Gorillas soar over Eagles, 5-3
December 12, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Amarillo Gorillas News Release
Amarillo, TX 12/12/08 - Two goals from Stuart MacRae and 48 saves from Mike Gorman fueled the Amarillo Gorillas to their first-ever victory at the Budweiser Events Center, 5-3.
The Gorillas got the scoring started with Jason Weitzel's seventh goal of the season, as the center tipped in a Mike Handza shot to put Amarillo up to a 1-0 first-period lead.
Just 49 seconds later, the Eagles responded with a Konrad Reeder goal to tie the game at one. Gorman fended off several late-first-period attempts by Colorado to keep the Gorillas tied at one entering the second period of play.
The second frame would belong to the visitors, as Amarillo managed three goals against Colorado starter Morgan Cey to build a lead headed into the final period. Stuart MacRae skated behind the net and walked in front of Cey, wristing a shot underneath the Eagle's arm to give Amarillo a 2-1 advantage. That goal was followed up just 2:03 of playing time later, when John Snowden tipped a shot to Joe Guenther, who hammered the puck past Cey for Amarillo's only power play goal of the evening.
The eventual game-winning goal, scored at 17:50 of the second period, came off the stick of rookie forward Jake Morissette. The tally, assisted by Austin Sutter and Neil Smith, put the Gorillas out to their largest lead of the evening heading into the final twenty minutes.
The Eagles rebounded in the third period, getting goals from Ryan Tobler and Reeder to draw within one. An insurance tally by MacRae and solid late goaltending from Gorman helped to solidify the Amarillo victory as time expired.
Gorman (5-6-0) faced 51 shots, a season high, in his second-straight victory. Colorado suffered only their fourth loss of the season against the Gorillas (7-14-0), who return to the Amarillo Civic Center Friday night to face the Corpus Christi IceRays. Tickets are still available for the 7:05 PM start by calling (806) 242-PUCK (7825).
Central Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2008
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