Oilers Top Gorillas 6-5 in Shootout
                                                               
Amarillo, TX 2/22/08 – The Amarillo Gorillas lost their second game in a row on Friday night, dropping a 6-5 decision to the Tulsa Oilers in a shootout.  Amarillo hadn’t lost consecutive games since January 20th and 24th, and fell to 1-5 in shootouts on the season.  It was their first overtime game since a 5-4 shootout loss to Corpus Christi on January 11th.  The Gorillas are now 0-1-1 against Tulsa on the year and will face the Oilers two more times in their final 15 games of the year. 

Amarillo took a 2-0 lead in the first period as Chris Martini and Bill Vandermeer scored in the first 12:09 of the game, but Lucas Burnett would get his first of two goals for Tulsa at 15:08 to make it a 2-1 contest going into the second frame. 

The Oilers would come out flying in the second period, notching three goals in the first 2:52 of the game.  Burnett got his second, Andrew Lackner pitched in with his third of the year, and Jeff Christian scored on a short-handed breakaway to put Tulsa on top 4-2.  Vandermeer’s second of the game at 12:08, also a short-handed tally, brought the Gorillas back to within one heading into the third.

The Gorillas would tie the game early in the third period with a goal from Matt Miller at 3:50, getting help from David Nimmo and Marcus Reszka.  Nimmo cut into the offensive zone on the left wing side, shouldered off a defender and one-hand the puck through the slot for a waiting Miller.  Tulsa would regain the lead however as a defensive breakdown led to a breakaway for Kai Magnussen who beat McWhinney at 8:44 of the third.  Nimmo would continue his heroics for the Gorillas, getting a goal at 15:55 of the third to tie the game and get the Gorillas at least one point for their efforts. 

In the overtime, neither team could find the back of the net, sending the game into a shootout.  McWhinney was beat on the first three Tulsa attempts, while Amarillo could not convert any of their first three. 

Amarillo gained one point on the night, as Nimmo finished with four points (1-3-4), while Vandermeer added three of his own (2-1-3). 

The Gorillas will travel to Odessa for a game tomorrow night, and then return home for a game Sunday night against the Youngstown Steelhounds (6:05 start).