Hunter Hein and his RoadRunners are moving onto the South division finals for the first time as they pulled off the Upset and eliminated the Texas Brahmas on the road in North Richland Hills. “This was a great series for our guys as they now know what they need to do going forward. We felt good about our match up and had a game plan that we executed well in games two and three. We took advantage of some over confidence as well as set up our player parameters for the tough travel between the two cities for the three game set.” states Coach Mike Beavis
The Runners played well with the exception of having some difficulty staying out of the penalty box at times. “We had some calls go against us in the series but we battled through it and stayed the course. Simply put, we went into game two that we would just not respect them and go right after them… It worked and we had the same philosophy going into game three. If the Brahmas wanted our respect then that was going to have to be earned not just given. In the end I believe that we earned the respect from a lot of folks but must continue to produce going forward.” added Beavis
South Division Semi-Finals, Game 1: TX RoadRunners 3 @ TX Brahmas 5 (TX Brahmas leads series, 1-0): Forward Benjamin Mondou potted a pair of goals to help lift the Brahmas past the RoadRunners in game one of the South Division Semi-Finals. Aleksandr Gamzatov scored early in the opening period to give the Brahmas a quick lead. Moundou scored his pair in the 2nd period but goals from Jaron Ketterman and Jack Herron would help keep the RoadRunners within reach. In the final frame, Gamzatov added another to add an insurance goal. Tyler Love brought the deficit within one for the RoadRunners but Gion Coray tallied the empty netter to seal it for the Brahmas. Dolan Gilbert grabbed the win with 22 saves. Hunter Hein was dealt the loss, making 36 saves on 40 shots.
South Division Semi-Finals, Game 2: TX Brahmas 2 @ TX RoadRunners 6 (Series Tied, 1-1): The RoadRunners had their offense rolling early, scoring three goals in the first 11 minutes of the contest which would be enough to lead them past the Brahmas and even the series score at one game a piece. Kyle Portlock, Jack Herron, and Eitan Geralnik were the early goal scorers for the RoadRunners. Keegan McArthur scored late in the period to reduce the deficit to two goals for the Brahmas. In the middle frame, Matej Palfy cut the lead in half with a powerplay goal. It was all RoadRunners in the 3rd period, as Portlock, Ethan Sodoma, and Jack Herron all had goals, Sodoma’s being an empty netter. Hunter Hein was impressive for the RoadRunners, keeping out 44 of 46 shots faced. Brandon Shantz and Dolan Gilbert both spent time in net for the Brahmas, Shantz stopping 2 of 5 shots faced and Gilbert making 18 saves on 20 shots.
RoadRunners beat Brahmas to advance to South Finals
South Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: TX RoadRunners 3 @ TX Brahmas 2 (RoadRunners win series, 2-1) – RoadRunners goalie Hunter Hein made 41 saves to lead his team to a 3-2 win in Game 3 and win the South Division Semi-Final Series against the Brahmas. The RoadRunners got off to a fast start as the jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a 1st period goal from Tim Marsico and a goal early in the 2nd period from Ethan Sodoma. The Brahmas fought back to tie the game at 2-2 as Michigan Imala scored a pair of goals in the 2nd and 3rd period. With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the RoadRunners netted the game-winner off the stick of Derek Boutin. Dolan Gilbert made 28 saves in the losing effort. The RoadRunners advance to the South Division Finals, where they will face the winner of the El Paso vs. Oklahoma City series.
The Runners will now await their South division finals opponent which will be determined tonight as El Paso and OKC face off in game three of their semi finals at 8pm in El Paso. Stay tuned to na3hl.com for all the latest news and schedules for the 2021-2022 playoffs and the “Road to the Fraser Cup”