ECHL Tulsa Oilers

Oil Drops: Tulsa Oilers Weekly Report

Published on November 17, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


LAST WEEK'S RESULTS

Friday, November 14 vs. Rapid City Rush (6-4 W)

Saturday, November 15 vs. Missouri Mavericks (7-4 L)

UPCOMING GAMES

Tuesday, November 18, 7:05 p.m. - vs. Wichita Thunder

Wednesday, November 19, 7:05 p.m. - at Quad City Mallards

Friday, November 21, 7:05 p.m. - at Missouri Mavericks

Sunday, November 23, 4:05 p.m. - vs. Wichita Thunder

- Post-game skate with the players

TEAM CAPSULE

Overall: 5-4-1

Home: 3-2-1

Road: 2-2-0

Rank: T-2nd in Central Division

TEAM LEADERS

Goals: Adam Pleskach - 10

Assists: Jon Booras - 11

Points: Jon Booras, Adam Pleskach - 14

+/-: Drew Fisher +5

PIM: Tommy Mele - 38

WEEK IN REVIEW

The Oilers began last weekend's home stand with a 6-4 victory over the Rapid City Rush. Tulsa built a 3-0 first period lead and cruised to the finish line in the first of ten meetings against Rapid City. Jon Booras scored two goals, T.J. Caig chipped in a pair of assists, and Kevin Carr made 33 saves to help the Oilers earn two points.

Saturday, the Oilers' struggles against Missouri continued. Tulsa fell behind 2-0 just over four minutes into the contest and the Mavericks never looked back. Missouri scored three unanswered goals in the second period to build a 5-1 advantage and held off the Oilers' third period comeback bid to earn a 7-4 win. The Oilers set a new season-high for goals against in a single game and fell to 0-2-1 against the Mavs this season.

FIRST AND WORST

With 10 goals in two games over the weekend, the Oilers maintained the highest scoring average in the ECHL. Tulsa is putting up 4.20 goals per game and holds a slight edge over second-place Fort Wayne (4.17). However, the Oilers rank last in the league in goals against per game. Through ten games, Tulsa is allowing an average of 4.30 goals per contest and is one of only three teams in the ECHL giving up over four goals per game. Opponents have scored four goals or more in seven of the Oilers' ten games this season.

700 CLUB

Tulsa bench boss Bruce Ramsay coached his 700th career game on Saturday night. Now in his sixth season at the Oilers helm, Ramsay's coaching career began in 2002 with the St. Petersburg Parrots of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. The 45-year old spent two seasons with the Port Huron Beacons and three years as the head coach of the Muskegon Fury/Lumberjacks before landing in Tulsa in 2009. Ramsay's career record is 350-284-66, a .553 lifetime winning percentage.

TEN IN TEN

Adam Pleskach has ten goals in the first ten games of the season and is one of only two players in the ECHL (Jason Bast - Idaho) to reach double-digits in goals. Pleskach is slightly ahead of his goal scoring pace from last season when he scored ten goals in his first 11 games as an Oiler.

MELE MAGIC

Center Steve Mele played a part in each of Tulsa's four goals on Saturday and became the second Oilers player this season to record a four-point night. Late in the first period, Mele started an odd-man rush and placed a perfect pass on the tape of Charles Lachance for Tulsa's first goal of the evening. In the second period, Mele scored from the slot for his first goal of the season. The Bronx, New York native assisted on Adam Pleskach's goal at 11:45 of the third and completed his offensive outpouring at 14:28 of the final frame with his second goal of the contest. Mele, 25, ended the night with a +4 rating, tied for the highest rating of any Oiler in a single game this season.

CONSISTENT CONTRIBUTOR

Tulsa's longest point streak of the season belongs to 33-year old winger T.J. Caig who has put up points in five consecutive contests. The Kelowna, British Columbia native has posted three goals and four assists during the streak and has totaled 12 points (7 goals, 5 assists) through the first ten games of the season.

COSTLY VICTORY

The win over Rapid City on Friday came at a hefty price as two of Tulsa's top six forwards were knocked out of the lineup for Saturday's contest against Missouri. Drew Fisher suffered a lower body injury and was forced to miss a game due to injury for the first time in his three-year pro career. Center Jeff Jubinville also missed Saturday's game after incurring an upper body injury on Friday night.

HEAVY SCHEDULE

Starting Tuesday night against Wichita, the Oilers will play eight games in the next 13 days. During the week of Thanksgiving, Tulsa will enjoy a four-game home stand with contests slated for Sunday (Nov. 23), Tuesday (Nov. 25), Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 27), and Black Friday (Nov. 28).

EXTRA DROPS

Forwards Kyle O'Kane and Luke Judson each scored their first goal of the season in Friday's win over Rapid City...Tulsa's string of 22 straight successful penalty kills was snapped on Friday...The Oilers are averaging 21.6 penalty minutes per game, the third-highest average in the league.

Check out the Tulsa Oilers Statistics

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