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Gems Drop 4-2 Final to Oilers in Tulsa Tuesday Night

February 14, 2012 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


Tulsa, Oklahoma - Despite jumping out to an early lead in the first period, the Dayton Gems would be unable to stop the Tulsa Oilers from bouncing back on their way to a 4-2 final score inside the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma for the lone meeting this season between the two inter-conference foes. Scoring for the Gems was Damian Surma and Jon Ornelas.

In their first inter-conference matchup this season, the Gems would warm up offensively early on against the Oilers, taking advantage of a Tulsa defensive lapse to set up Gems leading scorer Damian Surma to bury the game's first goal just 6:02 into the contest. Surma's goal, his 22nd of the season, was assisted by linemate Nick Fanto and gave Dayton the quick 1-0 lead. The Oilers seemed to come alive after the Dayton goal, notching the tying point less than three minutes later at the 9:01 mark before cashing in on a Gems turnover to capture their first lead of the night at 13:53. In the closing minutes of the opening frame, Dayton would be whistled off the ice twice for the only penalties of the stanza, with Tulsa cashing on with a poweplay goal at 16:27. Dayton skated into the first intermission trailing the hosts 3-1, while Tulsa outshot the Gems 14-8 through twenty minutes.

The Oilers would control the tempo through much of the second period, using their special teams to extend their lead in the second half of the stanza, burying their second powerplay goal of the night at 13:48. Dayton would show flashes of offensive pressure against the Oilers in the second, but would be unable to reduce the deficit before the horn. Tulsa carried their 4-1 lead into the second intermission, while leading in shots on goal 27-20 after forty minutes.

Dayton would trim the Oilers lead down to two with a Jon Ornelas goal 4:48 into the third, but that would be as close as the Gems would get, with the Oilers holding their ice throughout the remainder of regulation to secure the 4-2 comeback win over the Gems in their lone meeting this season. Final shots on goal favored Tulsa 32-28 through a full sixty minutes of play.

With the loss, the Gems record slips to 16-23-9, and they continue their southern trek with a Wednesday night meeting with the Texas Brahmas in Fort Worth, Texas at 8pm eastern. Fans can tune into the live game broadcast on wave96.net or CHL TV starting at 7:50pm with Gems broadcaster JT Szabo handling the call from the NYTEX Center in Fort Worth.

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