Oilers Win National Championship

by Bruce Tippets
BTippets@cherryroad.com 

Vernal is now home to a national hockey championship.

The Oilers made history winning their first USPHL Premier title with a 6-2 victory over the Springfield Picks at Wayne, New Jersey, in the Ice Vault.

“It means everything to win it,” Oilers general manager David Imonti said. “We set out from day one and to accomplish this goal. The effort these guys put in was second to none.”

The win finished the Oilers with an unbelievable 52-0-1 season. Vernal could make a claim that they are the best team ever to play in the USPHL with their record and roster they put together.

“We always want to be better every year,” Imonti said. “This year we sent a message that Vernal is a hockey town.”

Vernal City Mayor Doug Hammond officially proclaimed March 24 as Vernal Oilers day, honoring the team’s remarkable achievements this season.

“To say the least, it was an incredible tournament,” Vernal coach Ryan Howse said. “Like I have been telling people it was hard and it wasn’t easy. We knew it was going to be difficult. We said to each other that we would win the first game we played together and the last game.”

When the players and coaches arrived back home after winning the title, they were treated with a fire truck and police escort through town.

Fans cheered them on all the way to their home site at the Uintah County Western Park Ice Rink.

“The fact that this level of hockey to get the support we have and to show up on a work afternoon is absolutely unbelievable,” Imonti said.

The Oilers were represented from players around the world, including the United States, Canada, Finnland, Italy, Russia, Hungary, Belarus, the United Kingdom, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

“I think in our regular lineup we had one American,” said Imonti. “The rest were an international affair. I couldn’t have been more proud of this group. They had one goal and they accomplished it.”

Imonti said the Oilers were honored to have Howse and assistant coach Mitchell Knight teach the players.

“They did a great job,” Imonti said. “I can’t compliment the staff enough. Assembling the pieces are one thing but getting them to buy in and come together is another thing. They did a fantastic job.”

Title game

With the championship on the line, the Pics jumped out first with a 1-0 lead at the 7:40 mark of the second period over the Oilers.

“We went into that third period down 1-0 but we never lost faith and lost sight of what we needed to do,” Howse said. “Everyone stepped when they needed to. They played for each other. It’s a real family environment.”

Despite being down, the Oilers started the third period in good shape.

Vernal had a 30-second 5-on-3 power play and a 4:28 5-on-4 power play to begin the final period, the Oilers took advantage of the situation.

Vernal’s Dominik Griessmer scored at the 2:01 mark and Kai Tsoar added another goal at the 3:31 mark to put the Oilers up 2-1.

That lead didn’t last long.

Springfield knotted the game at 2-2 at 6:40 left in regulation.

“There was no panic in the third period,” Howse said. “The message was we deserved to be here. That is the attitude and belief in our group.”

The rest of the game belonged to the Oilers.

Gergo Schwartz scored the game-winning goal at 10:41 to make it 3-2.

Jakub Bulik found the back of the net at the 10:57 mark.

Roni Alanko got into the scoring act at 12:30.

Rodion Gornostaev finished the offense with a goal at 13:30.

“We are a very balanced team,” Howse said. “That was the tough part about coaching this team. There is a lot of talent here. There are a lot of players here that didn’t play that could have played. To get them to buy into what we are trying to accomplish here is something special.”

Jett McCullum registered two assists in the game.

“The power play helps,” Howse said. “All year we knew how to score. The energy game came back after we got the first two goals.”

In the net, Levente Hegedus made 20 saves on 22 shots for the win.

Hegedus was the starting goalie for the Oilers in four out of the five games at the national tournament.

Semifinal 

Vernal came into the tournament a the No. 1 overall seed but dropped to No. 4 in the semifinals after losing their first game of any kind in the final round-robin game against Potomac.

“It was the right time to lose a game,” Howse said. “It was the right time to face adversity. It was something that was needed. The feeling that we had after the game is that we worked too hard and we didn’t want to lose again.

The Oilers clinched a spot to the title game with a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Juniors.

Vernal’s Roni Alanko and Sami Kallionkieli each scored a pair of goals.

Hegedus was credited with 24 saves on 27 in the net for the Oilers.