ALLEN, Texas – Tuesday night was game five of the Central Division Semi-Finals series between the Allen Americans and the Tulsa Oilers as the Oilers faced elimination, down 3-1 in the series.
The Americans came out of the gate a bit slow and improved as the period wore on but Tulsa failed to capitalize on the Allen play, being outshot by a 13-6 margin as both teams failed to score in the opening frame. A much busier second period was on tap where the bulk of the scoring took place, setting the scene for a dramatic finish.
Tulsa’s Drew Fisher got the game’s first goal, netting a power play marker shortly after another goal by Tulsa was waved off, as Phil Brewer and Jeff Jubinville earned the assists at 5:02. Then Allen came alive, scoring three unanswered to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission.
First it was Dyson Stevenson notching his first post-season goal at 10:14, assisted by Patrik Valcak and Kevin Young. Newly returned Ian Schultz didn’t waste time making his impact felt, lighting the lamp at 12:23 with a nifty redirection past Kevin Carr in the Tulsa net. Justin Baker and Chad Costello were credited with the assists on the Schultz goal. Then Costello capped the scoring for the Americans with a power play goal shortly after at 13:52, Schultz and Spencer Asuchak chipped in with the helpers. Allen continued to hold the lead in shots at 15-12 for the period, and 28-18 through 40 minutes of play.
Tulsa worked hard to get through Allen’s prevent defense in the final frame, outshooting the Americans 11-6 and narrowing the shot total for the game to 34-29, but were only able to get one puck past Joel Rumpel in the Americans crease. It was Fisher for the Oilers again lighting the lamp very late in the game at 17:42, Brewer and Scott Macaulay setup the play.
With the win the Americans now have a long time off, as the next series is set to start on May 1st with the opponent being the winner of the Rapid City versus Quad City series that is currently tied at one game apiece.
The three stars of the game were all from the Americans: 1. Ian Schultz (1G, 1A), 2. Dyson Stevenson (1G), 3. Joel Rumpel (27 saves).
Special mention in the series must go to Kevin Carr, the Tulsa netminder who was outstanding between the pipes for the Oilers and made numerous key saves throughout the series, at times with little defensive support.
Contact the writer: maurice.fitzgerald@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer: Kimberly.Sauer@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.