LAST WEEK’S RESULTS
Friday, Oct. 30 – vs. Missouri Mavericks (4-3 W-SO) Watch Highlights
THIS WEEK’S GAMES
Tuesday, Nov. 3 – vs. Allen Americans at 7:05 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 6 – at Colorado Eagles at 8:05 p.m. (CST)
Saturday, Nov. 7 – at Colorado Eagles at 8:05 p.m. (CST)
TEAM CAPSULE
Overall: 3-3-0-0 (6 points)
Home: 2-1-0-0
Road: 1-2-0-0
Rank: 4th in Central Division
TEAM LEADERS
Goals: Brandon Wong – 3
Assists: Dan DeSalvo – 4
Points: Brandon Wong – 5
+/-: Brian Nugent +4
PIM: Matt Konan – 11
WEEK IN REVIEW
In their only game of the week, the Oilers moved their record back to .500 with a 4-3 shootout win over the Missouri Mavericks on Friday night at the BOK Center. Brandon Wong chipped in a goal and an assist to go along with the shootout game-winner while Darian Dziurzynski notched his first multi-point outing of the season by notching a goal and an assist as well. Jussi Olkinuora made 29 saves and shut down each one of the Mavericks’ five shootout attempts to earn his second win of the season. The Oilers were perfect (2-for-2) on the power play and never trailed a Missouri squad that had won five in a row entering the contest.
Jussi Olkinuora back-stopped the Oilers to victory on Friday night over the Mavericks. (photo by: Kevin Pyle – www.photopyle.com)
LOOKING AHEAD
The Oilers face off against the Americans on Tuesday night in the third meeting of the season between the Central Division foes. Tulsa is 1-1-0-0 against Allen with a 3-1 victory on home ice on October 18 and a 4-2 setback at the Allen Event Center on October 17. The rivals will clash four times in the month of November.
The Oilers travel to Colorado at the end of the week for a pair of games against the Eagles. The two sides will battle for the first time since March 12, 2011 when both squads were members of the Central Hockey League. Between 2003 and 2011, the Oilers and Eagles met 42 times and Friday’s contest will be the first of four meetings this season.
STREAKERS
Center Brandon Wong is riding a four-game point streak while defenseman Dennis Brown has posted points in three consecutive contests. Wong, who has scored the game-winning goal in all three Tulsa triumphs this season, has put up three goals and two assists during his current streak. The Victoria, British Columbia native leads the Oilers in goals and points. Brown joined the Oilers three games into the season and has one goal to go along with three assists in his first three games in Tulsa colors.
MORE POWER
After capitalizing on just one power play opportunity in the first five games, the Oilers scored twice on the man-advantage in Friday’s win over Missouri. Brandon Wong found the net on a power play slap shot in the first period and Darian Dziurzynski jammed home a power play rebound in the third period. Tulsa climbed from 24th to 15th in the ECHL’s overall power play rankings.
OUT FRONT
On Friday night, the Oilers held a lead after the first period of play for the first time this season. In each of the previous five games, the Oilers were tied with their opponent after the opening 20 minutes. Tulsa is 3-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game.
CLOSE CALLS
Each one of the Oilers’ six games this season has been decided by two goals or fewer. In each of the three losses, the Oilers’ have been tied or within a goal of their opponent during the third period.
WALKER’S HELPERS
Second-year pro Ben Walker registered the first multi-point game of his young career on Friday against Missouri. The 22-year old center tallied an assist on Brandon Wong’s first period goal and notched another helper on Darian Dziurzynski’s third period strike. Walker appeared in 36 games last season for the St. John’s IceCaps (AHL) and posted one goal and three assists during his rookie campaign.
Ben Walker dished out a pair of assists on Friday for his first multi-point game as a pro. (photo by: Kevin Pyle – www.photopyle.com)
FIRST TIMERS
The Oilers experienced the new 3-on-3 overtime format for the first time on Friday night. Tulsa goalie Jussi Olkinuora made five of his 29 saves in the extra session and the Oilers’ best chance to end the game came on a Darian Dziurzynski breakaway.
EXTRA DROPS
Despite giving up a power play goal on Friday, the Oilers still rank fourth in the ECHL on the penalty kill at 88.9-percent…The Oilers have been assessed 12.1 penalty minutes per game, the fifth-lowest average in the league…Head Coach Jason Christie needs only six more victories to break the ECHL record for all-time coaching wins…Kevin Carr ranks third in the ECHL with a 1.50 goals against average…Tulsa has not scored more than three goals in regulation in any game this season…Mathieu Gagnon celebrated his 23rd birthday last Thursday.
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