OILERS RECLAIM FOURTH PLACE WITH HUGE WIN OVER RUSH
Tulsa jumped back into the playoff picture thanks to a come-from-behind victory over the Rapid City Rush
RAPID CITY, SD — Tulsa reclaimed fourth place in the Mountain Division with a 6-3 victory over the Rapid City Rush at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center on Sunday.
The early-goal bug bit the Oilers for the third-straight contest. Rapid City scored on their second shot of the game, after scoring on their first chance the night before. It was Darian Romanko that found the back of the net this night, ripping one past Devin Williams less than two minutes in.
It didn’t take long in the second period to find a goal, either. Ian McNulty netted a backhand roofer over Alex Sakellaropoulos on a short-handed breakaway 1:35 into the period. Tulsa found themselves with a 2-1 lead just 2:08 later when Charlie Sampair flew down the left-wing wall before cutting in front of the net and squeezing the puck inside the left post for his 19th of the season. Brennan Saulnier tied the 2-2 with a highlight-reel worthy, spin-o-rama goal 6:37 into the period. The Rush didn’t take long to restore their lead, bringing the score 3-2 1:20 later when Ryker Killins finished off a two-on-one play to beat Williams. Exactly five minutes later during a four-on-four, Danny Moynihan, who leads the Oilers against the Rush in goals this season, backhanded a bar down effort into the Rush cage, knotting the game up 3-3 through two periods.
Ryan Tesink scored the team’s second short-handed goal of the game, forcing a turnover behind the Rapid City net before tucking a goal against his former team at the 5:51 mark of the final frame. Tulsa then extended their lead to 5-3 with 5:40 remaining in the game. J.J. Piccinich tipped a Steven Kaunisto blast into the bottom of the net, extending Piccinich’s point streak to five games. Moynihan finished off the night with his second of the night, an empty netter from Center Ice to give the Oilers a 6-3 victory.
Tulsa returns to action on Tuesday with a home matchup against Allen before taking on the Americans at the Allen Event Center on March 7. Both games will start at 7:05 p.m.
