Oilers Break Road Curse with 4-1 Victory in Missouri
January 11, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release
INDEPENDENCE, MO - The road futility of the Tulsa Oilers finally came to an end at the Independence Events Center on Friday night. With a 31-save performance by Shane Madolora and a goal from newly-signed forward Patrick Schafer, the Oilers snapped a 12-game road losing streak by posting a 4-1 win over the Missouri Mavericks.
Schafer, who appeared in 36 games last season for the Mavs, made his debut in an Oilers jersey and made his former team pay by opening the scoring at 7:44 of the first period. When Ryan Barlock's shot slid across the Missouri crease, Schafer was waiting on the far post to shovel the puck home for his first goal in an Oilers jersey.
It was 1-0 Oilers late in the first period, when Ryan Menei recorded his 12th goal of the season by snapping a shot over the glove hand shoulder of Mike Clemente. Tulsa took a 2-0 advantage into the second intermission.
Mavs forward Colt King brought the capacity crowd back to life when he poked home a rebound at 12:15 of the third, but Missouri was unable to complete the comeback. With less than a minute to play, Ryan Cramer banked a pass off the boards to a hard-charging Mariani who had just been released out of the penalty box. The Oilers defenseman, playing in his 100th career game, beat everyone down the ice and flipped the puck into the empty net. Mariani's first goal of the season ended the Mavs hopes and Ben Gordon added another empty tally just 25 seconds later.
Not only did the Oilers snap a 12-game road losing streak, they also ended a four-game skid overall and earned two points for just the second time in their last 16 outings. Tulsa won for the first time in seven trips to Missouri and improved to 2-3-0 against the Mavs this season.
The Oilers, now 4-16-0 away from home, play 10 of their next 12 at the BOK Center. Saturday night, the Oilers host the Bloomington Blaze at 7:35 p.m. on Youth Jersey Night.
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- Bloomington Slips Past Mallards - Quad City Mallards
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- Oilers Break Road Curse with 4-1 Victory in Missouri - Tulsa Oilers
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