NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — The Lone Star Brahmas hadn't lost back-to-back games on their home ice all season.
The Austin Bruins couldn't buck that trend on Saturday.
North American Hockey League MVP Sebastian Vidmar scored on a penalty shot in the second period and Roman Uchyn scored an empty-net goal with 58 seconds remaining as Lone Star beat Austin 3-1 in Game 2 of the Robertson Cup semifinals on Saturday.
The Brahmas evened the national semifinal series at 1-1, setting up a decisive Game 3 at 5:30 p.m. today at the Nytex Sports Centre.
Bruins goalie Jake Kielly was strong in net again, stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced. Uchyn scored 10:38 into the second to give the Brahmas a 1-0 lead, the only five-on-five goal Kielly has allowed in the series.
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Luke Dietsch scored 4:20 into the third for Austin to tie the score 1-1, but Vidmar — who led the NAHL with 35 goals and 80 points in the regular season — was awarded a penalty shot 3:27 later. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Swede converted and gave the Brahmas the lead for good.
Austin now faces an elimination game for the second time in this postseason and fifth time in the past two postseasons.
They are 3-1 in the previous three win-or-go-home games, beating Bismarck last year and Minot this year in Game 5s of the Central Division finals, as well as beating Topeka in Game 3 of the Robertson Cup semifinals last season. The Bruins lost an elimination game at Fairbanks last May in the Robertson Cup finals.
Today's Game 3 can be heard on KAUS 1480-AM in the Austin area, or online at MyAustinMinnesota.com.
The winner of today's game will play host to the Minnesota Wilderness in the best-of-3 Robertson Cup Finals, beginning Friday. The Wilderness knocked off the NAHL's top team in the regular season, the Janesville Jets. Minnesota was led by former Rochester Century goalie Brock Kautz, who stopped 43 of 45 shots he faced in the two-game sweep.
Brahmas 3, Bruins 1
Austin#0#0#1#—#1
Lone Star#0#1#2#—#3
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First period— no scoring. Second period— 1. LS, Roman Uchyn 5 (Quinn Carroll 1, Liam Stirtzinger 1) 10:38. Third period— 2. A, Luke Dietsch 5 (Ian Scheid 5, Hugo Gallet 1) 4:20. 3. LS, Sebastian Vidmar 3 (penalty shot) 7:47. 4. LS, Uchyn 6 (unassisted) 19:02 (en).
Shots on goal— A 9-7-12—28, LS 6-11-6—23. Goalies— A, Jake Kielly (L; 22 shots-20 saves); LS, Jake Kupsky (W; 28 shots-27 saves). Power plays— A, 0-for-1; LS, none. Penalties— A, 2-4 minutes; LS, 3-6 minutes.
Time— 2:25. Att. — 1,979.
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P-B's 3 Stars
1. Roman Uchyn, L.S.: The forward scored twice, including the first of the game and an empty-netter to seal the victory in the final minute.
2. Jake Kupsky, L.S.: The goalie stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced, including 11 of 12 in the third period.
3. Jake Kielly, Austin: The Bruins goalie made 20 saves and has allowed just one five-on-five goal in the series.
