It was a wild hockey game at Landon Arena Saturday night.
Tied at five, the contest went to overtime. It didn’t take long to find the winner in the extra session.
Just 23 seconds into the OT, forward Will Schlagenhauf buried his seventh goal of the season and second goal of the night, giving the RoadRunners a hard-fought 6-5 win.
Schlagenhauf waited near the right side of the goal crease and took a feed from forward Nick Granowicz, beating goaltender Gustavs Grigals, sending his teammates spilling over the boards to celebrate.
Granowicz had three assists in the contest, bringing his league-leading point total to 30.
Topeka (9-14-2) came out strong again on Saturday. After giving up an early goal, Topeka took advantage of Mudbugs’ penalties, scoring three powerplay goals in the opening frame.
Defensemen Max Finner and Sam Martel notched the first two goals, with Schlagenhauf getting the third goal.
They lead 3-2 at the end of the first period.
“Our guys came out with a game plan,” RoadRunners head coach Justin DeMartino said. “We got some shots to the net, drew some penalties and were able to take advantage.”
Late in the first period, a nearly 10-minute stoppage ensued, due to several game misconducts against Shreveport. Forward Cole Quisenberry was ejected for spearing at 14:24, and Mudbugs’ head coach Karlis Zirnis was also tossed from the game due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Sticks and water bottles were thrown onto the ice by Zirnis.
“I thought we got away from our game a little bit after that ordeal,” DeMartino said. “I thought we needed to refocus, but we played a little sloppy.”
This unorganized play led to a late goal from forward Jake Transit, making it 3-2 going into first intermission.
After taking a 4-2 lead in the second, Topeka allowed two straight goals, tying the game at 4-4.
Forward Dallas Tulik gave Topeka another lead at 5-4, at 11:10 of the second period. This stood until late in the third, when Shreveport (16-4-3) tied it at 14:54.
Topeka now hits the road for a short two-game roadtrip. They head to Amarillo for a series with the Bulls Dec 1-2.
“We’ve won three out of four games now, and we’re rolling a little bit,” DeMartino said. “We hope to continue that momentum into Amarillo next weekend.”