Mudbugs, Titans, Wildcats all win on Thursday
Gordie Helmuth had three points in a 4-2 win on Thursday night.
Shreveport 4 @ Amarillo 2 - The visiting Shreveport Mudbugs scored two goals in the first 10:08 of the opening period and beat the Bulls in a tight game 4-2. Eric Cooley continues to play well for the Bulls as he accounted for both goals, while George Mika chipped in two assists. Cam Cook scored twice for Shreveport in the win. Shreveport jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a great individual effort by Cam Cook who fired a shot past the short side of Brandon Bussi. Eight minutes later, the Mudbugs made it 2-0 on Jackson’s Hartje’s eight goal of the season with a great shot that beat the goaltender. Special teams got the Bulls on the board early in the second period as Eric Cooley tapped home a rebound in front of the net on a shot from the point off the stick of Brey Crowder at the 2:08 mark on the power play. Later in the 3rd period, Shreveport added its third goal as Cam Cook scored his second of the game at the end of a power play. In the final minute, the Bulls penalty killing was able to nab the second goal as Eric Cooley scored his second of the game on a feed from Matt Nehls and George Mika. In the final minute of play, the Bulls pulled their goaltender looking to get the equalizer and had an offensive zone face-off but were unable to keep the puck inside the blue line. Steven Mather scored into an empty net to round out the scoring for the visitors. Dylan Lubbesmeyer made 27 saves in the win, while Bussi stopped 39 shots in the loss. Boxscore
Johnstown 2 @ New Jersey 4 - The New Jersey Titans edged the Johnstown Tomahawks 4-2 at the Middletown Sports Complex Thursday night. The Titans connected for the game's first goal seven minutes into the first period when Kyler Head lifted the puck behind Tomahawks netminder Vinnie Purpura. In the second period, the Titans gained the two-goal advantage after Todd Goehring fired home a goal at 1:57 of the frame. Gordie Helmuth assisted on the goal. After Tomahawks forward Filips Buncis was penalized for a high-sticking major, the Titans increased their lead to 3-0. Greg Malafronte scored the lone goal on the five-minute power play at 13:13 of the second period. Helmuth picked up the helper on the goal. Johnstown would try to mount a late-period comeback before the third period when Adam Pilewicz's wrist shot from the blueline found its way behind Titans goaltender Ryan Ferland. For Pilewicz, the goal was his fourth of the campaign and was assisted by Mitchell Hale. The Tomahawks cut the deficit to 3-2 with less than 2 minutes remaining when Donovan Ott scored a power play goal assisted by Hayden Rowan. The goal was Ott's 26th of the season. New Jersey regained the two-goal advantage early in the third period. Dylan Healy deflected a shot from Zach Parrott to move the score to 4-2 Titans. Purpura stopped 25 of 29 New Jersey shots on goal to move his record to 10-3-1 on the season. Ferland halted 24 of 26 Tomahawks shots in the victory. Boxscore
Corpus Christi 2 @ Wichita Falls 3 (SO) - The Corpus Christi IceRays extended their point streak to 12 games but fell 3-2 in the fifth round of a shootout loss to the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thursday night from the Kay Yeager Coliseum. The Wildcats struck first at 7:01 of the 1st period when defenseman Jonathan Waring took a shot from the right point and pinballed by the netminder to jump out to a 1-0 lead. The IceRays found their answer at 10:53 when forward Brad Power’s shot from the high slot bounced through the legs of the Wildcats goaltender to tie the game, 1-1. The home side scored again to regain the lead, 2-1, at 15:06 off a faceoff draw thanks to a tap-in by forward Matt Hanewall. After a scoreless second period, the IceRays found the game-tying goal they were looking for on the penalty kill. At 12:09, IceRays defenseman ladled a puck into the neutral zone, and after a footrace to the puck in the offensive end, IceRays forward Brendan Miller took the puck from a sprawling netminder and slid it into the open net for his first shorthanded goal of the season and tied the game, 2-2. That goal sent the game into overtime and then a shootout. After both teams went scoreless through four rounds, Wildcats forward Jeff Skinner scored the game-winner in the fifth round to take the 3-2 win over the IceRays. Wildcats goaltender Evan Moyse earned the win, halting 41 of 43 shots, while IceRays netminder Tomáš Vomácka was saddled with the shootout loss, stopping 31 of 34 shots. Boxscore
