NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — Despite a record of 4-8-1 to start the season, Tulsa Oilers Head Coach Dan Hodge remains upbeat. The former defenseman knows the ups and downs that occur in professional hockey and he isn’t letting a rough start get the best of him.
Hodge, 37, was selected (ninth round, #194 overall) by the Boston Bruins in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He was a member of the 1999-00 Kelly Cup Championship Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) team and has played in the AHL, IHL, UHL and CHL.
Hodge ended his 10-year professional career as captain of the Oilers after the 2005-06 season. He became the assistant coach the following season and took over the reins of the team last December. He is now in his first full season as head coach. The Oilers went 25-35-4 last year (20-25-3 under Hodge) and Hodge is obviously looking for improvement.
Now in the 15th season since Tulsa won the Central Hockey League’s inaugural championship in 1993, the Oilers are playing in the newly
Head Coach Dan Hodge (photo by Robert Keith)
I spoke to Dan before a recent game about the Oilers season thus far.
Q: The season hasn’t started out well for the Oilers, but I’d like to talk about some positives. The recent road win against the Colorado Eagles, for example. How did you feel beating the number one team in the league at the Budweiser Events Center?
A: It felt great. We played real well. A lot of teams, when they go into Colorado, are already beat basically, because of the aura of Colorado and the success they’ve had. We played them the previous Tuesday and kind of sat around and let them do what they wanted and they thought that was pretty good and then on Friday night, we just played our game and played well. We didn’t sit back; we took the game to them and we stood up to them and we did some good things.
Q: Michel Beausoleil has had a great start to the season. How do feel about having him on the team?
A: I played against Mike when he was in Oklahoma City. I’ve coached against Mike; he’s a heck of a player. He’s dynamic. He’s a guy who can really put the puck in the net, which he has already this year. We’re looking for more from him and also just being strong defensively, too.
Q: It’s early enough in the season, so your team has time to turn things around. Some say you have issues at goaltender. What’s your take?
A: Goaltending is not just the goalie. Everyone looks at the goalie stats, but it’s a team game. They’re the last line of defense. It’s kind of like the quarterback in football, you know, if you’re not winning, it’s the quarterback’s fault. We’ve got two great goalies. We’ve just got to be better in front of them. These guys, they can’t stop everything. We can’t be giving up 40-plus shots a night. We’re starting to turn a corner here. Hopefully, we’re starting to see what we need to do to win. We had a big meeting recently after the loss against Mississippi. A lot of guys said a lot of things. Now it’s a put up or shut up kind of deal.
Q: The fans in Tulsa have been great. You are leading the league in attendance at this point. How important is it to have the fans behind you, regardless of what’s going on record-wise?
A: It’s great. Obviously the 17,000 we had on opening night was a huge boost to that number, but we have a great arena. The BOK Center is beautiful. People are coming to see the arena and they’re enjoying it. It’s huge to have the community of Tulsa behind us. We’re part of the community. It’s funny because we’re kind of the forgotten part of the community because we’ve got the Talons, who have had success in arena football and they also have high school football. Tulsa is a football town. We’re trying to make it a hockey town. We’re trying to really turn it around here, hopefully more sooner than later.
Hodge was ejected during a recent road game against the Texas Brahmas in which the Oilers were soundly defeated 6-2. But Tulsa came back strong the next day, defeating the Wichita Thunder 4-2, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The Oilers have a long road yet to travel this season, but Dan Hodge believes his team can turn things around and bring success back to the Oilers organization.
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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