Wildcats Split With Alaska
Published on March 2, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
Wearing their special golden yellow Children's Miracle Network Jerseys, the Wildcats won one and lost one against the Alaska Avalanche this past weekend. Friday night saw the Wildcats fall by a 6-4 score, while Saturday was a 4-2 victory.
On Friday, the offense that had been lacking in previous games came out of the woodwork as the Wildcats hung a quick four goals on the Alaska Avalanche before giving up 6 in the second and third periods, losing 6-4.
Jeff McNeil led off the scoring with a controversial goal. His shot went over goaltender Nathaniel Pellegrino's right shoulder and bounced back out of the goal. The goal light came on, but the referee waved it off. Play continued and after a lengthy discussion with the goal judge, the goal was allowed, giving the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, with the Wildcats on the penalty kill, Sean McKenzie found Adam Kuhn with a long pass, which he took in on a breakaway and lifted a backhander past Pellegrino for a 2-0 lead. Matt Shost had the secondary assist on the shorthanded goal. The Wildcats added a power play goal, as Sean Coffey's shot deflected off an Avalanche player and in the net for a 3-0 lead in the first.
The Avalanche switched goalies, but the Wildcats would quickly hang a goal on him as well, with Matt Kenline ripping a shot past Dylan Woodring, extending the lead to 4-0. The Avalanche would come back though, with Zach Smith scoring two goals in the second, cutting Alaska's deficit to 4-2 at the end of two periods.
The third period was all Avalanche, with Daniel Hildebrandt, Kyle Pichler, and Robb Haider all scoring to give the Avalanche a 5-4 lead. Tyler Currier added an empty net goal to go along with four assists.
"Offense has been hard for us to come by the past few games," said assistant coach Mike Flanagan. "Usually when you score four goals like that right off the bat, you should win... The guys are really not happy with the way the game was played tonight."
Saturday night saw a similar start, but a different result. The Wildcats jumped out to another early 4-0 lead over Alaska, but managed to hold it, preserving Nick Hopper's first win since joining the Wildcats earlier this month. The Wildcats' power play led the way, scoring goals on three of their first four opportunities with the man advantage. Brett Kaneshiro, Adam Kuhn, and Sean Coffey each capitalized on the power play, with all three goals coming in the span of two minutes in the first period. Two minutes later, Sean McKenzie scored a nifty goal from flat on his back, somehow managing to lift the puck past Alaska's goaltender Dylan Woodring. Woodring would be replaced by Nathaniel Pellegrino, who stopped 20 of 20 shots in the final two periods.
Alaska also managed to score twice on the power play in the third period to make things interesting late, but the Wildcats were able to keep them from getting the tying markers late in the game.
"We had over a hundred hits in the first two periods," head coach John Bowkus pointed out. "It was a lot more physical than last night."
Kaneshiro and Kuhn each had an assist to go along with their goals and were named first and second star, respectively. Goaltender Nick Hopper was awarded the third star, stopping 26 of 28 Alaska shots.
The Wildcats and Avalanche will play one final time on Tuesday, March 3.
Wildcats raise money for CMN
After Saturday night's game, the Wildcats participated in the "Jersey Off Our Back" auction for the fifth year in a row, raising $40,000 for Children's Miracle Network. Every year, the Wildcats wear special jerseys for a weekend which are then auctioned off, as the players try to get bids by tossing small prizes in the crowd, printing up special t-shirts, and even sometimes going up into the crowd among the fans. Along with the players' jerseys, this year's auction items included jerseys worn by the coaches, signed sticks, as well as some fixed-price items signed by players.
"The players did a great job in creating some enthusiasm in the crowd with their skits and crowd participation," said Wildcats' head coach John Bowkus. "We hope to keep building on the success we have had in helping Children's Miracle Network through our auctions."
Thank you to everyone who purchased jerseys, and we hope we'll see you at future Wildcats-CMN events!
Upcoming Home Games
The Wildcats play three games this week at the Kay Yeager Coliseum. They face the Alaska Avalanche in the rubber match of their three-game set on Tuesday, March 3. The Wildcats will be giving away adult jerseys that night, sponsored by Cells-U-More, so make sure you arrive early to get yours! After finishing the Alaska series, the Wildcats will entertain the Kenai River Brown Bears on Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7. Friday is Suddenlink Media Trading Card Night, while Saturday is Team Poster Night, so once again, get to the game early!
Wildcats Alumni News
Dan Sexton added a goal and an assist to his season totals as the Bowling Green Falcons lost to Western Michigan on Saturday, 5-3. The sophomore forward leads the team in all offensive stats, and is top 10 in the CCHA in points and goals. He is also one of only three players in the CCHA to currently appear in the top 12 list in goals, assists, and points on the season.
Former Wildcats captain Kyle Kraemer picked up an assist for Northeastern University in a 3-0 win over Massachusetts-Lowell on Friday. Kraemer, a junior, has six assists in 16 games this season.
Skylur Jameson and Dave Lewandowski each had two goals as the Wentworth Leopards picked up wins over Framingham State and Johnson & Wales, 9-1 and 4-3, respectively. Jameson is tied for third in the ECAC-Northeast in points, and tied for the conference lead in assists.
Joel Sauer had two goals and an assist for Augsburg in the opening round of the MIAC Tournament, but the Auggies found themselves on the short end of a 5-4 score at the hands of Hamline College, a team featuring former Wildcat Kyle Mattson.
Nick Klaren had the game winning goal in Wisconsin-Stout's 3-2 NCHA Tournament Semifinal victory over St. Scholastica. Jack Wolgemuth also had an assist earlier in the game.
Wisconsin-Superior will meet Wisconsin-Stout for the NCHA Championship on March 7th. Superior's Kevin Huck had two assists for Superior in a 3-0 victory in the Semifinals over St. Norbert.
While most people associate March Madness with college basketball, it's also tournament time in NCAA hockey, and a number of former Wildcats are still in the running for championships. University of Connecticut (Chris Ochoa) and American International College (Dan Ramirez) will be playing in the Atlantic Hockey Tournament this weekend. Connecticut plays Sacred Heart, while AIC faces Holy Cross. Over in the CCHA, Alaska (Adam Cardwell) will play next on March 13, while Ohio State (Sean Duddy, Cal Heeter) faces Bowling Green (Dan Sexton) this weekend. In Division III, Wentworth (Skylur Jameson, Dave Lewandowski) well play in the ECAC-Northeast Semifinals on March 4 versus Curry College. Wisconsin-Superior (Kevin Huck, Kent Detlefsen) faces Wisconsin-Stout (Nick Klaren, Jack Wolgemuth) for the NCHA Championship and an automatic Division III National Tournament berth. Finally, Hamline (Kyle Mattson) will go up against Gustavus Adolphus for the MIAC Championship and an automatic Division III Tournament berth. Best of luck to all our former players in their quests for tournament championships!
North American Hockey League Stories from March 2, 2009
- Gaffney Named NAHL South Division Player Of The Week - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Wenatchee celebrates first sellout with sweep - NAHL
- Phantoms Sweep Weekly League Honors - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Wildcats Split With Alaska - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Brodhag One Goal Away from Franchise Record - North Iowa Outlaws
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