The Edmonton Oil Kings topple one of the top teams in the WHL and re-enter the win column.

Saturday night, goaltender Parker Snell made his first career WHL start, playing host to the Prince George Cougars. The 16-year-old was staring down the likes of Koehn Ziemmer, Riley Heidt, and Terik Parascak- all NHL level talents.

Yet, he stopped them all.

In a rebound effort for Edmonton, losing to the Calgary Hitmen the previous night, the Oil Kings blanked the Cougars by a score of 5-0 and Snell made 29 saves to seal the victory. Edmonton also had five different goal scorers, including Gracyn Sawchyn who extended his point streak to five games.

"(It was) a little nerve-racking, I mean, big crowd and stuff, but it was a blast. Boys held them off, couple of blocked shots late in the game, that was huge." Snell said of the experience, and his team helping him out. The 2008-born netminder also mentioned the leadership of captain Gavin Hodnett, having helped him out off the ice and overall been a great leader since he was given the "C" in the 2024 offseason.

Snell on the skill of WHL shooters as opposed to what he's used to at the U18 level: "Yeah, it's obviously a pretty big difference. I mean, just guys move so much quicker. The one thing I will say, I feel like there are less mistakes out there, just cause guys are a lot more skilled and they kind of like they execute on what they're doing a lot better."

Head Coach Luke Pierce commended the effort from the team, saying they stuck to the plan and stayed focused. "We've seen a tendency of times when our powerplay struggles a bit. It can kind of eat at us for a bit but I thought the goal right after by Blake (Fiddler) and that line was outstanding."

He continued: "I think we saw that as we were digging in and blocking shots, trying to eliminate any second chances and things like that. This group is really starting to buy into that plan for each other."

Pierce also commented on Snell's performance, noting that the staff and team as a whole is excited for the future of their goaltending.

Looking ahead, the Oil Kings play their third game in three days on Sunday afternoon when they host the Brandon Wheat Kings.

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