Caps Win Overtime Thriller 4-3
Sixty minutes was not enough to settle things at Landon Arena today. It took an extra frame and sudden death for Topeka to push across the game-winner but it was all worth it as they took the first of two against the Junior Stars 4-3.
A quiet first quarter ended with a flurry starting with Tommy Stock’s power play goal that put the Stars ahead 1-0. With just over a minute left, Hardijis Kupaks evened things up with a netter assisted by Nick Rizzo at 18:54. Still tied at one in the second, Georgy Ostapchuck fired in an unassisted shorthanded goal at 1:15 to make it 2-1 Caps. At 15:59, Maxim Ledyankin split the pipes for Dallas and tied it back up going into the third.
Midway through the third, Topeka regained the lead thanks to Joe Stonebrunner’s goal at 11:27 (assisted by Nick Manney). Ostapchuk’s game ejection in the final minutes combined with an extra attacker gave the Stars all they needed to tie the game again in the closing seconds (Alex MacInnis at 19:47) and we were off to overtime. At 2:09 into extra minutes, Kupaks lit the buzzer for the second time, handing the Caps a huge win and the Stars a deflating loss.
Both teams are back at it Sunday morning at 11am. Prior to the game, the RoadRunners Booster Club will be hosting a Pancake Feed at 8am with the proceeds going to Topeka Youth Hockey. The Pancakes will be served in the Expo’s Exhibition Hall with adult tickets set at $5 and children’s tickets at $3. For more information on upcoming games and tickets, call 785-286-PUCK or visit www.topekacapitals.com.