Texas Brahmas host Oklahoma City on Friday night

Blazers make their first trip to NYTEX this season

The Texas Brahmas and the Oklahoma City Blazers meet for the third time this month, each leading in their division.

The Blazers have the second best record in the league at 13-1-2 and are tied with Colorado for the most points (28). Three of their games were decided by Shootouts (2 losses). The won their last four games in a row (Amarillo, Texas, Wichita, Amarillo); three of them at home. They have a 5-1-0 road record. Their road loss was on November 15th at the Mississippi RiverKings. The Brahmas are 7-1-0 at home.

The biggest scoring threats are right wings Bill Vandermeer (17 points; 7 G, 10 A) and Simon Lambert (15 points; 9 G; 6 A). Oriel McHugh leads the defense in scoring (12 points; 6 G, 6 A).

The Blazers have the number one penalty killing squad in the league with a 89.71% kill rate and the number five powerplay at 19.42%. The Brahmas remain the least penalized team in the league with an average of 18.80 minutes per game. They are second in the league on the powerplay at 22.50%. They are 13th on the penalty kill at 77.36%.

Goaltender Andy Franck is number one in the league with a 1.53 GAA and a .938 save percentage. His record is 9-1-2. Backup goaltender Doug Groenestege is number two in the league with a 1.84 GAA and a .935 save percentage. His record is 4-0-0. Groenestage is expected to start on Friday due to Franck being out due to injury.

The Blazers beat the Brahmas in each of the two previous meetings at the Ford Center. On November 7th, the Blazers won 4-2 in a game with shots even at 27. Two of their goals were on the powerplay (2 for 6). Brett Jaeger was in the net. On November 23rd, the Blazers won 7-3 in a game where the Brahmas were outshot 33-29. Five of their goals were on the powerplay (5 for 10). Bill Vandermeer scored two powerplay goals in 30 seconds. Chad Hinz had 5 assists. David Cacciola was in the net.

The Brahmas have won their last five home games and need a win against the Blazers to maintain their slight lead over Laredo in the Southeast division. Last season, the two teams met three times at NYTEX with the Brahmas winning two.

The game begins at 7:05pm and can be seen on Nifty-TV.

All military personnel, active and retired will receive half priced tickets at the Brahmas Box Office for the conclusion of "NYTEX Honors Military Night". Following the game will be a live game worn jersey auction for the fans.