HOCKEY Richards sparkles, 'Hounds roar, 8-5
The former Buckeye had two goals and three assists in the win over Tulsa.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- Steelhounds standout Chris Richards liked the look of the scarlet and gray jerseys the team wore in honor of today's Ohio State-Michigan game.
Richards is a former Buckeye and he played as good as he looked in scoring two goals and three assists in leading the Steelhounds to an 8-5 victory over division rival Tulsa Friday night at the Chevrolet Center.
"It felt good to put an Ohio State jersey on again," Richards said. "We look good in red here in Ohio."
The Steelhounds (6-2-3) will raffle off the Ohio State jerseys tonight after the rubber-match of the three-game series with the Oilers. The game has been pushed back to an 8:05 p.m. start.
Richards and the Steelhounds took advantage of power-play opportunities in the second period to score four unanswered goals in the span of nearly six minutes.
The scoring blitz erased a 4-3 deficit and gave Youngstown a 7-4 lead at the end of the second period.
"We capitalized on a lot of power plays," Richards said. "They were playing a little dirty, a little over aggressive and we made them pay for it."
The Oilers (3-5-2) were penalized for 19 minutes in the second period and were forced to skate down two men five times.
The Steelhounds were happy to take advantage of the Oilers playing style.
Kaminski said team jells
"We are a little short-handed," Steelhounds coach Kevin Kaminski said. "We are down to 13 players but we played within our system well and the power-play was clicking tonight.
"We played disciplined hockey tonight."
The game started in lightning fashion as the Oilers struck before many of the fans had settled into their seats. Jaroslav Cesky scored 39 seconds into the game and the offensive-minded game was off and running.
"I thought we had to keep it to a low-scoring game," Kaminski said. "I was a little worried after they scored so quickly."
But Kaminski's concerns were quickly calmed as Jeff Christian scored the first of his two goals minutes later to tie the score at 1-1. Christian finished with five points in the game.
The teams traded goals throughout the first period before Youngstown grabbed a 3-2 lead on John Wheaton's goal with 1:37 left in the first.
Tulsa tied the contest with just three seconds left in the period and took the lead 4-3 at the start of the second period on Bryan Lachapelle's second goal of the game.
Hounds use power plays
After that, the fightfest began and the Steelhounds went to work in the power-play situations.
Christian tied the game at 4-4 and Richards' goal put the Steelhounds ahead at 5-4. Paul Esdale and Richards followed with goals to give Youngstown a 7-4 lead.
"I think [Tulsa] got a little frustrated and we stayed disciplined," Kaminski said. "When you get those five-on-three opportunities you have to make them pay and we did that."
In the third period, Tulsa scored to cut the lead to 7-5 but Stephan Margeson scored his second goal of the night and only second of the season to put the game away.
"Saturday is huge," Kaminski said. "It will be the biggest divisional game of the year.
"We can put some distance between us and Tulsa and so we have to be consistent for 60 minutes and we have to play like we're desperate for a win."