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Blazers Bounce Oilers From Top Spot, Win 6-4
Tulsa Seventh Straight Loss Dealt by Turnpike Rivals
January 10, 2003
by Janna Kinder TulsaHockey.net
Though the Tulsa Oilers appeared to have benefited some from several days of rest this week, costly errors against the Oklahoma City Blazers on Friday night resulted in the team's seventh straight loss, as
OKC prevailed 6-4 in an intense match in front of 16,873 fans - a CHL record setting crowd - at the Ford Center.
A telling stat was the shot differential between the two teams - 42 shots for the
Blazers, as opposed to 19 for the Oilers.
With the loss, the Oilers released their grasp of first place in the Northwest Division for the first time this season, as OKC bumped Tulsa from the top spot.
The Blazers have 48 standings points compared to 47 for the Oilers, with both teams having played the same number of games.
Amarillo, who lost 3-1 to the New Mexico Scorpions Friday night, is 7 points
back of the Oilers with 5 games in hand.
OKC's Blair Manning opened the scoring at 9:54 of the first period, poking in a rebound from the left crease area, assisted by Joe Burton and Hardy Sauter.
Tulsa's Pat Hallett fired a shot from the mid-slot, beating OKC netminder Boyd Ballard at 12:11 of the first to tie the game at 1.
Oiler forward Dallas Anderson scored his first of two goals
during a Tulsa power play at 17:57 of the first, assisted by Todd Marcellus and Mike Mohr.
Blazer forward Marty Standish knotted the score at 2 when he collected a rebound to the right of Oiler
goaltender Rod Branch, slipping the puck into the net at 2:52 of the second period.
Anderson scored at 8:50 of the second on a hard, low wrister from the left circle that beat Ballard stickside,
giving the Oilers a 3-2 lead.
Just over a minute later, Dave Shields sent a perfectly placed shot from just inside the Oiler blue line into the top right corner of the net at 10:01 of the second.
The Blazers took a 4-3 lead at 17:57 of the second when the Oilers made a mistake during a Tulsa power play, creating a 2 on 1 shorthanded rush for OKC, with Burton received a feed from Blair Manning on
the right wing and lifting a wrister from the mid slot past Branch for his 27th goal of the season.
Tulsa's Derek Toninato tied the game with his 3rd goal of the season at 12:46 of the third period,
receiving a nice cross ice pass from Hallett on the right wing and banging a shot past Ballard stickside from near the crease.
Oklahoma City took the lead for good exactly two minutes later when Peter
Robertson received a drop pass from Standish and sent a shot from the Tulsa blue line under the arm of Branch and into the net, giving the Blazers a 5-4 advantage.
Jasmin Roy closed out the scoring at
18:06 of the third, poking a rebound through Branch's fivehole from the left crease area.
Tulsa travels to Wichita Saturday for a game with the Thunder. The puck drops at 7:30. |
