The Topeka Capitals used a four-goal second period to put away the St. Louis Jr. Blues, 7-1.
Topeka was led by goalie Jacob Pelton, who finished with 25 saves while allowing one goal. The solid play of Pelton will be reflected in his goals against average, which pre-game was 1.6.
Colin OConnor had one goal and two assists to lead the Capitals. OConnor scored on the power play 19:59 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Topeka. A cross checking penalty on Nikita Ermilov had put Topeka on the power play. Trey Opack picked up the assist.
The Capitals forced Jr. Blues\’ netminders to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, getting 46 shots and forcing 39 saves. Cooper Cothran made 32 stops and Brendan Shuck made seven. Topeka put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow St. Louis to score on any of its four power plays. The Capitals outdid their season average for goals scored. Topeka averages 4.0 goals per game.
Topeka additionally got points from Hank Roers, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Alex Johanson also scored for Topeka. In addition, Topeka received assists from Kyle Rimbach, who had three and Andrew Cooley, Igor Valko, and Alex Sauer, who contributed one each.
The Capitals incurred 22 minutes in penalty time with six minors. The Jr. Blues incurred 18 minutes in penalty time with nine minors.
