The Edmonton Oil Kings and the Moose Jaw Warriors open the 2012 Husky Eastern Conference Championship Series at Rexall Place on Friday. The series will feature the two top teams in the WHL’s Eastern Conference. Not only have both teams won their first two matchups of the playoffs, they also finished atop the Eastern Conference Regular Season standings. The Oil Kings’ 107 points led the conference while the Warriors were a close second with 98 points.

You can be a part of the action as the Oil Kings look for their first Eastern Conference Championship in modern franchise history. Tickets are on sale now for Games 1 and 2 and are available at oilkings.ca or by calling (780) 414-GOAL (4625). The 2012 Oil Kings Playoffs are presented by ATB Financial.  The Husky Eastern Conference Championship Series will also be shown in its entirety LIVE on SHAW TV. (Check Local Listings)

SERIES PREVIEW

Edmonton had a 3-0-0-1 record against Moose Jaw in the regular season outscoring the Warriors 11-8. But if the season series is any indication of how this playoff series will play out, it would be wise to expect a low scoring, tight checking affair. Two of the four games required extra time including an overtime win for Edmonton and a shootout win for Moose Jaw, and only one of the games was won by a margin greater than one goal.

Despite solid play on the road, both teams will be challenged to get a win in their opponent’s arena. The Warriors (30-3-2-1) and the Oil Kings (29-5-1-1) combined for the league’s best home records throughout the regular season. Of the Warriors three home losses, one came at the hands of the Oil Kings as Edmonton won the October 7th matchup by a score of 3-1 at Mosaic Place in Moose Jaw.
The Mark Pysyk and Quinton Howden matchup will be interesting to watch throughout the series. The pair were teammates for Team Canada at the past World Junior Hockey Championships. Pysyk and the Edmonton defensemen will be tasked with shutting down the Florida Panthers first round draft pick who leads the Warriors with 15 points (5G, 10A) in nine playoff games.

The Oil Kings are led in goal by 2011 Calgary Flames draft pick Laurent Brossoit. Laurent’s impressive spring continues as he leads the WHL in goals against average (1.50) and shutouts (2) through the first two rounds of the playoffs. He is also tied for first in wins (8) and save percentage (0.941). Not only has Laurent been great in goal during the Oil Kings playoff run, he also put up impressive numbers throughout the 2011-12 regular season. His 42 wins were tied for first in the league and his 2.47 goals against average ranked second.

The series will continue in Edmonton on Sunday at 5:00PM before the teams head to Moose Jaw for Game 3 on Tuesday and Game 4 on Wednesday. If necessary, Game 5 will take place in Edmonton on Friday, April 27th, Game 6 will be back in Moose Jaw on Sunday, April 29th, and Game 7 will return to Edmonton on Tuesday, May 1.