Oilers eliminate Thunder from ECHL playoff race

The Thunder’s season ended Wednesday night, and the final two games will serve as the whimper.

Wichita was in position to extend its playoff contention against Tulsa, leading in the third period and on a power play against the Oilers.

Then – a big mistake. Thunder defenseman Eric Meland turned the puck over in Tulsa’s offensive zone, creating a one-on-one opportunity for Tulsa forward Kyle Bochek. With no defense to beat, Bochek maneuvered for a clear shot that he got past Wichita goalie Grant Rollheiser.

The Thunder never recovered – Tulsa scored with 42 seconds to go and added an empty-net goal to win 4-2 at Intrust Bank Arena. The Oilers clinched the final playoff spot from the ECHL Central division and eliminated the Thunder.

“It’s a tough one, that was our season right there,” Thunder captain Ian Lowe said. “Not a lot to say about that one. We shot ourselves in the foot there, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

A Thunder win on Wednesday would have set up another high-stakes game with Tulsa on Friday, when Wichita could have overtaken the Oilers for fourth place in the Central prior to Saturday’s season finale.

Instead, the final two games become virtually meaningless for all parties, though Tulsa can improve its seeding with two wins.

Wichita outshot Tulsa 40-26, rallied from a second-period deficit and neutralized the Oilers’ superior speed with precise offense that was mostly error-free.

Thunder coach Kevin McClelland spoke of missed chances from four fruitless Thunder power plays, but Wichita’s only conspicuous miscue was Meland’s turnover, which led to a tie with plenty of time to recover but essentially deflated Wichita’s players.

Meland and Bochek were alone behind between Wichita’s goal and the blue line when Meland turned to head toward center ice and was immediately met by Bochek.

Bochek used his stick to poke the puck away from Meland, then muscled past him for a breakaway chance.

“That happens,” McClelland said. “We shouldn’t have been in that spot. We had some opportunities throughout the game and could have got the goals we needed. Sure enough, a short-handed goal. Unbelievable.”

Wichita did most things right on Wednesday but still couldn’t beat Tulsa. The Oilers have beaten the Thunder 10 times in 13 meetings this season, including the previous four by a combined score of 20-7.

Tulsa scored Wednesday on a power-play goal that bounced straight down after hitting the crossbar before trickling across the red line; the Oilers’ second goal was Bochek’s short-handed score, the third deflected off an official and the fourth was scored without a goaltender.

The Oilers’ dominance of the Thunder is about more than good fortune, but even the Thunder’s aptitude in Wednesday’s game couldn’t get more than a hope for overtime before Tulsa scored in the final minute.

Tulsa’s final 12 minutes wiped out a second period in which the Thunder got goals from Kurtis Bartliff and Mike Wilson to answer Tulsa’s power-play goal and take a lead into the third period.

“That’s the best game we’ve played against them all year,” Lowe said. “But we’ve got to win and we didn’t. They’ve got a fast team, they’ve got some good players up front. They played better than us, that’s all there is to it.”

This story was originally published April 8, 2015 at 10:48 PM with the headline "Oilers eliminate Thunder from ECHL playoff race."