Hockey / RoadRunners slip by Killer Bees 3-1 in Game 1

RoadRunners slip by Killer Bees 3-1 in Game 1

Date:  Source: NAHL: RGV Killer Bees
TOPEKA, Kan. – The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees got their first taste of NAHL playoff hockey Friday, but suffered a 3-1 loss to the Topeka RoadRunners in Game 1 of their NAHL South Division semifinal series at the Kansas ExpoCentre in Topeka, Kan.
 
The Killer Bees had the first quality scoring chance Friday when they turned a bad line change into a late-developing 2-on-1 seven minutes into the contest, but Topeka goalie P.J. Bridges made a slick one-on-one save to keep the game scoreless.
 
The RoadRunners went on to score the first goal of the series roughly 10 minutes later with 2:58remaining in the first period when Jasen Fernsler found a loose puck in front of the net and buried it on a 5-hole shot. Willie Brown and Daniel Rzavsky assisted on the series-opening goal.
 
The RoadRunners built on their lead late in the second period when Jake Kamrass punched in another loose puck in front of the Rio Grande Valley cage. Kamrass’ goal, which was assisted by Tyler Poulsen and Ryan Polin, came during a power play with 3:56 remaining before the second intermission.
 
Trailing 2-0, the Killer Bees had two power plays early in the third period, which yielded a few good scoring chances but no goals.
 
Despite their two missed power play chances, the Killer Bees refused to be denied in the third period. They cut the deficit in half with 9:16 remaining in regulation when Marcus Ericsson (Lulea, Sweden) notched his first goal of the playoffs during a 4-on-3 rush into the offensive zone. Bridges made the first save with his right pad, but allowed a juicy rebound, which Ericsson slammed into the twine. Jared Dedenbach (Warren, Mich.) and Evan Schmidbauer (Surrey, British Columbia) assisted on Ericsson’s goal.
 
The Bees had the momentum on their side after Ericsson’s goal, but the RoadRunners responded when Kamrass scored his second goal of the contest with 2:32 remaining. Poulsen set up Kamrass on a long tape-to-tape pass, which he received at the RGV blue line before scoring from the high slot. Yu Hikosaka earned the secondary assist.
 
Bridges made 22 saves on 23 shots, earning his first win of the 2014 NAHL playoffs. Nick Schmit(Fargo, N.D.) made 22 saves on 25 shots for the Bees.
 
Kamrass led Topeka with two goals while Poulsen tallied two assists. Topeka scored one power-play goal on three tries while Rio Grande Valley went 0-for-2 on its man-advantages.
 
Game 2 of the NAHL South Division semifinals between the RoadRunners and Killer Bees is Saturday. Faceoff is set for 7:15 p.m. at the Kansas ExpoCentre in Topeka, Kan. Fans can watch the game live for a small fee by logging on to www.FASTHockey.com.
 
Game 3 of the divisional semifinal series between the Bees and RoadRunners will be played at the State Farm Arena on Wednesday, April 9. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tickets can be purchased atwww.ticketmaster.com or the State Farm Arena Box Office. For more information, contact the Killer Bees at (956) 843-5651 or email info@killerbeeshockey.com.