Tornado claim third straight NAHL crown

The Texas team scored a 4-2 win over the Bozeman Icedogs.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Not even the North American Hockey League's Most Valuable Player could stop the Texas Tornado from capturing their unprecedented third consecutive Robertson Cup tournament championship.
Nielsson Arcibal, Jordan Mowbray and Karl Sellan beat Bozeman goalie Matt Dalton for goals as the Tornado defeated the IceDogs, 4-2, Saturday at the Ice Zone.
The Tornado came out fired up, producing the game's first four shots.
Scored early
The fourth one, by forward Arcibal, beat Dalton for the Tornado's 1-0 lead midway through the opening period.
The rest of the period belonged to the IceDogs, who took the next nine shots. Tornado goalie Troy Redmann stopped all of them to preserve the lead.
Bozeman's best chance was by Cody Omilusik who stole the puck at the blue line and took three strides before firing a shot that was coolly gloved by Redmann.
The Tornado doubled their lead early in the second period when Mowbray pounced on a rebound off of Dalton's pads and buried the puck for a 2-0 lead. Tom Brooks took the initial shot for the assist.
Cut into lead
On a 4-on-4 play late in the second period, Quinn Ellingson gave the IceDogs life when he lifted the puck over the sprawled Redmann for a goal. Peter Fylling received the assist on the play the reduced the Texas lead to 2-1.
The goal that broke the IceDogs came early in the third period when Karl Sellan beat Dalton for a 3-1 lead.
Late in the period, the Omilusik made Redmann pay for falling to the ice as he lifted a backhanded shot into the net for a 3-2 score.
But in the final 5:15, the Ice Dogs generated just one shot on goal. Sellan's empty-net goal sealed the victory.
The Tornado outshot the IceDogs, 23-21, and limited Bozeman to three shots in the third period. Texas finished the season with a 5-0 record against Bozeman.
williams@vindy.com