EDMONTON — The Edmonton Oil Kings scored three times in the third period to beat the Lethbridge Hurricanes 4-1 on Wednesday night at Rogers Place.
Parker Snell made 26 saves and was named the game's first star.
Jonas Vanicek opened the scoring at 10:04 of the first period, his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Kayden Stroeder and Cochrane’s Jensen Marsh.
Lethbridge outshot Edmonton 12-7 in the first period, and Vanicek's night took a turn at 13:09 when he drew an instigator penalty, a fighting major and a misconduct after a scrap with Gavin Lesiuk.
The second period was scoreless. Edmonton outshot Lethbridge 14-7 in the frame to take a 21-19 edge into the third, with Stroeder stopped on a breakaway and KJ Sauer denied on a wrister by Dylan McFadyen late in the period.
Dayne Beuker tied the game 1-1 at 6:54 of the third, his 11th goal of the season, assisted by Kyle Heger and Logan Stuart. The goal came moments after a heavy collision involving Calgary's Cohen Pentney sent an Oil Kings defenceman into the end boards, with no penalty called on the play.
Kayson Anderson and Jake Evans fought at 8:33 of the third, Anderson also taking a kneeing minor and Evans an unsportsmanlike conduct minor.
Dylan Dean scored the winner at 13:14, his second goal of the season, taking a feed from the corner and finishing forehand to backhand past McFadyen's outstretched pad. Luke Melnik and Ryan Gower had the assists.
Snell held the lead with a stop on a partial Lethbridge breakaway, and Kanjyu Gojsic made it 3-1 at 16:20, his third of the season, fed by Noa Ta'amu after Sauer won the puck battle below the goal line.
Snell made two more saves with McFadyen lifted for the extra attacker before Calgary's Aaron Obobaifo hit the empty net at 18:57, his sixth goal of the season, to seal the 4-1 result.
Edmonton outshot Lethbridge 30-27. McFadyen made 26 saves for the Hurricanes. Dean was the second star and Beuker the third. Attendance was 4,718.
Head coach Jason Smith pointed to his goaltender first.
"Parker played really well," Smith said. "If you give us a chance to win the game, keep us in the game, make a few big saves here and there when we need it, that's what we can ask of you."
Smith liked how his team closed it out. "It was a pretty competitive game both ways for pretty much the whole night until the third period," Smith said. "The compete level was there. In the third, we capitalized on some opportunities and got to the net a little more than they did. That's obviously the difference in the game."
On the winner, Smith said Dean is "a guy that plays a hard game, finishes checks. To see him bury that one for the game winner was obviously pretty nice."
On Obobaifo, Smith said: "He's been kind of an all-around player. He plays the offensive side of it. He can skate. He's very responsible, generally in good spots. He brings a lot of energy to our group and he's competitive."
Snell, the game's first star, said he lives for the late pressure. "You play for those moments, and the game's on the line," Snell said. "I don't necessarily care about being the guy, but that's what you play for. You play for the pressure in those kinds of situations."
This recap is brought to you in part by Animas Painting — interior and exterior painting in Calgary. Reach Rafael at 403-604-5529.