TULSA, Okla. – Returning players set the standard for the Tulsa Oilers on Saturday night as Danny Moynihan scored two goals and Charlie Sampair contributed a goal and an assist as the Oilers defeated the Allen Americans 4-3 in front of 2,590 at the BOK Center in Tulsa.

The Americans started off the scoring early on in the game when Jake McGrew took advantage of an out-of-position Olle Eriksson Ek at 2:24 to kick off pattern that saw one team score and the other team answer in fairly short order. Moynihan scored the first of his goals roughly five minutes later with help from Sampair and team captain Adam Pleskach.  

Sampair then gave the Oilers their first lead of the season when he slipped the disc home past Allen goalie C.J. Motte 66 seconds into the second period. Alex Brooks and Kevin Domingue earned the helpers on Sampair’s tally, which was followed closely by Gregg Burmaster‘s second goal of the season roughly a minute later (with Maxim Golod assisting) to give the home club a two-goal advantage.  The advantage was short-lived, however, as McGrew hit the net behind Eriksson Ek at 3:43 and Zane Franklin knotted the score at 3-3 with a strike at 6:23 of the middle period.

Moynihan put the Oilers ahead for good at 8:51 of the third period when he solved Motte a second time (with Pleskach and Stephan Beauvais assisting). The effort by Moynihan garnered him the game’s first star and pushed the Oilers to a 1-0-0-1 record on the young season.

Overall, the Oilers looked much improved from their loss to the Wichita Thunder on Friday night. Where Head Coach Rob Murray had commented that one of the primary reasons the Oilers couldn’t assume the lead was due to miscues and opening night jitters, on Saturday night those were fewer and further between. In addition, Eriksson Ek made 29 saves on 32 shots, and Motte turned aside 31 of the 35 shots the Oilers threw at him.

The Oilers will now leave the friendly confines of the BOK Center for their first road trip that will take them to face the Utah Grizzlies on December 19 and then to Allen for a two-game series with the Americans on December 26 & 27.

Follow Rich on Twitter for all the latest in-game tweets and post-game analysis on the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers!

Don’t forget to follow The Sin Bin on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest AHL, ECHL, and SPHL breaking news and insights!