South Division Finals Preview: Topeka Vs Lone Star
April 24, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Topeka Pilots News Release
The top seeded Lone Star Brahmas and #2 seed Topeka RoadRunners square off for the NAHL South Division playoff crown, and the right to advance to the Robertson Cup Semi Finals. The Brahmas were the regular season South Division champions (40-12-8), while the RoadRunners finished in second place (39-15-6) and are the defending South Division playoff champions. During the regular season, the teams met eight times with each team winning four, all in regulation. Each team took 3 of 4 at home. The series begins tonight in Lone Star's home building before heading to Topeka the following weekend.
HOME ICE ADVANTAGE: The Brahmas posted a league best home record of 25-2-1 (.911) at the NYTEX Sports Center, while Topeka posted a franchise record best 23-3-2 (.857) in Landon Arena.
KINGS OF THE ROAD: The RoadRunners have enjoyed recent postseason success on the road, winning each of their last six away from Kansas. Their last road loss in the postseason dates back to April 2013.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Topeka's power play has been red hot in the postseason, going 5/16 (31.3%). The Lone Star power play has struggled, scoring just once in 12 chances (8.3%). Conversely, the Brahmas penalty killers are 9/10 (90.0%) while Topeka's penalty killers have been victimized on 3 of 8 kills (62.5%). Neither team has scored or allowed a shorthanded goal in the playoffs.
BRICKLEY'S BOMBS: Topeka defenseman and MSU-Mankato commit Daniel Brickley leads both teams with 6 points including a pair of game winning goals.
ONES TO WATCH: Lone Star's offense is powered by Sebastian Vidmar (Union College), who led the NAHL in scoring (35 goals and 45 assists) and was named South Division Most Valuable Player & Forward of the Year. Ludvig Larsson (Merrimack) and Oskar Andren provide considerable punch up front as well. Alexey Solovyev (Bentley) provides veteran leadership on the blue line. Topeka's offense counters with Jasen Fernsler (Alaska-Fairbanks) and captain Mike Gornall (Univ of North Dakota), with Daniel Brickley (MSU-Mankato) and Ryan Polin (AIC) holding down the back end. Sly Sutter has come alive with 4 goals in the playoffs.
FOCUS ON THE GOALIES: Two Division I bound netminders have carried the load in the playoffs thus far, with North Dakota bound Matej Tomek playing in all four games for Topeka with Jake Kupsky (Union College) backstopping all three Brahma wins. Tomek went 3-0-0 vs Lone Star in the regular season with a 1.67 GAA and .915 save pct. while Kupsky went 2-2-0 vs Topeka, with a 2.28 GAA and .913 save pct. In the playoffs, Kupsky has been brilliant, winning all three starts and posting a 0.87 GAA and .971 save pct. For Topeka, Tomek's numbers have been tame, 3.18 GAA and .881 save pct., though good enough to win the series, 3-1. Brahma goalie TJ Black has been effective against the RoadRunners as well, 2-2-0, 1.52 and .944 in the regular season though he's yet to see action in the playoffs.
ALL TIME SERIES: Head to head, Topeka has a nominal edge, 8-6-2 while Lone Star is 8-8-0 in all time regular season games. Topeka is 3-4-1 in Lone Star's building, and 5-2-1 at home.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: The RoadRunners franchise began as the Lone Star Cavalry in the AWHL Hockey South in 2003, and played in the building the Brahmas now call home. After one season, the Cavalry franchise was purchased and relocated to Santa Fe, NM as the RoadRunners where they played for three years before heading to Topeka. Meanwhile, the Texas Tornado franchise, longtime rivals with the RoadRunners, also played in North Richland Hills, TX until the 2003-04 season before moving across the Metroplex to Frisco, TX. In 2013, the Tornado were sold, moved back to North Richland Hills, and rebranded as the Brahmas.
North American Hockey League Stories from April 24, 2015
- Comeback Comes up Short in Game 1 - Austin Bruins
- South Division Finals Preview: Topeka Vs Lone Star - Topeka Pilots
- Old and New - Minot Minotauros
- NAHL Awards Recognize RoadRunner Standouts - Topeka Pilots
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