Bulls' Third Period Burst Dooms 'Runners
November 28, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
Four third period goals by Amarillo proved to be the difference as they skated to a 6-2 win over Topeka on Friday night in Landon Arena.
Amarillo's first goal came at 11:35 of the first period on a 2-on-1 shorthanded break with Brooks Behling dishing a nice pass to Clint Carlisle on the right flank who finished it with a quick snapshot under the crossbar for the 1-0 lead. The lead grew to 2-0 when John Gustafsson fired a shot in from along the goal line at 14:23 and Amarillo led 2-0 after 1
The second period was a scoreless one but not without incident. Topeka had to kill off a 1:15 worth of 5-on-3 Bulls power play time which they did successfully, and then lost Luke Veitch to an ejection after a hit from behind. Topeka still held a slight shots on goal advantage (13-12) but trailed 2-0.
In the third period, just as the Veitch double minor penalty had expired, the Bulls entered the 'Runners zone and Omar Mullan fed a pass ahead to Mike Davis who buried it stick side for a 3-0 lead at 2:40. Topeka, who had been held scoreless for over 5 periods finally got on the board as leading scorer Ryan White drove the left wing, cut hard to the net and slid the puck through the pads of the Bulls goalie at 5:30, assisted by Clay Anderson and Ben Bahe. Any thoughts of a third period comeback took a hit when :27 seconds later a rebound caromed off the skate of Tyler Deresky and into the net for a 4-1 Bulls lead. The lead grew to 5-1 on John Gustafsson's second goal of the night, beating Josh Hillegas on the short side and prompting a Topeka goalie change. Just :29 seconds later, Amarillo scored a power play goal, a Karl Beckman shot off a clean faceoff win for a 6-1 edge. Topeka added a power play goal of their own at 12:19 to make it 6-2 as Ryan White netted his second of the night, a shot from the midpoint that bounced through traffic into the back of the net but it was a case of too little, too late as Topeka dropped their 9th game of the season.
Topeka (14-9-2) and Amarillo (19-3-3) meet again Saturday night to close out the 'Runners six game homestand. Topeka trails first place Amarillo by 11 points, and second place Texas by 6 points.
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North American Hockey League Stories from November 28, 2011
- Jr. K-Wings Weekly - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Cats beat Bulls in OT - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Bulls Rally to Top 'Runners - Topeka Pilots
- Rays Report: Weekend Split - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Bulls' Third Period Burst Dooms 'Runners - Topeka Pilots
- Tornado Weekly - Texas Tornado
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