OILERS EARN A POINT IN SHOOTOUT LOSS

OILERS EARN A POINT IN SHOOTOUT LOSS

Tulsa falls to Indy 3-2 in a skills competition at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in only game of the weekend.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – The Tulsa Oilers picked up a point in the standings, but fell 3-2 in a shootout to the Indy Fuel Saturday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in the Oilers’ only game of the weekend.

Former Fuel goaltender Jake Hildebrand was strong in net for Tulsa (1-2-1) in the opening period, stopping all 14 Indy (1-1-1) shots, while rookie goalie Matt Tomkins stopped all six Oilers attempts in the frame.

Oilers rookie Evan Richardson broke a scoreless deadlock with 9:02 to play in the second period. It was Richardson’s second goal in as many games. Late in the stanza, the Fuel tied the game on a 5-on-3 power play, when Geoff Walker blasted a one timer into the top of the net with just over a minute to play. The teams were again tied 1-1 after 40 minutes of play.

Indy jumped into the lead just 12 seconds into the third period when Ryan Rupert fired a shot under the glove of Hildebrand on a power play that carried over from the middle frame. Tulsa had an answer 2:06 later, when Joey Sides buried a rebound to make it 2-2.

The teams skated into overtime and the Oilers received a power play late in the extra frame but could not convert, leading to a shootout. In the skills competition, Alex Wideman scored the only goal for either team, and Tomkins secured his first professional win.

The Oilers return home for five of its next seven games in Tulsa at the BOK Center. Wichita comes to town Wednesday for the first Stonewolf Casino Cup matchup of the season, a 7:05pm start. The Oilers then host the Allen Americans on Friday and Saturday at 7:05pm each night. Tickets are available by calling 918-632-7825 or visiting www.tulsaoilers.com.

—

#DefendTheRig