SteelHounds rally past Oilers

Youngstown ruined Jeff Christian’s homecoming.

By GREG GULAS

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

YOUNGSTOWN — For the better part of two periods Friday night, the Tulsa Oilers looked nothing like the team that was eight games under .500 and hovering in fourth-place in the Central Hockey League’s Northwest Division.

The third period, however, was a different story.

Petr Pohl scored two goals while Youngstown’s four-goal third period erased a 3-2 deficit as the SteelHounds posted a 6-3, come from behind victory over the Oilers at the Chevrolet Centre.

The win spoiled the return of former SteelHounds captain and fan favorite Jeff Christian, who was traded to the Oilers in an off-season transaction.

Pohl, one of three Youngstown players this season selected to the CHL All-Star squad, was pleased with his team’s overall effort, yet realized there would be plenty of emotion with Christian’s return.

“It was great to get the win tonight, especially the way that we were able to put it all together in the final period. Everyone worked hard, my entire line was excellent and the crowd just got us going when we came out for the final period,” he said.

“It was just another game for us. I know Jeff [Christian] was a hero here for the last two years, but there was no mercy,” he added.

SteelHounds head coach Kevin Kaminski, however, felt like he needed to inject a little life into his club prior to the final 20 minutes of play.

“I told them that their goalie [Clint Chalmers] was playing well and that we would have to turn our game up a notch in the final period,” he said. “We were crisp, but didn’t exactly have the intensity that you witnessed last Saturday night against the Mississippi RiverKings. Our speed is our asset and we just weren’t using it to our advantage. They were shorthanded on defense and we just needed to create some turnovers to force the action.”

The Oilers got on the board first when Lucas Burnett scored the first of his two goals at 6:01 for the early advantage.

Youngstown came right back to tie the game a 1-all when Mark Johnson ’s slap shot slipped past Chalmers just 1:52 later.

L.P. Martin’s netter at 16:20 then gave Tulsa a 2-1 advantage heading to the second period of play.

Pohl’s first tally at 7:53 of the second stanza, a power play goal, then knotted the game at 2-all but the Oilers answered at 11:25 when Burnett, with an assist from Christian, scored his second goal of the game for a 3-2 lead heading to the final period.

“That’s been our trend all season,” Christian said. “We had the lead on the Colorado Eagles after one period, led Rocky Mountain after two periods and tonight had the lead on Youngstown after two periods as well. Give credit to Kevin [Kaminski] though because he always keeps his team focused.

“They turned it up a notch in the third tonight and while we are learning to deal with that type of pressure, it was just a little too much for us.”

Mark Odut’s second goal of the season at 7:53 of the final period tied the game at 3-all and when Chris Richard notched his 12th tally of the year at 12:26, it gave the SteelHounds a 4-3 advantage and a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way.

Pohl’s second goal of the game at 15:04 increased Youngtown’s lead to 5-3 with Joel Irving rounding out the scoring with his 12th netter of the season with 1:06 remaining.

“We just didn’t finish the game. We sat back in the third period and didn’t do what was successful for us in the first two periods,” Oilers coach Dan Hodge said. “It was an emotional game for everyone with plenty of pushing and shoving. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a win for Jeff [Christian] but we’ll come right back at them in the final game of the series.”

Youngstown, 20-8-1 (41 points), is now in sole possession of first-place in the Northeast Division with the win while the Oilers fell to 8-17-3 (19 points) overall, and are just 3-10-1 in 14 road outings this season.

The SteelHounds held a 36-20 shot advantage with Brad Roberts picking up his sixth win — and third in a row — in 10 outings this season.

Chalmers absorbed the loss and is now 4-4-0 when in goal for Tulsa. Tonight’s game is at 7:05 at the Chevrolet Centre