OILERS CONTINUE SEASON-HIGH SEVEN-GAME POINT STREAK
Two wins and an overtime loss gives Tulsa five out of six points in back-to-back weeks.
OVERALL RECORD: 20-21-4-1 (45 points, 6th in Mountain Division)
LAST WEEK: 2-0-1-0
RESULTS
Friday, Jan. 24 – Kalamazoo 1, Tulsa 2 (SO) (BOK CENTER — Tulsa, OK ) | Box Score
>> Tulsa, OK —Adam Pleskach slung the puck to the back post, where Jack Nevins received the pass and chipped it perfectly over Jake Kielly to open the scoring with his fifth, 14:44 into the first period. Olle Eriksson Ek — who was the runner-up for the ECHL Goaltender of the Week — turned aside all nine shots he faced, giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. Eriksson Ek didn’t return for the second frame, and was replaced by Evan Fitzpatrick. Garrett Ross pulled the game level 6:49 into the second period, tipping the puck from the lip of the crease and through Fitzpatrick’s five hole. Neither team found the back of the net in the final frame, with Kielly turning aside a staggering 16 shots in the final period to force the game into overtime. Both teams put up four shots in the extra frame, but neither team found the back of the net, forcing the game to a shootout. Charlie Sampair took the first shot of the skills contest, scoring the lone goal of the shootout right off the bat by bouncing the puck off the post and past Kielly. The goal was Sampair’s second shootout winner of the season.
Saturday, Jan. 25 – Kalamazoo 4, Tulsa 3 (OT) (BOK CENTER — Tulsa, OK ) | Box Score >>Tulsa, OK— Eric Kattelus ended the weekend’s special teams drought, tapping in Austin Farley’s feed on the back-door step just 6:51 into the game. Robby Jackson collected the puck on the right wing half-wall, finding Steven Ruggiero, who caught and ripped the puck past Jake Hildebrand to tie the game at the 14:16 mark of the first period. Garret Ross scored his second of the weekend 2:26 into the middle frame to give the Wings their second lead of the night, and Matt Van Voorhis orchestrated the goal, giving him assists on back-to-back Ross’ goals. Charlie Sampair blew by the Kalamazoo defense before beating his former teammate Jake Hildebrand on the breakaway 2:49 past the halfway mark of the game, tying the game for the second time. Cory Ward ripped a shot from the slot into the roof of the net just 1:48 into the final period to give the Oilers their first lead of the game. The Oilers only allowed three shots in the period, but Matheson Iacopelli tied the game on the breakaway with 5:57 remaining. The goal was the last of regulation, meaning all three games between these two squads this season went to overtime. Iacopelli was the Wings’ hero once again, scoring on the breakaway just 40 seconds into overtime to give the Wings the win on the night.
Sunday, Jan. 26 – Idaho 2, Tulsa 6 (BOK CENTER — Tulsa, OK ) | Box Score
>> Tulsa, OK — Marc-Olivier Roy opened the scoring 9:02 into the frame in what was a slow opening period, tipping Supinski’s shot from the high slot past Devin Williams. Jake Clifford jumped on a loose puck during the penalty kill before blazing onto a breakaway and beating Thomas Sholl five hole to tie the game with 6:50 left in the first period. Robby Jackson kicked off the second period action by undressing Sholl on another breakaway. Jackson pump faked before going backhand-to-forehand and sliding the puck over the line just 1:49 into the period. Will Merchant tied it up with his team-leading 16th of the season when he sniped it in close on the short side of Williams. The goal was reviewed, but eventually held up. Jack Nevins restored his team’s lead against his former employer, batting home a rebound created by Adam Pleskach less than a minute later. Broken Arrow, OK native Bobby Watson joined the goal parade, scoring on an in-tight top shelf finish off a power move around the Idaho defenseman 12:13 into the second period. The Oilers closed out the period just as strong as they started when Jacob Benson sniped Sholl inside the upper-right corner of the net right off the draw. The goal, which came in the final minute, means the Oilers bookended the period with goals from St. Cloud State products. Cory Ward scored for the second-straight night, extending the Oilers lead to four. Ward spun a puck from the left-wing wall and beat Colton Point, who replaced Thomas Sholl during the second intermission.
THE WEEK AHEAD (all times CST)
Thursday, Jan. 30 – Tulsa AT Allen 7:05 p.m. – Allen Event Center
Friday, Jan. 31 — Tulsa at Kansas City 7:05 p.m. — Silversten Eye Centers Arena
Saturday, Feb. 1 – Tulsa at Kansas City 7:05 p.m. — Silversten Eye Centers Arena
FAST FACTS
. Forward J.J. Piccinich won the fastest skater competition at the 2020 Warrior/ECHL All-Star Classic in Wichita, KS on Wednesday, clocking a blazing 13.05-second lap.
. The Oilers had the ECHL’s largest crowd of the season on Friday, hosting 11,651 inside the BOK Center.
· Miles Liberati is fifth in point-per-game average among defenseman who have played in at least 25 games (.82).
· Six separate players scored during the team’s 6-2 victory over Idaho, a season high.
. Adam Pleskach leads the ECHL with 175 shots, 18 more than Brandon Hawkins.
TEAM TRENDS
· Tulsa has doubled their amount of short-handed goals during the seven-game point streak (two to four)
. The Oilers are 1/20 on the power play during the current point streak.
. The Oilers have allowed more than two goals just once since Jan. 11, and the team has only allowed more than one in regulation just twice during that span.
. Tulsa has improved their record to 8-8-3-1 when tied after the first period, and the team has a 9-4-2-1 record when tied through two.
STATISTICAL LEADERS*
POINTS: 35- J.J. Piccinich
GOALS: 14 – Robby Jackson
ASSISTS: 26– Miles Liberati, J.J. Piccinich
PLUS/MINUS: +11 – Charlie Sampair
PIMS: 100 – Mike McKee
PP GOALS: 3 – Miles Liberati, J.J. Piccinich, Adam Pleskach
SH GOALS: 1– Jared Thomas, Mike McKee, Danny Moynihan, Jake Clifford
GW GOALS: 2 – Miles Liberati, Ian McNulty, Cory Ward, Robby Jackson, Adam Pleskach
SHOTS: 175– Adam Pleskach
WINS: 11– Devin Williams
GAA: 2.70 – Devin Williams
SAVE %: .906– Devin Williams
* – Among active players
SPECIAL TEAMS
POWER PLAY: Overall –24/167 (15%) – 23rd in the ECHL
Last Week – 0/7 (0%)
PENALTY KILL: Overall – 142/171 (82.6%) – 10th in the ECHL
Last Week – 9/10 (90%)
