Halfway through the first period, the Oilers got on the board first when Michel Beausoleil snapped a shot over the blocker of Denver goalie Kent Patterson. Beausoleil’s 18th tally of the season gave the visitors a 1-0 advantage at the 10:10 mark of the opening frame. With Tulsa defenseman Scott Macaulay in the penalty box for cross-checking, the Cuttrhoats cashed in on the power play to tie the game. T.J. Fox batted rebound past Oilers netminder Shane Madolora at 12:42 for his fifth goal of the season.
Oilers forward Adam Pleskach was nabbed for holding early in the second period and the Denver power play struck again. Vincent Arseneau, fresh off a seven-game stint in the AHL with the Lake Erie Monsters, slid a shot through Madolora to give the Fish their first lead of the night. After Ryan Cramer and Craig Cescon were called for penalties in the span of 44 seconds, the Cutthroats went to work on a 5-on-3 advantage. Troy Schwab, tied for the CHL lead in assists entering the contest, wristed his seventh goal of the season over the shoulder of Madolora to build the Cutthroats lead to 3-1 with their third power play strike of the evening.
Scott Macaulay brought the Oilers back within a goal when his wraparound attempt squeezed through Patterson with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Arseneau put an end to the Oilers comeback hopes with an empty net goal at 18:34 to help the Cutthroats stay unbeaten against the Oilers this season.
The Oilers allowed three power play goals in a game for just the second time this season and failed to capitalize on any of their own power plays, finishing the night 0-for-7 with the man-advantage.
Tulsa falls back to .500 for the season (16-16-2) and has tasted defeat in seven of its last nine contests. The loss drops the Oilers into sixth place in the CHL standings.
The Oilers will get another shot at the Cutthroats tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. (MST) when the teams finish their two-game series in Aspen.
