The Oilers hopped out to an early 3-0 lead, but eventually fell 5-3 to Utah at the BOK Center on Saturday night.
Utah’s Dalton Mills picked up the puck on his own left-wing boards before attempting to spin it of the zone, but the SPHL call-up lasered the puck to Oilers’ forward Ian McNulty’s stick, allowing the forward to snipe Martin Ouelette blocker side. The goal was the lone tally of a period that saw zero penalties and a 14-save performance from Devin Williams.
Robby Jackson gave Tulsa a two-goal lead, sniping the puck past Ouelette on a five-minute power play, courtesy of a Garrett Klotz ejection. Jackson’s St. Cloud teammate Jacob Benson scored his first as an Oiler 57 seconds later at the 2:42 mark, batting the puck out of the air and past Ouelette, pushing the game to 3-0. Griffen Molino wouldn’t allow his team to be buried, dancing through all five skaters before popping a short-handed goal through the five hole of Devin Williams, bringing the game to 3-1 at the 4:05 mark of the frame. Jack Jenkins cut the lead down to 3-2 with a power play tally of his own 4:12 later. Yuri Terao held the puck up at the point before cutting down to the slot and ripping one through Williams, tying the game 3-3 at the 8:39 mark of the period. Terao out did himself 6:01 later, flying around the Oilers’ zone with the puck before roofing it in-tight over Williams. The goal was originally waved off, but Andrew Wilk reviewed the footage, giving the Grizzlies their rightful and first lead of the game.
Ty Lewis scored the lone goal of the final frame, receiving a pass as he exited the box before snapping the puck short side past Olle Eriksson Ek, who replaced Devin Williams during the second intermission.
Tulsa looks to avoid a weekend sweep tomorrow at 4:05 p.m. against Wichita at the BOK Center. As always, fans will be able to skate with the players at the conclusion of Sunday’s game.
