(TULSA, OK) – Devin Williams stopped all 30 shots he saw against the Rapid City Rush, earning his Tulsa Oilers a 3-0 win on Tuesday night. The game marked the fourth out of six games on the annual “Stock Show Road Trip” for the Rush.
Ryan Tesink provided the game’s only goal in the first period of play within the opening minutes of the contest. With 2:55 gone by in the game, Tesink was the last Oiler to touch the puck as it bounced off of a number of objects and bodies on its way to the Rush net. It just squeaked by the out-stretched leg of Rush net-minder Adam Vay and in, giving the Oilers a 1-0 lead (Eric Drapluk and Dan DeSalvo assisted). Williams stopped all 7 shots he saw in the first period from the Rush.
The Rush began the second period with just under four minutes of power play time, but still couldn’t muster a tying goal. They outshot the Oilers 16-11 in the second, but Williams turned aside each try.
Tulsa got a pair of insurance goals at the midway point and beyond in the third period to seal up Williams second shutout of the season. The first came from Joey Sides, who deflected a long Conner Bleackley back-door pass by an out-stretched Vay to make it 2-0 Tulsa with 9:48 left in the game (Bleackley and Adam Pleskach assisted). Over four minutes later, Charlie Sampair tapped another back-door pass in close range of the net from Pleskach to increase the Oilers advantage to 3-0 with 5:21 left in the game (Pleskach and Ryan Tesink assisted). Williams stopped the final 7 shots he saw in the third period to help his Oilers club hang on with a 3-0 win, his second shutout of the season.
Despite the loss, Adam Vay stopped an enormous 44 of 47 shots faced in his fourth consecutive start (9-10-1). The Rush ended the month of January with a 7-5-1 record.
The Rush continue their annual “Stock Show Road Trip” with their first-ever matchup in team history against the Kalamazoo Wings on Thursday, February 1st. Puck drop at the Wings Event Center is slated for 5:00 p.m. MST.
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