Friday night’s match was a game where the Tornado special teams, a focal point of team improvement, stole the show, as the team was able to net three power play goals and a shorthanded goal as well.
The game featured a lot of alternating goals from the two teams, making it tough for the Tornado to pull away. But AJ Mueller finally broke the trend by scoring the fourth Tornado goal of the night to give the team a 4-2 lead before letting the visiting Wildcats tie the score up again. The Wildcats were able to close the gap, scoring a goal to bring the score to 4-3, but an empty net goal from Jack Prince closed the game out at 5-3. The goal was Prince’s second of the night.
Saturday night’s game was an even closer match between to instate rivals.
The main theme of the first period was aggression, as the first frame featured as many fights as it did goals. The Tornado took a 1-0 lead, but in the same fashion as last night, the Wildcats answered quick with a goal less than a minute later to bring the score to 1-1. After the two goals, the extracurricular excitement began as Brendan Bandyk and Scott Deur both put on shows with their fists. With only seven seconds of gameplay in between each event, the two players each squared up with a rival Wildcat player to settle their differences to set the tone for the rest of the game.
In the second period the Wildcats took a lead for the first time during the series with a goal to bring the score to 2-1. The period looked as if it would come to an end with the Wildcats holding the lead, but with just 33 seconds remaining on the clock, Jack Prince netted a goal through traffic to tie the score up at 2-2 going into the intermission.
Jack Prince must have been in the zone during the game, because at just the 0:42 mark of the third period he scored his second goal of the night. The goal retook the lead for the Tornado, but only temporarily. Again with quick-answer goals being the theme of the series, the Wildcats tied the game up at 3-3 just over a minute later. Then after a Tornado penalty, the Wildcats were able to retake the lead on a powerplay goal just minutes later.
With the score at 4-3 in favor of the visiting Wildcats, time was running out on the hopes of a win. But with just 2:23 left, Rock Einersen put a shot past the Wildcat goalie to tie the game up at 4-4. The final minutes of regulation went without scoring to force an overtime period. But the extra five minutes proved nothing as a shootout was needed to determine a victor.
The shootout didn't last nearly as long as the previous shootouts the Tornado have engaged in, as only three Tornado shooters were needed. Tyler Underhill, serving as the second Tornado shooter, was the first to beat the goaltender in the shootout, and Jack Prince followed with a goal to put the shootout out of reach. New Tornado goaltender Fred Edwards stopped all four shots he faced. Edwards also saved 32 of 36 shots in his Tornado debut.
The wins give the Tornado a 10-10-2 record for a total of 22 points. They are now just two points behind the Springfield Jr. Blues for third place in the South Division.
The two teams will have a rematch next weekend as the Tornado will visit Wichita Falls for a two game set with the Wildcats. The games are on Friday and Saturday, both at 7:05 pm.
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The Texas Tornado is proud to announce Tony Curtale has been named Team President. Curtale, who coached the Tornado from their inaugural season in 1999-00 through the 2006-07 season, will also be returning behind the bench for his ninth year as coach of the three-time National Champions.