Brahmas stung by Killer Bees

Bulls shut out in 3-0 loss at NYTEX

"What that heck was that tonight...the first two periods they handled the puck like they had sausages taped to their fingers! Very disappointing tonight!"

- Russell Farris

Despite outshooting the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees Bees 31-26, the Texas Brahmas offense suffered a rare shutout Friday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The last time the Brahmas were shutout was on February 22nd, also at home against the Bossier- Shreveport Mudbugs.

Like the previous match up between the two Southeast Division rivals on December 9th, there was no scoring in the first two periods. Unlike the previous match up, in which the Brahmas shut out the Bees 2-0, the Bulls could not light any offensive fire and suffered for it.

Both teams had a single powerplay opportunity in the first period, but were unable to find the net. The Bees almost scored in the final minute of the period, but were stymied by Jordan Cameron who helped save a dancing puck in the crease. The Brahmas outshot the Bees 11-7 but were unable to get past Christian Boucher who was solid in the net.

The action picked up in the second period but there was still no score after 40 minutes. Each team had two powerplays; each team failed to score. Once again, the Brahmas outshot the Bees, this time 12-8.

The game winner came at the 2:50 mark in the third period when Zak McClelland and Aaron Lee set up Jesse Bennefield, who was able to smack the puck past Cacciola. Rookie Evan Rankin had a pair of goals to seal the win for the Bees. The first came at the 10:11 mark with the assist from Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and Daryl Moore. The second came at the 19:08 mark when Rankin took a pass from Aaron Lee and found the back of the empty net, vacated for an extra attacker for the Brahmas. Matt Burto nearly scored with 30 seconds left but the shot hit the pipes.

The Brahmas were outshot 11-8 in the final period. Neither team scored on their final powerplay. Both teams went 0 for 4 on powerplay opportunities.

Christian Boucher turned aside 31 shots for his second consecutive shutout (The first was against the Laredo Bucks on December 22nd). His record improves to 5-4-1-2. David Cacciola managed to earn the third star in the game. His record goes to 6-5-0-1.

You can view the box score here

You can view John Blanding's photos from the game here

The Brahmas are now 16-9-3 with 35 points. They will host the 19-5-3 Oklahoma City Blazers on Saturday night.

Photo Credit: John Blanding