Texas Brahmas win in overtime!

Defeat the Odessa Jackalopes 3-2 in pre-season action

2,231 Texas Brahmas fans had their first look at the 2008-09 squad in an entertaining 3-2 overtime win against the Odessa Jackalopes. Head Coach Dan Wildfong watched the game from several vantage points while Assistant Coach Ron Vogel took over the bench for the night with the help of Craig Minard.

The first period was a defensive battle as both teams looked rough and in need of some cohesive play. The Brahmas had eight penalty minutes on three players including forward Lance Galbraith's first CHL penalty; two minutes for roughing. Goaltenders David Cacciola for the Brahmas and Juha Toivonen for the Jackalopes were perfect and the period ended with no score.

In the second period, the Brahmas came out focused and fought hard against a determined Jackalopes team. The physical play led to several more trips to the penalty box for both teams. Lance Galbraith and Jackalopes defenseman Garrett Gruenke were each assessed five minute penalties (fighting major) after a fight at the east end of the rink. Both defensive units played well and the period ended with no points on the board.

The Brahmas rested goaltender David Cacciola in the third period, bringing out Brett Jaeger to finish the game. The fans went wild when Lance Galbraith struck first blood 1:51 into the period, assisted by Justin Kinnunen and Aaron Davis. The celebration was short-lived when Odessa's Mark Johnson shot one past Jaeger during the powerplay to tie the game up 1-1. Lance Galbraith and Odessa's Marc Rechlicz traded punches against the glass, earning both five minutes (fighting major) in the penalty box. Odessa claimed the lead when Sebastien Thinel scored with less than seven minutes left to play. Just over a minute later, The Brahmas' Matt Burto took a feed from Aaron Davis and Kevin McLeod and tied the game up again, sending the game into a five-minute overtime period.

It didn't take long for the Brahmas' forward Marc Belanger to take advantage of a powerplay 1:38 into the period and net the game winner with a pass from defensemen Mike Vellinga and Kevin McLeod.

The team played well together considering the short amount of time they've been together. Looks like Dan Wildfong has done another great job of pulling together the talent he'll need to make a run for the championship again.

"We’ve got a lot of things to work on," Wildfong told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I was pretty happy with the second and third periods. I thought the intensity level picked up and we started paying attention to detail."

Final cuts to the training camp roster are expected to be made as early as today and should be announced soon. Next stop - Shreveport!

See the box score here

See the photos here

Photo Credit: Robert Keith