Yearly Archives: 2009

Oilers handed first regulation loss, 7-6.

Rich Lohman

TULSA, OK—Fresh off a Sunday afternoon road loss to the Texas Brahmas, a team they beat in dramatic fashion at home on Friday, the Tulsa Oilers returned home to the amazing BOK Center to face their closest competitor for the top spot in the CHL North Conference, the Colorado Eagles.  Always a perennial first place team and former two-time CHLchampions, the Eagles came to Tulsa with the hopes of knocking the upstart Oilers off the top of the CHL mountain.

  Tonight the scenario plays out thusly: the Oilers sit at 12-4-1 with 25 points.  Colorado stands at 11-3-1 with 23.  New math notwithstanding the Oilers can do one of three things…win and surge ahead to 27 points to the Eagles 23; win in overtime or a shootout and move to a three point lead over the Birds; lose in OT/SOL and only be a point ahead and finally losing outright moves the Oilers into a dead heat with the Eagles.  In short, a lot is at stake tonight.  Absent from the lineup is Oilers scoring ace Rob Hisey who was injured in Sundays game at Texas.

  The key to the game tonight would be special teams, something the Oilers have excelled at as they came into tonight’s game sporting and impressive near-85%, 7th-in the league penalty kill percentage and a near 20%, 3rd in the league power play.  Tulsa’s prowess with the extra skater was evident early on with the Eagles Jason Lundmark in the box big man Rick Kozak took a neat pass from behind the Eagles goal and buried the puck behind Colorado goalie Andrew Penner at 5:31.  The Eagles would respond quickly with a power play marker of their own, Brett Lutes tipping a slap shot from Aaron Schneekloth past Oilers goalie Kevin Armstrong at 9:13.   The puck had barely been dropped when the Oilers Aaron Davis too k a lead pass from Derek Merlini and slipped it past Penner and Tulsa went up 2-1.

  Just seconds after another penalty to Tulsa had expired, at 16:12 Kevin Ulanski found a seam and slipped the disc past Armstrong to tie the game once again.  Add another powerplay goal from Ryan McLeod from Ed McGrane and Jim Jackson and the frame would end 5-3.

  The 2nd period would start with Tulsa on the penalty kill yet again, however Derek Merlini would take a pass from Troy Riddle and push it into the Eagles net at 3:06.  At 5:25 the Eagles would take the lead 4-3 on an even strength unassisted mark by Ryan Tobler.  Add a goal by Jim Jackson…his first of the season at 13:55 and the second of the night from Tobler with just over two minutes remaining would end the middle frame with Colorado leading 6-3.

  The Oilers were victimized by the Eagles superior puck movement in close and their seeming inability to stay out of the penalty box.  In any case, by the end of the 2nd period Tulsa goalie Kevin Armstrong had faced 23 shots and stopped only 18, so coach Bruce Ramsay elected to send Marty Magers in relief.  Mike Beausoleil scored first in the 3rd at 2:11, assisted by Marty Standish and Sean Erickson, followed by a goal by the Eagles Riley Nelson at 8:14, assisted by Ryan Tobler.  It would remain 7-5 for the balance of the period until Dan Riedel would pull the fighting Tulsa squad to within a goal at 12:34 assisted by Erickson and Aaron Davis.

  The Oilers would opt to pull Marty Magers for the final minute trailing by the lone goal and the 6 skaters on the ice would put up a valiant effort, but there wasn’t enough time left.  As the Oilers would suffer their first regulation loss in the BOK Center this season, the team did exhibit a lot of fighting spirit in the final period to pull the game to within one.  Now the teams are tied at the top of the North division of the CHL at 256 points each, and the teams now go on the road for the coming weekend.  The Oilers willtravel to South Dakota to face the Rapid City Rush for a two game set while the Eagles travel to Southhaven to face the Mississippi Riverkings.

  The next Oilers home game will be against the Texas Brahmas at 7:30 in the BOK Center on December 12.  Tickets for that game and all Oilers home games are available online at tulsaoilers.com, the BOK Center Box Office and all Reasors locations.

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Photos: Kevin Pyle

 

 

GAME LENGTH: 2:25
ATTENDANCE: 3,856
REFEREE: Tom Steinel
1ST STAR: Tobler, Ryan (COL)
2ND STAR: Merlini, Derek (TUL)
3RD STAR: Jackson, Jim (COL)

A Fire Inside Rocks the Cains.

Rich Lohman

It’s hard to write a headline for a concert review like this without implying that a tragedy had befallen Tulsa’s historic Cain’s Ballroom.  So for those who read that headline and assumed that the storied music hall had succumbed to old man fire you can rest easy.  The Cain’s Ballroom is still standing.

I say this with a degree of amazement because after the guys from A Fire Inside, or AFI blazed through there, perhaps the city building code inspectors should give the structure a once over.  AFI is known for it’s edgy punk musical styles and it’s ability to bridge the generational gap with their songs.  Indeed, the crowd at the Cain’s Ballroom who witnessed the show ranged in age from younger kids to adults.  

A highlight of any live performance is the artists ability to interact with their audience and the Cain’s intimate setting allowed AFI to take full advantage of that.  The band’s lead singer Davey Havok, lead guitar Jade Puget and bass player Hunter Burgan worked the crowd well during the band’s 15 song set, making sure all of the crowd enjoyed the experience.

The crowd responded to this by giving respect back when they sang every word loud and clear.  The energy from the artist to the crowd and back was so strong you could almost touch it.  Highlights from the band’s set were such numbers as “The Interview”, Love Like Winter”, and the band’s newest hit “Medicate” from their latest album “Crash Love”.  I even recognized “Miss Murder” from the video game Guitar Hero 3.

A quick canvassing of the crowd after the show indicated that the concert was a huge success.  One not to be missed should AFI make another swing through T-Town.  We are indeed fortunate that we have a venue like the Cain’s Ballroom to showcase bands like A Fire Inside because it allows the artist and the fan to get closer to each other than you would in the BOK Center, or a larger venue.  This is not to say that big ticket shows aren’t welcome for this concert goer, but these shows bring home the essence of music that you can’t get in larger buildings.

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Photos: Kevin Pyle

New City Officials To Be Sworn In

Staff Reports

The city of Tulsa will hold inauguration ceremonies for its 2009-2011 newly elected city officials – including mayor and city council, on Monday.

The event, open to the public, will be held at 2 p.m. in the new Tulsa Ballroom of the Tulsa Civic Center. This will be the first event held in the newly remodeled center.

All City of Tulsa elected officials will be sworn in: Dewey Bartlett as Mayor, and City Councilors-elect Jack Henderson (District 1), Rick Westcott (District 2), Roscoe Turner (District 3),  Maria Barnes (District 4), Chris Trail (District 5), James Mautino (District 6), John Eagleton (District 7), Bill Christiansen (District 8), and G.T. Bynum (District 9) will take their respective seats on the Tulsa City Council.   Preston Doerflinger will also be sworn in as Tulsa’s City Auditor.   

The first meeting of the 2009-2011 Tulsa City Council will be held immediately after the ceremonies in the Greenwood Room, located west of the Tulsa Ballroom inside the Convention Center. The Council will elect its new chairman and vice chairman during that meeting.  A reception will also immediately follow the inauguration.

For more information about the ceremony, please contact the City Council office at 596-1945, or after December 2, 596-1963. 

AFA Ends Gap Boycott

Staff Reports

The American Family Association has ended its boycott of Gap, Inc. after the company aired a "Merry Christmas" commercial over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The AFA began the boycott to force Gap Inc., which includes Gap, Old Navy and Banana Repubic, to use "Christmas" in their advertising campaigns this holiday season.

AFA President Tim Wildmon said, "We’re in this fight because we are disturbed by the increasing secularization of our culture in general and Christmas in particular. We’re gratified that Gap has responded to the thousands of phone calls, emails and petitions from Americans who share our concerns."

The AFA is now turning its attention to other retailers.

Randy Sharp, AFA’s director of special projects, said AFA now is targeting Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

"We’re urging them to include ‘Christmas’ in their seasonal advertising. We’ll see what kind of response we get, and decide on the next step from there," he said. "Consumers have lots of options when it comes to buying electronics and sporting goods, and we think they’re going to want to buy them from merchants who show respect for Christmas in their appeal to shoppers."

American Family Association is a pro-family advocacy organization with over 2.5 million online supporters.

The group maintains a "naughty" and "nice" list of retailers here.

AFA Ends Gap Boycott

Staff Reports

The American Family Association has ended its boycott of Gap, Inc. after the company aired a "Merry Christmas" commercial over the Thanksgiving weekend.

The AFA began the boycott to force Gap Inc., which includes Gap, Old Navy and Banana Repubic, to use "Christmas" in their advertising campaigns this holiday season.

AFA President Tim Wildmon said, "We’re in this fight because we are disturbed by the increasing secularization of our culture in general and Christmas in particular. We’re gratified that Gap has responded to the thousands of phone calls, emails and petitions from Americans who share our concerns."

The AFA is now turning its attention to other retailers.

Randy Sharp, AFA’s director of special projects, said AFA now is targeting Best Buy and Dick’s Sporting Goods.

"We’re urging them to include ‘Christmas’ in their seasonal advertising. We’ll see what kind of response we get, and decide on the next step from there," he said. "Consumers have lots of options when it comes to buying electronics and sporting goods, and we think they’re going to want to buy them from merchants who show respect for Christmas in their appeal to shoppers."

American Family Association is a pro-family advocacy organization with over 2.5 million online supporters.

The group maintains a "naughty" and "nice" list of retailers here.