Mavericks Overcome by Oilers, 6-4

The Tulsa Oilers scored six straight goals after trailing by three goals in the first period to defeat the Missouri Mavericks, 6-4, Friday night at BOK Center.  Oilers’ forward Ben Gordon had a goal and five assists for a six-point game, and Ryan Menei had two goals and two assists in the win for the Oilers.  It was a penalty filled game as the Oilers scored four power play goals on nine chances.  Mavericks’ forward Sebastien Thinel scored his 300th professional goal, but the visitors couldn’t hold on to the lead.  The Mavericks are back home Saturday night and host the Quad City Mallards at Independence Events Center.  The first 2,500 fans will receive a Mac Build-A-Bear courtesy of Santa Fe Glass.

“A tough way to start a busy stretch,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “There was a complete lack of focus after an outstanding first period.  We took bad and selfish penalties and an inability to kill penalties destroyed any hope of winning.”

Missouri took a 3-0 lead in a dominant performance in the first period.  Defenseman Taylor Vichorek scored his first goal as a Maverick on his first shift.  The 6-foot-8 defenseman came in on an two-on-one and blasted a shot past Oilers’ goaltender Shane Madolora.  Sebastien Thinel then scored his 300th professional goal when he took a crossing pass from Kyle Hood on the power play shot the puck into the open net.  Finally, the Mavericks took a 3-0 lead on another power play goal, this time by Kellan Tochkin.

Tulsa then took control and scored the next six goals in the game.  Ben Gordon started the scoring on the first of four power play goals for Tulsa.  His goal cut the Mavericks lead to 3-1 before the end of the first period.  Gordon assisted on the next five goals by Tulsa.  Drew Fisher scored on the power play and Ryan Menei scored twice in the second period to give the Oilers a 4-3 lead through two periods.

The Oilers scored twice on the power play in the third period to take a 6-3 lead and cap off the six-goal outburst.  Finally, Mavericks forward Andrew Courtney scored with 1:01 remaining in regulation to finalize the scoring and make it a 6-4 game.

Missouri is back on home ice on Saturday, February 2 against the Quad City Mallards.  The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a Mac Build-A-Bear courtesy of Santa Fe Glass.