News
Date: Mar 01, 2010
Rising to the occasion
The Wildcats pulled off a repeat performance of Mike Flanagan's debut weekend as the Wildcats' interim head coach, pulling off their second sweep of the Texas Tornado. Friday night's game was a close affair, with the Wildcasts holding on for the 3-2 victory, while Saturday saw an explosion of offense for a 9-4 victory.
On Friday, the second period was key, as the Wildcats scored three goals in a row on their way to a 3-2 win. While Texas got on the board with 13 seconds left in the first on a Rock Einersen breakaway, the Wildcats would even things up only 48 seconds into the second, as Brian Sheehan put the puck past Tornado goalie Dan Sullivan, tying things at 1. Six minutes later, Bryan Kozlowski's centering pass to Brandon Stroud gave the Wildcats a 2-1 lead. Chris Leone would add a goal on a shot from the high slot for a 3-1 lead. Texas would fight back to within a goal on a J.D. Howard tally with under five minutes left in the second, but the teams were both shut down through the final period despite combining for 23 shots on goal. P.J. Musico made 31 saves in the victory.
Saturday night bore witness to a burst of Wildcats' goal scoring in a 9-4 victory. The 9 goals were the most the Wildcats' had scored at home since they beat Texarkana 9-0 on March 26, 2005. It took only 1:32 of playing time before Tyler Lundey scored to give the Wildcats an early lead, aided by Ryan Frost and Brian Sheehan. Five minutes later, it was Frost's turn to score, this time on the power play from Lundey and Sheehan. The trio would strike again at the 9:44 mark, this time at even strength, for a 3-0 lead, ending Dan Sullivan's night. New Tornado netminder Fred Edwards would not fare much better as J.T. Osborn picked up a power play goal with 1:22 to go and the Wildcats led 4-0 at the first intermission.
Texas came out with guns blazing in the second period, getting on the board 29 seconds into the period, but the Wildcats kept the heat on, putting up four more goals. Brian Sheehan joined linemates Frost and Lundey, scoring a goal with their assists. Chris Leone picked one up for his second in as many nights. And J.T. Osborn would pick up the hat trick, adding two power play goals at the 4:35 and 11:05 marks. Daniel Gentzler assisted on each.
The third period ended up delayed after the Zamboni ended up with a t-shirt lodged inside it, rendering it inoperable. With rough ice, the Tornado would score three in the first eight minutes before Andy Cramer would add the final nail to the coffin at the 13:25 mark. P.J. Musico stopped 36 of 40 shots in the victory, while Brian Sheehan, Daniel Gentzler, Ryan Frost, and Tyler Lundey each had four points. Osborn's hat trick was the 23rd in team history, and the third this season.
The Wildcats hit the road this weekend, playing two games in Wenatchee, WA on Saturday and Sunday. The games can be seen on the B2 Networks.
