Olynyk scores two goals; Blazers hold off Tulsa rally
Blazers 6, Tulsa 5

TULSA — Blazers newcomer Ryan Olynyk found out quickly how to make an impact in the turnpike rivalry with the Tulsa Oilers.

In just his third game with the Blazers, Olynyk scored two consecutive goals and then got into a fight as Oklahoma City defeated Tulsa 6-5 Saturday night in front of a season-high crowd of 7,019 at the Convention Center Arena in Tulsa.

By scoring two goals Olynyk matched his season total of two goals in 24 games with Laredo this season. He was scoreless in eight games for Memphis.

"It was a career night for me, definitely,” said Olynyk. "Thanks to my line mates who gave me the puck in front of the net, and I just happened to put it in, I just got lucky tonight.”

Tulsa's David Beauregard scored a goal with 22.9 seconds remaining to close what had been a commanding lead to 6-5 and wake up the Tulsa crowd, but a frantic comeback fell short of sending the game into overtime.

"It was a monumental win for us because this is the last time we'll play in the building,” said Blazers coach Doug Sauter. "Next year they're going to the Fairgrounds and then to a new building, so it was kind of nice to know we won our last game in a building.”

A second-year pro, the 6-foot, 200-pound Olynyk scored only one goal in 57 games in his only other pro season with Wichita in the 2003-2004 season. A 24-year-old from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Olynyk led Wichita with 231 penalty minutes and 31 major penalties before taking a two-year break from professional hockey to attend college.

Olynyk, who already had nine penalty minutes in two games for the Blazers, got into a fight just two seconds after he scored his second goal to put the Blazers up 5-2 at 15:17 in the second period. At 15:19, Olynyk and Chase Decker of the Oilers were squaring off in a fight that got both players major penalties.

The Tulsa crowd, which was only 92 tickets away from a sellout (seating capacity 7,111), then watched in dismay as Oklahoma City increased the lead to 6-2 as Michael Beausoleil scored his second goal of the game. The goal typified how things were going for the Oilers, as the shot was a floater that was lofted from about 10 feet inside of the blue line.

Tulsa refused to go away, however, as Bill Newson scored his second goal of the game at 18:28 in the second period to make the score 6-3. Then the Oilers made it 6-4 on a goal by Mike Wiggins with 11:45 left in the third period.

The Blazers got out to a fast start, scoring the first goal on a slap shot from just inside the blue line by Matt Wheeler, who scored his first goal of the year, just 3:26 into the game. Oklahoma City finished the scoring in the first period, leading 4-2 after Olynyk scored his first goal with 2:58 left in the period.

"It was our third game in three nights, and our guys got a little tired,” said Sauter. "It wasn't pretty, but we got the win.”

In extending its winning streak to four games, the Blazers evened the season series with Tulsa at 5-5. The last times the two teams met on Jan. 30 in Tulsa, the Oilers won 5-4 in overtime.