Oilers make big comeback to beat Missouri 6-4
BY JOHN RITTENOURE World Correspondent
Saturday, February 02, 2013
2/02/13 at 5:54 AM
Tulsa woke up to score six goals and defeat the Missouri Mavericks 6-4 on Friday before 4,101 at the BOK Center.
After falling into a 3-0 first-period hole in what might have been the Oilers' worst period of hockey this season, Tulsa turned around to take a 6-3 lead before Missouri managed to add one final goal.
So what did coach Bruce Ramsay say to his team after the Oilers were outshot 21-6 in the first 20 minutes?
"I just laid it on the line. I did not have to say too much," Ramsay said. "They understood how bad we were for the first ten minutes of the game. I told them just how I felt we played and what we had to do to improve."
A season high of 50 penalty minutes were recorded between the two teams, but in between Ryan Menei and Ben Gordon provided the scoring muscle. Menei finished the night with two goals and two assists while Gordon picked up one goal and five assists.
"They were outstanding tonight," Ramsay said. "That line is a big part of our team when they are on."
It was the second straight victory for the Oilers and the third in a row at home.
"Wins have been hard to come by this year but to come back from a 3-0 deficit against a team like Missouri shows a lot of character," Ramsay said.
In the second period, Tulsa came out of the locker room on fire with a three-goal effort to take a 4-3 lead.
Drew Fisher cashed in on a two-man powerplay advantage at 2:18. Menei took a pass from Gordon and put a shot between the legs of Mavericks goalie Mike Clemente to tie the game at 3-3. Gordon and Menei combined again, with help from Kyle O'Kane, at 9:06 to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead.
Notes: Oilers Defensemen Kyle Mariana has left the team and forward Justin Fox was signed prior to Friday's game. Fox previously played for the Huntsville Havoc of the SPHL.
OILERS 6, MAVERICKS 4
| Missouri |
3 |
0 |
1 |
- |
4 |
| Tulsa |
1 |
3 |
2 |
- |
6 |
First Period: 1, Missouri, Vichorek, 1 (unassisted) 1:08. 2, Missouri, Thinel, 19 (Hood, Courtney) 11:44 (pp). 3, Missouri, Tochkin, 7 (Kell, Vessel) 13:42 (pp). 4, Tulsa, Gordon, 22 (Erickson) 16:25 (pp). Penalties: Tulsa, Fleck (interference, unsportsmanlike conduct, double minor) 7:41. Missouri, Miller (boarding) 8:43. Tulsa, Menei (unsportsmanlike conduct, abuse of officials) 10:22. Tulsa, Buvinow (hooking) 10:22. Tulsa, Fleck (unsportsmanlike conduct) 10:22. Missouri, Simoes (slashing) 14:15. Missouri, Kell (trippiing) 16:47.
Second Period: 5, Tulsa, Fisher, 12 (Gordon, Cramer) 2:18 (pp). 6, Tulsa, Menei, 18 (Gordon, O'Kane) 4:20. 7, Tulsa, Menei, 19 (Gordon) 9:06. Penalties: Missouri, Smith (hooking) 1:04. Missouri, Vessel (interference) 1:20. Tulsa, Barlock (slashing) 5:52. Missouri, Hood (tripping) 9:29. Missouri, Tochkin (slashing) 13:14. Tulsa, O'Kane (holding) 13:14. Tulsa, Beausoleil (handling the puck) 19:20.
Third Period: 8, Tulsa, Buvinow, 1 (Menei, Gordon), 8:38 (pp). 9, Tulsa, Erickson, 4 (Menei, Gordon) 12:06 (pp). 10, Missouri, Courtney, 10 (unassisted) 18:59. Penalties: Missouri, Tochkin (charging) 6:38. Missouri, Tochkin (tripping) 11:22. Missouri, Jardine (cross checking) 11:22. Tulsa, O'Kane (roughing) 11:22. Tulsa, Amesbury (roughing) 13:28. Missouri, Hood (hooking) 16:50.
Power Plays: Missouri, 2-8. Tulsa, 4-9. Shots: Missouri, 21-11-7 - 39. Tulsa, 6-16-8 - 30. Saves: Missouri, Clemente 5-13-6 - 24. Tulsa, Madolora 18-11-6 - 35. Referee: Kevin Curtis. A: 4,401.
Original Print Headline: Oilers make big comeback over Missouri
