Tulsa Oilers Weekly News and Notes
February 24, 2014 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release
Last Week's Games:
Tue. Feb. 18 at Arizona (5-3 W)
Wed. Feb. 19 at Arizona (5-0 W)
Fri. Feb. 21 vs. Quad City (4-3 W)
Upcoming Games:
Fri. Feb. 28 at Wichita - 7:05 p.m.
Sat. Mar. 1 at St. Charles - 7:05 p.m.
Week In Review: The Oilers are coming off a perfect 3-0-0 week and have now won eight of their nine games in the month of February. Last Tuesday, the Oilers began a mid-week series in Arizona by posting a 5-3 win over the Sundogs. Ben Gordon scored three goals, chipped in two assists, and finished the night with a +4 rating to lead the Oilers attack while Shane Madolora turned aside 31 shots to help hold off a late surge by the Sundogs. Madolora followed up on Wednesday with a 34-save performance to earn his third shutout of the season in a 5-0 Tulsa victory. The Oilers got five goals from five different players and 11 of their 16 skaters registered at least one point. Tulsa won its fourth straight road game and concluded the season series against Arizona with a 5-1-0 record. Back at the BOK Center on Friday, Adam Pleskach provided the game-winning goal with six minutes left in the third period to lift the Oilers to a 4-3 triumph over the Quad City Mallards. Gordon recorded his second hat-trick in the last three games and Brad Fogal made 21 saves to post his second win as an Oiler. Tulsa wrapped its season series against Quad City with a 2-2-0 record and 2-0-0 mark on home ice.
Playoff Push: The Oilers are 8-1-0 in February and are in sole possession of seventh place in the CHL standings with 57 points on the season. Only 15 points separate the top eight teams in the CHL as the playoff race tightens with just five weeks remaining in the regular season. With 13 games left, the Oilers are only six points out of second place and continue to lead the league in total offense with 186 goals scored.
Gordon Goes Back-To-Back: The Central Hockey League announced today that Oilers center Ben Gordon has been selected as the Oakley Player of the Week for the second straight week. Two weeks ago, Gordon earned the honor for putting up six goals and four assists in four games. Last week, the 29-year old continued to torch the opposition by recording two-hat tricks, a total of seven goals, three assists, and a +8 rating to lead the Oilers to three wins in three games. Gordon is on a five-game goal streak and through nine games in February, the Minnesota native is setting a blistering scoring pace with 21 points (13 goals, 8 assists). In the 2012-13 season, his first with the Oilers, Gordon registered 66 points in 52 games and finished second on the team in scoring. This season, Gordon already has 73 points (34 goals, 39 assists) to his credit in just 50 games. The sixth-year pro leads Tulsa in points and has climbed to third in the CHL scoring race.
Formidable Force: The line of Ben Gordon, Ryan Menei, and Adam Pleskach has been a consistent catalyst for the Oilers offense during the recent run of success. In Saturday's 4-3 win over the Mallards, the Tulsa trio combined for 10 of the team's 12 total points and all four goals. The forwards have only been held off the stat sheet in one of the last nine games and in the month of February, Gordon, Menei, and Pleskach have combined for 48 points or 45-percent of the Oilers total offense. Gordon leads the team with 34 goals while Pleskach ranks first among all CHL rookies with 30 goals and leads the Oilers with six-game winning goals. All three players are averaging better than a point per game.
Madolora's Streak: Oilers goalie Shane Madolora is enjoying one of the best stretches of his young career. The second-year pro has earned a win in each of his last six starts. During that span, the California native has made 30 saves or more in four of the six games while recording a 2.17 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. Madolora, who ranks second in the CHL with 23 wins, leads the league in appearances, minutes, and total saves.
Outshot But Not Outplayed: The Oilers have been outshot in nine straight games, going 8-1-0 in that span. Tulsa has only fired 30 shots in three of its last 11 outings and has a 15-12-0 record this season when being outshot by its opponent. Last Friday against Quad City, the Oilers scored four goals while putting just 17 shots on net, a new season low.
Road Redemption: The Oilers have won four consecutive road games for the first time since December of 2010. In the last four contests away from home, the Oilers have outscored their opponents 17-8 and reached the five-goal mark in three of the four outings. The Oilers are 12-12-2 on the road and have already surpassed their road win total of each of the last two seasons.
Offensive Surge: Tulsa has scored at least four goals in five straight games and seven of the last nine games. In February, the Oilers are averaging 4.6 goals per game and are only allowing 2.1 goals per contest.
On The Plus Side: Last season, the Oilers didn't have a single player who ranked in the top 75 in the league in overall plus/minus. In possibly the best evidence of the team's turnaround, this season, the Oilers have three players in the top ten in the CHL. Kyle Bochek and Eric Tallent are tied for fifth at +21 and Craig Cescon ranks eighth at +19.
Advantages Dwindling: The Oilers have 198 power play opportunities this season, the second lowest total in the league behind Missouri (193). Tulsa has been awarded more than three power plays only once in its last 12 games and ranks ninth in the league in total power play goals with 33.
Oil Drops: Ryan Menei and Ben Gordon are riding five-game point streaks...Blair Macaulay had his five-game point streak snapped on Saturday against Quad City...Ryan Cramer has missed seven straight games with an upper body injury...Nathan Lutz is +6 over his last two games...Michel Beausoleil recorded his 269th point as an Oiler on Wednesday and moved into a tie with current General Manager Taylor Hall for fifth place on the Oilers all-time points list...Six of the Oilers 13 remaining games are against Wichita.
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Central Hockey League Stories from February 24, 2014
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- Ben Gordon Earns Back-To-Back Player of the Week Honors - Tulsa Oilers
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