Oilers Take Decisive Win

DESOTO, MS - Rob Hisey scored a hat trick and Mike Beausoleil grabbed two helpers as the Tulsa Oilers started the season with something they haven’t had in a while against the Mississippi Riverkings or the rest of the Central Hockey League for that matter….

A win.  And a decent one at that.  

It took the last minute of the 1st period for Tulsa to come out of hibernation, but at 19:37 of the opening period Rob Hisey found the back of the net with Tom Maldonado and Beausoleil assisting.  That opened the floodgates for the Oilers because from then on the DeSoto Convention Center Ice belonged to the Tulsa Oilers.

With T. J. McCaig in the penalty box for a tripping call at 3:44, Hisey struck again shorthanded at 5:27 with Derek Kirschner and Alex Eastman helping.  Hisey closed out his hat trick with another goal at the 7:25 mark to give the Oilers a lead they would never relinquish.  Dallas Steward then scored unassisted at 11:27 against his former team to make the score 4-2 after two periods.

Tulsa extended its lead at the 4:34 mark of the 3rd on a goal by Aaron Davis with R.J. Linder assisting, and a returning Oiler from last year's team, Jake Riddle, scored the Oilers final tally of the night at 9:08 with assists coming from Marty Standish and Dallas Steward.  Mississippi scored late in the period to cut the score in half when Stephen Margerson scored with a little over a minute left, but when the horn sounded the Oilers were on the heavy end of the scoreboard with the final at 6-3.

The Riverkings outshot the Oilers 35-33, and Tulsa went 0-4 on the power play, but that didn’t matter when it came to who got the two pints for the night.  Traditionally, the Oilers have always done well on the road but to open the season with a win against a powerful playoff team like the Riverkings is definitely a confidence booster.  Goalie Kevin Armstrong stopped 32 of 35 shots, which should please new coach Bruce Ramsay.

The Oilers travel to the Kansas Coliseum next Friday night to take on the Wichita Thunder,  and then on to the Oilers home opener on Saturday, Oct. 24 against the Thunder as well.  Tickets for the opener and all of the games this season are available online at tulsaoilers.com., all Reasor food stores, and at the BOK Center box office at 3rd and Denver downtown.