Insider Preview: Odessa Jackalopes @ Texas Brahmas

Jacks in town to face an open can of NYTEX whoop-ass

The Texas Brahmas (7-7-2, 16 points) will host the Odessa Jackalopes (12-2-2, 26 points) for a pre-Thanksgiving bunny roast at the NYTEX Sports Centre on Wednesday night. This will be the second of four meetings between the two teams during the regular season.

The Jackalopes currently lead the league in wins (12), points (26), goals (75), power play percentage (33.63%).

The Brahmas embarrassed the Jacks at the Ector County Coliseum last Thursday with an unexpected 7-3 win which ended an eight game win streak. In their previous meeting in Game Seven of the Southern Conference Championship in April, the Brahmas smoked the Jacks with an 8-1 score that advanced them to the President’s Cup Final. That’s a 15-4 combined score in the last two games for the Brahmas. Let’s hope that trend continues.

The Jacks are coming off of a 4-3 road loss to the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees on Saturday night. They’ve lost two of their last three games. Odessa has a 6-1-1 road record thus far this season.

Last season, they only won one of five regular season contests and one of four games during the playoffs at NYTEX. That’s only two of nine games (22.22%) won on the road at NYTEX. They also lost the only shootout there. Only two of the games (on February 13-14th ) were decided by one goal.

The Jacks lost both games at NYTEX in 2007-08. That makes an 11-2 win record against Odessa for Dan Wildfong’s Brahmas at NYTEX.

The Brahmas have won two of their last three games, including a 2-0 shut out of the Laredo Bucks on Saturday night.

Although the season got off to a shaky start, the team has begun to find its stride, earning four of six points on its recent road trip through Odessa, Rio Grande Valley and Laredo.

Odessa's three top scorers include Dominic Leveille (F) with 26 points (6 G, 20 A, +4), Sebastien Thinel (F) with 21 points (3 G, 18 A, +2) and Colin Circelli (F) with 20 points (11 G, 9 A, 0). Their leading defensive scorer is Alex Dunn with 18 points (7 G, 11 A, +3).

Their top goons are defensemen Patrick Mbaraga (38 PIM) and Garrett Gruenke (35 PIM). I’m pretty sure that Gruenke has fought at least one Brahma in every game between the two teams in which he's played.

On special teams, the Jacks have the number one power play with a 33.63 percentage and the number four penalty kill with an 85.71 percentage. They also have three short-handed goals.

Juha Toivonen (6-1-1) is expected in net for the Jacks. He has fallen to sixth in the league with a 2.60 GAA and 10th in the league with a .912 save percentage.

Defenseman JR Bria is still out on 30-day injured reserve and is not expected to play as this writing.

The Brahmas top three scorers are AJ Gale (F) with 15 points (8 G, 7 A, +3), Grant Jacobsen with 12 points (7 G, 5 A, 0) and Kevin McLeod (D) with eight points (6 G, 6 A, 0). McLeod is also the Brahmas leading defensive scorer.

On special teams, the Brahmas are 14th in the league with a 11.34 percentage and 12th on the penalty kill with an 80.95 percentage. They lead the league with five short-handed goals.

I'm not sure who will get the start in goal. My bet would be Brett Jaeger (3-5-0) who's had a difficult start to his season but was successful in the first meeting between the Brahmas and Jacks this season. I’m curious to see if Fonger will start Joe Palmer (4-2-2), who has not faced the Jacks before.

As of this writing, Anders Strome is still out on injured reserve (foot) but the Brahmas are otherwise healthy.

The game starts at 7:05pm and can be seen on CHL-TV if you can’t make it in person.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith

Brahmas shut out Bucks at the LEC

Palmer, defense combine to ensure 2-0 win

The long bus ride home to North Richland Hills will be a positive one after the Brahmas shut out the Laredo Bucks tonight at the Laredo Entertainment Center. The Brahmas go home with 4 of 6 points during the three-game "On the Border" road trip through Odessa, Hidalgo and Laredo, Texas.

Joe Palmer made 33 saves to get his first pro career shut out ( a rare event at the LEC) and the Brahmas defense and penalty killing unit were solid tonight. The Brahmas record goes to 7-7-2, 16 points and are one point behind Laredo (tied with Rio Grande Valley, who defeated Odessa 4-3 tonight), who remain in third place in the Southern Conference despite the loss.

Fortunately for the Brahmas, the Bucks simply did not come out to play tonight, a point that was emphasized by head coach Terry Ruskowski, who would later apologize to the fans in a post-game interview with the Laredo Morning Times' Joy Lindsey.

It was a less than exciting first period with the exception of the first score of the game, which came on the Brahmas third shot of the game. Kevin McLeod received a feed from Grant Jacobsen, who had just won a face off, and sent in a slap shot from the left point to make it a 1-0 contest at the 6:37 mark. McLeod, who leads all CHL defensemen in goals, picked up his sixth of the season.

Both teams had issues with puck control during the opening frame and although Laredo led the shot count 9-4, but were unable to solve Joe Palmer. There was only one penalty in the first 20 minutes, a hooking call on Lee Jubinville at the 14:50 mark, but the Brahmas penalty killers took care of shutting down the Bucks first power play.

The Brahmas took the ice late after the first intermission. James Hiebert and Bucks forward Justin Styffe opened the second period by dropping the gloves at the 0:02 mark while setting up for the face off. After dancing around a bit, the blows started landing with Styffe getting the final hit that took Hiebert down to the ice. Both received five minute Fighting Majors for their effort.

Hiebert was challenged by several Bucks during the game, including Styffe, Jeff Bes and Robin Richards.

The action otherwise stepped up in the middle frame with the Bucks on the attack from the opening minutes but discipline became a problem as they were called for three consecutive penalties giving the Brahmas two five-on-three advantages. That translated into the Brahmas second score of the night by James Hiebert. Kevin McLeod sent the puck to Jordan Cameron, whose shot from the point was stopped by Jean-Phillipe Levasseur but Hiebert was there at the bottom of the left circle to send it in for the 2-0 lead.

Joe Palmer was solid in net for the Brahmas, stopping all shots faced through 40 minutes. The Brahmas had the 16-13 shot advantage though the second frame.

Note: The Bucks have a 0-0-1 record when trailing at home after two periods. The Brahmas are 2-0-0 when leading on the road after two.

The third period would be a tale of futility for the Bucks as they threw everything they had in every way at Joe Palmer to no avail. The Bucks failed to convert on five consecutive power play opportunities and had no luck with the extra attacker when Terry Ruskowski pulled Levasseur with 1:20 left in the period. The Brahmas did a great job blocking shots throughout the period, which belonged to the Buck offensively.

Tyler Skworchinski got a chance to make it 3-0 early, when a turnover in the Bucks' zone gave him a wide-open opportunity, but his shot went high.

The Bucks had a couple of great scoring opportunities including an assault on an airborne puck by Mike Sgroi that was nearly swatted over the goal line (magnificent save by Palmer) and a mad scramble during a power play in which Grant Jacobsen threw his body in front of a loose puck to assist on a save by Joe Palmer.

Palmer was magnificent though out the game and defended his net with vigor, stopping all 11 shots in the final frame and 33 shots throughout the game. The shot count in the third period was 11-2, advantage Laredo and the final count would be 33-22 Laredo, with that being the only positive for the Bucks tonight.

Joe Palmer's record goes to 4-2-2 with the win. Jean-Phillipe Levasseur stopped 20 of 22 shots and takes his first loss in regulation this season. His record goes to 6-1-2.

The Brahmas went 1 for 4 on the power play. Laredo went 0 for 6. The Brahmas were assessed 17 minutes on 7 infractions; Odessa received 13 minutes on 5 infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game went to James Hiebert for his power play goal in the second period. The 2nd Star was awarded to Kevin McLeod who had the game-winning goal and an assist and the 1st Star went to Joe Palmer for recording the shut out.

You can view the box score here

Observations:

• Joe Palmer is making a case to become the Brahmas number one goalie with some solid performances in net for a rookie. He takes the number one spot in the league with a 2.27 GAA after tonight. He is number three in save percentage (behind Colorado's Andrew Penner and Allen's Charlie Effinger) at .922.
• Outstanding work tonight by the Brahmas defensemen. Ross Rouleau continues to show improvement as he gains more experience with the team. McLeod and Kinnunen were as sharp as ever.
• The penalty killers were on fire tonight, stopping all six Laredo advantages. Tony, Tony, Tony!
• Both Jordan Cameron and Tyler Skworchinski made great efforts tonight as did Grant Jacobsen, whose play benefited the defense greatly.
• The Brahmas improved to 5-0 when scoring first this season.

Honorable mention: Igor Agarunov played in his 300th professional game tonight, and is one game away from tying Steve Weidlich for third-place all-time in Bucks history with 301 games played.

The Brahmas will face the Odessa Jackalopes on home ice at the NYTEX Sports Center on Wednesday night. in the first game in their two game “Military Nights” series. The Brahmas will be donning their “Lady Liberty” jerseys in honor of the troops.

Insider Preview: Texas Brahmas at Laredo Bucks

Brahmas seek first win against the Bucks this season

The Texas Brahmas are in Laredo for the third and final stop on the "On the Border" road trip which has resulted in a 7-3 win over Odessa on Thursday night and a 5-2 loss to Rio Grande Valley last night.

The Bucks had their season-high four game winning streak snapped in Friday’s 4-3 shootout loss to Odessa, but picked a point to remain in third place in the Southern Conference (Laredo enters tonight two points behind Allen for second). The Brahmas (6-7-2, 14 points) are in fifth place (two points behind Rio Grande Valley for fourth place) in the Southern Conference.

Six of the Bucks last seven games have been decided by one goal, including the last five straight. Overall this season the Bucks are 4-0-3 in one-goal contests.

The Bucks went 4-4 against the Brahmas last season, winning three of the four games in either overtime or a shootout.

Tonight marks the return of former Buck James Hiebert, but the first time he has worn visiting colors in the LEC. Hiebert was a fan favorite in Laredo, and has played parts of six seasons in the Gateway City helping the Bucks win two President’s Cup Championships. Hiebert’s name is scattered across the Bucks record books, as he is third in Bucks history in goals (87), third in assists (164) and fourth in points (228).

"I'm definitely looking forward to it," Hiebert told the Laredo Morning Times' Joy Lindsay. "Any time you play against a team you played for, you want to get a win. Obviously, it's important for our team to do that and get on the horse to get into the race for first place. That's our goal right now...I'm not too sure how the fans will react. Hopefully they'll receive me well."

Get on the horse indeed. The Brahmas have generally had success after a loss this season. They can definitely use a win tonight, lest they fall further in the rankings.

The Bucks' three top scorers are Jeff Bes (F) with 17 points (5 G, 12 A, -2), Maxime Lincourt with 12 points (6 G, 6 A, +4) and Darryl Smith (F) with 11 points (5 G, 6 A, 0). Their leading defensive scorer is Mike Looby with eleven points (4 G, 7 A, -5).

Their leading goon is Robin Richards (F) with 39 penalty minutes.

The Bucks are ranked second in the league on the power play with a 27.69 percentage and fifth on the penalty kill with a 85.29 percentage.

I expect we'll see Jean-Phillipe Levasseur (6-0-2) in goal tonight.

Neil Trimm (F) is out on injured reserve but the Bucks are otherwise healthy.

The Brahmas’ top three scorers are AJ Gale (F) with 14 points (8 G, 6 A, +2), Grant Jacobsen (F) with 11 points (7 G, 5 A, -1) and Jordan Cameron (F) with 11 points (4 G, 7 A, -1). Their leading defensive scorer remains Kevin McLeod with 10 points (5 G, 5 A, -1).

They are ranked 14th in the league on the power play with an 10.75 percentage and 12th on the penalty kill with an 79.80 percentage. They lead the league with five short-handed goals.

Joe Palmer (3-2-2) is my guess to start for the Brahmas.

Anders Strome (F) is still out on injured reserve (foot) but the Brahmas are otherwise healthy.

Massey Ratings predicts a Bucks win. They were right last night about the Bees winning. They were wrong on Thursday about the Jacks winning. We'll see what happens tonight at the LEC.

You can watch the game on CHL-TV or listen on Internet radio here. Either way, you will get a great play-by-play by Bucks' media guy, Brian Benway.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith

Brahmas lose in Hidalgo

Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees earn second consecutive 5-2 win

The Texas Brahmas fell in a 5-2 match against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees at the Dodge Center in Hidalgo, Texas tonight. It was a good effort for the boys, but they were simply outplayed for the second game in a row against the Bees. With the loss, the Brahmas record goes to 6-7-2.

In front of a very sparse Friday night crowd (despite a stated attendance of 4,002), the two teams came out playing less than exciting hockey, at least until the last five minutes of the first frame.

The Brahmas were unable to capitalize on two power play opportunities early in the period but that was not the case for the Killer Bees who scored two power play goals in 44 seconds.

The first goal, after a hooking call on Ross Rouleau, was sent in by Jesse Bennefield at the 14:02 mark with the assist from Joel Irving and Nathan Ansell.

The second goal, after a tripping call on Elias Godoy, came when Grant Goeckner-Zoeller stole the puck from a Brahmas skater, skated up through the Brahmas zone unmolested and forced the rebound into a wide open net as Jaeger was on his knees after stopping the initial shot. At the 14:46 mark, the unassisted goal made it a 2-0 game.

The Brahmas answered at the 18:30 mark after Justin Kinnunen sent in a soft shot from the right circle and had it re-directed into the net by Grant Jacobsen to cut the Killer Bees lead in half.

Shots were even at 11 in the first period with the score at 2-1, Killer Bees.

The second period opened up with special teams scoring from both sides beginning with a shorthanded goal by Killer Bee Aaron Lee after teammate Daymen Rycroft was sent to the sin bin for tripping. Zak McClellan assisted on the goal which came at the 3:53 mark.

The Brahmas responded with seven seconds left on the power play when AJ Gale beat Wylie Rogers to make it a 3-2 game at the 5:23 mark. Luke Sellars was in on the assist.

The game was delayed shortly thereafter when a piece of glass needed to be re-inserted after it came loose following a hard check on a Brahmas player by Killer Bees defenseman Nathan Ansell.

There was no further scoring and the period came to a close with the Brahmas leading the shot count 11-7 and 22-18 after 40 minutes. Note: The Brahmas are 0-6 when trailing after two periods this season. The Killer Bees are 5-0 when leading after two. Those stats would hold true in the final period.

Aaron Lee scored his second goal of the game at the 3:53 mark off a set up by Zak McClellan and Sean Muncy. Less than a minute and a half later, Daymen Rycroft would score to make it a 5-2 game. Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and Andrew Schembri were credited with the assist.

It was everything the Brahmas could do to mitigate the impending loss for the remainder of the period as the Killer Bees continued their attack. Despite the score, Jaeger made some tremendous saves in the third period, especially in the final minutes.

James Hiebert and Jason Seery dropped the gloves at the 15:21 mark and both were sent off the ice early as a result. Both would receive five minute Fighting Majors and Hiebert would receive a two minute Fighting (Instigator) and a 10 minute Fighting (Instigator) Game Misconduct.

The Killer Bees would get a five-on-three opportunity shortly thereafter due to a hooking call on Grant Jacobsen but the Brahmas penalty killer would prevail and the game would end with the score remaining at 5-3.

The Killer Bees had a 12-5 shot advantage in the final frame and a 30-27 shot count for the game.

Brett Jaeger had 25 saves on 30 shots to take the loss. His record goes to 3-5-0. Wylie Rogers stopped 25 of 27 shots for the win. His record goes to 4-2-0.

The Brahmas went 1 for 6 on the power play. Rio went 2 for 6. The Brahmas were assessed 27 minutes on 8 infractions; Odessa received 17 minutes on 7 infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game went to Zak McClellan for an assist on the game-winning goal. The 2nd Star was awarded to Grant Goeckner-Zoeller who had a goal and and two assists and the 1st Star went to Aaron Lee who had two goals on the night.

You can view the box score here

Observations:

• Another loss following a big win as the Brahmas continue to struggle with consistency. They've only has two consecutive wins this season (October 30th against the Mudbugs and the 31st against the Americans). It was a good effort, but the boys were outplayed by the Bees for the second consecutive game. You've got to play hard for 60 minutes if you want to win the game.
• Discipline seems to be an issue for the Brahmas who were one of the least penalized teams in the league last season. Some of these fights are just unnecessary.

The Brahmas will travel to Laredo to take on the Bucks tomorrow night at the Laredo Entertainment Center.

Insider Preview: Texas Brahmas @ Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees

Second of three against the Bees this season tonight at the Dodge Center

The Texas Brahmas are in Hidalgo, Texas for tonight's game against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees at the Dodge Center tonight. This is the second of three games against the Bees this season. The last game, as you probably remember, was a 5-2 win for the Bees at NYTEX last Saturday night. The Bees' fortunes have gone South since then with a 3-2 shootout loss to Laredo (on the road) last Sunday and a 3-2 loss to Corpus Christi (at home) on Tuesday.

The Brahmas are coming off last night's huge 7-3 win against Odessa. This is their second of three road game during their "On the Border" tour. They face the Laredo Bucks tomorrow night.

Saturday night's game at NYTEX saw some very aggressive play from a very good Killer Bee team. I don't think they are a better team than the Brahmas, but if they bring their A game, it should be a good contest tonight. The Brahmas definitely need to build off of the momentum created after last night's win. A strong 60 minutes will be needed with every shift played aggressively. Special teams improvement is a must. The Brahmas allowed three power play goals last Saturday. The Tony's need to be on guard tonight.

It's $1.50 beer night at the Dodge Center, so they should have a rowdy crowd.

The Bees' three top scorers are Jesse Bennefield (LW) with 17 points (8 G, 9 A, +2), Daymen Rycroft with 17 points (4 G, 13 A, 0) and Grant Goeckner-Zoeller (F) with 16 points (7 G, 9 A, 0). Goeckner-Zoeller had two goals last Saturday against the Brahmas. Their leading defensive scorer is Nathan Ansell with eight points (1 G, 7 A, -4).

Their leading goon is Daymen Rycroft with 19 penalty minutes and a lot of dirty play. Watch out for Jesse Bennefield also - he took away a nice gash on the cheek at NYTEX last weekend.

The Bees are ranked eighth in the league on the power play with a 16.67 percentage and 11th on the penalty kill with a 80.26 percentage.

I expect we'll see Andy Franck (3-3-2) in goal tonight but Chris Brooks started Wylie Rogers (3-2-0) in the last game against the Brahmas, so we'll see what happens.

Defenseman Stacey Bauman, left wing Justin Kanigan and center Matt Sweazy are all out on injured reserve and expected to be scratches tonight. Former Brahma Topher Scott is back from injury (didn't play last Saturday at NYTEX) and is expected to play tonight. Newly acquired defenseman Jason Seery (from Allen) is also expected to play tonight.

The Brahmas’ top three scorers are AJ Gale (F) with 13 points (7 G, 6 A, +2), Grant Jacobsen (F) with 11 points (6 G, 5 A, 0) and Jordan Cameron (F) with 11 points (4 G, 7 A, 0). Their leading defensive scorer remains Kevin McLeod with 10 points (5 G, 5 A, +1).

They are ranked 14th in the league on the power play with an 10.34 percentage and 10th on the penalty kill with an 80.65 percentage. They lead the league with five short-handed goals.

Brett Jaeger (3-4-0) is my guess to start for the Brahmas.

Anders Strome is still out on injured reserve (foot) but the Brahmas are otherwise healthy.

Massey Ratings predicts a Killer Bee win. They were wrong last night. I think they'll be wrong tonight.

The opening face off is at 7:35pm and the game can be seen on CHL-TV. You can also attend the watch party at Zuroma Bar and Grill at NYYEX or listen live on Internet radio here

Image Credit: Robert Keith

Brahmas take down the Jackalopes in Ector County

Spirited play leads to 7-3 road win

Paul Gillis and the Odessa Jackalopes were brought back down to earth after their recent eight game winning streak by the Texas Brahmas last night at the Ector County Coliseum. Forwards Grant Jacobsen, James Hiebert, Matt Burto and Jordan Cameron finished the night with three points apiece and Brett Jaeger stopped 15 of 18 shots for his third victory of the season.

The Brahmas record improves to 6-6-2 (.500) tying them with Rio Grande Valley with 14 points for fourth place in the Southern Conference. This was a huge win for the Brahmas and a huge loss for the Jackalopes (from a psychological standpoint, if not in the standings), who probably thought this was going to be their ninth consecutive win.

The Brahmas opened up the scoring when a wrist shot by Elias Godoy from the left circle deflected into the air and hit the body of Jason Deitsch. Deitsch sent the puck into the back of the net past a stunned Juha Toivonen for the 1-0 lead at the 5:27 mark.

James Hiebert made it 2-0 after his redirection effort bounced into the air and past Toivonen at the 16:22 mark.

The first period ended with a 8-5 shot advantage for the Brahmas. Odessa special teams killed off two power plays but their offense was unable to get anything going.

The Brahmas didn't take long to find the back of the net again in the opening minutes of the middle frame. AJ Gale and Grant Jacobsen set up a goal by Jordan Cameron to make it a 3-0 game at the 2:31 mark.

Defenseman Luke Sellars dropped the gloves with Odessa thug Garrett Gruenke eight minutes into the period. I'm wondering if it's a pre-requisite for Gruenke to fight a Brahma in every match up. Both would of course receive five-minute Fighting Majors for their efforts.

Odessa finally caught a break after a hooking call on Justin Kinnunen led to their first goal as Alex Dunn slapped a shot from the point through traffic and past Brett Jaeger to make it a 3-1 game at the 14:25 mark. Dominic Leveille and Kory Karlander were in on the assist.

A few minutes later, Odessa scored another power play goal off a wrister by Kory Karlander to bring them within one at the 17:52 mark. Mike Lesperance and Juha Toivonen were credited with the assist.

Odessa's surge would be cut short just 14 seconds later when a turnover picked up by Grant Jacobsen led to a quick strike by Jordan Cameron to make it 4-2 at the 18:06 mark. AJ Gale was also in on the assist. Less than a minute later, the Brahmas struck again when James Hiebert took possession of the puck and sent it to Kevin McLeod who took it up the ice. A pass to Matt Burto led to his second goal of the season and the 5-2 lead at the 18:57 mark.

Once again, the Brahmas led the shot count with a 11-9 advantage in the middle frame and 19-14 through 40 minutes. They failed to convert on several power play opportunities but that would soon change.

The Brahmas dominated the third period which saw aggressive play from the frustrated Jackalopes (who were called for three infractions in the opening minutes of the period), but the Brahmas didn't back down. Odessa defenseman Michael Grenzy took on James Hiebert at the 9:56 mark which led to a two-minute Fighting (Instigator), a five-minute Fighting Major and a 10-minute Fighting (Instigator) Game Misconduct. Hiebert received two minutes for Charging.

The resulting power play led to a Grant Jacobsen goal, his sixth of the year. Jordan Cameron and Kevin Mcleod assisted to give the Brahmas a 6-2 lead at the 10:31 mark.

An interference call on James Hiebert led to a power play tally for Odessa when Paul Kelly scored off the assist from Mike Ramsay and Alex Dunn at the 16:34 mark but it was too little, too late for the Jackalopes.

After Alex Dunn was called for slashing, the Brahmas scored the final goal on the power play when Matt Burto, assisted by Kevin McLeod and James Hiebert, sent the puck past Toivonen to make it a 7-3 final score and a decisive victory for the Brahmas.

The Brahmas had an astounding 22-4 shot advantage in the final period and a 41-18 final shot count to hand the Jackalopes their worst loss of the season.

Brett Jaeger stopped 15 of 18 shots for his third victory of the season. His record is now 3-4-0. Juha Toivonen made 34 saves on 41 shots and took the loss, his worst since facing the Brahmas in the Southern Conference Finals. His record goes to 6-1-0.

The Brahmas went 2 for 10 on the power play. Odessa went 3 for 5. The Brahmas were assessed 21 minutes on 9 infractions; Odessa received 40 minutes on 13 infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game went to Odessa's Kory Karlander (crock)for a goal and an assist (big whoop). The 2nd Star was awarded to Grant Jacobsen who had a goal and and two assists and the 1st Star went to Jordan Cameron who had two goals and an assist on the night.

You can view the box score here

Observations:

• Wow, now that's the Brahmas team we remember from last season. What looked like a difficult road trip now looks like a possible three win venture if the boys can feed off of the energy of that win and take down the Killer Bees tonight (they lost to Corpus Christi on Tuesday) and the Bucks (who have been off since Sunday night, when they won their second in a row against Rio) tomorrow night.
• AJ Gale's two assists brought his point count to 13 (7 G, 3 A). He still leads all rookies in the CHL in goals, assists (tied with Rio's Sean Muncy) and points. He also leads in power play goals (2) and shots (39).
• The Brahmas two power play tallies lifted them off the cellar floor (just above Wichita) to a 10.34 percentage.

Honorable mention - Rookie Mike Willemsen, who was picked up by the Allen Americans after being waived by the Brahmas on Wednesday, scored a hat trick against the Arizona Sundogs last night at the Allen Events Center. Way to go, Mike!

The Brahmas are at the Dodge Arena in Hidalgo, Texas where they will Take on the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees tonight with a 7:05pm opening face-off.

Fans can catch all the action pay-per-view through CHL-TV (Rio has a nice feed) or can attend the game watching party at ZuRoma Bar and Grill at the NYTEX Sports Centre.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith