TULSA, Okla. – Down 3-1 with less than seven minutes left Sunday, the Tulsa Oilers battled back, scoring twice in the final 6:14 of regulation, then netted an overtime goal to claim a 4-3 win over the visiting Atlanta Gladiators. The win capped a perfect 3-0 weekend for the Oilers, who opened the home portion of their schedule with games on three-consecutive nights.
Atlanta’s Eric Neiley put the Gladiators on the board first, jabbing in a loose puck during a scramble with Oilers goalie Jamie Phillips at 12:06 of the first to make it 1-0. Neither side would find the net the rest of the period, as Atlanta would hold that lead and a 13-7 shot advantage heading into the first intermission.
Emerson Clark evened things up 3:51 into the second, sending a shot past Atlanta’s Matt Ginn top shelf from the right circle, shorthanded and unassisted.
The deadlock wouldn’t last long though, as Thomas Frazee scored on the power play just 53-seconds later throwing a shot into the net from the left circle with assists going to Neiley and Blake Kessel to make it 2-1.
Justin Buzzero added to the Gladiators lead, making it 3-1 on a wrap around wrist shot at 16:27, assisted by Bocks Higgs and Neiley. Atlanta would take a two-goal lead and 23-22 shot advantage into the locker room for the second intermission.
Tulsa came out on a mission in the third period, as they would out-shoot Atlanta 21-3. Still, it would 13:46 before the Oilers offensive efforts would be rewarded with a Dan DeSalvo goal.
Bringing the puck into the zone on the left wing, Clark sent a perfect centering pass to the stick of DeSalvo, who tapped the puck into the net past Ginn to make it 3-2. Just over five minutes later, Clark’s second goal of the night would be the game-tying goal.
With 1:04 remaining, Wes Cunningham sent a shot on net from above the left circle and Clark re-directed the shot past Ginn to tie the game at 3-3, sending it to overtime.
Oilers forward Adam Pleskach would become the hero at 4:19 of the extra frame. With Atlanta’s Derek Nesbitt in the box serving a two minute minor for too many men, Pleskach collected a rebound in front of the net and poked the puck past Ginn to claim a 4-3 win for Tulsa.
Tulsa’s Adam Pleskach gets the OT game winner against Atlanta on Sunday / Photo by Les Stockton (PHN)
The comeback propelled the Oilers to a perfect 4-0-0 record to start the season. Pleskach finished the weekend with four goals, while DeSalvo contributed two goals and three assists. Clark, who holds a slim lead over rookie Darcy Murphy on the score sheet with seven points, had three goals and four assists in the three home wins.
The Oilers are back in action at the BOK Center on Tuesday as they host the defending Kelly Cup Champion Allen Americans for the first of times this season. Face-off is scheduled for 7:05 pm.
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer: Les.Stockton@prohockeynews.com
Follow us on Twitter: @ProHockeyNews / @JohnHallPHN / @les_stockton
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