ECHL Tulsa Oilers

Oilers Fall Short in Home Finale

April 5, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


TULSA, OK - Few players in the Central Division have enjoyed more success against the Tulsa Oilers than Missouri Mavericks' forwards Andrew Courtney and Sebastien Thinel. The duo proved to be a thorn in the side of the Oilers yet again on Saturday evening as Thinel led all skaters with four points (1 goal, 3 assists) and Courtney chipped in a pair of goals in a 5-3 Mavs' victory at the BOK Center. The Oilers dropped their final home game of the regular season in front of 7,256 but remained three points ahead of the Wichita Thunder for the final playoff spot with three games to play.

With just over three minutes off the clock in the first period, Courtney provided the visitors with an early spark. Courtney's wrist shot from the left wing zipped past the blocker of Tulsa goalie Brandon Anderson to give Missouri a 1-0 edge. The Oilers leveled the contest at 12:34 thanks to a Jeff Jubinville slap shot from the bottom of the right circle that banked off the leg Mavs' goalie Brandon Jaeger and into the net. Tulsa surged in front at 15:15 on a shorthanded tally from veteran center Jon Booras. Rookie winger Stephen Perfetto raced down the right wing and delivered a drop pass to the stick of Booras who shoveled a shot past Jaeger for his 25th goal of the season and a 2-1 lead.

The quick hands of Courtney pulled Missouri even at 11:07 of the second frame. A bouncing puck in the high slot was batted home by Courtney for his second tally of the evening. Courtney, who has appeared in every game this season for the Mavs, broke his own franchise record for goals in a single season with his 35th strike of the year. Three minutes after Courtney's record-setting goal, the Mavericks re-gained the lead on a shorthanded marker from Tyler Currier. After his initial shot floated high over the Tulsa net, Currier received a pass from Thinel and buried his second chance to give Missouri a 3-2 advantage. The Mavericks outscored the Oilers 3-0 in the second period of Friday's game and scored two goals on six shots in the middle frame on Saturday.

Ludwig Karlsson created a two-goal cushion for the Mavericks at 5:42 of the third period by snapping shot past Anderson for his third goal in the last two games. Missouri upheld its lead until the final minute of regulation when Jubinville was able to slip a puck underneath Jaeger for his second tally of the night and 30th of the season. Thinel put the finishing touches on the road win with an empty net goal at 19:43 and the Mavericks claimed victory over the Oilers for the eighth time in the ten-game season series.

Against Tulsa this season, Courtney recorded nine goals in ten games while Thinel averaged more than two points per contest with a total of 22 points in ten games. Jaeger, a teammate of Oilers' defenseman Kevin Gibson at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point, earned his first professional victory with a 24-save performance. Anderson fell to 5-6-1 as a Tulsa netminder and made 17 saves in the loss.

The Oilers finished the home portion of their schedule with a record of 18-16-1-1 at the BOK Center. Tulsa can clinch a playoff spot with a win over the Wichita on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. at INTRUST Bank Arena.

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