Wildcats Eliminate Bobcats, Advance to Robertson Cup Finals
May 13, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wichita Falls Wildcats proved their superiority over the Bismarck Bobcats Friday night, rolling to a 5-2 victory to advance to the Robertson Cup Finals.
It's been the story of the playoffs for the Wildcats: fall behind early, then come from behind and win. In the eight games the Cats have played in the postseason, they conceded the first goal six times. They won all six of those games.
Willie Brown capitalized on a turnover and spun a shot towards the net from the slot, which eluded Justin Kapelmaster and gave the Bobcats a 1-0 lead. Again, it took virtually no time for the Wildcats to respond. André Pison ripped a shot from the left circle after being fed a nice pass by fellow Scandinavian Aleksi Poikola.
Late in the period, Jonny Lazarus fed a pass across the goal mouth late in the period to find a pinching Michael Rounds wide open. The future Buckeye tapped the puck into a wide open net for his first playoff goal as a Wildcat to give his team its first lead of the game.
Wichita Falls added to its lead just 62 seconds into the game on a power play, after Austin Albrecht shoveled a backhand shot by Hunter Shepard to add an insurance goal. Five minutes later, however, the Bobcats returned the favor. They responded with a power play goal of their own after Alex Strand sniped a shot low on Kapelmaster from in tight. The Wildcats scored another late goal, after Nick Rosa pounced on a loose puck near the paint and drove it past Shepard's pad.
The third period was about preventing Bismarck from clawing their way back into the hockey game, which the Wildcats did to a tee. They allowed just 10 Bobcat shots and helped out Kapelmaster any way they could. The Ferris State commit kept the Bobcats at bay, stopping all of their third period shots and keeping his perfect playoff record intact.
Kapelmaster improved to 8-0 in the postseason, stopping 24 of 26 Bismarck shots. Shepard denied 40 of 44, falling to a playoff record of 6-5. They have advanced to their first-ever Robertson Cup Final appearance and will play the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in a one-game championship series on Sunday, May 15th at 1 pm at Braemar Arena.
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North American Hockey League Stories from May 13, 2016
- Wildcats Eliminate Bobcats, Advance to Robertson Cup Finals - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Jeszka Makes Division I Commitment - Brookings Blizzard
- Ice Dogs Defeat Rebels 2-1 - Philadelphia Rebels
- Late Tally Deals Bobcats a Game One Setback - Bismarck Bobcats
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