Lazarus Leads Wildcats to Sweep over Bulls
March 19, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wildcats won their 12th consecutive game at the KYC on Saturday night with a 3-2 victory over the Amarillo Bulls.
The Wildcats gave the impression they would be off to another dominant first period after Garrett Van Wyhe ended a five-game scoreless drought by punching a rebound past Brian Baker on his backhand just 3:24 into the game. However, the Wildcats' penalty troubles continued just minutes later and it came back to bite them.
Amarillo's leading scorer Joey Molinaro found himself with the puck on his stick wide open in the slot with the man-advantage, causing all eyes to turn to him. Justin Kapelmaster came out aggressively to make the save, respecting Molinaro's shot. He pulled the trigger and Kapelmaster denied him, but the rebound bounced straight to Tyler Gernhofer who had nothing but a gaping 4 x 6 net in front of him. The veteran Bull tied the game up shortly before Charlie Singerhouse scored his second shorthanded goal of the season on a routine wrist shot from the half boards. Kapelmaster got the bulk of the puck, but it just barely managed to dribble across the goal line to give the Bulls their first lead of the night.
Another successful middle period was in order for the Wildcats, who outshot Amarillo 16-10. Nine minutes into the frame, Jonny Lazarus fed a nice pass from circle to circle to Michael Rounds, who was left wide open on the left side. The puck landed right on his tape, and he roofed it high on the glove side of Baker to tie the game back up for the Cats with his seventh goal of the season.
The Wildcats' power play was stymied in the second, as an Amarillo penalty kill which has struggled all season did well to keep the Wildcats' snipers at bay. Wichita Falls' power play went 0-for-3 in the third, but its penalty kill got the job done twice. Kapelmaster denied all ten shots he faced.
Lazarus has sparked a re-emergence of the 20's Line. He continued his dominance in the series with an early third period goal, which would be his fourth point in just two games back from his shoulder injury. The goal would hold up as the game winner, and would merit Lazarus his second consecutive Kona Ice First Star of the Game performance.
Kapelmaster bounced back after a shaky start, stopping 20 straight shots after giving up two early goals. He earned his NAHL-leading 30th victory, stopping 24 of 26. Baker was handed his sixth defeat as a Bull despite a strong performance in net, turning aside 43 of 46. The Wildcats return to the KYC on Friday, March 25th, to host the Topeka RoadRunners on $5 Ticket Night.
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