SkyReach Centre - Edmonton Oilers

Trip Notes: T, Cyn, and I took our second trip to Canada. This time to Banff, Edmonton, and Calgary. After flying into Calgary, we hopped into our rental car and headed up to Banff where we’d be spending the next couple days. Went snowboarding one day. Unfortunately the snow wasn’t very good yet. Went up to the Fairmont hotel to get pictures, did a little shopping, and went to the hot springs. On our way to Edmonton we stopped by Lake Louise. Some people were playing hockey on the lake. I was jealous. Not much to do once we got to Edmonton. Checked out the West Mall. That’s all we had heard of that we should visit. Nice. Tons of stuff to do there. Rides, pools, games, and much more. Went to the game that night. Headed back to Calgary the next morning. Saw many commercials for mini kegs with hockey jerseys on them. Was determined to find one. Finally on the way to Calgary, I found one. That made me happy. Ice skated in Olympic park, then headed out to the game. Left town the next morning.

Arena Notes: From what I remember, the arena was out in the middle of no where. That may have only been because it was dark when we got there, or it may be true. There's a big statue of Gretzky holding the cup outside the arena. We sat on the 3rd level near the corner. Good seats. SkyReach Centre now Rexall Place was built in 1974. It holds 17,100 hockey fans. I don't believe they have a mascot. Retired numbers are 3 - Al Hamilton, 7 - Paul Coffey, 17 - Jari Kurri, 31 - Grant Fuhr, and 99 - Gretzky.


Game Notes: -- Jason Chimera assisted on the tying goal 8:44 into the third period and scored the game-winner with 99 seconds left in overtime as the Edmonton Oilers rallied three times for a 4-3 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche.

Chimera set up the tying goal for George Laraque, who netted his second of the season in his first game back after suffering a lacerated left elbow on November 30 against Colorado.

Edmonton's Todd Marchant contributed two assists. He recorded his 300th NHL point with an assist on Anson Carter's team-leading 14th goal in the second. Then, he fired a centering pass into the crease in overtime and the puck found its way through traffic and on to Chimera's stick for the tap-in.

"Todd got it behind the net and made a great play to feed it out front," Chimera said. "It landed right on my stick and I had an open cage. It's one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. You dream of that when you're growing up, to score an overtime goal at Skyreach and for it to come in a big game against a guy named Patrick Roy is unbelievable."

The Oilers erased one-goal deficits in each period of regulation and improved to 12-2-1 in their last 15 games.

"We're just playing with such confidence," Laraque said. "We refuse to quit and we refuse to lose. The city is supporting us and everything is just going as well as it could right now."

The Avalanche lost Joe Sakic, their captain and scoring leader, midway through the second period with a left ankle injury. They fell to 1-4-1 in their last six games.

"He's not just an offensive threat, I think he's one of the five best defensive players in the game," Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote said. "He's all over the ice. With him out, we needed other guys to step up and (Dean) McAmmond's line with (Steven) Reinprecht really gave us some good chances and created a lot. And I felt that was the positive we can take from this one."

Sakic, who scored his 500th career goal on Wednesday at Vancouver, collided with teammate McAmmond in the second, limped to the dressing room and did not return.

"I really don't remember," McAmmond said. "We were coming towards each other and just tried to get out of each other's way and he got tangled up a little and twisted his ankle."

But the Oilers had to make do without second-leading scorer Mike Comrie for most of the contest. Just 75 seconds into the contest, Comrie was issued debatable five-minute major and game misconduct penalties for elbowing superstar Peter Forsberg.

"I passed the puck to Anson and Forsberg kept coming at me," Comrie said. "So I put my hands up to protect myself so he wouldn't run me over. You could say I got my elbow up, but I didn't think it was worthy of an ejection."

This contest marked the fourth time this season the Oilers have earned at least one point after trailing in the third. Their last such comeback came on October 28, when they rallied from a 3-1 deficit before recording a 4-3 overtime loss against Dallas.

That was Edmonton's lone overtime loss so far during the 2002-03 campaign. The Oilers are 3-1-4 in eight overtime games.

Meanwhile, the Avalanche fell to a disappointing 1-4-8 in overtime games this season.

"If we had made the most of our opportunities in overtime, this might be a different season than where we're at," McAmmond said.
"We've given away more than our share of points, that's for sure.

"We've had some good games against them (the Oilers) this year, they've beaten us twice at home and now once here in Edmonton. But I still think we beat ourselves tonight. If I get the puck off the glass on the play where they tied it up, we win 3-2."

Edmonton climbed to within two points of first-place Minnesota in the Northwest Division.

After falling to 1-5-4-1 against Northwest Division foes this season, Colorado is nine points off the pace. The Avalanche are trying to extend their streak of consecutive division titles to nine.

One reason for Colorado's struggles has been its poor penalty killing. The Avalanche entered the contest with the league's 30th-ranked penalty killing unit with a 77.6 percentage (30-for-134). On Friday, they allowed goals during two of the Oilers' six power-play opportunities.