Sam Reinhart marked his return to the WHL with two goals as the Kootenay ICE defeated the Edmonton Oil Kings 4-3 Friday at Western Financial Place.
Reinhart scored in the first minute of the first period, and again in the first minute of the second frame as the ICE posted its second successive victory on home ice.
The Buffalo Sabres draftee opened proceedings just 32 seconds into the game, as he followed a bouncing puck into the Oil Kings zone before cutting to the front of the net and backhanding a shot past netminder Tristan Jarry.
Edmonton responded less than six minutes later, however, when Luke Bertolucci pounced on a rebound in front of the Kootenay net. The score remained level at 1-1 through 20 minutes despite the ICE holding a 21-8 advantage in shots on goal.
Kootenay started the second period on a two-man advantage and again Reinhart showed his offensive flair, firing a shot over Jarry's shoulder from the bottom of the left circle at the 21 second mark after receiving a hard cross-crease pass from linemate Tim Bozon.
Again the Oil Kings evened the score in short order, as Lane Bauer hammered a one-timer from the left point for his fourth goal of the season.
The ICE reclaimed the lead before the midway mark of period two. Bozon claimed a rebound in the slot, before juking around an Edmonton defender and wiring a wrist shot past Jarry for his first goal of the season.
Austin Vetterl put the hosts ahead 4-2 on another Kootenay power-play 3:53 into the third period, tucking home a rebound to Jarry's right.
The Oil Kings replied on a man-advantage of their own 26 seconds after Vetterl's goal through an Aaron Irving one-timer, but ICE goaltender Wyatt Hoflin stopped all five other Edmonton shots in period three to preserve the Kootenay victory.
ICE defenseman Rinat Valiev led all scorers with three assists, while Bozon and Reinhart each enjoyed multi-point nights.
Defensemen Blake Orban and Brett Pollock each had two assists for the Oil Kings.
Hoflin made 19 saves to record his second win in as many starts, while Jarry turned aside 35 of the 39 shots he faced.
UP NEXT: the ICE continues its six-game home stand with a matchup against the Swift Current Broncos Saturday. Game time is 7:00 at Western Financial Place.