OMAHA DEFEATS COLORADO 20-6: THE WEEK THAT WAS 12/25

The Kings came out hot Friday night when Leonides Mejia put one in the net 10 seconds into the match. Mejia’s goals were shortly followed by Manuel Lira off a pass from Andy Rodriguez and Daniel Zuckweiler off a pass from Bernardo Torres, putting the Kings up 3-0 a little over 1 minute into the match. 

Colorado responded when Bryan Vazquez put one in the net, putting the score at 3-1. But Omaha responded and continued their offensive onslaught with a four-run goal. Lira, David Panter, Stevie Siy, Caio Brito, Bernardo Torres, and Mejia scored for the Kings, putting the score at 7-1 at the end of the first.

The second quarter saw back-and-forth goals from both teams. Torres scored his first of the night followed by Mejia who scored his second, putting the Kings up 9-1. Colorado Bucks, determined to stage a comeback, capitalized on a power play opportunity at the 7-minute mark. Josh Thompson scored during a shootout, narrowing the gap to 9-2. However, the Kings swiftly responded to the challenge. At 12:24, Lira converted on a shootout opportunity during a power play, pushing the Kings further ahead at 10-2. Ben Gaido found the back of the net for Denver with minutes left in the second quarter, putting the score at 10-3 going into the second half.

The third quarter of the match continued to showcase the Omaha Kings' offensive dominance as they built on their already commanding lead. Say Say found the net and extended the Kings' lead to 11-3. This was followed by another goal from Zuckweiler at 5:06, bringing the score to 12-3. Ventura Dominguez of the Colorado Bucks contributed to his team's score at 5:49, making it 12-4. However, the Kings swiftly responded, the rest of the third quarter saw two goals from Morgan Penn, one from Jeff Sumaili, and one from Lira, putting the Kings up 16-4 at the end of the third.

Early in the fourth quarter Penn, assisted by Stevie Siy, extended the Kings' lead to 17-4.  Zuckweiler found the net at 3:11, assisted by Torres.

Torres capitalized on a power play opportunity at 8:51 putting the Kings up 19-4. The Colorado Bucks broke through with a short-handed goal at 9:39, credited to Dominguez, making it 19-5. Despite facing penalty challenges, the Kings remained unfazed, and Morgan Penn scored during another power play at 11:39, securing a 20-5 lead.

The Colorado Bucks fought back with determination, and Josue Jimenez scored at 14:30, bringing the final score to 20-6. Despite the Bucks' efforts in the fourth quarter, the Omaha Kings' dominant play throughout the match proved resulted in a victory.