NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – To say the Lone Star Brahmas put on a show for their fans at NYTEX Sports Centre at the first home game of the season would be an understatement.
The party started early when Joey Fallon found the back of the cage for the Brahmas not even two minutes into the first period. Amarillo had an answer just a few minutes later as Keenan Sabatini beat Conor O’Brien from the right point to knot things up at 1. As the later stages of the first period closed in, Peter Bates wasn’t feeling a tie heading back down the tunnel, so he decided to beat Anton Martinsson to make things 2-1 to end the period.
The only scoring in the second came when Peter Kessel buried a top shelf wrister from the left side of the slot to advance the lead to two.
If you’re thinking “what kind of party is a 3-1 lead after two,” the Brahmas rewarded those who attended with a dazzling third. Just 46 seconds after the puck dropped Johan Lundgren of the Bulls added some theatrics making the game a one-score contest yet again. That was when Conor O’Brien shut the door and said the Bulls scoring was capped.
Martin Mellberg was the first Brahmas goal scorer of the third as he put home a tally with assists from Cam Clarke and Oskar Andren. Five minutes later it was Cody Wickline who tipped a Brandon Estes shot beyond Martinsson to make things 5-2. Just a few moments after that Martin Mellberg said, “I’ll have another”, this one coming on the power play. The PP wasn’t done yet though as a minute after the Bulls took a frustration penalty, Alex Berardinelli tipped big again with Cam Clarke and Peter Bates both adding up their points as helpers.
Conor O’Brien finished with 21 saves in his return to the Brahmas crease and picked up the victory.
The two teams will battle again tomorrow night at NYTEX with puck drop scheduled for 7:35. Tickets are still available by clicking here, calling 817-336-4ICE or coming to the box office tomorrow!