Late Goals doom Tulsa against the Colorado Eagles

After a Gary Steffes goal that put the Oilers and Eagles tied at 1-1 late in the 2nd period. Even a Colorado Goal by long time Eagle Scott May still had them in this game after the 2nd intermission with Tulsa Goalie Tyler Simms who's stopped 21 of 24 shots in the game and had them still down a goal as late as 3 minutes left in regulation.

It Riley Nelson who finally ended the Oilers threat with 3 minutes and then an empty netter from Daymen Raycroft scored with just over a minute left to win 4-1 and send the Eagles to 4-1-0 to lead the Northern Conference while Tulsa falls to 2-2-1 with 5 points as the Oilers are currently tied with the RG Valley Killer Bees with 5 games played so far this season.

Colorado Goalie Ryan Jones was able to stop 18 of 19 shots last night for his 3rd win of the year and is currently unbeaten at 3-0 with a 2.00 GAA. Meanwhile, Tulsa Oilers Goalie Tyler Simms is 0-1-1 in 3 games played with a 2.14 GAA & a .907 SV%.

Colorado Eagles 4  Tulsa Oilers 1  (0-0, 2-1, 2-0)

Game Story from the Central Hockey League Website

From Tulsa, Oklahoma: The Colorado Eagles defeated the Tulsa Oilers, 4-1, extending their four game winning streak and remaining perfect on the road this season. Riley Nelson lead the offense with a goal and an assist, Kyle Jones was strong at the opposite end of the ice, stopping 18 of 19 Oilers shots and the Eagles penalty killers went a perfect 5-for-5 on the night to propel the team to victory.

In a fairly uneventful first 20 minutes of play, the Eagles and Oilers skated to a scoreless first period with Colorado killing three power play opportunties. Goaltender Kyle Jones was strong in net to help the Oilers off the scoreboard, while Colorado edged Tulsa in shots, 7-6.

Colorado out-shot Tulsa 14-7 in the second period and out-scored them be the 2:1 shot ratio. Kevin Ulanski got the games first goal at 5:22 when his shot from the right faceoff circle was deflected past by Tyler Sims. Riley Nelson picked up an assist on the play, given him 600 points in his Eagles career.

The Oilers countered with a goal at 13:10 when Gary Steffes knocked home a loose puck on the doorstep after a play out the left corner. Then, at 16:29, Scott May took a shot from above the left circle and had the rebound pushed past the Oilers net-minder. It appeared that Rookie Matt Glasser toched the puck last as he crashed the crease; if the score gets changed, the tally would be Glasser's first professional goal.

Colorado played a complete final frame, killing consecutive Tulsa Power Play Goals in the first half of the 3rd period. Jones continued to make stellar moves in net, and at 16:57, Nelson scored an insurance goal from the right hashes to give the Eagles some breathing room.

The tally pushed the Eagles scoring streak to six games (dating back to last season) and ketp alive his streak of recording at least two points in every game this season -- the only player in the league who can make such a claim. And with 63 seconds left on the clock, Damen Raycroft added an empty net goal (Colorado's third game in a row with one) to account for the final score.

The teams will now travel to Loveland, Colorado. for the second half of their extended home-and-home series Friday Night.