PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (0-0-1) @ TULSA OILERS (0-0-0)

SATURDAY, OCT. 113, 2012 | 6:05 | BOK CENTER | TULSA, OKRADIO: 1350AM KTIK "THE TICKET" | VIDEO: ECHL TV

Tonight’s Game: The Steelheads continue their three-game opening road trip against the Tulsa Oilers at BOK Center in Oklahoma.

Head-To-Head: The Steelheads and Oilers play each other 10 times during the course of the season with five games split between Oklahoma and Idaho. In their six-game schedule in 2017-18, the Steelheads went 5-1-0 head-to-head including a shootout win in their first meeting of the year and carry four-straight wins into the season. Overall, the Steelheads are 10-3-0 against the Oilers since their franchise series began in 2014-15 season.

Last Night: The Steelheads earned a point during a 3-2 shootout loss to the Wichita Thunder on Friday night at Intrust Bank Arena. Thunder forward Jakob Stukel (16:50 1st) opened the scoring to take a 1-0 lead followed by a tally from Thunder forward P.C. Labrie (3:15 2nd) to double the lead, 2-0. Steelheads forward Brad McClure (10:01 2nd) cut the lead in half, 2-1, with a takeaway turned breakaway, and Steelheads defenseman Brady Norrish (14:48 2nd) tied the game at 2-2 with a rebound goal. In the shootout, Thunder forward Colin Jacobs (4th Round) was the lone skater to score, giving Wichita the 3-2 win. Stuart Skinner stopped 38 of 40 shots in the win, while Philippe Desrosiers halted 39 of 41 shots in the shootout loss.

You Named Him Brad: Steelheads forward Brad McClure scored his first professional goal to lead Idaho to their first goal of the season. The Minnesota State Mankato product has goals in all three games he’s appeared in dating back to the preseason, grabbing four points (3g, 1a) during that time. With defenseman Brady Norrish, both Steelheads goals to begin the season came from rookie skaters.

Return of Rosie: Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers returned to the Steelheads from the Texas Stars in time to start the opening game last night. With 39 saves, the veteran netminder moved into second place for Steelheads All-Time ECHL career saves with 2,030, surpassing the previous mark set by Jerry Kuhn (‘10-’12) of 2,003 saves. He now trails Steve Silvertorn atop the list with 3,065 saves over his career from 2005-08. Desrosiers now sits second in wins (43), saves (2,030) and minutes played (4,593) in Steelheads ECHL history.

Road Opening Woes: The Steelheads began opening night with a point but came up on the wrong side of a shootout decision. The loss saddles them with back-to-back opening losses when away from Boise but the second time in three attemps with at least one point earned, joining their last road opening win on Oct. 21, 2015 in Alaska (4-3 SOW). The Steelheads are now 2-1-1 in season opening games over the last four seasons.

Oiled Up: The Tulsa Oilers begin their 2018-19 schedule tonight with back-to-back games against Idaho. The Oilers missed the postseason last year by just two points, earning a 31-29-3-9 with 74 points while sliding behind Wichita for the final playoff spot. The Oilers have now missed the Kelly Cup Playoffs in three-straight seasons, only making the postseason in their first ECHL season in 2014-15. They look to break their first season with over 80 points for the first time this year after being held to 80 or less in all four ECHL years.

Drummed Up: The Oilers return two long-standing players both in Oilers history and professional hockey to headline their opening night roster. Second-year captain Adam Pleskach (32+29=61) and breakout player Charlie Sampair (23+29=52) both begin the season in Tulsa after leading the Oilers in scoring last year as the lone two players with 50+ points. Pleskach currently sits on the Oilers All-Time Leaderboard for goals (4th), games played (6th) and points (8th). Additionally, 19-year professional veteran Peter Sivak begins his seventh year in the ECHL with his 8th different team, tallying 374 points (162g, 212a) through 361 ECHL games and turns 37 this season.

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads finish their three-game opening weekend on Sunday, Oct. 14 at 3:05 p.m. against the Tulsa Oilers from BOK Center. Coverage begins at 2:50 p.m. on 1350-AM KTIK and ECHL TV.