Josh GreschnerIn front of a packed Clare Drake Arena, the Oilers rookies defeated the Alberta Golden Bears 6-3 in their annual exhibition game.
Having faced off 26 times, the Oilers rookies are now tied 13-13 in all-time matches with the Bears, who last won the series in 2013.
The Bears started strong with two goals in first period, including an early effort by Tanner Clarkson 30 seconds into the game. Jamie Crooks followed up later in the period, but the team didn’t capitalize again until their final goal by Lucas Nickles in the third.
Oilers rookies Collin Shirley, Braden Christoffer, Tomas Soustal, Patrick Russel, and Drake Caggiula all found the net, with Caggiula scoring twice. Two goals were assisted by Finnish power forward and fourth overall draft pick Jesse Puljujarvi.
Despite the loss, the Bears didn’t lose out on the experience of playing a high-energy exhibition game — coach Serge Lajoie said he liked his team’s third-period performance.
“It’s about making improvements,” Lajoie said. “And this is what the game did, it showed us areas of our game we need to work on.”
Bears forward Stephane Legault said the Bears’ quick first goal was good for the team, but they soon “let off the gas.” They did well in the third period, but Legault wished their early effort lasted the whole 60 minutes.
“(The Oilers rookies) exposed some of our seams … they’re all good players,” he said.
Oilers assistant coach Tony Borgford commended his team for getting their feet moving after the Bears’ early goal.
“We start piling up shots and obviously with shot volume you’re going to get some goals,” he said.
Puljujarvi’s contributions to the win earned him the first star of the game. He praised his team and their ability to execute on the power play. Caggiula, whose second-period goal was set up by Puljujarvi noted their cohesion.
“Obviously (Puljujarvi’s) a tremendous talent and we’ve got some chemistry rolling now,” Caggiula said. “He’s a great kid off the ice as well.”
The Bears, with five exhibition games remaining, face off against the Saskatchewan Huskies next on September 23.
