GAME RECAP: Flames Rookies 6, Oilers Rookies 5

EDMONTON, AB – You have to commend the Oilers Rookies for their fightback, but it arrived too late in the third period on Friday night at Rogers Place, culminating in a 6-5 defeat to the Flames Rookies in the first of two games this weekend between the prospects of the two Alberta rivals.

Forward Matt Savoie scored twice for the Oilers in the third period, including a penalty shot, but two more late goals from Connor Clattenburg and Quinn Hutson still weren't enough as Edmonton fell a goal short of the comeback after Calgary built their advantage to 6-2 midway through the final stanza.

Forward Viljami Marjala opened the scoring for the Blue & Orange less than five minutes into the first period before Calgary scored three straight goals in the middle frame to build themselves a 4-1 lead through 40 minutes, ultimately scoring two more in the final frame to help stave off Edmonton's late surge.

"Just the group we have in there, how it's such a tight-knit group for only being together for three days," Savoie said post-game. "Everyone's feeding off each other on the bench and giving each other taps, so I thought that was really good, and we didn't quit. That was good to see. Obviously, we clawed our way back in the third, which was good, and we had a lot of energy on the bench. So it was fun to be a part of.

Clattenburg scored a goal and added 12 penalty minutes, including two fights, in an energetic performance for the Oilers Rookies in their first of two contests against their provincial foes from down Highway 2 as part of Rookie Camp.

The Oilers and Flames will meet again on Sunday at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, with the game streaming live on Oilers+ at 4:00 PM MT.

FIRST PERIOD

The Oilers were the first to find the back of the net off a crucial breakup made in the defensive zone by winger Rhett Pitlick, stopping a potentially dangerous odd-man rush for the Flames by knocking the puck off the stick of defenceman Hunter Brzustewicz in the slot and sending Viljami Marjala in on a breakaway.

The Finnish forward, originally drafted in the fifth round by the Buffalo Sabres in 2021 before signing a two-year entry-level contract with the Oilers this past June as a free agent, had endless time to go five-hole on netminder Owen Say to make it 1-0 for Edmonton before the five-minute mark of the first frame.

Marjala is one of the veterans among the Oilers Rookies at 22 years old, despite attending his first Camp. He's coming off two full seasons in Finland's top division, Liiga, where he recorded 115 points (35 goals, 80 assists) in 146 regular-season and playoff games over parts of three seasons with TPS.

Marjala possesses excellent playmaking skills, speed, and versatility to play both centre and wing. He is coming to North America for the second time in his young career, having played major junior hockey in the QMJHL for the Quebec Remparts for two seasons from 2020-22.

Forward Connor Clattenburg kept his word from his pre-game media availability that he isn't scared to drop the gloves by fighting defenceman Axel Hurtig less than a minute later to pump up the Oilers bench and the fans inside Rogers Place, delivering a strong uppercut in the abbreviated scrap and throwing his hands in the air as he made his way to the penalty box.

The former captain of the OHL's Flint Firebirds had 108 penalty minutes last season in the OHL and brings that extra edge as an energy player who's not intimidated to drop the gloves to get him and his teammates going with physicality.

"He's an electric factory out there," Savoie said of his teammate. "Every single shift, he's touching guys and getting in on the forecheck. Two fights, like you said, and he's great in the locker room as well. He's so vocal and he's such a good guy, so everyone feeds off his energy."

After the Oilers failed to convert their first power play, the local product in Savoie – wearing the 'C' as the only player on their roster with NHL experience – flashed his high-end skill in connection with linemate Isaac Howard by taking a quick pass in the neutral zone and splitting the D for a great scoring chance.

Savoie was part of a loaded top line with Howard, the 2025 Hobey Baker Award winner with Michigan State, and Josh Samanski, a veteran of three pro seasons in the DEL in Germany with the Straubing Tigers before signing a two-year ELC with the Oilers this past April.

"I think there was a little bit of natural chemistry there with us too," Savoie said. "I think in the game, I think it was just nice to get my feet wet and get back into the mix of things. You haven't played a game for three months or so, so it's obviously nice to feel some bodies and feel the puck on your stick and get to skate with it. When you're playing real five-on-five, it's a different animal out there, so it was good to get my feet wet."

For the St. Albert product, wearing the 'C' as captain for the Oilers Rookies was a major source of pride.

"It's a tremendous honour to get to wear the 'C' in any game or any tournament or anything like that, so especially with the Oilers logo on there, it's pretty special growing up as an Oilers fan," he said. "I'm just trying to lead by example, be as welcoming to the new guys as I possibly can, and we have a really good group of guys, so it's been pretty easy."

Calgary equalized at 11:40 of the opening frame on a scrappy goal that came off a loose puck below Edmonton's goal line that led to Hunter Laing being left alone in front to shovel a backhand under goaltender Samuel Jonsson's glove to make it 1-1, closing out the scoring in an evenly-matched opening frame.

SECOND PERIOD

After the Oilers looked like they had the edge in the opening 20 minutes, the Flames regrouped during the intermission and adjusted well to have a much stronger middle stanza, where they pounced on the Oilers to build themselves a comfortable three-goal lead going into the final frame.

"I thought the first 10 minutes, we had the feeling of what a game is like in this building, and you could see that," Head Coach Colin Chaulk said. "From a breakout perspective, we had some good moments. From an entry perspective, we had some good moments. We turned the puck over quite a bit, and we got back really hard. We're trying to embrace some offensive creativity, and I'm really happy that they were able to score some goals and feel good about it, but it would be nice if we kept a few out of our net."

Oilers 2025 fourth-round pick David Lewandowski had the Blue & Orange's best chance of a quiet second period when he shook off coverage at the top of the offensive zone and fired a long shot from the top of the right circle that struck the far post through a screen set by winger Quinn Hutson.

The Flames capitalized at 13:21 of the stanza to take the 2-1 lead on a lost puck from Brady Stonehouse coming back over his own team's blueline, which resulted in Jacob Battaglia quickly throwing the puck towards goal for Nathan Brisson to deflect over the shoulder of Jonsson.

The Swedish netminder, who starred for BIK Karlskoga in his first full professional season last year in HockeyAllsvenskan, the country's second division, made a terrific stop on Calgary's first power play a minute later on Aydar Suniev, but the Flames would double their lead before the man advantage ended.

Calgary forward Sam Honzek had a lucky deflection go off his skate and past Jonsson at the right post on a cross-ice pass attempt from the blueline to make it 3-1, and the Flames would add another before the break when Suniev got his revenge on the Oilers netminder with a one-time off the rush from the slot with 1:39 remaining in the frame, leaving the Blue & Orange down by three entering the third period.

THIRD PERIOD

With it looking like the Oilers Rookies were down and out, they found another gear to come within one goal of completing a heroic comeback.

Edmonton's spirited fight to make it a one-goal game in the third period ultimately fall short when they turned a four-goal deficit into a 6-5 defeat, rebounding from two quick strikes from the Flames near the period's midway mark to score three goals from Clattenburg, Savoie and Hutson over the final five minutes – the last of which coming from Hutson with two seconds left on the clock and the Oilers playing six-on-five with their net empty.

"I thought in the second period, when we had those two bad bounces, things got away from us a little bit and we tried to calm the group in between the periods," Chaulk said. "I thought they responded well and were a little bit more connected."

Clattenburg's second fight and a penalty shot for Savoie in the first half of the final frame for the Oilers quickly changed the game's complexion before the Flames grew their lead to 6-2, scoring twice on netminder Josh Banini when Jonsson was taken out of the game with 10 minutes left due to cramping.

After Clattenburg dropped the gloves for a second time, Savoie fought through Flames' faceoff win in Edmonton's own zone past the six-minute mark of the frame to steal the puck off a defenceman and spring himself on a breakaway, where he was hooked by forward Andrew Basha to earn himself a penalty shot.

Savoie showed patience on the one-on-one by skating in slowly and showing quick hands to go backhand-to-forehand and slide it around the left pad of Say to cut into the Flames' lead at 4-2 with over 13 minutes left in regulation.

"Naturally, I think that you're a little bit nervous, but all the preparation and all the penalty shots I've had in my career, it felt pretty natural out there and I could just go and execute my move," Savoie said.

Banini was called into action for the Oilers with half the third period still to play after Head Coach Colin Chaulk confirmed post-game that Jonsson was pulled due to cramping. The Camp invite came under siege almost immediately when he was beaten off a bad bounce off his own defenceman's skate on a Flames' odd-man rush that led to Matvei Gridin beating him to the left side while the Moose Jaw Warriors netminder slid the opposite direction.

Banini is a graduate of the Edmonton Junior Oilers Hockey Program, having been invited to Oilers Development Camp in the summer and Rookie Camp. Despite giving up another goal soon after, the local product earned the experience of a lifetime playing for his local side under tough circumstances.

"[Jonsson's] got to come out of the game, and it's a great moment for a local young man to get in and be in the net," Chaulk said. "So those are some good moments that he'll remember."

Parker Bell made it 6-2 less than a minute later on an open wrist shot that beat Banini from the left side, as it looked like the Flames would cruise to victory. But think again, as the Oilers weren't about to quit and made things very interesting over the final few minutes.

Clattenburg scored his first goal in tight to make it 6-3 when Matt Copponi fed him a saucer pass at the blueline, and the dynamic shifted again when Savoie took a pass in the neutral zone with speed to come in alone and slide his second goal of the contest five-hole on Say after avoiding the netminder's poke check.

The 21-year-old Savoie looks a step ahead and more comfortable this time around at Rookie Camp, showing off his skating improvements on the play that was a product of dedication in the gym this offseason while having spent the summer working out in his hometown at Rogers Place.

"Yeah, 100 percent. I had a really good summer this summer training at Rogers herem, so I didn't miss a day," he said. "I feel like I'm bigger, stronger, quicker. My body feels like it's in really good shape and I'm ready to hit the ground running here."

"[Skating] just allows you to create separation from the defender. Calgary had a couple of big D-men over there, so just being able to slip through plays and beat them when they're a little bit flat-footed is a huge advantage."

Pulling their goalie for the extra attacker, the Oilers kept the puck in numerous times at the blueline and pulled it to a one-goal game on the finish from Hutson, but only two seconds left on the clock made it a difficult task for them to find that late equalizer to compelte the comeback in a 6-5 defeat.

The two rivals will meet again on Sunday afternoon at Scoriabank Saddledome in Calgary to close out this home-and-home rookie showcase.