AMARILLO, TX – The Brahmas picked up their 11th “Battle of the Cattle” victory over the Amarillo Bulls on Saturday, 6-3.
Plano, TX native Troy York kicked off the scoring 8:50 into the opening frame when he took a Bull defender one-on-one into the zone and snapped a wrist shot past netminder Anton Martinsson. Minutes later Martinsson’s fellow Swede Martin Mellberg beat him in a similar scenario, with a low and hard wrister. 2-0 remained the score until with under a second left in the first the Bulls buried a controversial goal courtesy of Liam Ferguson. The Brahmas bench and Corbin Kaczperski were sent into an uproar, believing that time had expired in the period but the goal stood.
The second period consisted of just one goal and it was York’s second of the evening. #20 was hit from the defensive zone on a streaking pass as he sprung out of the penalty box, then deking out the Bulls netminder and going backhand top shelf. York had been serving the minor penalty for Tomas Brejcha, who had been assessed a checking from behind minor and misconduct moments earlier. Prior to the conclusion of the second period the Bulls decided to spike some theatrics in the form of Joey Molinaro ramming Corbin Kaczperski, who had come out of his net to play the puck. Molinaro was assessed a charging major and a game misconduct, and additionally, Samu Suominen and Michael Forman begin a fight during the scrum as well, both receiving the fighting majors and misconducts.
When the third period began the Brahmas started cooking on their major power play advantage, getting goals from Peter Kessel and Tyler Drevitch. With a 5-1 Brahmas lead, the Bulls did bounce back, netting tallies from Nicholas Santoro and Phil Fromberger. However, the Brahmas would get the last one of the night, courtesy of Carson Kelley.
Despite the hit, Kaczperski earns his 23rd win of the season. He stopped 30 of 33 in the winning effort.
The team will now head back to North Richland Hills, but then depart for Odessa later in the week. Following the weekend series in the Permian Basin, the team will return home for the final weekend of the regular season against the Topeka RoadRunners. That weekend is Autism Awareness and Fan Appreciation Nights, two events you won’t want to miss. Tickets are available atop your screen under TICKETS, over the phone at 817-336-4ICE, and at the NYTEX Sports Centre Box Office.