|
Thunder Blitz Oilers 7-3
Tulsa Surrenders Two Shorthanded Goals in Lopsided Affair
December 21, 2002
by Janna Kinder
TulsaHockey.net
The Tulsa Oilers ended their five game homestand on a
sour note, dropping a 7-3 decision to the Wichita Thunder in a game in which the Oilers were plagued by costly turnovers, shaky goaltending, and a lack of offensive production.
Tulsa, fresh on the
heels of a 3-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Blazers on Friday night, never appeared to be clicking on all cylinders Saturday night at the Tulsa Convention Center - in particular on the power play. The
Oilers, who are usually on the favorable end of point production while being down a man, surrendered two shorthanded goals to the 7-12-7 Thunder.
Adding insult to injury, the Blazers gained 2 points
on Tulsa by defeating the Lubbock CottonKings 5-2 on Saturday. The Oilers still maintain a 12 point lead over Oklahoma City in the Northwest Division, despite falling to 21-6-1.
Wichita grabbed a 1-0
lead at 11:53 of the first period when center Ryan McLean blasted a slapshot from the high slot, beating rookie netminder Jason Stone high gloveside. An assist was awarded to Todd Johnson.
The Thunder
went up 2-0 during an Oiler play, when forwards Tom Gomes and Peter MacKellar raced up ice on an odd man rush, with MacKellar streaking in from the right side and scoring on a high shot at 14:17 of the first.
Wichita got their second shorthanded goal of the night at 53 seconds of the second period when Gomes took possession of the puck in the neutral zone and broke in alone on Stone, lifting the puck into
right side of the Oiler net for an unassisted goal.
The Thunder went up 4-0 when defenseman Chad Nelson collected a rebound deep in the slot, putting a shot into the left side of the net at 6:04 of
the second period. Travis Clayton and Jason Duda received assists on the goal.
The Oilers got on the board when Justin Ossachuk sent a quick crossing feed to defenseman Mike Mohr on the left side, who
one-timed a shot past Thunder netminder Kristian Antila at 10:04 of the second. Center Klage Kaebel was awarded the second helper on Mohr's 6th goal of the season.
A serious situation occurred as the
Oilers' first goal was scored when Thunder defenseman Paul Johnson crashed to the ice and lay motionless for several minutes. Johnson, after being fitted with a neck brace, had his jersey cut off and his
skates removed. The injured Thunder player was strapped to a backboard and taken from the ice by paramedics on a stretcher. Johnson's condition was unknown at the time of this report.
The Thunder
increased their lead to 5-1 just 16 seconds into the third period during a Wichita power play when forward Jeff Petruic scored on a sharp angled shot to the left of the Oiler goal, with Duda assisting.
Wichita went up 6-1 when Aaron Plumb lit the lamp, one timing a shot past Stone at 3:14 of the third. Upon Plumb's goal, Stone was pulled in favor of Oiler primary goaltender Rod Branch.
The
Thunder onslaught continued when Duda lifted a backhand from the mid slot past Branch at 8:18 of the third. Assists went to Clayton and Vladimir Hartinger.
The Oilers answered when Todd Marcellus
collected a rebound to the right of the Wichita goal and fed the puck across the crease to Jamie Steer, who put it past a sprawling Antila at 9:29 of the third. Defenseman Mike Johnson also assisted on
Steer's 13th goal of season.
Tulsa made it 7-3 on a goal by Steer, who capitalized on a Wichita miscommunication, poking the puck between Antila's legs at 16:43 of the third. Marcellus and Derek
Toninato assisted.
The Oilers return to action Wednesday for a Christmas night game in Oklahoma City against the Blazers. Game time is set for 7:35 p.m. |
