Close-in goals doom Thunder in loss to Tulsa

Malcolm Cameron’s stance on Thunder call-ups to Triple-A Binghamton is, and will continue to be, “You can’t coach the players you don’t have.”

But on Wednesday, for the first time, the Wichita coach seemed openly cognizant, though still guarded about the negative effect some recent departures have had on the Thunder.

Tulsa defeated the Thunder 4-3 at Intrust Bank Arena, handing Wichita its third straight loss after a 7-3 start. Wichita failed to grasp Cameron’s urgency regarding toughness near the net, surrendering four point-blank goals.

It’s tough to say how players such as Alex Krushelnyski, Jack Rodewald and Chris Rumble – not to mention the injured Vincent Arseneau – could have affected the outcome. And Cameron won’t speculate.

“You look at their lineup tonight, too, they were missing a lot of guys, too,” Cameron said. “Key components. Nobody ever uses that as an excuse, because resumes and roster paper don’t play hockey games, the people that are playing do.

“We probably on paper had a much stronger team based on resumes than they did tonight. But they were ready to go for 60 (minutes) because they knew they had to play a mentally tough game – and we weren’t.”

Cameron bemoaned the Thunder’s inability to stop opponents near the net following Sunday’s 6-4 loss to Alaska. The next days were spent putting a plan into action, and the coach believed he had the problem nearly solved prior to Wednesday’s game.

But the Thunder proved him wrong, allowing three first-period goals, all from close range. Tulsa outshot Wichita 16-7 in the first and outworked the Thunder to most loose pucks and rebound chances.

“We score enough goals to win a hockey game, but you can’t spot a team three easy goals,” Cameron said. “You look at the goals we scored, all three of them were hard-working goals in the dirty areas. Which is a good thing, because we don’t score a lot of goals from that area.

“But to give up four softies like we did tonight – all four of them were free goals. They didn’t have to earn them one bit.”

The Thunder had stretches of offensive fluidity, most notably a strong second period in which Gabriel Gagne tallied a power-play goal and Wichita held the Oilers scoreless. Wichita was also energized following a power-play goal in the third, scoring again soon after to cut Tulsa’s lead to one goal.

Most often, though, the Thunder generated little. During the first period and much of the third, the game seemed to stand still when Tulsa wasn’t on the rush. Wichita batted the puck between the blue lines and managed one shot in the first 14 minutes of the third period.

The Thunder was just as inconsistent on components that aren’t left to chance. The physicality and energy of the second period disappeared and led to Tulsa controlling the tempo when Wichita desperately needed output.

“We’re not good enough in critical times – first two minutes, last two minutes of a hockey game,” Cameron said. “They’re not rookie players anymore. They’ve got 13 games under their belt, there’s no excuse.

“I’ve got to find better people. They might not have better resumes, but they’re going to be guys that compete, play hard for 60 minutes and don’t give up soft goals.”

Tulsa 3 0 1 -- 4

Wichita 0 1 2 -- 3

First period

Scoring—1. Tulsa, Bates (Joyaux), 8:30; 2. Tulsa, Angeli (Pleskach, Lalancette), 11:03; 3. Tulsa, Lalancette (Brown, Angeli), 17:04. Penalties—Wichita, Tatchell (hooking), 13:11.

Second period

Scoring—4. Wichita, Gagne PP (Oslanski, Loiseau), 13:58. Penalties—Wichita, Oslanski (slashing), 14:22; Tulsa, Drapluk (tripping), 17:49.

Third period

Scoring—5. Tulsa, Angeli (Cunningham, Lalancette), 0:24; 6. Wichita, Loiseau PP (Trecapelli, Gagne), 16:30; 7. Wichita, Tatchell (Moon), 17:42. Penalties—Wichita, Oslanski (slashing), 7:35; Tulsa, Wilson (interference), 15:15.

Power play—Tulsa 0-3, Wichita 2-3. Shots—Tulsa 16-10-13—39, Wichita 7-15-8—30. Saves—Tulsa, Phillips 27-30; Wichita, Greenham 35-39.

T—2:22. A—3,582.

This story was originally published November 23, 2016 at 10:31 PM with the headline "Close-in goals doom Thunder in loss to Tulsa."