NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – Mark your calendars, the Brahmas are headed for some playoff hockey.
Saturday’s first period whizzed by without any scoring but Johan Lundgren got the red light to flicker just five minutes into the second. Cam Clarke displayed formidable patience and eventually slid the puck to the slot where the Swede tallied his 14th of the season.
Four minutes later the Brahmas struck again, however this time there was plenty of controversy. While in the offensive zone, Topeka netminder Tyler Johnson’s net came off its pegs but as it was drifting back towards the boards, Peter Kessel slid one home from the slot area. The RoadRunners bench erupted and surely thought the goal would be disallowed. After a brief officiating conversation, the goal was deemed a good one and the Brahmas took a 2-0 lead into the third.
In the third there would be just one goal and it was Alex Berardinelli on a short-handed breakaway, again. Tyler Drevitch stripped a RoadRunner of the puck in his defensive zone and as it sprung out to center, Berardinelli raced out to beat his own teammate there. Harassed the length of the ice, a penalty shot would have ensued but the Pennsylvania native didn’t need it, going backhand-forehand on Johnson.
Corbin Kaczperski backstopped the team to the 3-0 victory, making 15 saves en route to his third shutout of the season.
With the win, the team has now clinched a birth in the 2016 North American Hockey League playoffs. They’ll use next weekend to rest and recover with no games on the schedule, then will return to NYTEX for a weekend set with the Odessa Jackalopes on March 11th and 12th.
Tickets for those games are available over the phone at 817-336-4ICE, atop your screen under the TICKETS tab, and at the NYTEX Sports Centre box office!