Wildcats Earn Three Points in Weekend Series

January 8, 2007 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release


The Wildcats played their only home games this month this past weekend against the Texas Tornado, splitting the series, and earning three points in the standings. The Cats fought hard Friday night and walked away with a 3-2 victory. Saturday night however, despite all efforts, the Wildcats fell short 4-3 in overtime. The Wildcats currently sit in fifth place in the NAHL South Division.

The Wildcats came out tough on Friday night and defeated the Texas Tornado 3-2 in a much needed win. The first period was scoreless by both teams. Thomas "Choo-Choo" Billick was on top of his game tonight and saved 35 of the Tornado's 37 shots on goal. The Cats were able to get on the board first early in the second frame. At the 2:29 mark, Luke Salazar and Joel Sauer assisted Michal Hrtus who put the puck in the back of the net and scored his twelfth goal of the season. Unfortunately, the Tornado scored two before the period was over, and the Cats trailed 2-1 going into the second intermission. The third frame was all Wildcats as they took eleven shots on goal and capitalized on two of them. At the 4:27 mark, Sean Nealon got the puck to Kyle Matson who capitalized on the play and slid the puck past the Tornado goalie to tie the game. The Cats were done yet though, and at 14:01, Ricky Doriott scored a powerplay goal to seal the victory.

The Wildcats hit the ice on Saturday and looked hungry for another win, leading 3-0 after only two periods. Sean Nealon would get things started for the Cats at the 6:43 mark, scoring his twentieth goal of the season. Then, with seven minutes left in the frame, Eddie Effinger capitalized off a play from Luke Salazar and Skylur Jameson, putting another one past net-minder Tragust. The Cats were only allowed five shots on goal during the second stanza, but Ville Aman capitalized only four minutes into the frame, giving the Cats the 3-0 lead which they held the remainder of the period. The Tornado came out strong in the final twenty minutes and pelted the Wildcats goal with sixteen shots. Unfortunately they were able to capitalize on three of those shots and tied the game in the final seconds. Despite their efforts, the Wildcats were unable to recover and fell short 4-3 in overtime.

The Wildcats will be on the road the rest of the month, but you can catch all the action on Sportsjuice by logging on to www.sportsjuice.com. The Wildcats will finally be back at home again on February 2 & 3, 2007 against the St. Louis Bandits. The puck drops at 7:05 pm!



North American Hockey League Stories from January 8, 2007


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