by Clif Foster
Last night was a tough one at the rowdy NYTEX Sports Centre, home of the Lone Star Brahmas. The visiting Topeka Roadrunners brought the momentum of a win in Odessa while the Brahmas tried to come out and capitalize on the road weary red birds. The beginning of the game started very quickly. At the 5:57 mark of the game, the always eager to hit, #29 Cole Rose took a hit, and started his barrage of rights into the side of #2 Philip Middleton’s head. This gave Rose a hefty amount of time by himself in the box. BUT WAIT WE’RE NOT DONE! At the same time, #13 Brandon Vuic of the Roadrunners wasn’t happy with #4 Nick Blase. This brought them to fisticuffs, giving the Brahmas an additional power play. This would send Vuic into the locker room and to the bus for the rest of the night, as well as tomorrow night. Nick Blase received a 10-minute misconduct for his efforts and was soon released back into the wild.
About midway into the first period, after a flurry of big saves by Drew Volger, an errant centering pass came through Jacob Nehama’s crease and hit the skate of a Brahmas’ defender and slipped through the wickets starting this contest off in a fashion that is not consistent with the Brahmas form of hockey. Then as if the Hockey Gods wanted to continue to tease the Brahmas, #21 Matt Lison came into the Roadrunner’s zone with a few gorgeous moves, going top shelf, to put one past Volger. Thus, tying the game at one a piece. Then 13 seconds later, #7 Sam Rennaker, slipped a pass through the Lone Star’s defense to #20 Thomas Nechala, who is able to beat Nehama giving the Roadrunners the lead once again.
This brings us to the 3rd, and most often, final period of the game. Within the first 5 minutes, the ever present #29 Cole Rose, takes a pass, made a move and fired from the angle netting the tying goal. However, the Roadrunners were not to be denied. Then, the Roadrunners score on a rainbow shot that originated from the point, giving the Roadrunners the lead for the final time. The Brahmas faced the Roadrunner’s power play unit more often than not, and finally the Brahmas penalty kill couldn’t hold the fort and #16 Sly Sutter slipped the slippery shot past Jacob Nehama. This put the Roadrunners up by two. Brahmas pulled Nehama in an effort to pull within one, and the Roadrunners answered back with just 34 seconds left in regulation, with an empty netter. Brahmas lose in heartbreaking fashion, as the score does not reflect how the game really went. Watch the Brahmas try to even the series tomorrow night against the very same Topeka Roadrunners at the NYTEX Sports Centre and Cap night. Puck drops at 7:30 P.M.