Streak goes to 5 before ending with sweep in Topeka

Published on January 21, 2013 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release


The Wildcats completed a tough stretch this weekend, capping off a six-games-in-nine-days stretch including a pair of wins over the Corpus Christi IceRays before dropping a pair to Topeka over the weekend.

The Wildcats extended their winning streak to five games with a sweep of the Corpus Christi IceRays earlier this week. The 'Cats eked out a 1-0 victory on Tuesday, followed by a 4-3 shootout win on Wednesday.

Evan Cowley had his best game of the season with a number of scouts in attendance on Tuesday, shutting down 24 IceRays shots en route to a 1-0 victory. The lone goal cane 5:10 into the game, with Kyle Bauman tallying his team-leading 17th of the year off Jake Townsend's assist. The game was largely a defensive battle, as Hayden Stewart at the IceRays' end stopped 33 of the 34 he faced in 59 minutes in goal.

Wednesday's game was significantly more exciting, with the Wildcats pulling out a 4-3 shootout win. Cowley and Eliot Grauer came up big when needed, with Cowley stopping all 5 IceRays in the shootout, while Grauer had a goal in regulation as well as the only shootout tally.

Conor O'Neil got the Wildcats off to a fast start with a goal only 2:41 in, but the IceRays struck back for their first goal in over 150 minutes played as Grant Hutton redirected a Mike Economos shot for his first NAHL goal, knotting the game at 1. The IceRays gained the lead later in the period with Brandon Smith slipping one past Cowley for a 2-1 game.

The Wildcats struck back nicely in the middle period as Eliot Grauer retied the game at 2-2 off a perfectly-played 2-on-1 with Sami Salminen. Will Vosejpka then struck on the power play on a scramble in front of Stewart, giving the Wildcats a 3-2 lead. The Cats held their one-goal cushion until the middle of the third when Emil Romig tied it back up for the IceRays.

The Wildcats' penalty killers were a strong point for the team, especially late in the game, killing off a minor that carried over into the first 40 seconds of overtime. Each team had a single shot on goal in the extra frame, but nothing got through, sending the game into a shootout.

Grauer, the third of four Wildcats shooters netted the only goal, slipping the puck through Stewart's five-hole to give the 'Cats an advantage that was sealed off with five saves on five shooters by Evan Cowley.

The 'Cats then took their five-game winning streak to Topeka, but couldn't extend it to six, getting swept in a pair of weekend games. The Roadrunners took a 6-3 decision on Friday, followed by a 3-1 final on Saturday.

The Roadrunners rode the strength of three first-period goals to a 6-3 victory. Peter Halash scored the first of his two goals just over five minutes in before Nick Farmer continued his strong play of late, picking up a goal to tie things at 1-1 with just under seven minutes to play in the period. But the tie only lasted 28 seconds before James Ring popped in the first of his two goals, followed by Halash's second, giving Topeka a 3-1 lead through one period. Tyler Poulsen added a goal in the second, ending Evan Cowley's night after 23:39 played.

Cooper Cook stepped in and stopped the first 11 shots he faced, giving the Wildcats a chance to get back into the game. Eliot Grauer scored a pair of goals, with Cook stopping a Ross Luedtke penalty shot in between, cutting the deficit to 4-3. The 'Cats stepped up the offensive pressure, but it led to a pair of Topeka breakaway goals just over a minute apart from Tyler Andrew and James Ring, putting the game out of reach late.

The Wildcats had seven power play opportunities, including one for five minutes after Roadrunner captain Drew Kariofiles was ejected for a major cross-checking penalty, but only capitalized on one of seven, coming on a 5-on-3 during the major.

The Wildcats bounced back strong on Saturday, but lost a nail-biter 3-1. Similar to Friday, the Roadrunners scored early with Tyler Andrew's wrister from the top of the right wing circle beating Cowley high stick side for a 1-0 lead. Once again, the Wildcats came back to even the game, this time with Conor O'Neil getting one off an assist from Tyler Ledford for a 1-1 game at the midway point.

After allowing 38 shots the night before, the Roadrunners' defense stifled many of the Wildcats' offensive opportunities, limiting them to only 19 shots on goal. At the other end, the 'Cats only allowed 21 shots on Cowley. The tie was broken with 3:20 left as Sean Gaffney got a puck in close and was afforded three whacks at it before it got through Cowley for a 2-1 game. Gaffney added an empty-net goal with 42 seconds left to finish off the 3-1 game and the Topeka sweep.

The teams will face each other again six more times: two in February and four times in March.

WEEKEND NOTES: Evan Cowley has only been pulled in the middle of three games this year, but has bounced back remarkably well in his next game each time. Following a mid-game pull, he has a 2.35 goals against average and a .914 save percentage-nearly a full goal allowed and 2.5% better than his overall numbers on the season. Four of Nick Farmer's seven points this season have come in the last two weeks. The Roadrunners have the NAHL's fourth-best power play unit (19.1% success), but the Wildcats have held it to only 3 goals on 26 opportunities (11.5%) through six games this season.

NAHL SOUTH NOTES: The Corpus Christi IceRays regained some ground on the Wildcats as they split with Amarillo over the weekend, picking up a 4-3 shootout win on Saturday. The Wildcats trail the fourth-place IceRays by six points. Texas swept the Odessa Jackalopes with wins of 10-2 and 5-2 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Mathematically, Odessa is still in the playoff hunt, but cannot clinch either the first or second spot in the South Division.

Scouting the Texas Tornado, January 25-26

The Wildcats come back home this weekend to take on the Texas Tornado in a pair of games. The Wildcats are 2-3-1 against them this season, winning their last two matchups. However, the Tornado won both games played this season at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.

The Tornado are led in scoring by sniping machine Brandon Hawkins. He has a league-best 30 goals this season. He is tied for the team lead in points with Scott Conway: each has 45. Third-year veteran forward Jackson Leef has been the team's top assist man, and is second in the league in the category, picking up 33 helpers. Hunter Leisner has been solid in goal with a 2.39 GAA and .914 save percentage. Recently added backup, Fort Worth native Rutger Kesling, has yet to appear in a game for the Tornado.

The Tornado have won their last eight games coming into this series: their last loss came in a shocker, dropping a 3-2 afternoon decision against Odessa on December 15.

Upcoming Wildcats' Events

Help a great cause and see a game free! The Wildcats are having Wichita Falls Area Food Bank Night on Friday, January 25. Bring five non-perishable food items to the Wildcats' office this week and get a voucher redeemable for a free ticket to Friday's game! Donations will also be accepted at the door, but are preferred earlier. So come see a game free as you help those in need in your community!

We're on the air! Join us for the Wildcats' Coaches' Radio Show at our new show host, El Mejicano on Wednesdays at 7 pm. The Voice of the Wildcats, Drew Pelto, will interview the Wildcats' coaches and your favorite Wildcats' players. If you can't get to the show, tune in on the radio at 7:30 pm on 94.9, KOLI, The Outlaw. All in attendance wearing a Wildcats' jersey will get 20% off!

Get out on the ice! We have our January open skating schedule on the Games and Ice Events tab at WFWildcatsHockey.com, and the February schedule will be posted this week. We also offer birthday party packages at a Wildcats game or an open skating session. Any questions about our ice programs? Contact Sarah Scrivner in the Wildcats office.

Become a fan on Facebook! Get all our updates at http://www.facebook.com/WFWildcats

And don't forget to follow us on Twitter @WFWildcats!

Alumni Report

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

Cal Heeter's stats have been improving by the month with the Adirondack Phantoms. So far in January, he is 3-2-0 with a 2.31 GAA and .930 save percentage, his best of any single month this season.

Chad Costello is still enjoying point-per-game production in his now eight-game call-up to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. He is still second in the ECHL in scoring, even though his last game at that level was on December 15.

ECHL

Back on January 4, Kyle Kraemer became the first player ever to score 50 goals in a career with the ECHL's Ontario Reign. He has 33 points (11 goals, 22 assists) in 40 games this season.

NCAA DIVISION 1

Brian Sheehan had a pair of goals in Sacred Heart's two losses to Air Force. Kyle Delaurell had the eventual game-winner for Air Force on Saturday.

NCAA DIVISION 3

Jason McAloon had a goal and an assist as Lake Forest swept Finlandia in a pair of games, 4-2 and 5-0.

EUROPE

Ville Aman has 17 points in 34 games for Vita Hasten in Sweden's Division 1 league.

Luke Salazar has 34 points in 30 games for Frisk Asker in Norway, and is tied for fifth in their league in assists.

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North American Hockey League Stories from January 21, 2013


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