The Amarillo Bulls took on the Lone Star Brahmas on Jan 31 and Feb 1, taking their 32-12 record into the Amarillo Civic Center. Over the weekend, they split with the Lone Star Brahmas, winning on Jan. 31 3-1, while the Brahmas exacted revenge on Feb. 1, winning 2-0.
The first 20 minutes marked a dominance of the game by the Bulls that took a total of 12 shots while the Brahmas took only 4, most of which were near the net. At minute 15:14 Brady Ferguson took the puck unassisted and in between two defenders found an opening and scored at the lower left side of the net. With 1:39 left on the clock, Bulls player Timmy Moore is placed in the penalty box for boarding. The Brahmas attempt to tie the game with less than a minute to go, coming up only with nearly misses at the net. At the end of the first period, Amarillo led the Brahmas, 1-0.
With a different momentum than the first period, the Brahmas came into the second period wanting to win. There was a lot of physical contact between the players. A total of six penalties were called and three fights broke out. At the 11th minute, with a scramble in the net, Hunter Stanley of the Brahmas scored with an assist from Anthony Mousseau. A couple of minutes later, at the 17th, Roman Ammirato and Mike Davis go 2 on 1 against the Brahmas defense. Mike Davis took advantage the defender’s position and passed the puck to Roman Ammirato. Ammirato scores on the ensuing play, restoring the lead for the Amarillo Bulls.
The final period had the Brahmas hungry for the tie the game as they outshot the Bulls 8-5. At the last minute of the game, the Brahmas pulled their goalie wanting to head for overtime. That was an unsuccessful strategy that the Bulls took advantage of. With seconds remaining on the clock, Mike Davis scored on an open goal with assists by Brady Ferguson and Joe Grabowski.
“A good game played. The team does a great job in most of the faceoffs. They are really good at keeping their heads in the game and staying focus.” Amarillo Bulls Head Coach Dennis Williams said of the Jan. 31 game.
On Feb. 1, the Brahmas scored quickly in the first period by Jan Hudecek, assisted by Todd Koritzinski. Despite being behind, the Bulls outshot the Brahmas 12-10. That was not enough, however, as defenseman Johan Steen scored with assists by Gordie Helmuth and Hunter Stanley as the Brahmas took a 2-0 lead at the end the first period.
The second period, Bulls had a better performance as they sought to even the contest. The Bulls out shot the Brahmas 12-4, but were hampered by great saves by Brahma keeper TJ Black. The visiting Brahmas didn’t want to risk being outplayed defensively by the Bulls for the rest of the game, trying to secure their lead at 2-0.
In the final period of the game, the Bulls kept pushing forward, trying to score. Amarillo outshot the Brahmas yet again 10-5, but TJ Black maintained his stout defense.
Although Amarillo had 34 shots on goal, Black saved every shot. This made him the star of the match. In power plays, Amarillo went 0-5 as the Brahmas went 0-3.
Amarillo Bulls will be playing again on Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, as they will host the Lone Star Brahmas again, at the Amarillo Civic Center at 7 p.m.
