Beaulieu Leads Cats to First Sweep of RoadRunners
February 13, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
Coming off a commanding victory from Friday night, the Wildcats swept the Topeka RoadRunners for the first time of the season with a 2-1 win Saturday night.
Starting for the second straight game, Justin Kapelmaster was extremely busy in the first period. He denied a Marcus Russell breakaway and a Johnny Walker point-blank shot, but was deked out of position by Walker after a defensive turnover gave the former Minot captain a wide open lane to the goal. The Cats were unable to respond in the opening period as they had the previous night.
Their fortunes changed in the following period, as the Cats dominated the middle frame. Despite failing to convert on a power play, they outshot the Runners 12-3 and kept the pressure on their goaltender Juho Niku. André Pison laid a crisp pass across the ice on a 3-on-2 rush for the Wildcats before Austin Beaulieu patiently set up Adam Goodsir, who capped off a beautiful play for his 26th goal of the season and his first in six games.
Minutes later, Nikita Litviak found himself in penalty trouble after delivering a huge hit on Marcus Russell along the half boards. Litviak would be given a five minute major for boarding, forcing the Wildcats to kill a long power play. They fought off Topeka's man-advantage with aplomb and even earned a power play of their own at the end of the second period.
The final period was also won by the Wildcats, who continued their dominance in sustained pressure. Yu Hikosaka was caught for two separate penalties as a result, and the second of which costed his team.
The Runners did a tremendous job throughout the night of taking away the Wildcats' passing lanes on their power plays. When pass after pass had failed them, Beaulieu took it upon himself to skate into some open ice. Again displaying patience and poise, he waited for an opening and scored his 14th goal of the season to give the Cats their first lead of the night, which they'd ultimately hold onto to earn their second straight victory and first sweep of the RoadRunners this season.
Kapelmaster recorded his 25th victory with a 22-save night, while Niku was charged with his 4th regulation defeat despite being named the Kona Ice Third Star of the Game. The Wildcats will have an off-weekend before hosting the Amarillo Bulls on February 26th.
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