(TULSA, OK) – Devin Williams stopped all 29 shots from the Rapid City Rush to lead the Tulsa Oilers to a 3-0 win on Friday night. The shutout loss is the first one suffered by the Rush this season, and kicked off a “three-in-three” against the Oilers this weekend.
Tulsa jumped on the board early in the contest to carry a lead into the locker room. Just 1:46 into the game, Gregg Burmaster, on the Rush goal line, just threw the puck on Adam Carlson from a sharp angle that skipped by the Rush net-minder and in, giving Tulsa a 1-0 lead (Vincent Marleau and Justin Hamonic assisted). Devin Williams, in net for Tulsa, stopped all 9 shots he saw in the first period to keep the Rush off the board.
The Rush pressured more in the second period, but Tulsa took advantage late in the period. With 1:06 left in the second, the puck was chipped by a Rush defender following an offensive barrage, springing Danny Moynihan and Adam Pleskach down the ice. Crossing the blue line, Moynihan dropped back to his Captain, who rifled a shot past Carlson to double the Oilers lead to 2-0 (Moynihan had the lone assist). Williams stayed perfect, stopping another 8 shots to bring his total saves to 17.
Vincent Marleau sealed the win with an empty-netter with 2:05 left in the game, tripling the Oilers lead to 3-0 (Matt Lane and Garret Cockerill assisted). Williams completed his shutout, stopping another 12 shots to bring his shutout final to 29 saves.
Adam Carlson stopped 27 of 29 shots in suffering the loss (11-8-2-1).
The Rush continue their weekend-long road trip in a rematch against the Tulsa Oilers. Puck drop for game two on Saturday, April 10th is slated for 6:05 p.m. at the BOK Center.
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