Gorillas head coach Brian Pellerin looks on as the Brahmas spoil his home coaching debutBrahmas win 4-3 in overtime!
Mark Carragher scores two but the bulls provide the seventh loss in a row for the Gorillas
The Texas Brahmas came back from a 2-0 deficit after two periods to score three goals in the third and win the game in overtime at the Amarillo Civic Center tonight. The win marked the Gorillas' seventh loss in a row and Brian Pellerin's first home loss as head coach.
The teams had split wins in their first two meetings this season. The Brahmas won a tough 4-3 game on October 24th and the Gorillas beat them 2-1 in overtime on October 30th.
The Cal Farley Coliseum was filled with the largest crowd of the season with 2,817 fans in attendance thanks to a "Buddy Night" promotion that gave a free ticket for each purchased.
Former Brahma Mark Carragher scored the only goal of the first period, tipping a shot from defenseman Sam Ftorek past his former teammate David Cacciola at the 11:51 mark for the 1-0 lead. John Snowden was credited with the assist. The Brahmas held off the scoreboard in the first, after hitting the post three times and being stopped 13 times by Amarillo goaltender Mike Gorman in the first 20 minutes.
Both teams had several scoring opportunities in the second period but were held off by strong performances in the net by David Cacciola and Mike Gorman. Once again, the only score of the period came from Mark Carragher at the 17:31 mark, this time on the assist from Austin Sutter.
Carragher hadn't scored a goal in 22 games played with the Brahmas this season. His only two-goal performance was in his rookie year, last season against the Wichita Thunder.
Shots were 12-9 in the second period in favor of Amarillo. Shots were even at 22 between the two teams after 40 minutes.
The Gorillas controlled the action in the first five minutes of the third period with Cacciola making five saves to hold off the Amarillo attack. The Brahmas managed to get on the board at the 6:28 mark when Travis Banga and Scott Sheppard set up Justin Kinnunen who took it in the high slot and rifled a wrist shot past Mike Gorman to make it a 2-1 contest.
Less than three minutes later, Travis Banga received a pass from defenseman Nathan Saunders and took a shot from the point that deflected off of the skate of Jason Deitsch. Deitsch took possession and scored at the 9:26 mark to tie it up at two. It was an impressive comeback for the Brahmas, scoring two goals on three shots after having a tough time in the first period.
The action remained fast-paced and physical as both teams fought for the win. The Brahmas were poised for victory after Kevin McLeod scored an unassisted goal on an opportunity shot in front of the crease. The puck wobbled under Gorman’s blocker and into the back of the net, giving the Brahmas their first lead of the game at 3-2 with 1:29 left to play. It looked like the goal might get called back after Amarillo argued that the puck was offside but after consulting with his linemen, Referee Mark Lemelin ruled it good.
Mike Gorman left the ice in favor of an extra attacker with a minute left in the period resulting in nothing short of a miracle goal by Michael Handza with seven seconds left in the game to send it into overtime. After the Gorillas applied pressure in the Brahmas' zone, Sam Ftorek smacked a bouncing puck towards the front of the Brahmas’ net. With just 7.9 seconds remaining in the third, Mike Handza batted the puck out of mid-air and behind Cacciola, tying the game and ultimately sending the game into overtime. The shot count was 15-11 in favor of Amarillo in the third.
A Too Many Men Bench Minor provided a powerplay opportunity for the Brahmas at the 2:57 mark in the overtime period which proved fatal for the Gorillas. Scott Sheppard scored his 23rd goal of the season to win the game just nine seconds into the man-advantage with the assist coming from Jason Deitsch and Jordan Cameron.
The Brahmas improved to 25-10-4 with 54 points, now six points ahead of the Laredo Bucks in the Southeast Division. David Cacciola earned the win, despite a rough night, stopping 35 of 38 shots. His record improved to 7-5-0-1.
The Brahmas were assessed 16 minutes on 8 penalties. Amarillo was assessed 20 minutes on 10 infractions. The Brahmas went 1 for 8 on the powerplay. Amarillo went 0 for 6.
Travis Banga received the third star for his two assists. Scott Sheppard was given the second star for his game-winning goal and an assist and Amarillo's Mark Carragher was given the first star for his two goals on two shots tonight.
You can view the box score here
The two teams will go at it again tomorrow night at the Amarillo Civic Center with the opening face-off scheduled for 7:05 PM. You can watch it on Nifty-TV.
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