It was expected that the Brahmas would come out of the gates flying in front of an ecstatic home crowd at Nytex Sports Centre on Saturday night after dropping a disappointing overtime defeat from the previous night. Surprisingly, they struggled immensely in the first period.

Rourke Russell scored his second goal in as many games off a beautiful one-time shot from the point. By the end of the first period, the Wildcats had outshot the Brahmas 9-1.

They continued their domination in period two and conceded only eight Lone Star shots. Both penalty killing units were spectacular. Goaltenders Justin Kapelmaster and Corbin Kaczperski stood tall for their respective teams. The middle frame would end with the same score, 1-0 in favor of the Wildcats.

In the third period, however, the Brahmas turned the momentum in their favor. Despite being shorthanded, Lone Star’s Alex Berardinelli turned on the jets after stealing the puck away in the neutral zone. He deked out Kapelmaster and buried the puck to tie the game at 1, sending the Nytex Sports Centre into a frenzy.

The Brahmas rode the adrenaline rush for the remainder of the third period, holding the Cats to just three shots in the final frame. For the second consecutive game, overtime hockey was underway.

In the 3-on-3 period, Berardinelli once again put his explosive speed on display, blowing past the all three Wildcats on the ice and firing the puck past Kapelmaster and into the back of the net. The Brahmas would earn a 2-1 overtime win, and avoid being swept at home for the first time since January of 2014.

Corbin Kaczperski backstopped the Brahmas in the win, earning 26 saves, while Kapelmaster halted 15 of the 17 shots he faced in the overtime loss.

The Cats play again on Friday, October 30 at the KYC against the Corpus Christi IceRays.

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