CENOVUS GAME STORY

Oilers ground Jets with 2-0 shutout win

Chase Schaber & Ryan Lowery score, while Tyler Bunz stops 22 in Penticton

Tuesday, 13.09.2011 / 10:38 PM / Cenovus Game Story
By Ryan Dittrick  - edmontonoilers.com
Edmonton's Tyler Bunz smothers a puck during second period action at the South Okanagan Events Centre. The Oilers won the game 2-0, with goals coming from Chase Schaber & Ryan Lowery. (Photo by Marissa Baecker / Getty Images)
 

STATS & SCORING
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PRE-GAME AUDIO
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Chase Schaber and Ryan Lowery each scored, while Tyler Bunz stopped 22 as the Oilers grounded the Jets by a 2-0 score at the South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, BC.

FIRST PERIOD

It didn't take long for the Oilers to crack the Jets' shutout streak, ending it only 2:57 into the game. Following a screened point shot, Chase Schaber pounced on a rebound, beating Winnipeg goalie Chris Carrozzi upstairs to put the boys in orange and blue up 1-0 on the team's second shot.

At the 7:34 mark, Edmonton brought out the physical game. With the play scrambled in the neutral zone, Ryan Martindale tracked and crunched Winnipeg's Eric O'Dell, inspiring a brief dust-up that put the Oilers on the game's first power-play.

55 seconds into the advantage, the Oilers went up by two. Kristians Pelss and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins orchestrated the play, and a long-distance wrister by Ryan Lowery eluded Carrozzi for the PP marker.

By the midway point of the period, the Oilers had tested the Jets netminder with six shots, while Tyler Bunz had only seen three at the other end.

The Oilers were presented with another opportunity to light the scoreboard when Winnipeg's O'Dell was charged with hooking at 12:11. The Jets' shorthanded efforts helped create the best chance during the two-minute advantage, however, but Bunz stood tall in stoning a partial two-on-one.

Late in the period, Taylor Fedun was assessed a minor for intereference, putting Winnipeg on the power-play at 17:15. That opportunity passed without incident, and the Oilers' 2-0 lead remained heading into the intermission.

SECOND PERIOD

Although the opening period ended in a brisk pace, the second was much slower until the 5:07 mark when camp invite Brett Ferguson went toe-to-toe with Winnipeg's Jordan Depape. Both players traded blows in an inspired, highly-entertaining tilt.

As the midway point of the period approached, the Jets crawled closer on the shot clock, cutting the edge to a 14-12 Oilers advantage, but Edmonton continued to lead 2-0.

It was also announced at that time that Oilers centre (playing wing tonight) Ryan Martindale had suffered a hip flexor injury and would not return to the game.

With 6:12 on the clock, Ryan Lowery made an ill-advised play, turning the puck over deep in the Oilers end. Eric O'Dell picked up the loose disc, cut in goal and launched a shot. The puck caught iron and bounced up where Bunz was able to make a sensational snag, preserving his team's lead.

At 16:25, Oilers rearguard Brandon Davidson was assessed a hooking minor, sending a hungry Jets squad to the power-play. Although they were unable to cash, Winnipeg surpassed Edmonton's shot count with a 17-14 edge.

The Oilers' 2-0 lead carried into the second intermission; so, too, did Winnipeg's newly established shot advantage.

THIRD PERIOD

The third began much in the same way that the second did. This time, the combatants were 6'3", 208-pound Wes Vannieuwenhuizen and 6'6", 240-pound Cody Sol. The larger man earned the decision, but Vannieuwenhuizen did well to stay in it.

At 4:34, Winnipeg's John Albert was assessed a tripping minor, but the Oilers were unable to convert. They did, however, regain the shot advantage with a 19-18 lead as the 10-minute mark approached.

A slashing infraction to Jets forward Ivan Telegin kept the penalty box doors swinging at 11:57, but Carrozzi's post prevented the Oilers from doing any further damage.

With 1:50 remaining in the third, Bunz put an exclamation mark on his shutout bid. A remarkable sliding stop emphatically denied the Jets' three-way attack. Moments later, he was at it again, snatching a missile up top to seal a 2-0 Oilers win.

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