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Ice Continue To Haunt Oilers With 4-3 OT Win
Oilers Blow 3-0 Third Period Lead, Drop Fourth Straight to Indy
January 15, 2003
by Janna Kinder TulsaHockey.net
The Tulsa Oilers allowed various opportunities to slip through their fingers Wednesday night at the Pepsi Coliseum, dropping a 4-3 overtime heartbreaker to the Indianapolis Ice.
One opportunity that
escaped the Oilers was that of re-claiming sole possession of first place in the Northwest Division. The Oilers did, however, pick up a point and are now tied with the Oklahoma City Blazers for first in the
Northwest, with each team possessing 50 standings points. OKC has a game in hand on the Oilers.
Another opportunity lost was avenging a 3-2 overtime loss to the Ice on December 17 at the Tulsa
Convention Center. Unfortunately for Tulsa, the same type results came to fruition Wednesday night in Indianapolis, as the Oilers blew a 3-0 lead with just over 19 minutes left in the third period. Soft
defensive play in the Oiler end allowed the Ice to storm back and tie the game and eventually send the Oilers packing with only one point to show for their effort.
Tulsa's Derek Toninato opened the
scoring at 5:28 of the first period, tipping in a blast by defenseman Jorin Welsh from the right point. An assist was also given to veteran forward Jamie Steer.
The Oilers grabbed a 2-0 lead when
Dallas Anderson, who has been a major contributor of late for the Oilers, scoring 5 goals in his last four games, launched a shot from the right wing that beat Oiler netminder Shawn Silver at 17:50 of the
second period.
Tulsa took what appeared to be a secure lead when Justin Ossachuk put a rebound into the net during an Oiler power play at 50 seconds of the third period, assisted by Steer and Welsh.
The Ice comeback began at 2:11 of the third when forward Bryce Classen scored from the slot to cut the Oiler lead to 2.
Indy's next two third period goals were scored by Nate Elliot and Scott
Lewis at 4:45 and 11:13 respectively, with Lewis' forcing an overtime session in which Jason Baird beat Oiler netminder Rod Branch with a shot at 1:14 of the extra frame.
With approximately two months
left in the season, the Oilers playoff hopes are currently precarious, as they are tied for the third playoff spot with the Blazers at 50 points in the Northern Conference. The Memphis RiverKings hold the
top spot with 52 points while Indy moved into the second spot with 51 points. The Ice have two games in hand on the Oilers.
Not to be forgotten are the red hot Amarillo Gorillas, who are streaking up
the standings in the Northern Conference. Though the Gorillas are currently on the outside looking in, their chances of bumping one of the top four teams from playoff contention look promising, as they hold
several games in hand on the teams currently ahead of them in the standings.
The Oilers travel to Bossier-Shreveport to face the Mudbugs this Friday night. Game time is set for 7:05 p.m. |
