HIDALGO, Texas – The final regular season contest between the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees and the Amarillo Bulls came down to the wire. In the end, the Bulls were a tad better and secured a 3-1 win at the Amarillo Civic Center.

As they did in the first game of this weekend’s series, the Bees scored first Saturday night, earning a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal by Tyler Bruneteau (Omaha, Neb.) with 8:33 left in the second period.

Bruneteau’s goal, his 11th of the season, was a beauty as he lofted the puck high into the twine from the slot on a centering feed from Brenden Dunning (Buffalo, N.Y.), who entered the zone down the left wing. Defenseman Matt McArdle (Annapolis, Md.) also assisted on the goal, which began with a picture perfect breakout from behind the Bees’ net.

Five minutes later the Bulls scored a power-play goal of their own to tie up the contest 1-1 late in the second period. Kyle Gattelaro scored the goal after receiving a long pass from Brady Ferguson. Collin Delia also picked up an assist.

In a back-and-forth third period, it was the Bulls who scored the go-ahead goal near the midpoint of the frame when Roman Ammirato knocked in a loose puck from the near side after Mike Davis tried to wrap the puck around the cage. Brendan McGuire earned the second assist.

With the result of the game still in doubt, Ferguson ended the Bees’ chances of scoring a game-tying goal when he tacked on an empty-netter with 26 seconds remaining in regulation. Davis assisted.

Delia made 21 saves on 22 shots for Amarillo while Rio Grande Valley’s Olli Kalkaja (Oulu, Finland) stopped 29 of the 31 shots he faced.

Each team scored one power-play goal. The Bees went 1-for-3 on their man-advantages while the Bulls went 1-for-2. Ferguson and Davis led all players with two points apiece.

The Killer Bees’ (19-12-7) 5-game road trip continues next Friday and Saturday (Jan. 17 & 18) with a 2-game set in North Richland Hills against the Lone Star Brahmas. Both games are scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at the NYTEX Sports Center. For a small fee, fans can watch both games live by logging on to www.FASTHockey.com.