ODESSA, TX – Alex Berardinelli finished what he started on Friday night, striking twice in the Brahmas 4-2 victory over the Odessa Jackalopes.
The Brahmas got off to a perfect start, scoring on their first two shots on goal of the evening. To open, Berardinelli buried a breakaway after receiving a hot pass mid-stride from Brandon Estes. A handful of minutes after Birdy’s 21st of the season, Martin Mellberg made it 2/2 when he beat Dean Shatzer. The goal came in an unlikely style after Mellberg was hooked down on the odd-man rush and swatted it home from his backside.
Period two flew by without any scoring but two recent returners to their respective teams did drop the mitts. Taylor Gatto took a hack at Joey Fallon after a whistle, to which Tomas Brejcha stepped in and handled business from there.
Dalton Skelly wasted little time in the third period, wristing one into the twine from the point 1:50 in. However, the Jacks did make it dicey because Gray Marr and Gatto were able to beat Conor O’Brien in the following minutes to cut the lead back to one.
After being unable to cash in on a Brandon Estes minor late in the game, the Jacks resorted to yanking their netminders in favor of the extra attacker. It ultimately backfired when Berardinelli stole the puck from Jacks blueliner Daniel Kiraly and hit the empty 4×6 with under a minute to go.
Conor O’Brien picked up his first win in over two months; making 28 saves in the effort. His record on the season now advances to 8-3-2.
Same time, same place tomorrow for these two teams and in case you can’t make it to Odessa, coverage begins on FastHockey at 7 PM!
State Farm Three Stars:
3) Brandon Estes (1 A, +4, 4 SOG)
2) Conor O'Brien (28 Saves, Win)
1) Alex Berardinelli (2 G, 1 A, +4, 6 SOG)