FOR IMMEDIATERELEASE
December 15, 2018
OILERS EMPTY TANK IN LOSS TO THE FUEL
Tulsa rallies, but falls 5-4 in the final night of asix-game road trip against the Central Division.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Two late goals were not enoughto overcome a 5-2 deficit as the Tulsa Oilers (13-8-6) lost 5-4 to the IndyFuel (13-12-0) in the final night of a six-game road trip against the CentralDivision Saturday at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
Josh Shalla gave the Fuel itsfirst goal right off of a face-off win from the top of the left circle, when hesnapped a quick shot into the top of the net. Tulsa captain Adam Pleskach tied the game 31 secondslater when he redirected a shot from DylanBredo past Indy goaltender Matt Tomkins. Logan Nelson put the Fuel back infront 2-1 on a power play when he picked the corner of the net over Oilersgoalie Devin Williams’ glove side.
The Fuel added some insurance witha second period goal from the corner that deflected off of Williams and intothe net to make it 3-1, and added a short-handed goal in the final minute ofthe frame when Matt Rupert capitalized on a Tulsa turnover in the slot. TheOilers made it 4-2 when Kyle Rhodes blasteda power play goal off the post and in with less than a second remaining in theperiod.
Indy regained its three-goal leadwhen Kevin Dufour fired a shot under the crossbar 9:07 into the third period,but Pleskach added his second of the game with 7:04 left to bring Tulsa back towithin two goals. During a late-game scramble, Ryan Tesink found the back of the net with 4.9 seconds remaining,but the Oilers ran out of time in the narrow loss.
Tulsa outshot Indy 47-22, butTomkins stopped 17 in the second period, 16 in the final stanza and 43 for thegame in the win. Williams made 17 saves in the loss, as Tulsa dropped itseighth straight (0-6-2) to start December. The Oilers finished the nine dayroad trip 0-4-2.
Tulsa returns home fromIndianapolis and prepares for a home-and-home series with the Kansas CityMavericks next weekend. The Oilers and Mavericks first face-off Friday atSilverstein Eye Centers Arena in Independence at 7:05pm. Catch all the actionon The Sports Animal radio network, www.tulsaoilers.comor ECHL.TV, with coverage starting at 6:45pm.
Tulsa then hosts Kansas City nextSaturday, Dec. 22 at 7:05pm on the York Plumbing Ice at the BOK Center. It willbe the Oilers’ annual blanket drive, sponsored by Unifirst. Tulsa will alsocelebrate the 90th birthday of the first Oilers team from 1928-29and wear retro uniforms which will be auctioned off following the game.
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Season and Group Tickets are on sale now by calling theOilers front office at 918-632-7825. Visit www.tulsaoilers.comfor more information.
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