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ECHL Tulsa Oilers

Oilers Struggles against Mavericks Continue with 6-3 Loss

March 3, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


INDEPENDENCE, MO - The Independence Events Center has been a house of horrors for the Tulsa Oilers this season and the nightmare continued on Tuesday night.  The Missouri Mavericks scored five goals on their first 17 shots of the contest and handed the Oilers a 6-3 defeat.  Tulsa lost back-to-back games for the first time since early February and has been able to muster just one victory in eight games this season against Missouri.  Andrew Courtney led the Mavs' attack with a hat-trick and an assist and Josh Robinson turned aside 36 shots to help Missouri continue its dominance over its Oklahoma rival.

In typical Adam Pleskach fashion, the Oilers' winger scored his 30th goal of the season at 10:24 of the opening period by driving hard to the net with his stick on the ice.  Jeff Jubinville zipped a pass to Drew Fisher across the Mavericks zone and Fisher threaded the puck to the tape of Pleskach who was able to tap it home to give Tulsa the early advantage.  The only penalty of the period was called against Oilers' forward Kyle O'Kane who was sent off for tripping at 15:28, and the Mavericks were able to cash in on their first power play of the contest.  Defenseman Martin Lee dialed up a heavy slap shot from the blue line that sailed over the shoulder of a screened Brandon Anderson at 17:11 to tie the tilt at 1-1.  Four of Lee's five goals this season have been scored against Tulsa.  Just over a minute after Lee's strike, a long-distance wrist shot from Andrew Courtney was wired to the upper corner of the net and Missouri took its first lead of the evening on Courtney's 23rd goal of the season.

Courtney picked up right where he left off in the second period and netted his second goal of the night just 46 seconds into the middle frame.  The Oilers answered back with a power play goal from T.J. Caig to narrow the deficit to 3-2 at 4:29.  Tulsa has scored a power play goal in nine of its last 11 games.  The Oilers' momentum disappeared just 33 seconds later as Courtney completed his hat-trick by depositing another rebound behind Anderson to restore the home team's two-goal advantage.  Only 25 seconds ticked away when Pleskach muscled his way to side of the Missouri net and chipped a blind backhand that somehow found its way through Robinson to cut the Mavs' lead to 4-3.  With just under six minutes remaining in the period, Missouri winger Jack Downing led a two-on-one rush into the Oilers' zone and fed defenseman Patch Alber in front of the Tulsa net.  Alber's offering was denied by Anderson but the squirted back to Downing who rifled a shot into the vacated net for a 5-3 lead.  Anderson, who made 12 saves on 17 shots, was lifted from the game after Downing's goal and was replaced by Kevin Carr.

Facing a two-goal deficit in the third period, the Oilers fired 12 shots on goal but were unable to solve Robinson.  Tulsa failed to capitalize on three third period power plays and ended the night 1-for-4 on the man-advantage.  Sebastien Thinel notched his third point of the night with an empty net tally in the closing seconds and the Mavericks snapped a four-game home losing streak.  

During their recent five-game win streak, the Oilers allowed only 12 goals in five games but have now given up 12 goals in the last two contests.  Missouri has scored four goals or more in six of the eight meetings against Tulsa this season.  

Tulsa's season-long, eight-game road trip will conclude Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. in Moline, Illinois in the sixth meeting of the season against the Quad City Mallards.

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