Brahmas struggle in overtime loss

Amarillo Gorillas get their first victory of the season

The Amarillo Gorillas earned their first victory of the season with a 2-1 overtime win against the Texas Brahmas. It was the second meeting of the two teams in as many weeks and the Brahmas once again struggled at Cal Farley Coliseum..

The Gorillas came out strong and played aggressively, outshooting the Brahmas 13-6 in the fast-paced first period but both teams were held scoreless due to excellent play by netminders Brett Jaeger for Texas and Ryan Scott for Amarillo.

The defensive play picked up for both sides in the second period. There was a lot of even- strength play in the first two periods with few penalties called on either team. Gorillas coach Tom Coolen rotated his lines often, keeping his offense fresh but despite two early powerplays and a 38-second two-man advantage, the Gorillas couldn't get past Jaeger although they outshot the Brahmas again, this time 9-6. The period ended with a 0-0 tie; the first time this season the Gorillas held an opponent scoreless through two periods.

Things livened up in the final period and although the Gorillas outshot the Brahmas 19-10, the bulls were aggressive and some very physical play ensued.

Four minutes in, Amarillo's Jake Morissette set up Jason Weitzel for a pair of chances at the top of the crease and both were turned aside by Jaeger. Moments later, the first goal of the game came when newly signed forward Jonathan Ornelas took a rebound and whipped a wrist shot past Jaeger from the left faceoff circle, scoring his first goal of the season. Ornelas had just joined the team in the morning after a 19-hour drive from West Virginia.

Seven minutes later, following a double-minor on Justin Kinnunen, Brahmas forward Matt Quinn took a pass from Greg McConnell at center and raced in on Ryan Scott, forcing the puck underneath his blocker arm to tie the game with a short-handed goal at the 11:37 mark.

Scott was solid for the remainder of the period which included him defending against a five-on-three Brahmas powerplay in the last four minutes. Scott's play helped send the game into overtime.

In the extra session, the Gorillas took advantage of a four-on-three powerplay opportunity when Joe Guenther made a backhand pass to Sam Ftorek in the high slot. Cautiously, Ftorek skated in and ripped a slapshot over Jaeger's shoulder and into the net to give the Gorillas' their first win of the season.

The Gorillas' defense was superb and their penalty kill was the best of the young season, forcing the Brahmas to go 0 for 5 on powerplay opportunities.

Brett Jaeger finished the night with 40 saves and Ryan Scott made 23 saves to earn his second win as a professional and his first in a Gorillas uniform.

The victory moves Amarillo to a 1-5-0 record and into a tie for third in the Southwest Division standings. The Brahmas record is now 3-1-1. They head for the Santa Ana Center to play the New Mexico Scorpions tomorrow.

You can view the box score here

Photo Credit: Matt Strasen, Amarillo Globe-News