SLAM! Sports
SLAM! Hockey
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
COLUMNS
NHL
The Teams
Full Schedule
Monthly Schedule
Standings
Statistics
Rosters
Injury list
Movement
Trades
Hits Gallery
INTERACTIVE
JUNIOR
MORE HOCKEY
ALSO ON SLAM!
Friday, December 24, 1999
Oilers get Grinched
Fred Brathwaite saves like Scrooge
CALGARY -- If Fred Brathwaite doesn't have a catchy nickname already, he certainly can go by a moniker appropriate to this festive time of the year.
The Calgary Flames netminder looked right at home in the role of the Grinch last night, ever-so-slyly spoiling what could have been a perfect Christmas for the Edmonton Oilers. Brathwaite came within 17 minutes of his second consecutive shutout as the Flames extended their home unbeaten streak to seven games with a 2-1 victory over the Oilers before 16,807 fans at the Canadian Airlines Saddledome.
The loss put a halt to the Oilers' four-game unbeaten stretch as well as snapping their three-game win streak against the Cowtowners.
"They had some fans here from Edmonton and the crowd was pretty loud," said Brathwaite, whose shutout was broken on an Edmonton power play in the third when Roman Hamrlik's shot trickled across the goal line after banking off Ryan Smyth.
"We needed these points and we stepped up to the challenge. Edmonton's no slouch, they're a fast team, and somehow we pulled it off."
Brathwaite kept his team ahead late in the third, stepping up to block a pair of whacks off Todd Marchant's stick, then getting a little assistance from his defence as Jim Dowd's wrister slipped behind the former Oiler netminder before being cleared from a gaping goal.
"It just seems like I'm seeing the puck, and when I don't it seems to be hitting the guys in front of me or missing the net," added Brathwaite.
"They had a lot of pressure on us. They are fun games to be in. There's a lot of pressure and our guys played really well again."
Fast Freddy made his presence known in the first period, stacking the pads as he came across the crease to stop Pat Falloon's one-timer partway through a two-man Oilers advantage.
Calgary finally made a shot count 4:02 into the second period when Rene Corbet handled the puck along the side boards, dangled it past a swimming Janne Niinimaa, then fired it toward the net where rugged Clarke Wilm merely had to tap in his fifth goal of the season.
The Flames kept the pressure on after taking the lead, swarming the Edmonton zone, firing from all angles and beating the Oilers to almost every rebound and loose puck.
By the time the Flames made it 2-0, Salo had to be feeling like Denis, the overwhelmed French-Canadian netminder with the bad allergies in the hockey flick Slapshot. With the teams skating four-on-four, the Flames' consistent forechecking paid off when Hnat Domenichelli, who grew up watching the Battle of Alberta from his home in the City of Champions, snatched the puck from Alex Selivanov's skates and delivered a pass to Valeri Bure in the slot. Bure made no mistake as he stood unguarded and picked the top corner glove side on Salo.
"It came down to one mistake and it turned out to be the winning goal," said head coach Kevin Lowe. "It was a tight game and a game of mistakes. We would have loved to take advantage of those two five-on-threes (power plays) but we didn't, and we can't make those mistakes."
Wilm credited the forecheck for giving the Flames an edge in the second, but the Oilers weren't as complimentary towards their rivals' efforts.
"If they're not going to call holding and the interference, we might as well do it. That's their whole game plan," spouted Ethan Moreau. "It's a pretty big advantage. You give your defenceman a couple more seconds. They played pretty hard. We didn't capitalize on a couple of the chances we had and that was the hockey game."
 Bert's back on blades Blue Jays boot game Bombers drop Peterson Felicien rebuilds race | Visit our Polls Archive |