CHL Tulsa Oilers

Tulsa Oilers Weekly News and Notes

Published on March 17, 2014 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Tulsa Oilers News Release


Last Week's Games:

Fri. March 14 at Wichita Thunder (4-1 L)

Sat. March 15 at Wichita Thunder (5-4 L)

Sun. March 16 vs. Wichita Thunder (4-3 SO-W)

Upcoming Games:

Fri. March 21 vs. Wichita Thunder - 7:35 p.m.

- Star Wars Night with jersey auction immediately following the game

- Open casting call before the game with Kirby Kasting Agency for actors and singers

Sat. March 22 at Wichita Thunder - 7:05 p.m.

Sun. March 23 vs. St. Charles Chill - 4:05 p.m.

- Tailgate Party on 3rd Street from 2-4 p.m. presented by Chris Nikel Dodge

- Post-game skate with the Oilers players

- Papa John's Family Packs available (4 tickets and a coupon for a large, one-topping pizza) for as low as $49

Week In Review: The Oilers began a three-game weekend series against the Thunder on Friday night in Wichita and wound up on the wrong side of a 4-1 decision. Thunder forward Matt Robinson scored two goals and the Oilers were only able to muster 22 shots on net in their third straight loss. Saturday night at INTRUST Bank Arena, the Oilers stumbled out of the gate and trailed 4-1 after the first period. Blair Macaulay tallied twice in the second frame to complete his first professional hat-trick and help the Oilers get back into the game. Tulsa tied the game midway through the third on a shorthanded goal from Nathan Lutz, but Thunder center R.G. Flath dashed the Oilers hopes by netting the game-winner with just over two minutes remaining in regulation. The Oilers fired 36 shots on goal but suffered their fourth consecutive loss. In the weekend finale on Sunday at the BOK Center, the Oilers trailed 3-0 in the second period when Macaulay sparked another comeback. The Tulsa rookie tipped in Jarred Mohr's slap shot at 13:59 of the middle frame to put his team on the board. The Oilers got goals from Lutz and Michel Beausoleil to knot the game at 3-3 in the third period and for the first time since late January, the Oilers pushed a contest beyond regulation. After five minutes of overtime decided nothing, Macaulay ripped a snap shot through Taylor Nelson's five-hole to seal a 4-3 shootout victory for the Oilers and bring the four-game losing skid to a halt.

Playoff Chase: Sunday's shootout victory pushed the Oilers past Arizona and back into seventh place in the CHL standings with six games remaining in the regular season. The Oilers (63 points) are one point up on the eighth-place Sundogs and have a six-point cushion on ninth-place Wichita. Tulsa will play three games in three days in each of the next two weekends.

Clinching The Cup: The Oilers are 7-4-1 against the Thunder this season with two games left in the StoneWolf Casino Cup series. With one victory over Wichita in the next two games, Tulsa can secure a season series victory and clinch the inaugural Cup. If the Thunder prevails in both contests, Wichita takes home the trophy.

Blair's Big Weekend: Oilers winger Blair Macaulay is coming off his most memorable weekend as a pro. The rookie recorded his first career hat-trick on Saturday night in Wichita with a goal in the first period and two strikes in the second period of Tulsa's 5-4 loss to the Thunder. Macaulay joined Ben Gordon, Adam Pleskach, and Ryan Menei as the only Oilers to register hat-tricks this season. The Winnipeg native was a key contributor in the Oilers 4-3 shootout triumph on Sunday. Macaulay scored the Oilers first goal of the night, assisted on Michel Beausoleil's game-tying tally in the third period, and fired home the game-winning goal in the final round of the shootout. The 25-year old ranks fourth in the CHL rookie scoring race with 40 points (17 goals, 23 assists) and has posted 11 multi-point games this season.

Shootout Success: After Sunday's shootout win over Wichita, the Oilers improved to 3-3 in shootouts this season. Tulsa has converted 11 of its 43 shootout attempts this season, a 25-percent success rate. Ben Gordon leads the Oilers in shootout goals (3) and attempts (7) while goaltender Shane Madolora, who boasts a 2-1 record in the tie-breaking format, has stopped 11 of the 16 attempts he has faced for a .688 save percentage.

Turning Thirty: The Oilers (30-27-3) have reached the 30-win plateau for the 12th time in franchise history but just the second time in the last nine seasons. Last time Tulsa recorded 30 victories was the 2010-11 campaign when Bruce Ramsay guided the Oilers to 35 wins and a second-round playoff appearance. Tulsa's record for wins in a single season is 38 set during the 1999-00 season under the direction of Head Coach Shaun Clouston.

Killing Streak: Tulsa's penalty kill unit has successfully eliminated 25 straight opposing power plays and has not surrendered a power play goal in the last four games. The Oilers PK went 13-for-13 last weekend in three games against Wichita. Over the last six games, Tulsa's penalty kill squad is operating at 95-percent (37-for-39).

Rejuvenation: In the last two games, Tulsa's line of Kyle Bochek, Michel Beausoleil, and Blair Macaulay accounted for 13 of the team's 22 points and six of the eight goals. Saturday in Wichita, Macaulay found the net three times while Beausoleil contributed three assists and Bochek dished out a pair of helpers. Back on home ice on Sunday, Macaulay recorded his second-straight three-point night (2 goals, 1 assist) and Beausoleil notched the game-tying goal to go along with one assist.

Streaky Stuff: The 2013-14 Tulsa Oilers season continues to be defined by lengthy stretches of success and failure. The Oilers have enjoyed two win streaks of five games each, one four-game win streak, and three win streaks of three games. However, Tulsa has also struggled through winless streaks of seven, six, five, and most recently, four games.

Sluggish Starts: In each of the last six games, the Oilers have trailed after the first period and have gone on to lose four of those six matchups. During that span Tulsa has been outscored 12-1 in the first period. Overall, the Oilers are 7-14-2 when falling behind after the opening period.

Oil Drops: Tulsa has scored shorthanded goals in back-to-back games and has a total of 10 shorthanded goals this season...The Oilers have had 228 power play opportunities this season, the second lowest total in the CHL (Missouri - 224)...With three assists on Saturday night, Michel Beausoleil moved past Oilers legend Mike Berger into fourth place on the Oilers all-time point list (275).

Check out the Tulsa Oilers Statistics

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