The Peppers were one of only two Mountain Division teams to finish the NAHL Showcase in Blaine without a regulation loss – going 2-0-1-0 and earning five of a possible six points in the process.
DAY 1 – Kenai River 4, PUEBLO 3 (OT)
The Pueblo Peppers battled back throughout Wednesday afternoon’s contest before ultimately falling 4-3 in overtime on a Karim Kazhibekov power play goal to the Kenai River Brown Bears at the NSC Blaine Super Rink.
After the Peppers had an opportunity to take the lead on a Michael Mathison penalty shot, Kenai River opened the scoring 6:07 into the first period to take a 1-0 advantage when Ben Tauscher snapped a wrist shot past Peppers goaltender Max Kogler. Pueblo responded late in the period on the power play when Jonathan Pylypiuk found the back of the net with 3:08 remaining, snapping a wrist shot past Devin Rustlie on the power play to tie the game, 1-1, and sending the teams into the first intermission tied at one.
The Peppers grabbed their first lead of the afternoon early into the second period. With 14:38 left in the frame, a Kenai River defenseman stumbled and Cooper Jacobson buried a one-timer from the left wing circle after a cross-ice pass from Jake McIntosh to put Pueblo ahead, 2-1. Another special teams tally from Kenai River tied the score at 2-2 just over a minute later with 13:53 remaining in the period – the two teams combined for 16 power play opportunities in a penalty marred opening forty minutes.
The game’s only even-strength goal was the first of Nolan Warner’s career – the winger redirected a shot from the left point over the glove of Rustlie in the waning stages of the second period to tie the game, 3-3, for the third time and the score stayed knotted up headed into the second intermission.
A scoreless, special teams-free third period gave way to Kenai’s 10th power play of the afternoon when a late cross-checking major penalty was assessed to Pueblo defenseman Nate Hart, putting the Peppers on the penalty kill with 1:50 remaining in regulation. The Peppers held firm and Kogler made two of his 21 saves to get the game to overtime.
Kenai River ended the contest early in the extra period, scoring with 4:23 remaining in overtime to secure the 4-3 victory.
DAY 2 – PUEBLO 4, Shreveport 3 (OT)
The Peppers bagged their first win in the North American Hockey League in another overtime thriller, as two goals from Jonathon Pylypuik, a 34-save effort from Zach Stahl, and the overtime winner from Jake Spraetz did enough to polish off a 4-3 victory over South Division foe Shreveport at the NSC Super Rink in Blaine, MN on Friday evening.
Pueblo jumped on top early thanks to winger Jonathan Pylypuik. Just over a minute into the game, Pylypuik glided down the slot and slipped a backhanded shot through the legs of Mudbug goaltender Jared Greenwall for his third goal of the year to spot the Peppers to the 1-0 lead with 18:57 remaining in the frame. Pueblo had two additional power play opportunities in the first period, but were unable to convert and retained their one-goal advantage into the first intermission.
The Peppers doubled their advantage when a shot from the left point was redirected in front of the net and the puck landed right at the feet of Michael Mathison. Mathison deked out Greenwell and popped a wrister into the top of the net to give the Peppers a brief two-goal, 2-0 lead with 14:43 left in the second period. Shreveport answered immediately – Evan Hoglund slipped a wrist shot past the left pad of goaltender Zach Stahl to bring the ‘Bugs back in the game, 2-1, with 14:13 left in the period. Pylypuik converted on the power play for the second straight game on the 5-on-3 man advantage, roofing a backhand past the prone Greenwall to push Pueblo ahead 3-1 with 11:07 to go in the second period. Shreveport found two goals in ninety seconds late in the frame – a Sean Goodman wrist shot from the right wing faceoff circle was followed by a punch-in off a rebound from Hoglund again to tie the game, 3-3, with 4:43 remaining in the period. The two teams remained tied going into the second intermission break.
The third period settled into a defensive battle with only eight combined shots between the two teams – Stahl made five of his 34 total saves in the period to help the Peppers stay tied and give their offense a late chance in regulation to take both points in regulation. After Cooper Jacobson was clipped by a high stick, the double minor gave Pueblo a power play for the final 3:53 of regulation. Shreveport blocked four shots and Greenwell saved one more to push the game into overtime.
With the clock approaching a minute to go in the extra session, the ‘Bugs got caught with too many men forward and allowed a 2-on-1 for defenseman Trevor Bodie and Spraetz. Bodie glided down the right wing and flipped a cross-ice pass to Spraetz who directed the puck into the net past the stick of Greenwell to start the celebration on the glass in front of the Peppers’ fans.
DAY 3 – PUEBLO 5, Oklahoma 3
Center Jonathan Pylypuik scored in his third straight game, Remington Chisholm and Jake McIntosh both scored their first career goals and the Peppers survived a comeback attempt from Oklahoma in the third period to defeat the Warriors 5-3 in Blaine.
Chisholm’s first career goal came on a stretch pass from Scherber, who hit Chisholm all alone at the Oklahoma blue line. The defenseman beat St.Pierre to give the Peppers the lead, 1-0, with 9:43 remaining in the period. Minutes later, Pylypuik found space in the high slot and swatted a shot past Oklahoma netminder Nathan St. Pierre for his fourth goal of the season to double the Peppers advantage, 2-0, with 5:36 left in the frame. Pueblo nearly scored a third before the first intermission when Blake Schultz was stonewalled on a shorthanded breakaway as time expired in the first period.
A loose puck in front of the Pueblo net put Oklahoma on the scoreboard in the second period when Luke Vanderroest slipped the puck past Kogler to halve the lead, 2-1, with 16:12 remaining in the second period. The Pueblo penalty kill jump started the offense again as for the second time in three games, the Peppers found a shorthanded goal. A 2-on-1 breakout with Michael Mathison and captain Marcus Jackson turned into a goal when the trailing Jackson powered a rebound past St. Pierre for his first career NAHL goal to restore the two-goal advantage, 3-1, with 3:38 left in the middle stanza. The two-goal lead would last through the second intermission as the Peppers continued to pour it on in the third.
Center Blake Schultz was the second redirection on a shot from the right point to give the Peppers their largest lead of the afternoon, 4-1, with 13:32 left in the third period. A pair of Max Gagnon wrist shots from the right wing circle, one with 11:25 remaining in regulation and one with just over six minutes left, tightened the scoreline to 4-3 down the stretch. With 1:44 remaining in regulation, the Warriors moved to pull their goaltender for the extra attacker but were undone by a poor line change and seven players on the ice that resulted in a too many men on the ice minor penalty. Oklahoma pulled St. Pierre a second time and winger Jake McIntosh tapped the puck into the empty net from the Warriors blue line for his first career goal and to make the score 5-3 with 27 seconds remaining in the contest.