PREVIEW: IDAHO STEELHEADS (24-14-7) @ TULSA OILERS (19-21-5)

SUNDAY, JAN. 26, 2020 | 3:05 P.M. MTBOK CENTER | TULSA, OKRADIO: 1350 KTIK-AM | STREAM: ECHL TV

Today’s Game: The Steelheads finish their four-game road trip and extended road section against the Tulsa Oilers from BOK Center.

Head-To-Head: The Oilers claimed the season series outright with Saturday’s result heading into their final game of the season series. The Steelheads own a 2-4-1 record against the Oilers this season while dropping three of four road meetings over two different trips to the BOK Center, only claiming a win in their last road game on January 5. Overall, the Steelheads own a 17-11-2 all-time regular season record against the Oilers as well as a 10-5-1 record at the BOK Center.

Last Night: The Steelheads earned another point in a 2-1 shootout loss on Saturday night from Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The Mavericks opened the scoring on a breakaway from forward Darian Dziurzynski (12:17 1st) for the only goal in the first two periods for a 1-0 lead. Steelheads forward Anthony Nellis (10:13 3rd) re-directed a shot from the blue line to sneak under the crossbar and force overtime, 1-1. In the shootout, Mavericks forward David Dziurzynski (2nd Round) and Steelheads forward Marc-Olivier Roy (2nd Round) traded tallies to force sudden death rounds, and it was Mavericks forward Mitch Hults (7th Round) to seal the 2-1 shootout result. Nick Schneider (10-13-2) stopped 34 of 35 shots in the win, while Colton Point (5-7-2) denied 16 of 17 shots in the shootout loss.

End of the Road: The Steelheads head into their final game of the four-game trip with points in all three contests and now a six-game road point streak. The Steelheads are 4-0-2 over their last six road contests since January 5 in Tulsa and are 8-2-2 during their last 12 road contests since December 18. The Steelheads also conclude an extended trip with 13 of 18 games on the road in that same span, and the Steelheads now have points in 12 of 17 games with a 10-5-2 record. Overall, the Steelheads are 14-5-6 on the road this season, owning the third-most road wins in the ECHL and their 20 of 25 road games with points is second-most in the league behind South Carolina (22 of 23 games).

Shootout Streak: The Steelheads played their third-straight shootout game on Saturday night and earned only one point in the result. The Steelheads are 1-2 this week during their shootout streak and now overall have dropped four of six shootout contests. Last night’s seven round game was the longest shootout of the season, but the Steelheads are 6-for-25 (24.0%) and good for 11th in the ECHL while allowing 9-of-27 (33.3%) attempts against. The Steelheads have now played in 16 games resulting in overtime or a shootout, only trailing Allen (18) for the most in the ECHL and making up over one-third (37.8%) of their season’s results.

Scoring Woes: The Steelheads have had difficulty in finding consistent scoring over the last two weeks including last night’s loss. Over their last six games, the Steelheads have been held to two goals or less in five of six contests while averaging only 1.67 goals per game in that stretch. So far, the Steelheads have been held to three goals or less in 32 of the team’s 45 games (71.1%) while owning a 12-12-7 record in those contests. The Steelheads hold the second-fewest goals per game (2.69) in the ECHL heading into this afternoon’s game. However, 26 of the team’s 45 games (57.8%) have been one-goal contests, and the Steelheads are 15-4-7 in those games with the most one-goal wins in the ECHL ahead of Allen (13) and Rapid City (13).

Fridge Running: Steelheads defenseman Nolan Gluchowski has seemingly awoken offensively with back-to-back games earning points, both on game-tying goals. Since returning to the lineup on January 12, the Wixom, Mich. native has points in four of his last seven games after going the first 17 games with only five points. On the season, Gluchowski sits tied for third in defensive scoring with nine points (2-7–9), however his assist gives him 49 points (13-36–49) over 79 ECHL games. That ties him with Mike Gabinet (‘05-’07, ‘10-’11) for 10th on the team’s all-time career points list for defenseman in the ECHL era. His next point would make him the ninth player in team ECHL history to reach the 50-point plateau.

Striking Oil: The Tulsa Oilers are stringing together their best stretch of the season despite falling last night in overtime to Kalamazoo. With their back-to-back post-regulation results, the Oilers are on a season, best six-game point streak with a 4-0-2 record that stretches through their three-game weekend in Idaho. In that time, the Oilers have played in overtime in four of their six games with a 2-2 record and have only scored more than three goals once: January 15 in Idaho (4-1 W) but have allowed just nine goals in six games (1.33 GAPG). The team’s previous best point streak came in late October on a four-game tear also including at least one meeting with Kalamazoo (3-0-1 record).

MOUNTAIN DIVISION STANDINGS:

Next Game: The Steelheads return to CenturyLink Arena on Friday, Jan. 31 at 7:10 p.m. to open a two-game weekend against the Rapid City Rush. Tickets are available by calling 208-331-TIXS or going to idahosteelheads.com. Coverage begins at 6:50 p.m. on 1350 KTIK-AM "The Ticket" as well as 7:00 p.m. on Sparklight Ch. 72 & ECHL.tv.