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Oilers off to strong start in new hockey season

If the first four games are any indication of what the rest of the new hockey season is going to be like, Tulsa Oilers fans are in for a real treat in 2016-17.

Beginning their third season in the ECHL, the Oilers have jumped out to a strong start, winning all four games, including each of the first three at the BOK Center on consecutive days and ending with back-to-back comeback victories over the Atlanta Gladiators, one in a shootout and the next in overtime.

Overall, the Oilers have scored 19 total goals, ranking second in the ECHL, and are one of two remaining undefeated teams in the 27-team league. It’s a great start by a club that fell just one point shy of reaching the playoffs last season.

“Last year, we were losing those one-goal games, and that’s one thing we had to definitely make sure that guys who were here last year understood how important it was,” said Jason Christie, Oilers coach and director of hockey operations. “It’s still a long season, but when guys can battle back like this, it’s just stuff you can build off of.” 

Their comeback win over Atlanta on Oct. 23, which pushed them to 4-0-0, was particularly impressive. 

After trailing 3-1 entering the third period, the Oilers outshot the Gladiators 27-3 the rest of the way, evening things up on goals from Dan DeSalvo and Emerson Clark in the final 6:14. Clark deflected home the equalizer with 1:04 remaining and the goalie pulled for an extra attacker. 

Clark, who scored the shootout winner the night before, then assisted on the game-winning goal on a power play in overtime, as his slap shot from the blue line was stopped by Atlanta goaltender Matt Ginn before Adam Pleskach knocked home the rebound. 

It was a gutsy performance by the Oilers, battling back to tie it in the third period for the second night in a row, before pulling out the win.

“We just kept going and had two good comeback games, and that’s always nice,” said Clark, who wound up with two goals and two assists in the game, giving him a team-leading seven points on three goals and four assists. “The team’s playing good. From what I’ve seen so far, we have great character. We have the speed, we have the skill—we’re going to have a good team this year.” 

It’s a nice way to start what is being billed as the 65th season of professional hockey in Tulsa (although the current incarnation of the Oilers began in 1992-93). The Oilers’ top line from last season has returned intact, as Clark, last year’s team MVP DeSalvo, and Phil Brewer are all back and have looked just as potent together as they did last year. 

“It was just how we left off from last year—we know where each other are and we have good communication on the ice, so that really helps,” Clark said. “I think it comes down to being good friends off the ice. We hang out a lot. The chemistry part is there, for sure.”

Strong secondary forwards like Pleskach, Christophe Lalancette and Shawn Bates are also back and looking dangerous, as are two impressive rookies who signed at the end of last season out of college, forward Ben Murphy and defenseman Eric Drapluk.

Add in newcomers like rookie goaltender Jamie Phillips—assigned to Tulsa by the Oilers’ NHL parent club, the Winnipeg Jets, after completing four years of collegiate hockey at Michigan Tech—and veteran defenseman Nolan Julseth-White, who made such an impact in the dressing room that he was voted team captain by the players, and the Oilers’ recipe for success looks strong. 

“He’s a workhorse, he’s a great leader, he’s a good person, and he’s got the ‘C’ for a reason,” Christie said of Julseth-White.

Just about the only negative for the Oilers was the somewhat tepid response from Tulsa’s fans. While the first two home games at the BOK Center drew 5,592 and 4,196, respectively, a pretty empty building was on hand to witness the dramatic OT win on the 23rd. 

While it was officially announced as 3,736, the Sunday afternoon crowd looked like 500 people were actually in the arena, and Christie noticed it as his team tried to battle back in the third period. 

“There was just no atmosphere in the building today at all, it was just blah,” said Christie, who is already the ECHL’s all-time winningest coach with 523 and counting. “We had to find a way to dig deep and create our own excitement. I just wish there was just a little more excitement. You could hear yourself cough.”

For more from John, read his article on the end of the Roughnecks' season.