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CHL Tulsa Oilers

Oilers Weekly

January 5, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


The Tulsa Oilers had four games in five nights last week, and went 0-4 in that span. The Oilers now stand at 12-15-6, 30 points, fifth place in the CHL's Northwest Division. Tulsa trails fourth-place Wichita by two points, and third-place New Mexico by seven points.

The Oilers opened their week in Bossier-Shreveport last Tuesday, taking on the Mudbugs. Scoreless through two periods, the game became a goaltending duel between Tulsa's Rod Branch and Bossier-Shreveport's Jeff Blair. In fact, only one goal was scored in the game, and it was by the Mudbugs' David Oliver as Bossier defeated Tulsa 1-0. Blair stopped 25 and got the win, while Branch turned away 29 but took the loss.

Wednesday night, Tulsa returned to home ice to battle the Fort Worth Brahmas on a special New Year's Eve clash. Dan Gravelle and Marian Koleda each found the net for Tulsa, but Fort Worth scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take the game 4-2 before 4,319 at the Tulsa Convention Center. Rod Branch had 22 saves between the pipes.

Friday, the Oilers hit the highways for a road matchup with the Wichita Stealth. Dan Gravelle and Wes Scanzano lit the lamp, but again, it was not enough. Tied 2-2 at the end of two periods, the Thunder scored two unanswered goals in the third period to best the Oilers 4-2. Wichita's Trevor Allman scored twice, and both Darryl Green and Mark Kolesar assisted twice for the Thunder. Rod Branch again blocked 22, but suffered his eighth loss of the campaign.

Saturday night, the Oilers played their fourth game in five nights in Memphis against the RiverKings. Shutout for most of the game, Tulsa could not get it going, falling 5-1 to the RiverKings. Jason Bermingham scored the lone Tulsa goal in the third period, set up by Todd Marcellus. It was the Oilers' sixth straight loss.

Jason Bermingham leads the squad with 19 goals and 35 points overall. Bermingham also has a team-best +14 rating and 126 shots on goal. Captain Todd Marcellus leads the team with 20 assists, and is second with 34 points. Marcellus also ranks second with a +8 rating and third with 93 shots on goal. Dan Gravelle has scored 8 points in his last 10 games, and ranks fourth on the team with 25 points. In addition, Gravelle ranks second on the team in both goals (14) and shots on goal (124). Rookie Anthony D'Arpino has led the Oilers' D-corps this year with 17 points (4G, 13A).

In goal, the Oilers have gone with veteran Rod Branch. Branch has an 11-9-3 record with a 2.71 goals-against-average and a .923 save percentage. Rookie netminder Tim Kelleher has also seen action, going 1-6-3 with a 3.27 goals-against-average and an .883 save percentage.

TEAM LEADERS:

Goals: Jason Bermingham 19
Assists: Todd Marcellus 20
Points: Jason Bermingham 35
Plus/Minus: Jason Bermingham +14
PIM: Shawn Scanzano 93
PPG: Jason Bermingham 5
SHG: Bermingham/Marcellus/Gravelle 1
GWG: Jason Bermingham 4
Shots: Jason Bermingham 126
SH Pct: Wes Scanzano 19.7
Shootout G: Todd Marcellus 5
Wins: Rod Branch 11
GAA: Rod Branch 2.71
Saves: Rod Branch 772
Save Pct: Rod Branch .923
Minutes: Rod Branch 1415:25

This coming week, the Oilers will host a three-game homestand before hitting the road for most of the month of January. Tulsa will face the Indianapolis Ice on Tuesday, before hosting the Wichita Thunder Friday and the rival Oklahoma City Blazers on Saturday.

Individual game tickets can be purchased at the Oilers ticket office, at Carson Attractions, in the Tulsa Convention Center, or at the Drug Mart locations in Tulsa, Owasso, and Broken Arrow.

Phone orders for game tickets can be made by calling 918-584-2000 or 918-632-7825.

Check out the Tulsa Oilers Statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 5, 2004


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