NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – The Lone Star Brahmas worked hard in their first pre-season to earn a 3-0 win against the Wichita Falls Wildcats.
A handful of Brahma faithful made the trek to north Texas to watch Lone Star secure its first pre-season win.
Both teams used the first period to knock off the remaining off-season cobwebs as they took a scoreless game into the second period.
The Brahmas wasted no time in the second period as an awkward deflection off the side boards ricocheted passed Wildcats goaltender Julian Sime to make it 1-0. Defenseman Dalton Skelly (Keller, TX) was credited with the unassisted goal. Less than two minutes later, Alex Berardinelli (Greensburg, PA) deflected a cannon of a shot from Brandon Estes (Richardson, TX) in the back of the net to make it 2-0. Kyle Patava (Norwalk, IA) was credited with the secondary assist. Berardinelli had a nifty breakaway in the weening moments of the period trying to strike for his second goal of the night, but he drew a penalty shot attempt. The speedy 5-foot-10, 180-pound forward missed the mark high on the blocker side.
Lone Star tacked on the final blow midway through the third period when Peter Bates (Evanston, IL) won the battle behind the goal and craftily navigated his way to the front of the net. The 6-foot-0 centerman forced the puck passed the goal line with a quick wrist shot.
Goaltenders Gunner Rivers (5 saves, 31 minutes) and Conor O'Brien (11 saves, 29 minutes) accounted for the shutout on the road.
Following the game, the two teams practiced the new 3-on-3 overtime format for the 2015-16 NAHL season. Oskar Andren (Danderyd, Sweden) took a tape-to-tape dish at the Wildcats blue-line and worked his magic as he went top shelf to seal another goal in Friday night's contest.
The Brahmas and Wildcats will open play Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:30 and fans are encouraged to stay after the game to skate with the Brahmas.