PLESKACH AND TESINK NET TWO AS OILERS BEAT STEELHEADS
Tulsa and Idaho finish their ten-game regular season series with an even split, as Oilers win 5-1 Saturday in Boise.
BOISE, ID – Two first period goals and a strong defensive game helped the Tulsa Oilers (31-21-6) defeat the Idaho Steelheads (32-18-4) 5-1 Saturday in the final meeting of the season between the top two teams in the Mountain Division at CenturyLink Arena.
The Oilers took their first lead of the week when Ryan Tesink scooped up a loose puck that trickled through the pads of Idaho goaltender Ryan Faragher and buried it into the net. Tulsa captain Adam Pleskach snuck a shot through Faragher’s legs and into the net to make it 2-0, but Elgin Pearce put the Steelheads on the board when he capped off a transition rush with a goal in the final six seconds of the opening frame.
Tulsa outshot Idaho 11-4 in the middle frame, but neither team managed a goal. Keegan Asmundson stopped 11 of 12 through 40 minutes, while Faragher turned away 24 of 26. The Oilers carried the narrow 2-1 lead into the third period.
Late in the final stanza Eric Drapluk fired a wrist shot into the net from high in the slot for a power play goal to give the Oilers some insurance. Idaho pulled Faragher for an extra attacker in the final minutes and Pleskach buried a shot into the empty net for his league-leading 30th goal of the season and second of the night. In garbage time, the Oilers forced a turnover and Tesink snapped a shot from the high slot past Faragher for good measure, completing the 5-1 score. Asmundson stopped 23 of 24 for his first Oilers win.
Tulsa travels to face the Allen Americans next Friday at 7:05pm at the Allen Event Center. Catch all the action on the Sports Animal radio network, www.tulsaoilers.com and ECHL.TV, with coverage starting at 7:50pm CT. The Oilers then return home Saturday and face the Americans at 7:05pm on Autism Awareness Night. Proceeds from the postgame jersey auction will benefit Autism Tulsa.
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