Oilers Burned By Blaze in 5-2 Loss
TULSA, OK – The Tulsa Oilers surrendered two first period goals and took too long to find their offense in a 5-2 loss to the Bloomington Blaze on Friday night in front of 4,155 at the BOK Center.
Early in the first period, the Oilers peppered Bloomington goalie Dan Dunn with shots, but the Blaze would turn the tide with a pair of goals from Travis Granbois and Sebastien Trudeau. Bloomington ended up outshooting Tulsa 13-12 in the opening frame and the visitors put the Oilers on their heels heading into the first intermission.
A Michel Beausoleil high-sticking double-minor gave the Blaze an extended powerplay in the second period and Tyler Gron padded the Bloomington lead when he shoveled a rebound past Tulsa goalie Ian Keserich at the 10:35 mark. Gron, who leads all CHL rookies with seven goals, extended his point streak to seven games and extended the Blaze lead to 3-0.
Four minutes into the third, Niklas Lindberg rifled a wrist shot past Keserich to give Bloomington a four-goal cushion. Facing the prospect of being shutout for the first time this season, the Oilers rallied with goals from Ryan Cramer and Gary Steffes. The comeback effort was squashed by an empty-net goal from Granbois with just over a minute remaining and the Oilers were dealt their third home loss of the season.
Granbois finished with two goals, an assist, and a +4 rating while Dunn posted 35 saves to earn his second victory of the season.
Tulsa’s two-game win streak was snapped and the Oilers fell to 6-6-1 overall. The Oilers return to the ice Saturday night in Allen for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop against the Americans.
Tags: bloomington blaze, bok center, burn, chl, hockey, loss, tulsa oilers
