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 Tulsa Oilers

Tulsa Oilers Weekly News and Notes

April 1, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


Last Week's Games:

Fri. March 28 at Missouri Mavericks (3-1 W)

Sat. March 29 at Missouri Mavericks (5-3 W)

Sun. March 30 vs. Denver Cutthroats (2-0 L)

Upcoming Games:

Fri. April 4 vs. Denver Cutthroats at 7:35 p.m. - Playoff Game 1

- K12 Virtual School Block Party in front of the BOK Center from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

- National Anthem by local teenage country duo Alaska and Madi, contestants on season 6 of the The Voice

Sat. April 5 vs. Denver Cutthroats at 7:35 p.m. - Playoff Game 2

Week In Review: The Oilers concluded the 2013-14 season by recording two wins in the final three games. Friday night in Missouri, the Oilers broke through for their first win of the season against the Mavericks. Matthew Larke's goal at 18:27 of the third period gave Tulsa its first lead of the night and proved to be the game-winning goal in a 3-1 Oilers victory. Shane Madolora made 26 saves as the Oilers claimed their third straight win and halted the Mavericks four-game win streak. Saturday night, the Oilers picked up a 5-3 win for their second straight victory over the Mavericks. Tulsa rookie Steve Mele tallied his first goal as an Oiler and Todd Robinson scored the game-winning goal on a third period power play. Brad Fogal turned aside 33 shots to earn his third win of the season and help the Oilers claim their fourth straight win. Tulsa left Missouri with four points and won two games at the Independence Events Center for the first time in a single season since the 2009-10 campaign. The regular season ended on Sunday at the BOK Center in a 2-0 loss to the Denver Cutthroats. The Oilers, who rested several of their top players, were shutout for the fourth time this season but secured the number seven seed in the 2014 playoffs.

Facing The Fish: Tulsa begins its march toward the Ray Miron President's Cup with a first round, best-of-seven series against the second seeded Denver Cutthroats. In six meetings against the Fish in the regular season, the Oilers finished with a 1-4-1 record and Denver held an 18-9 in total goals scored. The Cutthroats are led by CHL MVP Garett Bembridge who won the Joe Burton Scoring Championship with 104 points and led the league with 42 goals. Denver center Troy Schwab finished second in the scoring race with 96 points and tied for the league lead with 71 assists while goaltender Kent Patterson posted a league-best .922 save percentage. The Cutthroats ranked third in both the power play (20.6-percent) and penalty kill (83.9-percent) and claimed the league's best record in the month of March at 12-2-1.

The series schedule is listed below

Denver Cutthroats (2) vs. Tulsa Oilers (7)

Game 1 - Fri., Apr. 4 - Denver at Tulsa, 7:35

Game 2 - Sat., Apr. 5 - Denver at Tulsa, 7:35

Game 3 - Wed., Apr. 9 - Tulsa at Denver, 7:00

Game 4 - Fri., Apr. 11 - Tulsa at Denver, 7:00

*Game 5 - Sat., Apr. 12 - Tulsa at Denver, 6:00

*Game 6 - Tue., Apr. 15 - Denver at Tulsa, 7:05

*Game 7 - Thu., Apr. 17 - Tulsa at Denver, 7:00

*If necessary

Roster Set, D-Man Signed: Each CHL playoff team is allowed 19 players on the active roster along with one player on the injured reserve and two amateur players. In order for the Oilers to comply with league requirements, forward Steve Mele was waived and defenseman Jarred Mohr has been placed on the playoff injured reserve list. The Oilers also announced on Tuesday the addition of amateur defenseman Mackenzie Johnston from Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Johnston, 20, has spent the last five seasons playing in the WHL, one of the top junior hockey leagues in Canada. The 6-2, 200-pound blue-liner played four seasons with the Kelowna Rockets and split the 2013-14 season with the Prince Albert Raiders and the Saskatoon Blades. Tulsa's final playoff roster consists of 11 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goaltenders.

Exclusive Club: The Oilers are the only team in the CHL to boast three 30-goal scorers. Tulsa was led by Ben Gordon's 36 goals followed by 33 from rookie Adam Pleskach and 31 tallies by veteran winger Michel Beausoleil. The Oilers haven't featured three 30-goal scorers since the 2005-06 season when Jim Dahl, Henry Kuster, and Jaroslav Cesky each recorded 35 goals.

Hardware Handed Out: Prior to Sunday's regular season finale against Denver, the Oilers announced the winners of their annual team awards.

Team MVP - Ben Gordon

Offensive Player of the Year - Ben Gordon

Defensive Player of the Year - Nathan Lutz

Rookie of the Year - Adam Pleskach

Most Improved - Blair Macaulay

Fan Favorite - Kyle Bochek

Ironman Award (for appearing in all 66 games) - Nathan Lutz, Craig Cescon, Drew Fisher, Michel Beausoleil

Vic Poole "Never Give Up" Award - Ryan Menei

Community Service Award - Ben Gordon

Winning Ways: The Oilers won 34 games in the 2013-14 season, tied for the fifth-highest win total in franchise history. Head Coach Bruce Ramsay guided the Oilers to as many road wins this season (17) as they recorded in the previous two seasons combined. Tulsa finished the regular season ranked third in the CHL in total offense with 225 goals scored and allowed 215 goals, the third-lowest total in team history.

Robinson Rolling: Since returning to the lineup on March 21 in Wichita, Oilers center Todd Robinson has posted multiple points in five consecutive games. Robinson, who led the Oilers in assists (57) and ranked eighth in the CHL scoring race with 74 points, has recorded four goals and seven assists over his last five games. The British Columbia native has 22 multi-point games this season and the Oilers are 16-5-1 in those contests.

Top Five: The Oilers finished the regular season with players ranked in the Top 5 in the league in the following categories:

Points - Ben Gordon (4th - 89 pts)

Goals - Ben Gordon (2nd - 36)

Assists - Todd Robinson (5th - 57)

Penalty Minutes - Kyle Bochek (3rd - 177)

Shorthanded Goals - Michel Beausoleil (T-2nd - 3)

Minor Penalties - Craig Cescon (2nd - 47)

Shots on Goal - Ben Gordon (3rd - 256)

Goalie Appearances - Shane Madolora (1st - 53)

Goalie Wins - Shane Madolora (T-3rd - 29)

Saves - Shane Madolora (3rd - 1,362)

Oil Drops: The Oilers are the only lower-seeded team in the CHL playoffs to begin their first round series on home ice...Tulsa has only one playoff series victory in the last 20 years (2011 over Mississippi)...The Oilers went 2-for-23 on the power play against Denver this season...Michel Beausoleil leads all Oilers with 14 points in his last 10 games...As a team, the Oilers were +90 in February but -49 in March.


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