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NAHL Amarillo Bulls

Bulls Beat Wildcats 4-1 for 24th Win on Home Ice

March 17, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Amarillo Bulls News Release


AMARILLO, TX - It was a triumphant end to the home portion of the regular season schedule for the Amarillo Bulls on Saturday night at the Budweiser Bull Pen in the Amarillo Civic Center.

Three goals in the first nine minutes of the game lifted the Bulls to a 4-1 triumph over the Wichita Falls Wildcats. It was the Bulls 24th win of the season on home ice and it set a new mark for wins in Amarillo Hockey History, eclipsing the record set by the 2002-2003 Amarillo Gorillas of 23.

Matt Sieckhaus, Mike Davis, Ryan Cole and TJ Sherman netted goals for the Bulls, while Tyler Deresky collected two assists. Goaltender Collin Delia earned the win in goal and made some key saves to preserve the win in the final 20 minutes.

The Bulls remain five points ahead of the Austin Bruins for the overall lead in the NAHL standings. The Bruins blanked Minot 4-0. Each team has four games remaining in their schedule.

"We set the tone early," said Bulls Head Coach Dennis Williams. "We got the energy level up, and the boys battled and competed hard. They guys didn't score like we wanted in the second but we had some good opportunities. They also had some good chances in the third period, but Collin Delia made some big saves for us."

The home regular season finale featured the popular jersey off our backs promotion, as well as the awards presentations, and the Amarillo Wranglers holding their reunion.

"With the Wranglers being back, the Awards Ceremony and being able to present the Coaches Award to the entire team, it was certainly a great night," he commented.

It was a fast start to the game for the Amarillo Bulls with three goals in the first nine minutes of the play.

Matt Sieckhaus started the scoring when he finished off a play from Omar Mullan and Tyler Deresky at 6:24. Mike Davis scored his 6th goal of the weekend when he converted a play from Tyler Gernhofer and Blake Roubos at 8:06. Less than a minute later Ryan Cole fired a shot past Evan Cowley to make it 3-0. Brady Ferguson and Gage Christianson netted assists on the play. The Bulls outshot the Wildcats 8-6 in the first stanza.

The Bulls dominated the second period with 21 shots on goal and finally rewarded for their efforts with a goal in the final minute of the period. TJ Sherman's wrist shot went over the shoulder of Evan Cowley and into the top shelf. Tyler Deresky and TJ Sherman got assists on the marker. Just a few seconds later, the Wildcats scored with a shot that eluded goaltender Colin Delia.

Each team had some great chances to score in the final 20 minutes but couldn't find the back of the net. Bulls' netminder Delia made some big saves including one on a breakaway and two others on a five on three penalty kill.

Despite being outshot 12-7 in the third period, the Amarillo Bulls still owned the total shot edge 36-24. There were six total power plays in the contest with the Wildcats going 0 for 4, and the Bulls were 1 for 2.

Box Score - Amarillo 4 Wichita Falls 1

The Amarillo Bulls hit the road next weekend for a pair of games against the Corpus Christi IceRays at American Bank Center. The games are set for Saturday at 7 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Fans can tune into the game live CBS Sports Radio 1440, www.amarillobulls.com, and on PPV courtesy of Fast Hockey, beginning with pre-game coverage 15 minutes before the puck is dropped.

The North American Hockey League playoffs are returning to the Budweiser Bull Pen in the Amarillo Civic Center on the weekend of April 12. The Bulls will host the first two games of the South Division semi-final either against the Corpus Christi IceRays or the Wichita Falls Wildcats. Playoff packages are available by calling the Bulls Office at 806-242-1122 or visiting 301 South Polk in the Amarillo Building during regular business hours.

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