WICHITA FALLS, TX – After beating the Wildcats 8-2 in game one of the three game series, Lone Star needed overtime to take care of business on the road.
At the end of one period, we saw a scoreless game between two of the best teams in the NAHL. Brahmas goaltender Corbin Kaczperski made a couple of impressive saves, but the big news came on the opposite side of the ice.
Wildcat goalie Justin Kapelmaster went behind his net to play the puck, and Carson Kelley came crashing in on the play with a Wildcat defender. Kapelmaster toppled backwards and fell hard against the ice surface. After taking a few moments with the trainer, Kapelmaster remained in the game and stopped all nine shots he faced.
In the second period, however, Kapelmaster suffered another collision. Though not as severe as the one in the first period, he took himself out of the game and Julian Sime played the final 30 minutes of regulation. The Florida native left the game with a 1-0 lead thanks to leading scorer Austin Albrecht.
At this point, Kapelmaster’s status for Saturday night’s contest remains unknown.
With the 18-year-old Sime in net, the Brahmas found some success. With seconds to play in the second period, Alex Berardinelli won a board battle behind the net and threw a backdoor pass to the slot. Martin Mellberg unloaded a shot and torched the back of the net over Sime’s glove side. The goal with nine seconds left gave the Brahmas momentum moving into the third period.
Bud Madej scored an impressive power play goal in the high slot to take the lead less than four minutes into the final period, but Aleksi Poikola answered back at the midway point of the frame.
In overtime, both teams traded chances, but the seventh shot was the difference. Peter Kessel dropped back in his defensive side to field the puck and set up Cam Clarke on the right wing boards. The Ferris State commit skated to the top of the face-off circle and fired the puck over the glove side, winning the game 3-2.
Kaczperski secured his eight win of the season, stopping 23 of 25 shots, while Julian Sime lost his second straight game this weekend warding off 13 of the 16 shots he faced.
The Brahmas take on the Wildcats Saturday night with a chance to sweep the ‘Cats on the road before taking a brief holiday break.
This press release is brought to you by Primrose School.