FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 13, 2017
OILERS COMEBACK EFFORT FALLS SHORT IN SEASON OPENER
Kansas City defeats Tulsa 5-3 on Opening Night at the BOK Center, after Oilers erased a 4-0 third period defecit.
TULSA, OK – Trailing 4-0 early in the third period, the Tulsa Oilers battled back to within a goal, but fell 5-3 to the Kansas City Mavericks in the Season Opener Friday on the York Plumbing Ice at the BOK Center. Tulsa (0-1-0) outshot Kansas City (1-0-0) by a 42-25 margin.
In a game that saw 17 combined penalties, Tulsa went 0-for-4 on early power plays in the first eight minutes of the game. The Mavericks broke a scoreless tie, when Justin Breton bead Oilers goaltender Jake Hildebrand on a breakaway. Kansas City beat the buzzer, when Matt Robertson fired a shot into the net with two seconds left in the frame.
Kansas City added to its lead in the second period when Dan Correale snapped a quick shot off the blocker of Hildebrand from the right circle. The Mavericks carried that 3-0 lead into the third period.
After Robertson added his second goal early in the third period on a Mavericks power play, Dennis Brown put the Oilers on the board with a blast from the right point. 36 seconds later, Conner Bleackley cut the deficit in half when he jammed home a loose puck out of a goal-mouth scramble.
Tulsa had a power-play goal waved for goaltender interference midway through the final stanza, but Bleackley found Joey Sides cutting to the net, and Sides lifted a shot past Mavericks rookie goaltender Tyler Parsons to make it 4-3 with 6:19 to play. The Oilers comeback effort fell just short, as Mark Cooper tapped an empty-net goal in with three seconds left to seal Kansas City’s 5-3 win.
The Oilers travel overnight to the Quad Cities for a 7:05pm Saturday night tilt at Taxslayer Center against the Mallards. Catch the action on the Sports Animal Radio Network in Tulsa (97.1/96.1/101.1 FM) or www.tulsaoilers.com by clicking on the “Listen Live” button.
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