CHL Tulsa Oilers

Tulsa Oilers Weekly News and Notes

Published on February 18, 2014 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


Last Week's Games:

Tue. Feb. 11 at Rapid City (5-4 W)

Wed. Feb. 12 at Rapid City (2-1 W)

Fri. Feb. 14 vs. Arizona (9-4 W)

Sat. Feb. 15 vs. Arizona (4-2 L)

Upcoming Games:

Tue. Feb. 18 at Arizona - 7:35 p.m. (Central Time)

Wed. Feb. 19 at Arizona - 7:35 p.m. (Central Time)

Fri. Feb. 21 vs. Quad City - 7:35 p.m.

Week In Review: The Oilers went 3-1-0 in four contests and started the week with an impressive two-game sweep in Rapid City. In the first period of Tuesday's tilt against the Rush, Ben Gordon scored four goals in just four and a half minutes and finished with a five-point night to help lift the Oilers to a 5-4 victory. Tulsa followed with a 2-1 triumph in Rapid City on Wednesday to improve to 3-0-0 against the Rush. Shane Madolora made 37 saves and newcomer Chapen Leblond scored the game-winning goal late in the second period to give the Oilers their fourth straight win. The Oilers returned to the BOK Center on Valentine's Day and overwhelmed Arizona for a 9-4 victory. Tulsa scored nine times on just 21 shots and reached the nine-goal plateau for the second time this season. In his 100th game as an Oiler, Ryan Menei led the offensive effort by registering his first hat-trick of the season and chipping in two assists as one of six Oilers to finish the evening with a multiple-point effort. Scoring chances were harder to come by on Thursday as the Oilers mustered only 22 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Sundogs. Tulsa lost for the first time in the month of February and had its season-high five-game win streak snapped.

Playoff Race Tightens: Approaching a critical two-game series in Arizona, the Oilers begin the week tied with the Sundogs for seventh place in the CHL standings. The top eight teams in the league are separated by just 13 points with ninth place Wichita only five points back of the Oilers and Sundogs. Tulsa has 16 games remaining on the schedule including six contests against the Thunder.

Gordon The Great: For the second time this season, Ben Gordon has been selected as the Oakley CHL Player of the Week. In four games last week the Minnesota native posted six goals and four assists to help the Oilers to three victories. Gordon joined Adam Pleskach as the second Oiler to record four goals in a single period when he lit the lamp four times in the first period of Tuesday's game in Rapid City. The 29-year old also recorded an assist to cap off his third five-point outing of the season. Back on home ice on Friday, Gordon scored a goal and dished out three assists in Tulsa's 9-4 destruction of Arizona. The sixth-year pro ended the week with another goal on Saturday night and is now tied for the team lead with 63 points (27 goals, 36 assists) and tied for sixth in the CHL scoring race.

Memorable Night For Menei: Although Ryan Menei is nowhere near his goal-scoring pace of last season, the Oilers right-winger showed just how dangerous he can be with the puck on his stick during Friday's shellacking of Arizona. Menei found the back of the net three times, set up a pair of goals, and finished with a +4 rating as the Oilers cruised to a 9-4 win. The Winnipeg native has put up 15 points (4 goals, 11 assists) in his last ten games and has posted 38 points in 35 games. Since the calendar turned to 2014, Menei has scored at least one point in 13 of the last 16 games.

Glove Droppers: In Friday's win over the Sundogs, the Oilers recorded three fights in a single game for the first time since November 24 and for the fourth time this season. Ryan Barlock traded punches with Sebastian Geoffrion and Eric Tallent squared off against Alex Velischek, but the most memorable bout of the night belonged to Craig Cescon and Riley Emmerson. The two heavyweights grappled at center ice in the third period with neither combatant holding anything back.

Puck Stoppers: During Tulsa's recent five-game win streak, goaltenders Brad Fogal and Shane Madolora combined to stop 150 of the 161 shots they faced, a .932 save percentage. Madolora is third in the CHL with 21 wins and leads the league with 1,055 saves.

Low Shots, Big Results: The Oilers have been outshot in six straight games, going 5-1-0 in that span. Tulsa has only fired 30 shots in one of its last eight outings and has a 12-12-0 record this season when being outshot by its opponent.

Newcomer's Impact: Newly signed forwards Matt Ambroz and Chapen Leblond wasted little time in contributing to Oilers victories. Leblond, a 22-year old who played the first 40 games of the season for the Mississippi Surge (SPHL), scored a game-winning goal in just his second contest as an Oiler. Ambroz made his Tulsa debut on February 1 and scored his first goal as an Oiler last Friday against Arizona.

Dinged Up: Oilers center Todd Robinson, who missed six games with a lower body injury, re-aggravated the injury in his return to the lineup last Friday and will miss an undetermined amount of time. Ryan Cramer has missed four straight games with an upper body injury while defenseman Jake Obermeyer continues to recover from surgery to repair a broken bone in his finger.

Oil Drops: Ryan Menei played in his 100th game as an Oiler last Friday and Ben Gordon will play in his 100th game as an Oiler on Tuesday in Arizona...Michel Beausoleil's assist last Saturday moved him into sole possession of fifth place on the Oilers all-time assist list with 151...Kyle Bochek and Craig Cescon rank fourth and fifth respectively in the CHL in overall plus-minus with +22 and +21 ratings.

Check out the Tulsa Oilers Statistics

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