MOOSE JAW -- The Edmonton Oil Kings got off to a fast start and never looked back against the Moose Jaw Warriors on Friday night, going on to hand Moose Jaw their first loss of the season.
Edmonton took a 3-0 lead out of the first period and rode a stellar showing by goaltender Ethan Simcoe to secure a 5-1 victory at Temple Gardens Centre.
Moose Jaw falls to 3-1-0-0 and are tied for third in the Eastern Conference, while the Oil Kings improve to 4-1-0-0 and take over first place overall in the Western Hockey League.
Edmonton opened scoring 6:54 into the contest when Jack Toogood pounced on a mishandled puck by a Warriors defender between the face-off circles and put a quick shot home.
The goal was Toogood’s first of the season, and 5:45 later he’d have his second, taking advantage of the Warriors being trapped in their zone by breaking out of the corner, evading a pair of defenders and scoring on a backhand from the slot.
Joe Iginla then made it a 3-0 Edmonton lead with 1:09 to play in the period, corralling a pass from Lukas Sawchyn, spinning in the right face-off circle and putting a shot through a pair of Moose Jaw players in front of the net that eluded a screened Mathew Hutchison.
It didn’t take long into the second period for Edmonton to extend their lead to four. Parker Alcos found Ethan McKenzie pinching in from the blueline and his shot from the bottom of the face-off circle would find the back of the net.
Miroslav Holinka then made it 5-0 five minutes later, but it was Sawchyn who did the work, forcing a turnover in the neutral zone and carrying deep into the Warriors’ zone before sending a pass into the slot for the one-timer goal.
The Warriors had their share of chances throughout the game but couldn’t find a way to get a shot past Simcoe until late in the game. Aiden Ziprick snapped the shutout bid with 7:08 to play and Edmonton two-men shorthanded, coming in off the blueline and to the top of the right face-off circle before putting a shot top shelf blocker side.
That would be as close as Moose Jaw would get on the night, though, and Edmonton would take the comfortable win.
Hutchison stopped eight shots before being replaced by Kyle Jones after the fifth goal. Jones would stop seven the rest of the way. Simcoe finished with 31 saves in total.
The Warriors are back in action on Saturday night when they host the Vancouver Giants. Puck drop is at 6 p.m. at Temple Gardens Centre.
