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Title - Liam Carter
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Follow Me on TwitterLiam Carter is the Calgary Flames' correspondent for OurHometown.ca. He is an avid hockey fan who loves his Flames! If you have questions or wish to contact Liam, you can email him at lcarter@ourhometown.ca
Calgary takes round two of the Battle of Alberta with 5-3 win over Oilers
Liam Carter
OurHometown.ca

Calgary takes round two of the Battle of Alberta with 5-3 win over Oilers
After allowing two goals in the opening moments of the game, the Calgary Flames stormed back to drop the young Oilers by a five to three margin on Saturday night. Leading the way offensively for the Flames was none other then the captain himself Jarome Iginla, as he assisted on three of the teams five goals on the night.
PHOTO CREDIT - CalgaryFlames.com

Calgary - December 4, 2011 - After allowing two goals in the opening moments of the game, the Calgary Flames stormed back to drop the young Oilers by a five to three margin on Saturday night. Leading the way offensively for the Flames was none other then the captain himself Jarome Iginla, as he assisted on three of the teams five goals on the night.

A jam packed first ten minutes of play was ignited by the home team when Lennart Petrell opened the scoring at the 2:19 mark of the first period. Petrell was rewarded with his second goal of the season as he found himself the beneficiary of a lucky bounce that saw the puck redirect off his body and into the net. The Oilers however did not let up as just a shift later struggling youngster Sam Gagner managed to wrist home his first goal of the season after the Oilers pounced on a Flames turnover in the neutral zone. A time out was called immediately after the play by head coach Brent Sutter, and it paid off. On the ensuing possession Lee Stempniak lured big defender Andy Sutton into taking a retaliatory penalty after the whistle.

Calgary was quick to capitalize while up a man, as Jarome Iginla found Olli Jokinen roaming in front of the net before slipping a shot five hole past Nikolai Khabibulin to pull the team within a goal. Just a minute later the game was tied as Rene Bourque cashed in on a rebound that marked his team leading eighth goal of the season. The action continued for the remainder of the period as both goalies were called upon to keep the game tied at twos. Despite the slow start, Calgary garnered a total of fourteen shots on net to the Oilers eight.

The second period showcased the Flames penalty kill as they were forced to kill off five straight opportunities against. The goal scoring would have continued to pile up had it not been for the stellar play of both goaltenders in the second frame. Such chances included rugged veteran Ryan Smyth cruising in on a breakaway only having to be denied by the paddle of Kiprusoff as he attempted to go from his forehand to backhand. Two incredible cross crease saves from Nikolai Khabibulin kept the score tied as he robbed both Jarome Iginla and Lee Stempniak from the same spot on the ice. The period did not result in a goal, but it was certainly an entertaining display of hockey nonetheless.

Rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins put the home town team ahead when he banged in a sloppy rebound let out by Mikka Kiprusoff at the five and a half minute mark of the final period. But again, to the surprise of many the flames responded moments later a Derek Smith took a no look feed from the captain and placed a perfect shot off the crossbar and in. Calgary’s road power play continued to be effective as center Mikael Backlund swatted in his first goal of the season to pull the flames ahead for the first time in the game. As the clock slowly wound down the Oilers continuously tested Kiprusoff, and he came up large when his team needed him the most. With less than a minute and a half to play, Ryan Smyth had the puck lying between his feet with a wide open net to shoot at. He would have scored had it not been for the desperation stick save by #34 between the pipes. Olli Jokinen netted his second goal of the game into the empty net to put the game on ice. With the win Calgary extends there point streak to four games and will look to continue that trend as they fly on over to Vancouver to play the Canucks Sunday night.

Game Day Notes

  • The news on Mark Giordano’s injury is not good, as it was determined Friday that he could possibly miss the remainder of the season with ruptured tendons in his hamstring. Mark will go in for another evaluation in three weeks time.

  • Joe Piskula made his flames debut after being recalled from Abbotsford. He had just shy of ten minutes of ice time, and was a -2 on the night.

  • The penalty kill was spectacular, as they killed off all six minors thrown there way and did so by only allowing ONE shot on net in the process.

  • The power play was effective as two key power play goals helped change the tide of the game.

  • Jay Bouwmeester played an astonishing 10 minutes while shorthanded. This marked one of his better performances on the year. With the loss of Giordano, Jay will be relied upon to increase his performance to lead the defense on a nightly basis.

    Three Stars

    1. Jarome Iginla (three assists)
    2. Derek Smith (one goal, one assist)
    3. Rene Bourque (one goal, one assist)


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