The Oilers ended 2015 with fireworks–a victory over the Rapid City Rush, 2-1. With goals from Adam Pleskach and Brady Ramsay, Tulsa would go 1-1-0-0 on the Rush this season.
A solo penalty by Matt Konan was all fans thought they were receiving in the first period. It was not. With 1:55 left on the clock Adam Pleskach netted his eighth goal of the season with the help of teammates Aaron Harstad and Christophe Lalancette.
Starting the second frame on the penalty kill with a full two minutes, the Oilers kept their defense strong. Shortly after, Harstad upped his points on the night to two when he sauced a passed to Brady Ramsay who netted the second goal of the game on a deflection. The Oilers would hold a 2-0 lead over the Rush.
Another opportunity struck for Tulsa in the second but fell short when forward Emerson Clark was denied on a penalty shot by Sam Marotta.
Rush’s Kale Kerbashian got the third period rolling with a huge chance on Carr but the ECHL’s fourth ranked goaltender says no thanks. The lead was cut in half on a Rush goal with 4:01 left. 2-1 would be the verdict.
The old year would come to a close and the new would start with a 4-game winning streak for the Tulsa Oilers.
Tulsa is back at Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Ice Arena Saturday night where the Rush will look for revenge on the Oilers. Puck drops at 7:05 p.m. MT.
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Below is an Excerpt for a Tulsa Oilers Game
Jeff: Thunder with the man advantage. There’s a minute left to go in the penalty to Tulsa. Sides with it on the left side. He has it poked away by Harstead. Now cleared around the boards to the far side it does come out of the zone. Skating after it for the Oilers and catching up to it quickly was Nugent. Here’s a shot on the shorthanded end. Kick save by Shantz into the corner. Wong with it, he gets bumped by Huff. Now it’s cleared away to the far side and brought out by Huff. Here comes Huff for Wichita. Cross ring to the left side there for Gottier. Now top of the slot. A shot by Nemsick. Save. Rebound. Loose in front. Now it’s cleared away. Back out to the point. Kept in by Nemsick over on the left side. Oslansky kick save by Carr. Rebound in front. Couple of players down on their knees. It comes down to the slot. Now they’ve got another penalty, and it’s going to go against Tulsa. Another penalty. It’ll be a cross checking penalty against the Oilers with 5 seconds left in Brown’s penalty. Tulsa will have another man in the penalty box. This time, it’s going to be Nathan Lutz going to the penalty box.
There’s 5 seconds left and Brown penalty and Lutz is in the box now at 11:54 of the second period. 2 minutes for cross checking on Lutz. That means the Thunder will have a two man advantage here for 5 seconds. They’ll have a two man advantage for 5 seconds and a whole other 2 minute power play opportunity. Face off to the right goaltender Kevin Carr in the Tulsa end. The puck comes out of the zone. Brown out of the penalty box. Now Wichita with a one-man advantage for another minute and 48. Back, the Wichita Thunder into the Tulsa end of the far corner. Puck goes behind the goal and now cleared away by the Oilers all the way up the length of the ice.
We’ve got a whistle. Shouldn’t be offside. Oh, we’ve got a penalty. The referee has called a penalty on Wichita. It’s going to be a high stick penalty. Didn’t see that behind the play. I thought they were calling icing when they shouldn’t, because Tulsa was a man down. But going to the penalty box is Michael Neal. 2 minutes for high sticking. That’s good. That’ll even it up here now for the Oilers. 4 on 4 for a minute 37. Tulsa will have a 23 minute power play. Michael Neal in the penalty box. That comes 11:17 into the second period. 2 minutes high sticking on Neal.
Shot on goal kicked by the goaltender to the near side and out into the neutral zone. Both teams with 4 skaters a side right now. Puck goes into the Wichita end in the corner boards. They fight for it along the boards here. Wichita players bumped down. Fans want a penalty. No call. Brandon Wong fighting for the puck. Gets it loose. Wong with it in the right corner. Looking for help in front. Tried a center rink pass. Gets knocked away. The goaltender has lost his stick. Now the puck goes behind the goal. Recovered by the Thunder with it is Miller. He’ll bring it away. The goaltender now can retrieve his stick as Miller comes into the Tulsa zone. He has the puck checked away momentarily. Gets it again along the boards on the nearest side. Doing a good on the defensive end is Brown to poke it away.
Now a shot toward the goal. Stopped on the way in. Brought out by the Oilers. Here comes Brown with it over the blue line. Sends it into the corner. 37 seconds left in the 4 on 4 situation. Back come the Thunder with it. They’ll clear it into the Tulsa zone. In another 27 seconds now the Oilers will get Lutz out of the penalty box. We’ve got a whistle. As the puck went out of play. Face off will be in the Tulsa end. Nathan Lutz will be out of the box in 23 seconds and then Tulsa will have a brief man advantage opportunity. Face off to the left of Kevin Carr. The referee looks like he’s going to kick Kenton Miller out of the face off and he does. Miller reluctantly leaves after several seconds. Lalancette wins the draw. Comes out to the point, however. Kept in at the blue line. Here’s a shot that’s deflected off a stick out of play into the mesh.
