Scarecrows Stave Off Breakers (12/5)

Topeka, KS - 3 valuable points were on the line Friday night in Topeka as the Breakers squared off with the Scarecrows in their 3rd meeting of the season. In a game with a back and forth tempo, Topeka pulled away late to close out the Breakers comeback attempt by a final of 5-3. 

It had been a month and a half since the Scarecrows and Breakers squared off in October, and with plenty of changes and 10 more matchups to go, Friday’s action would serve as a great bar for what to expect closing into the new year. After a relatively docile opening 5 minutes, Topeka turned it on. They began to dominate in puck possession and zone time, a bad recipe for a Biloxi team searching to limit shots. At 6:26, Jacob Gagnon backhanded a vacant puck in the slot over the glove of Rosenzweig to open the scoring and cue the Teddy Bear Toss. After the donations were collected, Topeka went right back to work. At 9:06, Jacob Gagnon powered his way through the far circle before uncorking a bullet to beat Rosenzweig on the blocker side and double the margin at 2-0. Needing to strike some life into his team, AJ Schlepp squared off with Justin Schmitt at center-ice for their second go of the year. Schlepp had the edge early on, until Schmitt pulled him in tight and a grappling match commenced. The Breakers continued to play on their heels, struggling to generate anything in Bryzgalov’s end. At 19:01, a patient Zach Papapetros drew his former Athens teammate in Rosenzweig out of the blue paint before centering the puck to Tyler Inlow who banged it home for his first pro goal to make it 3-0. The Scarecrows outshot the Breakers 14-7 in the opening frame.

After a lethargic opening 20, Charlie Pens fired some life into his group heading into period 2. Beginning on the man advantage after a Gordon Whalen minor to end period 1, the Breakers struggled to enter the offensive zone as a unit. As the penalty expired, the Breakers began to finally play with some poise and force Topeka to be a little off tilt. At 5:10, Alex Norwinski was assessed a trip, and a Breakers group who was beginning to get warm had an opportunity to do damage.  At 5:42, Aldi Nurlan buried a one timer on the near side off a hard feed from Khaden Henry, and the Breakers drew to within 2. With the momentum on their side, Nurlan stepped up again on his very next shift, redirecting a Brendan Spinale shot over the shoulder of Bryzgalov to make it 3-2. Spinale’s assist goes down as his first professional point on his 24th birthday. The Breakers pressure in the back half eased up a bit, and the final 10 minutes featured end to end fast-paced action, with both goaltenders refusing to surrender the next mark. The horn sounded with the score 3-2 Topeka, and the shots also in their favor at 26-22. 

With each team “winning” a frame, period 3 was up for grabs. It was a slow start for both sides, a lot of back and forth hockey with the shots relatively close. The next goal was obviously the most important, either tying the game or restoring Topeka’s lead to 2. At 9:46 there was a verdict, with Tyler Inlow canning a rebound on the powerplay for his second of the night to make it 4-2. The tally seemed to suck the life out of the visiting squad, as 3 minutes later Cameron Clark completed his 3 point night with a breakaway 5-hole mark to make it 5-2. However, the Breakers wouldn’t go away on a negative note. Fabian Lehner, who had been on the IR since training camp, backhanded home a loose puck in his first game back on the powerplay to conclude the scoring at 5-3. Topeka outshot Biloxi 38-29 in full time.

The Scarecrows improve to 10-4-0, continuing to chip away at the Empire division race. The Breakers fall to 4-11-1, and sink to 6th in the Continental. The two teams will battle tomorrow once again at 7:05 inside the Stormont Vail Events Center.