The Tulsa Oilers' Sean Erickson and Jamie Schaafsma of the Allen Americans battle for a puck on Sunday. Allen won, 3-2. MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
The Tulsa Oilers had hoped to close out the Central Hockey League season on a winning note Sunday at the BOK Center. But a power play shot from Brian McMillin was enough to give the first-place Allen Americans the lead and a 3-2 victory before a crowd of 4,614.
With the game tied 2-2, the Oilers' Ryan Menei was penalized for hooking after one minute of play. It was the only power play opportunity Tulsa gave up all night, and McMillin capitalized with a shot from the point.
The victory enabled Allen (39-18-9) to hold on to first place over Wichita while last-place Tulsa closed out the season at 22-39-5.
"I was real proud of my guys tonight," said Oilers coach Bruce Ramsay. "They came into this building knowing they (Allen) had to have a win. They have a very stacked lineup and we battled them all the way.
"One lucky tip out of the air was the difference in the hockey game."
It has been a tough season for the Oilers, who saw their playoff hopes dashed. But Ramsay felt the team never gave up, even when it had nothing to play for in the closing weeks.
"It is tough ending the season and knowing you are not going to make the playoffs," Ramsay said. "We have been through a lot of adversity. Most teams had more talent than us, but that did not matter because we worked hard. We finished off our last 25 or 26 games almost at .500 from where we were before."
Ramsay does not know what the future holds for him, but hopes he can have the opportunity to give Tulsa a winning team once again.
"There are a lot of things up in the air right now," Ramsay said. "My contract is up in a couple of months. Under the right circumstances I know I can put a great hockey team in this city. Nothing would please me more than to get that opportunity. I love this city and the fans. We have a group of core guys we could definitely build around."
A second-period goal by Ryan Cramer sent the game into the third period tied 2-2. Cramer shot from inside the left circle at 10:40 to give the Oilers their second goal of the night.
In the first period, the Americans pulled out to a 2-1 lead on goals by Jarret Lukin and Kale Kerbashian.
Lukin scored off a rebound at 2:16 to give the Americans a 1-0 lead. However, Drew Fisher fired from the slot just 1:08 later to tie the game at 1-1.
Not long after Michel Beausoleil appeared to have stuffed the puck past Americans goalie Aaron Dell for what would have been the go-ahead goal for Tulsa, CHL official Boone Bruggman disallowed the goal, leaving the game tied. Then at 13:36, Kerbashian ripped a shot that pinged off the upper goal post and into the net, giving the Americans a 2-1 lead.
AMERICANS 3, OILERS 2
| Allen |
2 |
0 |
1 |
- |
3 |
| Tulsa |
1 |
1 |
0 |
- |
2 |
First Period: 1, Allen, Lukin, 18 (McMillin, Deitsch) 2:16. 2, Tulsa, Fisher, 16 (Menei, Erickson) 3:24. 3, Allen, Kerbashian, 11 (Doyle) 13:36. Penalties: None.
Second Period: 4, Tulsa, Cramer, 14 (Fox, Menei) 10:40. Penalties: None.
Third Period: 5, Allen, McMillin, 15 (Hendrikx, Pineault ) 2:26 (pp). Penalties: Tulsa, Menei (hooking) 1:00 Allen, Pineault (fighting) 8:05. Tulsa, Erickson (fighting) 8:05. Allen, McKenzie (hooking) 16:12.
Power Plays: Allen, 1-1. Tulsa, 0-1.
Shots: Allen, 11-13-6 - 30. Tulsa, 10-8-6 - 24.
Saves: Allen, Dell 9-7-6 - 22. Tulsa, Madolora 9-13-5 - 27.
Referee: Boone Bruggman. A: 4,614.
Original Print Headline: Oilers end season with a loss to Americans
Pro - Oilers
The Tulsa Oilers will play a preseason game against the Wichita Thunder at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 at the Wichita Ice Center.
The Tulsa Oilers signed five players - defenders Andy Willigar and Andrew Himelson and forwards Neilsson Arcibal, Kyle Leahy, and Brett Skalski.
