Orgel Scores Twice, but Cats Fall in Exhibition

Tuesday, 9.6.2016 / 9:24 pm CT

By Alex von Keudell

Another pre-season defeat was in order for the Wildcats on Tuesday night, as the Cats conceded a two-goal lead to drop their final exhibition game, 4-2 at NYTEX Sports Centre.

Jumping out to a quick start and then falling behind has haunted the Wildcats twice in this pre-season. Wichita Falls dominated most of the play at the start of the game. Defenseman Ryan Orgel ripped a hard wrist shot from the goal line which bounced off of Alec Calvaruso’s pad and into the net to give the Cats the lead nearly halfway through the opening period.

Just minutes later, Orgel ripped another hard shot from the right circle on a 3-on-1 rush, beating Calvaruso through the legs for a second time. Nick Nast made several challenging saves to keep the Cats in front, but their 2-0 lead did not last long. Veteran Brahma David Marabella slammed home a loose puck which bounced his way from the left side of the net to cut the Cats’ lead in half.

Starting at the second period, the Brahmas played the rest of the game in the driver’s seat. In the waning seconds of a Lone Star power play, Peter Kessel gave a crisp pass across the ice to Jordan Wishman, who wristed home the game-tying goal. In the middle of the frame, Nast was replaced by Evan Moyse while Calvaruso was replaced by Austin Smith.

In the final period, Moyse was the much busier of the two goalies, facing a total of 17 shots. He turned aside 15, but was beaten by both Marabella and Levi Wunder. Marabella sniped a nearly unstoppable shot into the top corner and over Moyse’s glove, while Wunder was fed a backdoor pass from Simon Loof to tap in. Despite a late and valiant surge led by Ilya Skvortsov, the Cats failed to chip away at the deficit and dropped the exhibition game 4-2.

Nast was 14 of 16 for the Cats while Moyse went 15 of 17. As for the Brahmas, Calvaruso stopped 11 of 13 while Smith was a perfect 8-for-8. The Wildcats will be kicking off their home opener this Friday, September 9th against the Amarillo Bulls at 7:05 pm at Kay Yeager Coliseum. Tickets to the game can be purchased by contacting the Wildcats Box Office, while season tickets are now available for pick-up from the Wildcats Office.