Van Arkel Pots a Pair, as Wildcats top Odessa
February 21, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
ODESSA, Texas - Using a balanced attack, the Wichita Falls Wildcats (24-19-3) opened their eight-game road trip with a 7-3 victory over the Odessa Jackalopes at the Ector County Coliseum on Friday night.
Kirk Van Arkel scored twice for Wichita Falls, Kyle Bauman had a goal and two assists and Sam Piazza had a goal and an assist. Nick Farmer, Colin Staub and Max Reisinger also found twine on the night. In all, 14 Wildcat skaters picked up at least one point in the contest, as David Zevnik made 12 saves to earn his 16th win of the season.
The Wildcats controlled the opening few minutes of the contest, but it was Odessa who opened the scoring. After a too many men on the ice penalty against Wichita Falls, Mathieu Briand buried a centering feed from Ian Mansfield to make it 1-0 at 6:30 of the first.
Wichita Falls responded however, and took the lead on a pair of goals in 15 seconds. First, Piazza picked up his sixth goal of the season with a power- play tally, sneaking a blue-line shot through traffic to tie the game. Right off the ensuing face-off, Bauman rushed up the ice on the left-wing boards, drew the defense and goaltender towards him, then rifled a pass to a crashing Van Arkel, who directed it home to make it 2-1 at 13:18 of the first frame.
In the second period, Trace Jablin tied the game for Odessa before Razmuz Waxin-Engback gave the Jackalopes a 3-2 at 13:11 of the frame, but Wichita Falls regained the lead with a late-period charge that featured two power- play markers.
Bauman evened the score at 3-3, as he unleashed an inch-perfect wrist shot from the top of the circle after playing catch with Will Vosejpka to create a shooting lane. The goal, coming on the power play, was his team-leading 17th of the season.
Farmer then gave the Wildcats the lead with yet another man-advantage marker. After accepting Rudy Junda's headman pass, Farmer rushed in clean on Eric Hancock, faking forehand before roofing a back-hander to make it 4-3 at 19:11 of the second.
Wichita Falls doubled its advantage 10 seconds later, as Staub buried a loose puck into an unguarded net after Tyler Ledford's centering feed somehow trickled through a mass of bodies in front of the cage.
In the third, the Wildcats expanded their lead, as Van Arkel cleaned up the rebound from Jake Townsend's point blast to make it 6-3. Reisinger then scored a nearly-identical goal to make it 7-3, potting the carom after Evan Okeley's slap-shot.
The Wildcats and Jackalopes conclude their two-game set on Saturday at the Ector County Coliseum. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:17 p.m., with video coverage available on FASTHockey.com and an audio-only broadcast on UStream.com.
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