Yearly Archives: 2010

Mudbugs spank Oilers 6-2

TULSA, OK– It’s been an interesting couple of games for the Tulsa Oilers in the last few nights.

In the span of two game the Oilers have turned a season in which it seemed they couldn’t buy a win into one with some promise as they defeated two quality opponents back-to-back at home. First was a stunning 3-0 shutout of the Quad City Mallards on Tuesday night and a dominant performance last night in a solid 7-2 victory over the Mississippi Riverkings last night. Prior to that the Oilers lone victory between opening weekend and Tuesday night was an unlikely shootout win in Colorado against the Eagles.

One of the big reasons for the Oilers success of late has been the stellar performance of goalie Ian Keserich. Keserich has three wins for the Oilers since his trade from Wichita and a 2.95 goals against average and a .920 save percentage. He was superb on Tuesday night, stopping all 29 shots from the Mallards and was the defining factor that kept Tulsa in full control of the Riverkings last night stopping 28 of 30 shots.

Tonight it would be the Bossier Shreveport Mudbugs who are riding a 7 game win streak, have the #1 power play unit in the league and have the 2nd overall penalty killing unit in the CHL through Thursday night. They also have the league’s leading goal scorer, David Rutherford, who has 12 goals in 17 games.

Rutherford would get the first of the Mudbugs goals on Friday night, a quick backhander he had to whack at twice before it went past Ian Keserich at 6:35 of the first. Jeff Martens got credit for the assist. Steven Crampton would capitalize on a Chad Costello tripping penalty at 19:05 and deflect it past Keserich at 19:05. The first period would end with the Mudbugs up 2-0.

Jeff Kryzakos would give Bossier a 3-0 lead with a goal at 5:36 of the second period assisted by Justin Aikins and Brett Smith. The potent Mudbug power play would strike again three minutes later at 8:37 when David Rutherford scored his second of the night off assists from Travis Clayton and Kryzakos. That would be it for goalie Ian Keserich, who would be pulled by Oilers coach Bruce Ramsay in favor of Tyler Sims.

The goalie change seemed to spark a change in the Oilers who managed to score their first goal of the night when Derek Eastman buried a shot in the net behind Mudbugs goalie John DeCaro on the power play at 11:08 of the second with Tom Dignard assisting.

Gary Steffes would open the 3rd period scoring for Tulsa, slipping the puck under DeCaro at 3:38 off an assist from Derek Hulak and Mike Beausoleil. Whatever hope of overcoming a 2 goal lead was dashed by Bossier’s Jim Jorgensen at 10:55, when they solved Tyler Sims goal on a crossing play in front of the net. Add a sixth marker from Jeff Martens assisted by David Rfutherford and just like that the Oilers win streak was at it’s end.

In the end the Mudbugs outshot the Oilers 29-23 and went 2-for-3 on the power play. The Oilers had a 1-for-3 power play run in the game, and between them goalies Sims and Keserich made 23 saves. Bruce Ramsay’s Oilers made a solid effort, but it was not enough to survive an run by what is the hottest and fastest moving team in the CHL.

{gallery}sports/oilers/2010_2011/game_08/gallery{/gallery}

Photos by: Kevin Pyle

The Oilers will head to Evansville, Indiana for their first ever meeting with the Evansville Icemen on Saturday, then they return home to take on the Mississippi Riverkings and the Missouri Mavericks next weekend on Friday and Saturday night.

Tickets for all Oiler games are available a the BOK Box Office, Tickets.com, Tulsa area Reasor’s stores, and by calling 1-866-7BOK-CTR (866-725-5287). More information is available by calling the Oilers office at 918-632-PUCK (7825).

　

　

　

　

Oilers dominate Mississippi 7-2.

Rich Lohman

Three goals in the third period give the Oilers huge win.

TULSA, OK– With a gut full of a big thanksgiving meal and fresh off a big 3-0 win over the Quad City Mallards on Tuesday night, the Tulsa Oilers hosted the Mississippi Riverkings in the friendly confines of the amazing BOK Center. 

It had been reported in the media on Wednesday that Trevor Cann, the goalie who had been responsible for the Oilers only other win at home on opening night had returned on assignment from the Lake Erie Monsters and indeed he had arrived in Tulsa yesterday. Unfortunately, as is the case so often with affiliations Cann scarcely had time to unpack his bags before he was recalled. Thus, Ian Keserich would get the nod as the Oilers goalie.

The action began on the violent side for thew two teams as Oilers forward Evan Kotsopoulous and Riverkings forward Darrell Stoddard squared off in a fight. It wasn’t much of a fight as mainly it was a “Dancing With The Stars” altercation with Kotsopoulos swinging Stoddard around three times before he hit the ice. The only casualty of the fight was Kotsopoulos’ jersey, and he would return to action sporting a number 33 jersey instead of his normal number 7.

Opening the scoring at 5:27 of the first was an Oilers goal originally credited to Tom Fritsche, but after review was given to John Mori. Assists on the goal were given to Fritsche and Gordon Bell. Jack Combs would give Tulsa a 2-0 lead at 16:16 when he punched the puck past Riverkings goalie Alexander Pechursky from the right side of the crease.

Mississippi would end the Oilers two-game shutout streak at 77 minutes 44 seconds when Riverkings leading scorer Nathan Lutz put the disc just underneath Keserich at 17:32 of the first period. Then Gordon Bell, who had the final empty net goal in the Tuesday night shutout of Quad City scored off a sweet cross ice pass from Tom Dignard. The other assist on the goal went to Evan Kotsopoulos.

Tulsa defenseman Sean Erickson would give the Oilers a 3-goal lead at 8:20 with Derek Hulak and Mike Beausoleil getting assists. Matt Miller of the Riverkings would tighen the game to a two-goal differential with a goal at 9:14 and the 2nd would end with the Oilers leading the game 4-2.

Then the Oilers quite simply blew up the Mississippi net in the 3rd period.

It started at 14:28 when Gordon Bell got his second goal of the night with Evan Kotsopoulos getting his second assist of the night. Then, Tom Fritsche tapped the puck into an empty net at 19:14 off assists from John Mori and Tom Dignard. Finally, with 49 seconds left John Mori would get his second goal of the night unassisted with a blast from the high slot.

Frustration took the form of another fight in the dying minute of the game as Darrell Stoddard and Oilers defenseman Brennan Barker with 2:30 keft in the game. Barker had the clear upper hand in this bout, landing a punch that sent Stoddard to his knees.

The second win in as many games gives the Tulsa Oilers their first back-to-back win streak since opening weekend when the beat the Wichita Thunder twice. It also gave the Oilers their first back-to-back win streak at home this season. In all aspects both Thursday night’s game and the shutout win on Tuesday night were prime examples of what the Oilers have been capable of all along this season.

In the end, despite the lopsided score on the Oilers side of the scoreboard the Riverkings outshot them by three at 30-27. Oilers goalie Keserich stopped 28 of 30 shots while Petursky of the Riverkings saved 20 of 26. Both teams were unsuccessful on the power play with Tulsa going 0-for-4 and Mississippi 0-for-3.

Tomorrow night the Oilers will host the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs who are considered the hottest team in the Central Hockey League at the moment, enjoying a 7-game win streak dating back to November 9th. Tulsa, who ended a four game win streak by the Quad City Mallards on Tuesday night, hope to do the same thing to the Mudbugs on Friday. The game is also “pink in the rink” night in support of breat cancer research, presented by TD Williamson.

{gallery}sports/oilers/2010_2011/game_07/gallery{/gallery}

Photos by: Kevin Pyle

The Oilers will wear special jerseys and those jerseys will be auctioned off after the game with the proceeds to benefit the Susan G. Komen Center for Breast Cancer research.

Tickets for all Oiler games are available a the BOK Box Office, Tickets.com, Tulsa area Reasor’s stores, and by calling 1-866-7BOK-CTR (866-725-5287). More information is available by calling the Oilers office at 918-632-PUCK (7825).

Reed’s shorthanded goal plucks the ducks.

 Keserich stops all 29 shots as Oilers blank Quad City 3-0.

TULSA, OK– When a team has been struggling like the Tulsa Oilers have this season inspirational moments seem hard to come by. Indeed, the demons of Denver avenue have had little to celebrate since their opening night win way back on October 15th against the Wichita Thunder.

As it turns out, inspiration came in the form of a forward named Harrison Reed. In Tuesday night’s game against the Quad City Mallards, Reed’s shorthanded goal at 7:09 of the second period gave the Oilers a much needed boost and something that has been a rare thing indeed this season: A two goal lead.

Reed, who returned to Tulsa on Tuesday after a brief stint in Cleveland with the Lake Erie Monsters, scooped up the puck as it was being cleared from the Oilers zone and skated in on Quad City goalie David Brown and slammed it home. The assist went to Ian Keserich. Evan Kotsopoulos had given the Oilers a 1-0 lead in the first period after he shot home a rebound of a Gordon Bell slap shot. John Mori got the second assist.

Bell would put the game on ice with an empty net goal after Mallards coach Frank Anzalone pulled Brown with 3:27 to go in the game. Attempting to clear the puck from the half-boards near the Oilers bench, Bell pass traveled 170 feet and slipped in the net just inside the right post.

The horn sounded on a surprisingly dominant effort by the Oilers, who had not won since November 12th when they defeated the Colorado Eagles in a shootout. Goalie Ian Keserich was superb in the net for Tulsa, stopping all 29 shots that Quad City fired at him. The Oilers also killed all 6 of the Mallard power play opportunities. The loss snapped Quad City’s four-game win streak, which was second only to the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs who have won 5 in a row.

{gallery}sports/oilers/2010_2011/game_06/gallery{/gallery}

Photos by: Kevin Pyle

Tuesday’s game began a busy holiday week for the Oilers, who have four games to play in 5 days. After tonight’s game the Oilers have a day off before facing the Mississippi Riverkings on Thursday night and the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs on Friday night. They then travel to Evansville, Indiana to face the IceMen on Saturday.

Tickets for all Oiler games are available a the BOK Center Box Office, Tickets.com, Tulsa area Reasor’s stores, and by calling 1-866-7BOK-CTR (866-725-5287). More information is available by calling the Oilers office at 918-632-PUCK (7825).

 

Photos by Kevin Pyle.

 

Majority of Oklahomans think teachers’ unions are obsolete

Wesley Burt, SoonerPoll

A recent SoonerPoll
finds that a majority of Oklahomans think teachers unions are getting in
the way of public school improvement.

When asked which view comes closest to their own, 55.4 percent of those
polled said ‘teachers unions are an obstacle that keeps schools from
getting better,’ compared to only 24.5 percent who said ‘teachers unions
help make schools better.’ A large number of respondents, 20.1 percent,
remained neutral or had no opinion on the issue.

A nationwide Time Magazine poll
conducted in August of this year asked the same question and found that
50 percent of those polled said ‘teachers unions are an obstacle that
keeps schools from getting better,’ while 35 percent said ‘teachers
unions help make schools better.’

In recent years the school choice movement, which argues that public
scholarships given to private schools will help improve the education
system by giving alternatives to children currently in public school,
has gained ground both nationally and here in Oklahoma, especially among
conservatives. Not surprisingly, Oklahoma, one of the most conservative
states in the nation, trends slightly ahead of the nation in ‘teachers
unions are an obstacle’ responses.

Further crosstab analysis finds that 64.8 percent of conservatives think
teachers unions are an obstacle compared to about half, 48.2 percent,
of liberals. Inversely, only 15.3 percent of conservatives think
teachers unions help make schools better compared to 33.3 percent of
liberals.

Teachers unions have stood in staunch opposition to the school choice
movement, which they see as a threat because many of its policies may
lead to competition for schooling funding.

Despite union criticism, the school choice movement has enjoyed
remarkable gains in positive public opinion in the last few years, gains
that are likely to continue with the renewed focus of the mainstream
media on education reform.

“The teacher unions in Oklahoma may begin to question the wisdom of
putting State Question 744 on the ballot earlier this month, an
initiative with no accountability or reforms”, said Bill Shapard, CEO of
SoonerPoll.com. “Keep in mind a majority of Democrats and moderate
voters voted against it, which is a base the teacher unions cannot
alienate and still remain successful in the future.”

The release of the documentary film “Waiting for Superman”,
which chronicles the falling quality of education in public schools
while arguing for school choice as the solution, has created a renewed
interest in education reform.

SoonerPoll.com, Oklahoma’s public opinion pollster, was commissioned for
this poll by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. SoonerPoll.com
conducted the scientific study using live interviews by telephone of 518
likely voters from Nov. 5 – 11. The study has a margin of error of ±
4.3 percent.

(Editor’s note: Last weekend, the “Superman” film was designated one
of the films on early ballots for voting members of the Academy Awards.
CapitolBeatOK editor Patrick B. McGuigan has said “Waiting for Superman” is the most significant American film of the 21st Century. “The Lottery,” another powerful film about the lives and educational challenges of inner city youth in America, also made the cut.)

‘Superman’ panelists tout school choice, procedural and other reforms

Capitol Editor Patrick B. McGuigan

The educational, cultural and political whirlwind of discussion and debate triggered by the documentary film “Waiting for Superman”
continued to impact America in recent weeks, including in Oklahoma
City. Hundreds of leaders from across the political spectrum gathered to
view the motion picture at a November 18 showing co-sponsored by the State Chamber.

After the film, a panel discussion ensued, guided by State Chamber President Fred Morgan.
Rhetorically and in terms of impact, the most interesting comments
could have been those of Ed Allen, president of the Oklahoma City local
of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT, AFL-CIO).

Late in the program, Allen strengthened commentary offered a few weeks
ago after a previous local showing of Davis Guggenheim’s documentary.
Allen said:

“I’m not going to defend anything that our national union did in that
film, because it’s indefensible. And, I don’t think anybody would say
that’s the way this union local has been behaving. I am willing to
discuss any issue that needs to be discussed. I don’t have any issue
with the question that change is needed, but we want to be at the table.
We will do everything in our power to make change happen.

“It’s close, it’s within reach. You can almost taste the possibility of
real change. It’s within our grasp. We’re going to make it happen.”

Allen’s discourse was answered with thunderous applause.

The “star” of the non-cinematic portion of the afternoon was Janet Barresi, Oklahoma’s incoming Superintendent of Public Instruction.

In opening remarks, Dr. Barresi said the state
“has a great pre-K program that has to be developed and improved.”
Building on excellence, she said, “It is crucial to end social promotion
especially past the third grade, because at that point students s to
learning to read and start reading to learn.”

David Blatt of Oklahoma Policy Institute, a progressive
policy think thank, cautioned that when it comes to educational
improvement, “There is not a single great idea or a panacea. We need
quality teachers and more and better instruction. We need to develop the
resources to fund this.”

Bill Price,
an attorney and chairman of the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs’
school choice coalition, asserted that in terms of school governance,
“Principals need the ability to hire and fire people, and the state
must get rid of ‘de novo’ judicial review of hiring and firing
decisions in the schools. Most or many superintendents eventually give
up trying to fire bad teachers because it is so incredibly hard.”

Price continued, in a vein echoed just minutes later in Allen’s
comments, “I am hopeful. I’ve never seen such a movement as this, and a
time such as this.”

In opening comments, union president Allen said, “I don’t have any
problem with doing away with ‘trial de novo’ when it comes to making
easier the system for removing misbehaving teachers. This local has done
a ‘180’ on some issues. It is time to look at some situations
differently.

“We support a system where an independent officer looks at a possible
dismissal, somebody looking over the paperwork with a fresh set of eyes
to confirm what’s happened. We believe a good system can be established
for the school board to review these decisions [without it going to the
courts]. There is emotion in this issue quite often, especially when
it’s something happening to your children.

“I only caution that no one side has all the answers. We need to avoid
letting either extreme dominate in education. For true reform and change
to be embedded in the system, there has to be buy-in by all the
stakeholders.”

Tracy McDaniel, founder and principal of Oklahoma City’s KIPP (Knowledge
is Power Program) Academy, where inner city youth are soaring
academically, reflected, “We talk about higher expectations for our
children, but we also need higher expectations for our adults. I would
like to see wiser use of performance management tools in education, to
change the way we look at teachers. Let’s don’t evaluate on the minimum
bar, but change the standards.”

A portion of the panel discussion focused explicitly on proposals for
increased parental choice in education, to include private schools.

Price was the most direct exponent of scholarships, tax credits and
other mechanisms to support parental and student options. He said, “The
ideal would be complete and total choice in education with the parents
empowered. It would be difficult and perhaps impossible to do this
statewide all at once. However, we should work to create more
opportunities for parents to vote with their feet to choose schools for
themselves. … Public schools were never intended to be a monopoly.”

OK Policy’s Blatt took a critical view of some choice advocacy, saying,
“There is room for more choice within the public school system. No Child
Left Behind had faults but it has led to a positive change in the
system’s accountability. But we must keep public dollars within the
public system, where there is accountability and representation. I am
concerned about efforts to take public dollars outside that public
system.”

Also participating in the panel discussion was Phyllis Hudecki of the
Oklahoma Business and Education Coalition, a group supportive of higher
standards and pro-choice reforms.