CLARKE’S HAT-TRICK LIFTS OILERS PAST AMERICANS

TULSA, OK – For the second straight game, the Tulsa Oilers fell behind by two goals.  For the second straight game, the Oilers came back to win in the third period.  In front of 5,244 at the BOK Center, the Oilers scored four unanswered goals to beat the Allen Americans 5-3.

Box Score

Jarrett Lukin’s second goal of the game at 6:54 of the second period gave Allen a 3-1 advantage, but the resilient Oilers refused to go away.  Dylan Clarke hammered home a rebound off a Sean Erickson slap shot and Tulsa found itself down by only a goal after forty minutes of play.

It didn’t take long for the home team to even the score in the third.  Just 12 seconds into the period, Gary Steffes redirected David Solway’s pass into the net.  It was Steffes’ second tally of the game and it brought the Oilers to life.

Only 34 seconds had ticked off the clock when the Oilers took the lead.  Clarke swatted a pass from Erickson that bounced over Americans’ goalie Marco Cousineau and trickled into the net.  The powerplay tally gave Tulsa its first lead of the night and Clarke wasn’t finished.  Halfway through the period, Clarke sped down the left wing, made a quick move to the high slot and wristed a laser past Cousineau to give the Oilers a two-goal cushion.  Clarke had a chance at a four-goal night when he was awarded a penalty shot late in the game, but the Oilers’ rookie winger couldn’t convert the opportunity.

Ian Keserich made 37 saves for his 14th victory of the season.  The veteran netminder shut out the Americans over the final 33 minutes of the contest.