Oilers Weekly News and Notes
March 4, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release
Coach's Show: After a two-week hiatus, the Tulsa Oilers Coach's Show returns to El Chico Café (71st & Mingo) at 6 p.m. tonight. Oilers broadcaster Rob Loeber will be joined by Head Coach Bruce Ramsay as well as defenseman, Ryan Barlock and goaltender, Shane Madolora. Get all the details on the Oilers recent four-game road trip and look ahead to the final few weeks of the regular season as you chow down on the delicious Tex-Mex flavors at El Chico!
Week In Review: The Oilers went 1-3-0 on their four-game, ten-day road trip which covered six states and more than 3,000 miles.
On Saturday, February 23 the Oilers began their western swing with their first visit of the season to Arizona. The Sundogs tallied twice on the powerplay and despite a 28-save performance from Shane Madolora, the Oilers fell 3-1. It was Tulsa's first loss of the season to Arizona and snapped a streak of six straight wins over the Sundogs.
Tuesday night, the Oilers and Sundogs were back it and Arizona carried a 3-1 lead into the latter stages of the third period. Jeff Buvniow buried a rebound to bring Tulsa within a single goal, but the Oilers couldn't find the equalizer and dropped a second straight decision to the Sundogs. Gary Steffes, playing in just his second game since returning from the AHL, scored on the powerplay and the Oilers killed off nine Sundogs powerplay opportunities.
Friday, the Oilers arrived in Denver for the first of a back-to-back weekend series with the Cutthroats. Tulsa gave up the first goal of the game but roared back with three unanswered goals to take control of the contest. Two powerplay goals in the first three minutes of the third period by Jeff Buvinow and Michel Beausoleil broke the game open, and the Oilers held on for a 4-2 victory. Shane Madolora turned aside 41 of the 43 shots he faced as Tulsa picked up just its seventh road win of the season.
The trip concluded on Saturday with a 5-2 loss to the Cutthroats. Sean Erickson gave the visitors the early advantage, but Denver surged ahead with three goals in the final ten minutes of the first period. Early in third, Erickson though he had cut the Denver lead in half, but his goal was disallowed due to alleged goalie interference on Patrick Schafer. Cutthroats leading scorer A.J. Gale scored a powerplay goal and a shorthanded goal just 49 seconds apart to put the game out of reach.
Upcoming Games: The Oilers are bracing for a busy week with three straight home games and a trip to Wichita on Saturday.
Tuesday, March 5 at 7:05 p.m. - vs. Arizona Sundogs
- Sixth meeting of the season (Oilers are 3-2-0 vs. Sundogs), fourth time the clubs have met in the last seven games
- Papa John's College Night (college students get a ticket and a pizza coupon for $12)
- Present Jack In The Box Combo receipt for buy-one-get-one ticket offer
- Final Tuesday home game of the season
Wednesday, March 6 at 7:05 p.m. - vs. Arizona Sundogs
- Final meeting of the regular season
- Present Jack In The Box Combo receipt for buy-one-get-one ticket offer
Friday, March 8 at 7:35 p.m. - vs. Bloomington Blaze
- Sixth and meeting of the season (Oilers are 0-4-1 against the Blaze)
- Military Night presented by Budweiser and benefiting the Folds of Honor Foundation
- Oilers will be wearing special jerseys which will be auctioned off after the game
- Fundraisers and tributes to military personnel throughout the game
Saturday, March 9 at 7:05 p.m. - at Wichita Thunder
- Tenth meeting of the season (Oilers are 4-5-0 vs. Thunder)
Still Alive and Kickin': With ten games remaining in the regular season, the Oilers are 11 points behind eighth place Arizona for the final CHL playoff spot and ten points back of ninth place Bloomington. This will be a pivotal week for the Oilers postseason hopes as they host the Sundogs on Tuesday and Wednesday and face off with the Blaze on Friday at the BOK Center.
Win Comes With Loss: In Friday's 4-2 win in Denver, Oilers center Gary Steffes suffered a knee injury late in the second period and did not return. Steffes was hit by Cutthroats forward Adam Smyth who received a five minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct. After reviewing the collision, the CHL handed Smyth a two-game suspension. Steffes, who had not missed a single game of his pro career due to injury, was sidelined for Saturday's game in Denver and was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday.
Steady Stats: Right wing Ryan Menei, recently named the CHL Second Star of the Month for February, is riding a five-game point streak. The Oilers leading scorer has two goals and seven assists in his last five outings and remains in second place in the CHL scoring race with 71 points. Menei is one game shy of tying his season-long point streak of six games which he recorded over the first six games of the 2012-13 campaign.
Top Shot: With a 37-29 advantage in shots on goal over Denver on Saturday, the Oilers outshot their opponent for the first time in 20 games. Tulsa had not fired more shots than its foe since outgunning Bloomington 38-24 on January 12.
Offensive Defenseman: The Oilers hottest stick finally cooled off on Saturday when Jeff Buvinow failed to extend his four-game goal streak. The Brown University product started his run nearly two weeks ago when he found the net in a 4-3 overtime loss to Fort Worth. Buvinow followed up by recording goals in both games at Arizona last week and tickled the twine again on Friday in Tulsa's 4-2 over Denver. The 22-year old has five goals on the season, three have come on the powerplay.
Power Surge: Tulsa has scored five powerplay goals in its last three games and has risen to fifth place in the CHL with a powerplay success rate of 16.5 percent.
Strong Finishers: The Oilers have been at their best in the third period this season. Tulsa has scored more goals (59) in the final frame than in any other period and has allowed fewer goals (64) than any other period.
February Fortune: Despite ending February with a pair of losses, the Oilers posted a winning month for the first time since October which they finished with a 3-2-1 record. Tulsa won six games in February, the same amount as December and January combined.
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