The Allen Americans came within a goal twice in the third period Saturday night but finished their only preseason game with a 5-3 loss to the Tulsa Oilers.
Tulsa jumped out early, scoring two goals 40 seconds apart in the first period, the first on a power play, according to the team's game report. Lukas Sillinger answered for Allen with about six and a half minutes left in the opening frame, assisted by Zackary Shantz and Mike Krupinski, to make it 2-1.
The Oilers had an apparent second-period goal taken off the board for goaltender interference, but Nick Nardella beat Allen goalie Jesper Vikman on a two-on-one rush at 13:50 to restore Tulsa's two-goal edge. Allen outshot Tulsa 15-8 in that period after trailing 15-10 in shots in the first.
Rookie Kyle Jones replaced Vikman for the third period, his first game in an Allen uniform, and the team said he made several key saves early. Spencer Asuchak cut the gap to 3-2 with assists from Sam Lipkin and Miko Matikka.
Tulsa's Jay Dickman scored about a minute and 20 seconds later, and Matikka scored his first goal of the preseason two minutes after that to pull Allen within 4-3. The Americans pulled Jones for an extra skater in the final minutes, and Tulsa sealed it with an empty-net goal.
