the five-hole of the Flint Firebirds netminder and Oilers 2023 sixth-round pick.

Still, the consistent message of continuing to work hard despite some minor mistakes was being conveyed by Chaulk and his coaching staff at the break.

"As coaches, you're fixing and you're looking for solutions and I think what we tried to do for a good part of the time is celebrate the good things that we did," he said. "We talked about that, but at the same time, the message was that the hockey gods sometimes get in the way.

"When you're doing the right things, which we did, we have a chance. Unfortunately, we came in being down by one, but one thing we do know is that when you don't do the right things and you don't play together, you're not connected. You have much less of a chance.

"That was the big part of the message and they came out, they reset and it was in the past."

SECOND PERIOD

The Sloan Ranger was out on patrol in Penticton.

Centre Jake Sloan registered 25 goals and 55 points in 58 WHL games last season with the Tri-City Americans, and the Camp invite was responsible for the Oilers Rookies taking a two-goal lead into the second intermission.

Edmonton kept the intensity up from their opening frame and turned a hard forecheck into an equalizing goal when DiVincentiis was pressured into throwing a hard rim up the boards, where defenceman Beau Akey intercepted the attempted clearance.

"We felt like we had momentum, and then anytime you give one up in the last minute or two of periods, it's usually not good," Chaulk said. "But, they responded really well."

Akey unleashed a quick shot that connected with the blade of Sloan, who with his back facing his teammate, deflected the equalizing goal over the left pad of the Jets goalie only 1:38 into the second period.

In the build-up to the play, the centre received a hard shove from Jets winger Carter Ford at the opposition bench before he turned around and delivered a hard-but-clean response check to the chest of Artemi Knaizev, leading to the Oilers heading up the ice with numbers for the forecheck that led to Edmonton's tying tally.

"The guy hit me, and he came back at me and I just hit him," Sloan said. "Then, we went in on the forecheck, got a nice rim, and Beau just sent it to my stick and I was able to redirect it right past the goalie and into the net."

"I got the first couple of shifts out the way, then worked my way into it. After that, it was just a regular game doing what I do best."

Almost 10 minutes later, the Leduc, Alta. product was in the right place at the right time to tap home his second of the night.

Sloan was the benefactor of an easy tap-in goal after the puck was backhanded in front from below the goal line by Ethan De Jong, setting up a few whacks in front for Cameron Wright before Sloan tucked away the go-ahead goal with 8:03 left in the middle frame.

"Definitely my speed," Sloan said as his greatest improvement. "I've been working on my speed a lot, just being able to get past defenders, drive to the net and just tuck some goals in."

THIRD PERIOD

Beau Akey said on Thursday that he had high expectations for himself in Penticton. He’s well on his way to meeting his own lofty expectations.

"Obviously, I was super excited out there," Akey said. "I felt good and felt I played well, so it's always good to make a good impression right off the bat."

The 2023 second-round pick for the Oilers put a great shot on net that led to Sloan’s first tally, but his shot that sealed Edmonton’s third goal and the victory at 11:06 of the final frame was an even better showcase of his highly-valued skillset.

"Definitely my puck-moving ability," he said, highlighting some of those strengths in his game. "I felt I moved it to the forwards really well and got up in the rush. Then on the power play, obviously it was clicking for us tonight, so I felt I did well in those areas."

Akey and the Oilers benefitted from eight power plays on Friday night, converting one goal with the man advantage, and it was the Barrie Colts blueliner who received the feed from winger Carter Savoie at the top of the circle, where he walked down from and ripped a wrist shot far side into the top corner of DiVincentiis’ net.

"I kind of saw their one forward sink low on Petrov's side, and it was wide open and I called for it," Akey said. "Thankfully, Savy passed it to me, so it was a good play by him."

NEXT UP

The Oilers will wipe the slate clean and turn their focus to Saturday’s tilt with their provincial rivals the Calgary Flames at 8:30 pm MT.

Fans can watch all games live on Oilers+ for free with a three-day trial and purchase a full-year subscription for just $23.99 with the promo code ROOKIE23. Offer active through Monday, Sept. 18.