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Catters Concede Third Period Lead, Fall 3-2 in Shootout

February 25, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Texas Wildcatters News Release


Beaumont, TX- Leading 2-0 early in the third period, the Texas Wildcatters gave up consecutive goals and succumbed 3-2 in a shootout to the Columbia Inferno Sunday at Ford Arena.

Kevin Baker, who had three goals and four assists across the weekend series, put home his 18th of the season on the power play to give Texas (40-6-3-6) a 1-0 lead at 12:23 of the first period. Assists went to Dan Welch and Max Taylor.

Texas outshot Columbia 14-4 in the second period but were unable to solve Inferno netminder Todd Ford, who made 42 saves on 44 Wildcatters shots across three periods and overtime.

Texas would increase their lead just 19 seconds into the third frame as AJ Thelen took a feed from Baker on a two-on-one and put it past Ford for his sixth goal of the season to make the score 2-0. Scott Champagne, who is +10 in the last ten games, would also garner an assist on the play.

Seemingly on their way to another victory, it would be a different game when the puck dropped following Thelen's goal.

Mac Faulkner would bring the Inferno within a goal with the lone Columbia power play goal of the weekend at 2:57, sneaking a rebound past Texas keeper Kris Tebbs, playing in his first game for the club after signing with the team earlier in the day. Texas held the Inferno power play to 1-for-17 over three games.

The Wildcatters appeared to dodge a bullet after a puck that appeared to go into the net several minutes later was ruled no goal, but would eventually concede the lead Jeremy Hall took a pass from Faulkner and scored at 16:04 to knot the score at two and send the game into overtime.

Texas would manage four shots in the extra frame but the game would remain undecided until the shootout.

Both keepers appeared up to the task in the shootout, neither allowing a goal through the first five shooters and sending it sudden-death. After Reid Cashman scored on the sixth Columbia attempt, to but the Wildcatters on the ropes, Moises Gutierrez came through with a huge goal, going up high with a backhander that beat Ford on the blocker side to extend the game. Hall would convert on the next Inferno chance and when Champagne's shot was blocked by Ford, the fifth-place Inferno (24-21-4-6), who trail the ECHL-leading Wildcatters by 31 points in the standings, would leave Southeast Texas with a pair of wins.

The Wildcatters kick off a four-game divisional road trip Friday at 6:05 CT in South Carolina and play a pair of games in Gwinnett Friday and Saturday before closing out the trip in Augusta on Tuesday night.

The next games at Ford Arena are March 7-9, a three-game series versus the Pensacola Ice Pilots.

The Texas Wildcatters are the proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the NHL and the AHL's Houston Aeros. Celebrate the Catters' Fifth Anniversary Season! Book your group with the Wildcatters, call (409) 951-5500.

The ECHL has affiliations with 26 of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League marking the 11th consecutive season that the league has had affiliations with at least 20 teams in the NHL.



ECHL Stories from February 25, 2008


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