Coralville, Iowa — The Iowa Heartlanders scored two third-period goals and overcame the Tulsa Oilers, 2-1, in the opening game of the ECHL season Friday at Xtream Arena. Returning forward Keltie Jeri-Leon scored the game-winner from the top of the face-off circle on the power play with 13 minutes to go. Head Coach Chuck Weber earned his first victory as the Heartlanders bench boss, and Iowa is 1-0-0-0 for the first time since 2021.
William Rousseau made 19 saves in his season debut for the win. Iowa finished the game outshooting Tulsa, 33-19. Tulsa goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets stopped 31 shots on net in defeat.
Tulsa opened the scoring 1:20 into the contest with a goal from Josh Nelson. He cleaned up a loose puck in front of Rousseau for his first of the season.
The Heartlanders out shot Tulsa, 12-1, in the second period.
Nolan Orzeck scored off a cross-crease pass from Jaxon Nelson five minutes into the third period to tie the game with Iowa’s first goal of the regular season. Two minutes later, Jeri-Leon put Iowa on top for their first lead of the season. Rousseau made 10 saves in the third period and finished the game with 17 straight stops.
The Heartlanders take on Bloomington on the road tomorrow at 7:00 p.m.
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