Gorillas drop overtime heartbreaker to Texas, 4-3
January 23, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Amarillo Gorillas News Release
Amarillo, TX 1/23/09 - In front of a raucous crowd at the Amarillo Civic Center, the Amarillo Gorillas made their home debut under new head coach Brian Pellerin. The back-and-forth affair featured a great many sub-plots, ending in a 4-3 overtime victory for the visitors.
The scoring began when former Brahma Mark Carragher, claimed off waivers by the Gorillas earlier in the week, tipped a Sam Ftorek shot past Texas netminder David Cacciola to give Amarillo a 1-0 lead at 11:51 of the first period. Texas was held off the scoreboard in the first, after hitting the post three times and being stopped 13 times by Amarillo goaltender Mike Gorman.
Amarillo's 1-0 lead was maintained deep into the second period, when Carragher scored again against his former team. This time, the new acquisition tipped an Austin Sutter shot past Cacciola, accentuating the Gorillas' lead to 2-0 with 2:29 remaining in the second period.
Texas would get on the board at 6:28 of the third period, with Justin Kinnunen ripping a wrister from the high slot past Gorman to draw the guests to within one. Under three minutes later, Jason Deitsch scored for Texas, tying the game with 10:34 to play in the third.
The two teams would exchange scoring opportunities late into the period, until Kevin McLeod tossed a bouncing puck from the blueline towards Gorman. The puck wobbled under Gorman's blocker and into the back of the net, giving Texas a 3-2 lead with 1:29 left to play.
Pellerin's Gorillas battled back, pulling Gorman for an extra attacker with under a minute left in the period. After prolonged pressure was applied in the Texas zone, Ftorek smacked a bouncing puck towards the front of the Brahmas' net. With just 7.9 seconds remaining in the third, Mike Handza batted the puck out of mid-air and behind Cacciola, tying the game and sending the crowd of nearly 3,000 into a frenzy.
As the game wore into overtime, Texas was awarded a power play mid-way through the extra frame, following a âToo Many Men' bench minor. Just nine seconds into the man advantage, Texas' Scott Sheppard scored his 23rd goal of the season, sending the Brahmas to the 4-3 victory.
Amarillo (10-25-1) managed a point out of the game, as they suffered their first overtime loss of the season. Gorman absorbed the defeat in net, stopping 31 shots for the Gorillas.
The two teams will play again on Saturday evening-again at the Amarillo Civic Center-with the opening face-off scheduled for 7:05 PM. Select tickets are still available; they can be acquired by calling (806) 242-PUCK (7825) or by visiting any Panhandle Tickets outlet in the Amarillo metro area.
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