Wildcats Fall Short on the Road
Published on March 20, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wildcats traveled to Santa Fe this weekend to take on the second-place Roadrunners in a three game stretch. The Cats scored ten goals this weekend, yet it proved to be not enough and the Cats fell short in all three games, losing the final one on Saturday night in overtime. The Wildcats currently sit in fifth place in the NAHL South Division. Adam Cardwell continues to lead the team in scoring with fifty-two points.
On Thursday night it started out as a battle between the defenses. The first period remained scoreless after twenty minutes of play, but not without valiant efforts by both teams. The Wildcats blasted the Roadrunners net with 15 shots on goal and Santa Fe got 16 shots. Santa Fe came out early in the second frame and scored two goals and the Cats trailed 2-0 going into the second intermission. They would then score three more before the Cats were able to get on the board. Finally, at the 18:22 mark of the third stanza, Adam Cardwell scored a powerplay goal. Zack Josepher and Sean Nealon assisted Cardwell on the goal. Only a minute later, on that same powerplay, Adam Cardwell and Brett Hartung got the puck to Joel Sauer who took advantage of his position and blasted the puck past the Santa Fe goalie to give the Cats their second goal of the game. It was too little too late though and the Wildcats fell short 5-2.
On Friday night, the Cats were down 4-0 after eighteen minutes of play, but would not be let down. With only two seconds left in the first period, Joel Sauer scored a powerplay goal to get the Cats on the board and give them the motivation they needed to get going. The second frame was all Wildcats as they scored two more goals to narrow the deficit to only one. Only 54 seconds into the second frame, Ricky Doriott and Adam Cardwell got the puck to Skylur Jameson who slid the puck into the back of the net. Then, at the 11:48 mark, Adam Krefski netted a powerplay goal, and the Cats were down only 4-3. Unfortunately, Santa Fe scored two in the third stanza, and when the Wildcats were unable to answer back, the Roadrunners walked away with the 6-3 victory.
It was the Wildcats who came out ready to play on Saturday night. After trailing by two after the first frame, the Cats came out and netted four goals in the second period, and led 4-3 after forty minutes of play. The Wildcats first goal came at the 3:04 mark of the second stanza when Joel Sauer scored a shorthanded goal. Four minutes later, Brett Hartung and Creighton Scarpone assisted Brett Morrell who put another one in the back of the net for the Cats. Mike Schumacher scored the third goal of the game and his tenth goal of the season at the 15:41 mark. Then, with only 45 seconds left in the second period, Adam Cardwell got the puck to Michal Hrtus who took advantage of his position and blasted another one past the Santa Fe goalie to give the Cats the lead. The Roadrunners tied the game less than a minute into the final frame but the Cats answered back. At the 14:03 mark Mike Schumacher scored off the assist from Adam Cardwell and Zack Josepher and the Cats once again took the lead. In the final minutes, Santa Fe pulled their goalie and put in the extra attacker. With 59 seconds left, they were able to capitalize on a goal, tying the game, and forcing the overtime. With half the overtime gone, Santa Fe was able to score and the Cats lost 6-5 in overtime.
The Wildcats final home game of the season is this Saturday, March 24 against the Texas Tornado. The puck drops at 7:05 pm!
North American Hockey League Stories from March 20, 2007
- U.S. Nat'l Under-18 Team Hosts Springfield This Weekend in Final Home Games of 2006-07 Season - U.S. National Team
- IceDiggers get back on track - NAHL
- Wildcats Fall Short on the Road - Wichita Falls Wildcats
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