Wildcats Get Back on Track in Wasilla
January 16, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wildcats offense awoke this past weekend in Alaska, as they beat the Wasilla Spirit on Friday and Saturday night. Having struggled over the past month to play consistent hockey on both sides of the ice, the team finally put it together and earned four points to secure fourth place in the NAHL South Division. They trail the third place Springfield Junior Blues by only one point.
On Friday night the Wildcats were down an early goal, but roared back to win convincingly 4-2. After a quick score by the Spirit, Chris Ochoa struck back and tied the game at one apiece after the first period. His goal was assisted by Kyle Kraemer and Chris Nutini. The Wildcats came out strong in the second period and scored two goals. The first was by Skylur Jameson, assisted by Alexander Molnar and Doug Robinson, at the 2:58 mark, and the second was by Dan Sexton, assisted by Adam Cardwell and Doug Robinson. The Spirit netted a goal late, but as the period ended the Wildcats held a 3-2 advantage. The Wildcats dominated the third period, allowing only four shots on goal, and Chris Nicolaou sealed the victory with a goal in waning minutes of the game. Tom Billick, in relief of the injured Cory Netrefa, stopped 13 of 14 shots to earn the victory.
After the game, Associate Head Coach Mike Perkins was extremely pleased with his teams' performance. "This was a great team effort. Everyone on our bench contributed tonight, and it was really fun game to be a part of".
With a restored confidence from the night before, the Wildcats pounced on the Spirit early and never looked back, winning 7-3. Skylur Jameson continued his strong play by scoring two powerplay goals in the first period. Both of his goals were assisted by Dan Sexton and Kyle Pidde. Newly acquired Ryan Hitchcock, assisted by Doug Robinson, scored his first goal as a member of the Wildcats to put the team up 3-0. The Spirit got a late goal, and as the first period ended the score was 3-1. Wasilla came out firing in the second, taking 17 shots on goal, but Tom Billick remained strong and only allowed one to slip by him. The Cats counteracted the Wasilla onslaught, by attacking the Spirit goalie, Andrew Volkening, with 16 shots of their own. Chris Ochoa smoked one by Volkening, assisted by Chris Nicolaou and Tom Billick, to record his team leading 24th goal of the season, and notch the score at 4-2 to end the second period. The third period started like the second did, with an early Wasilla goal. But that was all the Spirit could muster as the Wildcats would not be stopped. The team charged on and scored three unanswered goals, by Nick Swinteck, Chris Nicolaou, and Kyle Kraemer respectively, to end the game. Tom Billick stopped 32 of 35 shots to pick up his 16th win of the season.
To summarize the action, Associate Head Coach Mike Perkins said, "Because of the effort and attitude put forth on Friday, it created good offensive opportunities tonight, and we were able to capitalize when the time was right".
The Wildcats went into Alaska in desperate need of stringing some victories together. The team has seemingly climbed out of their funk, winning three of their last four games. The Cats make their final stop of a three week road trip this weekend as they travel to Montana, to take on the tough Bozeman Ice Dogs. These games are extremely important for the Wildcats, as it gives them the opportunity to claw back up the standings in the NAHL South division.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2006
- Three is a Charm - Alexandria Blizzard
- Wildcats Get Back on Track in Wasilla - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Jets End Road Trip With Two Wins - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
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