(TULSA, Okla.) – A Calder Brooks power play goal in the third period brought the Rush within one but they could not get the game-tying goal and ultimately were beaten by the Tulsa Oilers, 5-3, Saturday night at the BOK Center.
Tulsa opened the scoring in the first period when Jack Doremus picked up a loose puck in the slot. He wristed a shot low between the legs of Lukas Parik and the Oilers took an early, 1-0 lead.
They added to that lead with one minute to play in the opening period, immediately following the conclusion of a power play. Alex Gilmour put a shot on net that Parik stopped but the rebound caromed to a crashing Nathan Larose. He swatted it out of mid-air and into the net, extending the Tulsa lead to two.
Rapid City got on the board in the second period when Jake Wahlin nudged a puck to Max Coatta streaking toward the net. Coatta quickly brought the puck from his backhand to his forehand and snuck it through the short side of Daniel Mannella to get the Rush on the board.
They would then tie the game only 14 seconds later on the very next shot. Ryan Zuhlsdorf cranked a slap shot on net that Alec Butcher deflected in front. The puck bounced past Manella and the game was tied at two.
Tulsa quickly answered though, first on a Jared Hilderman slap shot that found its way through traffic from the blue line. The Oilers then scored again 19 seconds after Hilderman’s goal when Jimmy Soper fed Adam Pleskach for a tap-in on the back door that made it 4-2.
In the third, with the Rush on a power play, Brooks won a faceoff that eventually found Gabe Chabot who put a shot toward the net. The puck bounced back to Brooks in the slot for a snap shot that hit the back of the net and the score was 4-3.
Rapid City pulled Parik for an extra attacker with 90 seconds to go but the gamble did not pay off. In the final minute, Gilmour cleared a puck from his own end that rolled all the way down to the empty net, pushing the score to its 5-3 final.
Butcher extended his point streak to a season-high eight games and Coatta netted his 17th goal of the season in the loss for the Rush who dropped to 26-20-4-3. Tulsa snapped a five-game winless streak and improved to 25-22-1-2 in the win.
The Rush and Oilers will meet again on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop at the BOK Center is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. CST.
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