Wildcatters escape Inferno in 8th round of SO
January 18, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Texas Wildcatters News Release
Columbia, SC-The Texas Wildcatters escaped with a victory Friday night as Cleve Kinley scored on the eighth round of a scoreless shootout to seal a 2-1 shootout win for the first-place Catters (28-4-6) over the Columbia Inferno (15-15-9).
The Catters broke the scoreless tie just over a minute into the second period as captain John McNabb powered a one-timer past Columbia keeper Jeff Jakaitis. The even-strength goal at 1:06 was assisted by Max Taylor and Ross Carlson, who was reassigned to the Catters Tuesday.
Khudobin, whose record stands at 15-1-0-3, was strong for the Catters, making 21 saves through regulation and overtime. Jeremy Hall got the only puck past Khudobin all night with a short-handed tally in the second period's final minute. Steve McJannet assisted on the goal, officially at 19:03.
The power play lapse was the exception for the Wildcatters, who owned the second half of the contest by outshooting the Inferno 22-6 over the final two frames. They managed an additional two shots in the overtime period.
Texas seemed poised to close the game in the shootout, their first five shooters with a combined 51 goals on the year. Troy Riddle led the charge for Texas, followed by McNabb, Brandon Benedict, Kevin Baker and Carlson. All were denied by Jakaitis.
Khudobin, who has three shootout loss on his record this season, was flawless Friday, stopping the first five Columbia shooters to force the shootout to the sudden-death format then stopping the next two shooters after Taylor and Moises Gutierrez could not score for Texas.
It was eventually defenseman Cleve Kinley, whose four-game assists streak came to an end Friday night, who would flip a puck up and over Jakaitis for the eventual game winner.
Khudobin stopped a McJanet shootout attempt to secure the victory.
The Wildcatters continue the four-game road trip Saturday night in Columbia. Log on to wildcattershockey.com in the early afternoon for an update on audio and video availability.
The Texas Wildcatters are the ECHL affiliate of the AHL's Houston Aeros and the NHL's Minnesota Wild. The Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game Presented by Bud Light and Jackson Rancheria will take place Tuesday, Jan. 23 at 9 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on NHL network and B2 Networks.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from January 18, 2008
- Reading Slips by Devils, 3-1 - Trenton Devils
- Aces see 3-2 lead turn into 5-3 loss - Alaska Aces
- Goepfert makes 42 saves, but Lynx fall to Checkers 3-2 - Augusta Lynx
- Grizzlies just hang on to beat Roadrunners 6-5 - Phoenix RoadRunners
- 'Blades fall short at Mississippi, 4-3 - Florida Everblades
- Wildcatters escape Inferno in 8th round of SO - Texas Wildcatters
- Nailers drop series opener in Elmira - Wheeling Nailers
- Chiefs ground Bombers - Johnstown Chiefs
- Inferno lose to Texas in SO 2-1 - Columbia Inferno
- Jackals hammer Nailers 8-1 - Elmira Jackals
- Royals special teams have special game and defeat Devils, 3-1 - Reading Royals
- Sea Wolves skin the gator, knock off Everblades 4-3 - Mississippi Sea Wolves
- Stingrays use power play to win 9th straight at home - South Carolina Stingrays
- Checkers edge Lynx, win 3-2 - Charlotte Checkers
- Chiefs beat Bombers 5-1 - Johnstown Chiefs
- Campbell with a pair of assists in the loss - Atlanta Gladiators
- Dest to play for National Conference All-Star team - Las Vegas Wranglers
- Salmon Kings Receive Yeo Back From Manitoba - Victoria Salmon Kings
- Las Vegas' Dest Replaces Teammate Strachan On American Conference Roster - ECHL
- 2005, 2006 ECHL All-Star Games Have Seven Players, Coach Reach NHL - ECHL
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Stingrays Pack the House Night FYI - South Carolina Stingrays
- Condors Game Preview - Bakersfield Condors
- 'Blades get Melanson back from AHL - Florida Everblades
- NHL Network Carries Chase Chevrolet All-Star Game Live - ECHL
- Pelletier Is 342nd Player To Play In NHL After ECHL - ECHL
- Rays Look to Make it Two in a Row Against Gwinnett Tonight - South Carolina Stingrays
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Gunderson to Start ECHL's All-Star Game - Trenton Devils
- Ferraro Named Captain Of National Conference All-Star Team - Las Vegas Wranglers
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.
