Wildcats Win First-Ever Game 1 against Topeka RoadRunners
Published on April 29, 2016 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Wichita Falls Wildcats News Release
The Wildcats played an up-and-down evenly matched game against the Topeka RoadRunners at the KYC on Friday night, and eked out a 3-1 victory to go up 1-0 in the Division Finals.
Two teams which boast such a high level of speed and skill were kept relatively in check to start the game. High quality scoring chances were few and far between for the first few minutes, as a couple of teams who had not played one another in over a month felt each other out. Finally, 13:05 into the game, it was Topeka who found the first opening.
South Division Top Prospect Sami Tavernier found the puck on his stick in an excellent shooting position in the Wildcats' slot. Rather than shooting, however, he dished it off to Andrew Hart, who roofed a shot blocker-side on Justin Kapelmaster to open the scoring. Just 24 seconds later, Austin Albrecht found the puck on his stick with nobody around him but the goaltender after a Topeka breakdown in their own zone. Albrecht spun it on net, and it went through Juho Niku's five-hole to tie the game up at one.
The second period was as evenly contested as the first. Despite a slight increase in the quality of scoring chances, both teams were held scoreless in the middle frame as both goaltenders were on point.
Garrett Van Wyhe had a tremendous scoring opportunity right in front of the net, but Niku somehow kept it out. Prefacing a Topeka power play, Quinn Preston found the puck on his stick with no one around him but Kapelmaster, but the Cats' goaltender stood tall and kept the game tied. The teams entered the third period tied at 1-1.
In the third period, a goaltender who had played so well through the first forty minutes made a critical blunder. Jonny Lazarus carried the puck across the Topeka blue line and fired a routine shot from the half boards, which should have resulted in an easy save for a red-hot Niku. Instead, it trickled past him and gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game. Niku sat stunned in disbelief as his teammates encouraged their Finnish goaltender. Erich Jaeger sealed the deal by smashing the puck home off a Nikita Litviak centering pass.
Kapelmaster stopped 36 of a possible 37 shots en route to a Kona Ice Third Star of the Game performance. Niku denied 33 of 36 for his second playoff defeat. The Wildcats and RoadRunners meet back at the KYC on Saturday night for Game 2 of the South Division Finals.
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