OILERS DEFEAT STEELHEADS IN SHOOTOUT THRILLER ON AUTISM AWARENESS NIGHT
Tulsa wins the first of five matchups this season, defeating Idaho 4-3 in a shootout in front of a crowd of 8,838
TULSA, OK — The Oilers put on a show, defeating the Idaho Steelheads in a shootout 4-3 at the BOK Center in front of 8,838 fans on Saturday for Autism Awareness Night.
Tulsa opened the scoring for the second straight night, hopping ahead 3:15 into the contest when Charlie Sampair shot the puck onto Colton Point before potting his own rebound from the circle on Point’s glove side. Will Merchant answered at the 7:29 mark, tapping in a cross-zone pass from Matt Lippa.
Danny Moynihan gave the Oilers their second lead of the night, jamming the puck past Point’s short side after multiple previous attempts rolled through the goaltender’s crease. Moynihan’s fifth came at the 5:01 mark and was assisted by Charlie Sampair and Brent Gates, Jr. Anthony Nellis brought the game even again, scoring at the 9:02 mark, roofing a feed created off Joe Basaraba’s forecheck.
Josh Wesley popped a shot past Point from beneath the circles, giving the defenseman his third power play goal of the season and extending set-up man Adam Pleskach’s point streak to four games. Kyle Schempp erased Wesley’s game-winning goal off the board with his own heroics, scoring with four seconds remaining in regulation.
Idaho looked to have the upper hand, coming into the extra frame with five overtime games under their belt, but Tulsa staved off a Steelheads’ power play to bring the game into a shootout. A.J. White opened the skills contest with a goal, only to have Brent Gates, Jr. answer with his own at the end of the round. Neither player found the back of the net in the second round. Sampair bookended his opening goal with the game-clinching shootout winner, taking advantage of Spencer Naas’ earlier miss in the third round.
Tulsa heads to Rapid City next week, playing the Rush at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center on Nov. 20, 22 and 23.
