Oilers Weekly
February 2, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release
The Tulsa Oilers split a pair of games last weekend and now stand at 13-20-9, 35 points, fifth place in the CHL's Northwest Division. The Oilers trail fourth-place Wichita by 13 points.
Last weekend, the Oilers began a four-game homestand facing the Memphis RiverKings on Friday night. The Oilers donned special "T.U." style jerseys in honor of the University of Tulsa's successful 2003 football season, and it proved to be good luck for the Oilers. Tulsa exploded for three first period goals and cruised to an 8-4 win before 5,468 at the Tulsa Convention Center. Todd Marcellus netted a hat trick and an assist, and Chris Page lit the lamp twice with an assist to lead the way for Tulsa. In addition, Cam Kuzyk chipped in with a goal and two helpers, and Rod Branch made 38 saves to claim the victory. The win snapped Tulsa's 13-game winless streak, tying a club record.
The Oilers hoped to ride that big victory into Saturday, as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees came to town for the first time ever. However, Tulsa hit a figurative brick wall in Killer Bees' goaltender Jacques Vezina, who turned away all 38 Oiler offerings. Bill Newson scored the only goal of the game as Rio Grande Valley prevailed 1-0. Tulsa had two goals disallowed by a high stick, and just could not get the offense going. Rookie netminder Tim Kelleher stopped 29 in defeat for the Oilers.
Todd Marcellus' four-point effort on Friday night gave him the team lead in scoring with 46 points. Marcellus leads the team with 25 assists and is second with a +10 rating. In addition, he has 7 points in his last 5 games, and 13 in his last 10. All-star Jason Bermingham has a team-best 23 goals and ranks second with 45 points. Bermingham also leads the squad with a +15 rating, 9 power-play tallies, and 169 shots on goal. Both Cam Kuzyk and Chris Page have turned it on since joining the Oilers. They each have 4 points (2G, 2A) in 5 games, and both tallied three-point nights against Memphis last Friday. Rookie center Nick Udovicic tallied an assist in his first game with the Oilers since being acquired from Corpus Christi for Aaron Millar last week. Rod Branch picked up his 12th win of the season on Friday, and ranks second in the league with 1,002 saves. Branch, who also ranks 6th in the CHL in minutes played with 1846:21, has a 2.89 goals-against-average and a .918 save percentage.
TEAM LEADERS:
Goals: Jason Bermingham 23
Assists: Todd Marcellus 25
Points: Todd Marcellus 46
Plus/Minus: Jason Bermingham +15
PIM: Shawn Scanzano 105
PPG: Jason Bermingham 9
SHG: Marcellus/Gravelle 2
GWG: Jason Bermingham 4
Shots: Jason Bermingham 169
SH Pct: Wes Scanzano 18.5
Shootout G: Todd Marcellus 5
Wins: Rod Branch 12
GAA: Rod Branch 2.89
Saves: Rod Branch 1,002
Save Pct: Rod Branch .918
Minutes: Rod Branch 1846:21
The Oilers remain on home ice for the back end of a four-game homestand. Tulsa hosts the Indianapolis Ice on Tuesday, and welcome the San Angelo Saints to the Convention Center for the first time this season on Friday. After that, the Oilers travel to Oklahoma City for a Saturday night matchup, and head to Austin for a Sunday matinee with the Ice Bats.
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.
Central Hockey League Stories from February 2, 2004
- Thrillers, Trades & Bees for Ice Bats - Austin Ice Bats
- Kings Host Miracle - Lubbock Cotton Kings
- Scorpions extend streak to five straight wins - New Mexico Scorpions
- Mudbugs Week in Review - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Beaudry Named CHL Goalie of the Week Again - New Mexico Scorpions
- Killer Bees Weekly Notes - Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
- Dube Named Bauer / Nike CHL Player Of The Week - Laredo Bucks
- Blazers split weekend set - Oklahoma City Blazers
- Ice and Brahmas set for two-night rodeo this weekend - Indianapolis Ice
- Saints Week in Review - San Angelo Saints
- Laredo's Serge Dube, New Mexico's Miguel Beadry Earn Weekly Honors - CHL
- Hot Thunder sweep expansion teams - Wichita Thunder
- Mudbugs "Hockey 101" Radio Broadcast this Saturday - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Oilers Weekly - Tulsa Oilers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
