Cats Silence Brahmas on Thanksgiving Eve
November 25, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The two best teams in the North American Hockey League met at the Nytex Sports Centre in North Richland Hills on Wednesday, and the Wildcats outplayed the Brahmas en route to a 4-0 win.
The Brahmas had not been shut out on home ice since February of 2014, but a blend of responsible penalty killing and impeccable goaltending gave the Cats the chance to achieve that feat. The scoring was opened by Jonny Lazarus, who fired a rebound past Corbin Kaczperski after he had made the initial save on Austin Albrecht. The 20's Line continued to fire on all cylinders throughout the game.
Battling penalties all evening long, the Wildcats were finally given an unimpeded power play opportunity midway through the second period. After cycling the puck around the offensive zone and getting some good scoring chances, Michael Rounds fired a heavy wrist shot from the blue line. His billet-mate, Adam Goodsir, redirected the shot over the glove of Kaczperski to give the Cats a 2-0 lead.
The very next shift, a funny hop off the corner boards in the Brahmas' zone proved costly. Ben Lown, who had been held without a goal since October 9th, picked up the loose puck and ripped a backhand shot past Kaczperski to stun the Nytex Sports Centre crowd and force Lone Star head coach Dan Wildfong to utilize his only timeout just to slow the Wildcats' momentum.
The 3-0 lead the Wildcats held heading into the third period was the largest deficit the Brahmas had faced all season. Venturing through uncharted territory, they struggled to solve Justin Kapelmaster, who denied all that was thrown his way. About a dozen minutes into the period following a scrum, Albrecht dropped the gloves for the second time of the season with former Wildcat Hogan Davidson. The scuffle was lengthy and evenly fought, and it fired up just about everybody in the building.
A couple minutes later after serving a minor hooking penalty, Nikita Litviak exited the penalty box only to be given a perfect pass from Lown in the neutral zone. Litviak powered his way to the Lone Star net and tapped the puck past Kaczperski to ice the game for the Wildcats.
Kapelmaster made 27 saves on the way to his first shutout since Day 1 of the on September 23rd. Kaczperski made 22 saves in the defeat. The Wildcats travel to Odessa on Friday to play the Jackalopes at the Ector County Coliseum at 7 pm.
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North American Hockey League Stories from November 25, 2015
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