Lone Star Brahmas – Wenatchee Wild Continue NAHL Playoff Series
By Kirk Estes
Lone Star’s first round NAHL Playoff Series against Wenatchee has proven to be just as tight as their regular season series. The two teams met four times during the season with the Brahmas holding a 2 – 1 – 1 record and outscoring the Wild 15 – 13. Their playoff series kicked off Friday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre with the Brahmas taking game one with a 2 – 1 double overtime win. They followed that up with another 2 – 1 win in game two the following evening.
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Regular Season Head-to-Head Results
01/09/15 Wild 5 at Brahmas 6
01/10/15 Wild 3 at Brahmas 2 OT
03/20/15 Brahmas 3 at Wild 4
03/21/15 Brahmas 4 at Wild 1
Friday’s contest saw Wenatchee take a one goal lead into the first intermission on a goal from Brendan Harris. Ludvig Larsson scored in the second to pull the Brahmas even. Following the Larsson goal, the defense and goaltenders took control and the game went more than 51 minutes with no further scoring. At the 6:05 mark of the second overtime, Roman Uchyn sent the Brahmas’ faithful into a frenzy when he beat Zach Quinn with a backhander. Jake Kupsky faced 36 shots in picking up the win. On Saturday, things went a little easier for the Brahmas early on as Anton Santesson tallied a first period power play goal followed by a Sebastian Vidmar goal in the second. Wenatchee finally broke through early in the final frame on a power play of their own from Ryan Gotelaere, but could get no closer. Kupsky again got the start between the pipes and made 28 saves on the way to his second win in as many games.
Playoff Head-to-Head Results
04/10/15 Wild 1 at Brahmas 2 Double OT
04/11/15 Wild 1 at Brahmas 2
Team Records In March
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Special Teams
Overall the Brahmas finished the regular season with the leagues’ 7th best power play unit at 19.6% and the 2nd best penalty kill at 88.0%. Wenatchee was 14th on the power play at 15.1% and 11th in the NAHL at 83.4% on the penalty kill.
When the two teams have faced off against each other this season, Lone Star is only 2 – 28 on the power play or 7.1% while Wenatchee has double their output at 14.8% on 4 goals in 27 opportunities. Neither team has logged a shorthanded goal against the other.
Head-to-Head Goaltending Comparison
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Who is Hot Head-to-Head
| Brahmas |
| G | A | PTS | |
| Sebastian Vidmar | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Oskar Andren | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| Ludvig Larsson | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| Anton Santesson | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 2 Tied | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Wild
| G | A | PTS | |
| David Powlowski | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Dakota Raabe | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Tyler Rockwell | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Brendan Harris | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 2 Tied | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Inside the Game
With a two games to none lead in the series, the Brahmas have to win one of the next three games to advance to the NAHL South Division Finals. Wenatchee on the other hand is in a do or die situation and must will all three to move on.
Kyle Stephan is ranked second in the post season in minor penalties with five. Chris Jones is leading in shots on goal with 23 in four games.
Jake Kupsky is third in among goalies in both goals against average and save percentage with a 0.82 GAA and a .969 SV%.
August Von Ungern-Sternberg is tied for the lead in post season game winning goals.
Friday will be Wenatchee’s first opportunity to host a home playoff game following four straight on the road.
There are a combined 15 players in the series who have made an NCAA D-I or D-III commitment. From the Brahmas Alex Carle, Pat Egan, Hayden Hanson, Jake Kupsky, Ludvig Larsson, Alexey Solovyev, AJ Vanderbeck and Sebastian Vidmar. From the Wild Jake Ahlgren, Dan Bailey, Ivan Bondarenko, Troy Conzo, Brendan Harris, Donovan Ott and August Von Ungern-Sternberg.
The winner of this series will face the Topeka Roadrunners in the NAHL South Division Finals. Topeka defeated Wichita Falls 3 – 1 in their best of five game series.