Wichita Falls Wildcats' Insider
April 4, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
Game 4 If Necessary' No, Game 4 IS Necessary!
Home ice-advantage has turned the way of the Wildcats in the opening round of the Robertson Cup Playoffs as the Wildcats split over the weekend in Topeka. The Wildcats dropped a 5-1 Saturday night decision, but came back with an incredible defensive effort for a 1-0 overtime win on Sunday.
The Roadrunners struck for three goals in the opening ten minutes on their way to a 5-1 victory on Saturday. A redirection by Nate Milam and a shot from Davey Middleton made it a 2-0 Topeka lead just over five minutes into the first before Mikhail Sentyurin would open the Wildcats' playoff scoring with a powerplay goal from Chris Leone and Ryan Frost for a 2-1 score. But barely a minute later, Topeka's Kyle Buffardi returned a two-goal lead to the Roadrunners with another point-blank chance. Kyle Sharkey scored on a rebound in the second, with Milam adding a power play tally in the third for the 5-1 final. Tyler Green, who was knocked to the ice several times by Topeka forwards including one hit that left him dazed and getting attention from the trainer in the third period, stopped 40 of 45 shots. While 5-1 may look bad on paper, three of the five Topeka goals were scored via deflections and rebounds around the crease.
The Wildcats bounced back with a strong defensive effort on Sunday, evening the series with a 1-0 overtime victory. The first period was another shooting gallery around Tyler Green, but he was up to the task, stopped 17 shots on goal, seeing two hit posts, and another ten go wide of the net. The Wildcats put 8 shots of their own on Topeka's Eric Rohrkemper, but the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes.
The second period was an odd one. The Wildcats came out stronger, outshooting Topeka 3-2 in the opening four minutes before the lights in the arena flickered, dimmed, and then went completely out. A storm with 70+ mph wind gusts had knocked out power to the Landon Arena, causing the teams to be removed from the ice in a 20-minute delay. The stoppage didn't faze either team though. The Roadrunners had a shot advantage of 11-9, but when all was said and done, the game remained scoreless. The Wildcats' penalty kill came alive in the middle frame, killing off four Topeka power plays, including a total of 2:10 of 5-on-3 time.
The third period saw several "almosts" for each team. A feed toward a wide-open Ryan Frost hit him in the skates midway through the period. Nate Milam's breakaway gets shut down by Green. Jason McAloon's breakaway chance gets stopped by Rohrkemper. Milam's baseball style swing at a puck in the air rang off the crossbar as he slammed his stick in frustration with four minutes left. A power play opportunity at the back door for Will Suter bounced past his stick with under two minutes left. The final horn came with the goaltenders still perfect-24 saves for Eric Rohrkemper, 39 saves for Tyler Green.
The Wildcats came out energized for overtime. They registered two shots on goal in the opening two minutes and forced the Roadrunners to take two icing calls with their aggressive offensive attack. As Bobby Chapman lined up to take the offensive zone draw against Jordan Davis, Richard Young-normally a right wing-moved to a position on the left side, midway between the hashmarks and the top of the faceoff circle. The plan worked perfectly: Chapman won the draw against one of Topeka's top faceoff men, putting the puck right to Young who blasted a shot past Rohrkemper's blocker for the lone goal of the game, touching off a celebration by the Wildcats at center ice at the Landon Arena.
Green was named first star of the game with the first playoff shutout in team history. Young's game-winner netted him the second star, while Topeka netminder Eric Rohrkemper's 62 minutes of shutout hockey got him star number three. The teams will play two in the Kay Yeager Coliseum this weekend, as the home ice advantage returns to the Wildcats. Friday and Saturday's games start at 7:05 pm.
WEEKEND NOTES: Along with Sunday's game being the first shutout in Wildcats' playoff history, it is the first overtime shutout for a Wildcat goalie since Cal Heeter blanked the St. Louis Bandits 1-0 on December 22, 2006. Although the Wildcats had lost their last 15 regular season games against Topeka (0-13-2 since November 14, 2009), they have won three of their last five postseason matchups with the Roadrunners dating back to April of 2009... The Wildcats are 11 for 12 on the penalty kill thus far in the series, and have killed 54 of 60 since the beginning of March.
Preview: Playoffs at home vs. Topeka!
With a split in Topeka, the series returns to Wichita Falls on Friday, April 8th and Saturday, April 9th at 7:05 pm. If necessary, a deciding fifth game would be in Topeka on Monday, April 11th.
The last time these two teams played in Wichita Falls, the Roadrunners took a 4-2 decision on the strength of a Nate Milam hat trick on March 11. However, the last postseason matchup in Wichita Falls saw the Wildcats sweep to force a fifth game in 2009. Down 1-0 with two minutes left, Chad Hudson forced overtime on April 10, 2009, followed by Brett Kaneshiro's game-winner in the extra frame to keep the Wildcats alive. The next night, again facing a 1-0 deficit, Sean McKenzie tied the game in the second period, followed by a Brett Hartung shorthanded goal, a Sean McKenzie even strength tally, and finally Chad Hudson's empty-netter to even the series via a 4-1 win.
Come down and support the Wildcats as they look to repeat 2009's magic, and continue their run in the 2011 Robertson Cup Playoffs!
Upcoming Wildcats' Events
The Wildcats' Coaches Radio Show will be held at El Diablo Burrito on Kelly Blvd. on Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30 pm. Come on down as Drew Pelto and the Wildcats coaches Mark LeRose and Thomas Billick will talk playoff hockey, covering the opening two games and previewing the next two games as well. If you can't be there, tune in on 94.9, KOLI, The Outlaw.
Broomball, adult hockey, and open skating: Check WFWildcatsHockey.com for the schedule under the Games and Ice Events tab! Any questions about our ice programs' Contact Brandon Miller in the Wildcats office, 940-716-5587.
Alumni Report
Dan Sexton is inching closer to being the first former Wildcat to potentially appear in an NHL playoff game. The Anaheim Ducks are currently seventh in the Western Conference with three games remaining. They hold a two-point lead over Calgary and a four-point lead over Dallas. The Flames are down to their final two games, while the Stars have four more. The Ducks' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is two (any two wins or Stars/Flames losses).
Chad Costello has posted five assists in three playoff games for the CHL's Tulsa Oilers. However, the Oilers are down 2 games to 1 in their series against the Mississippi RiverKings.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Mississippi, the SPHL's Mississippi Surge are 1-1 in their series with Knoxville. Jack Wolgemuth posted two assists so far, while Nick Klaren is a +1 for the Surge.
Kyle Kraemer finished his first professional season in the ECHL as the Ontario Reign's top rookie scorer (16 goals, 21 assists, 37 points in 54 games). Ontario, however, missed the ECHL playoffs by 8 points.
North American Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2011
- Summer tryout camps kick off May 15 - Traverse City North Stars
- Bulls Weekly - Amarillo Bulls
- Wichita Falls Wildcats' Insider - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Wildcats Steal Game 2, Series Tied - Topeka Pilots
- Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report - OSC Original by Dan Krieger
- Daavettila Shares Plus-Performer of the Year - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Sound Off On The Ice Rays - Corpus Christi IceRays
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