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End of the Line...
**After starting the 2002-2003 season with a franchise-best 18-2 record, the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League will miss the CHL Playoffs for the second consecutive season.
The Oilers (37-22-5, 79 points) beat the Northwest Division champion Oklahoma City Blazers (37-20-7, 81 points) April 16th, 3-1 at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, and then waited for the outcome of the game between the Amarillo Gorillas and the El Paso Buzzards. For the Oilers to make the playoffs, they needed a regulation victory by the Buzzards. But that didn't happen as the Gorillas (39-23-2) prevailed 5-2 and clinched the fourth and final Northern Conference playoff spot with 80 points.
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Oilers~Can~Blame~Schedule
***A scheduling disparity is a major reason the Tulsa Oilers are not in the Central Hockey League playoffs.
The Oilers let a berth slip away with a loss to Amarillo in the season's penultimate game Saturday night. But the Northern Conference's playoff race likely would not have come down to that game if the Oilers had played the weaker schedule that helped Amarillo edge Tulsa by one point.
Despite being in the same division, Tulsa and Amarillo play vastly different schedules. The Oilers had 23 games against the North's other three playoff teams while Amarillo had 10. Tulsa played El Paso once, Amarillo met the depleted Buzzards nine times, including three times in the final 16 days. El Paso only had 10 skaters, six fewer than a team's normal lineup.
Tulsa's only edge was it had more games than Amarillo. Amarillo, which had five fewer regulation wins than Tulsa, played more games outside its conference than inside, 38-26. Tulsa only had 11 games against the weaker South.
Tulsa had 12 more points than the South's final qualifier, New Mexico -- a team that was 0-3 against the Oilers.
"It's so disappointing knowing we're not in the playoffs while a team not nearly as good is still playing," Unger said.
While Amarillo was playing El Paso and Wichita down the stretch, the Oilers won four of their last five with all the victories coming over playoff teams.
The Oilers missed the playoffs for only the third time since the CHL revived in 1992, despite posting their best winning percentage (.617) of those 11 seasons. Overall, the Oilers' record (37-22-5) was the fourth-best in 51 seasons of Tulsa pro hockey. Only the 1928-29, 1930-31 and 1975-76 teams won at a higher rate.
The Oilers also were successful off the ice, ranking fourth in the CHL with an average of 4,853 fans per game, an increase of 520 over last year.
Two games stand out. The Oilers lost in overtime after blowing a 2-0 lead in the final eight minutes of regulation on Christmas at Oklahoma City. The Northwest-champion Blazers finished two points ahead of Tulsa. Another 3-point swing came at Amarillo on Jan. 4, when the Gorillas scored the tying goal with 2:56 left en route to a shootout win.
Other than that, the Oilers were excellent at protecting late leads. Tulsa was 24-0-3 when ahead after two periods.
Two other turning points for Tulsa were health-related. After the 18-2 start, Unger was plagued by a kidney stone for several weeks that affected his work with the team and a six-week tailspin followed. Also, all-star winger Jamie Steer suffered a back injury that knocked him out of the final 19 games.
2003-2004 Season
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