ROOKIES VERNACE AND WILLIAMS SIGN WITH OILERS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 25, 2017

ROOKIES VERNACE AND WILLIAMS SIGN WITH OILERS

Tulsa also adds two players with Oklahoma ties to training camp roster on professional try outs.

TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Oilers, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues, and Head Coach Rob Murray added four more players to the training camp roster Monday. The Oilers signed forward Daniel Vernace and goaltender Devin Williams to standard ECHL contracts.

Tulsa also inked two players with Oklahoma ties, forward Samuel Rice (University of Central Oklahoma) and forward Kyle Sharkey (Moore, OK native), to professional try outs.

Vernace, 25, spent the entire 2016-17 season in the Southern Professional Hockey League, where he recorded 24 points (13g, 11a) in 55 games between Evansville, Fayetteville and Roanoke. He played 42 of those games for the expansion Rail Yard Dawgs, compiling 19 points (11g, 8a).

The North York, Ontario native picked up three assists in ten games for the Brampton Beast at the end of the 2015-16 season. Vernace played alongside current Oilers defenseman Eric Drapluk at Lake Superior State University from 2012-2016, where he had seven points (5g, 2a) in 43 games.

Williams, 21, turns pro after playing one season at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia where he went 8-4-0 with a 2.80 goals-against average and .896 save percentage. From 2012-2016, the Saginaw, MI native appeared in 175 games for the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. Williams finished his junior career with a 106-47-8 record, a 3.02 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage, with nine shutouts. He was teammates with NHL superstar Connor McDavid for three of those seasons.

Rice, 24, enters his first pro training camp after winning his second ACHA National Championship in 2016-17 at the University of Central Oklahoma. The Victoria, British Columbia native holds the Bronchos program records for games played (146), points (152), assists (83) and is second in goals (69). Central Oklahoma also won the National Championship during Rice’s sophomore season in 2014-15.

Sharkey, 24, hails from Moore, OK and got his first taste of pro hockey at the end of last season when he tallied five points (1g, 4a) in seven games for the SPHL’s Huntsville Havoc. The 5’10, 174 lbs. forward played four seasons at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he helped the Pointers win a Division 3 National Championship as a junior in 2016. In four years at UWSP, Sharkey had 133 points (58g, 75a) in 115 games.

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The Tulsa Oilers begin their fourth ECHL season and tenth season of hockey at the BOK Center on Friday, October 13, when the club hosts the Kansas City Mavericks. Season and Group Tickets are on sale now by calling the Oilers front office at 918-632-7825. Visit www.tulsaoilers.com for more information.

Training camp begins Monday, October 2 at the Oilers Ice Center. All practices will again be open to the public. A full training camp schedule and roster will be released later this week on the Oilers social media pages and www.tulsaoilers.com.

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