INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — The Tulsa Oilers, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks and the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, and powered by Community Care, extended their winning streak to five games, topping the ECHL’s top team 2-1 thanks to a third-period surge at Cable Dahmer Arena on Wednesday night.
Neither team was profitable on the scoreboard through the opening 20 minutes, with Tulsa out shooting the Mavericks 12-3.
Vyachselav Buteyets was busier in the second period, but remained perfect, halting 14 chances for a total of 17 saves. Dylan Wells stood tall at the other end, stopping a combined 21 shots through two frames.
Ryan Lautenbach opened the scoring with a short-handed breakaway goal 3:34 into the final frame, showcasing great anticipation and silky hands to break a multi-period deadlock. Josh Nelson extended Tulsa’s lead to 2-0, guiding a deft deflection off a high-speed feed from Conner Fedorek — his first assist as an Oiler — 2:06 into the back half of the final frame. Nolan Sullivan answered quickly for the Mavericks, cutting the Oilers lead in half just 1:55 later with what was the lone goal to beat Buteyets on the night.
Tulsa returns home on Friday, April 10, kicking off the final three-in-three at the BOK Center this season at 7:05 p.m.
