Wildcats Recover Late to Edge RoadRunners

March 25, 2016 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release


The Wildcats coughed up a three-goal lead but recovered late in the game to take down the Topeka RoadRunners by a score of 4-3 on Friday night.

Goaltenders Justin Kapelmaster and Juho Niku had their work cut out for them in the first period. Just minutes into the game, a big hit delivered by Michael Rounds in front of his own net led to a loose puck being picked up by Topeka's Marshall Bowery, who had a wide open lane to the goal. He deked and got Kapelmaster down, but lifted the puck over the net and into the mesh.

The 20's Line clicked again as Jonny Lazarus set up Nick Rosa for a net-mouth shot, which Rosa buried past Niku for his 14th goal of the season. Lazarus' assist would be his fourth in just his third game since returning from his shoulder injury. Kapelmaster stymied all twelve shots the RoadRunners took in the first 20 minutes.

The second period was chock-full of offense. Adam Goodsir ended an eight-game scoreless drought after lifting the puck over Niku's blocker on a power play out of a net-mouth scramble. Just two minutes later, Erich Jaeger scored his eighth of the season by tucking a rebound past Niku after Noah Gilreath took a nice point shot through traffic.

Topeka responded loudly after conceding three unanswered Wichita Falls goals. South Division top prospect Sami Tavernier ripped a shot just seconds into a RoadRunner power play from the top of the left circle which blew past Kapelmaster to get the Runners on the board. Just a minute and a half after the goal, Topeka found themselves on an odd-man rush started by J.B. Baker in his own zone with a good no-look pass along the boards. Dominic Lutz set up Bowery in front of the Cats' net, and he slipped it through Kapelmaster's legs to bring his team within one.

Shortly after killing off five-minute boarding major to Nikita Litviak and a 5-on-3, the Cats conceded a shorthanded goal. Luka Maver intercepted a Jeff Baum breakout pass late on a Wildcats man-advantage, carried in one-on-one, executed a toe-drag and finished it off by sneaking the puck through Kapelmaster's five-hole to complete the Topeka comeback. Late in the third period, however, the Cats would catch a break when a long shot taken by Austin Albrecht fooled Niku and regained the lead for Wichita Falls, which they'd hold en route to their 13th consecutive victory on home ice, where they remain perfect in 2016.

Kapelmaster made 30 of a possible 33 stops in his 31st victory of the season, while Niku halted 32 of the 36 he faced in his seventh regulation defeat. The Wildcats and RoadRunners meet on Saturday, March 26th at 7:05 pm on $5 Ticket Night for their tenth and final matchup of the campaign.



North American Hockey League Stories from March 25, 2016


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central