Greg McConnell scores the Brahmas second goal with a little help from Tyler Skworchinski and Jordan Cameron

Killer Bees have no sting at NYTEX

Jaeger stops 32 shots, gets shutout win

The Texas Brahmas won the first of four games with the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees this season by a score of 2-0 on Tuesday night.

I have to tell you, I was bored to death during the first two periods. In fact, during the second period as I was watching the game through my camera lens, I was considering what would be more entertaining: this game or a Swedish ice fishing tournament. Yes, I do get the Outdoor Life Network.

The Brahmas seemed to be preoccupied. Poor passing and puck handling in general, missed opportunities for takeaways and shots on goal, etc, etc, etc. The Bees actually looked better than I expected, but not good enough to get excited about. A family of Bees fans sitting to my right were lifeless. Hope they didn't drive too far.

The Brahmas had three powerplay opportunities in the first period but no one could get a shot past Wylie Rogers who despite the loss, had a good game. The Bees had one powerplay opportunity but were held off by the Brahmas penalty killers and Brett Jaeger. The Brahmas outshot the Bees 13-9 but after 20 minutes the game was tied at 0-0.

The Brahmas went the entire second period without a penalty. In fact, with the lowest number of penalty minutes on average (17.10), the Bulls were only assessed four minors for eight minutes during this contest. The Brahmas failed to score on three powerplays in the second and although they outshot the Bees 12-11, Wylie Rogers stood strong and the game remained scoreless after 40 minutes.

Killer Bee netminder Wylie Rogers stops a shot by Grant Jacobsen

Then came the third period and everything fans on both sides were waiting to see. Things got physical very quickly. Broken sticks and bodies landed on the ice throughout as both teams finally woke up and started playing to win.

At the 6:15 mark, Scott Sheppard put the first point on the board with an even-strength goal taking a pass from Grant Jacobsen and slapping the puck past Rogers, who was defending from outside the crease. Craig Minard was also credited with the assist. It was Sheppard's 10th goal of the season.

The Bees played hard but failed to score on a pair of two-man advantages midway through the period.

The Brahmas took advantage of their eighth powerplay opportunity and struck again at the 16:06 mark. This time it was Greg McConnell who rushed two defenders to put the puck into the net. The assist came from Tyler Skworchinski and Jordan Cameron. Wylie Rogers was so frustrated after missing the save he shoved the net off of its pegs.

Brett Jaeger stopped twelve shots in the third period (32 in total) to seal the win and the shutout. His record improved to 9-2-2-1. It was the second shutout in three games for the Brahmas whose goaltenders have allowed just eight goals in the last seven games.

"I don’t get too many shutouts at all," Jaeger told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "They usually find a way to get one by me. When you get [a shutout], it feels really good."

The third star went to Scott Sheppard. The second star went to Greg McConnell and the first star, of course, went to Brett Jaeger.

The Bees suffered another loss with a "lower body injury" to Travis Banga. He will be placed on the 30-day injured reserve. Ironically, this occurred on the same night Rob Voltera returned to the lineup after being out on a 14-day IR.

You can view the box score here

You can view photos from the game here

The Brahmas begin their longest road trip of the season starting Friday and Saturday at the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi where they will take on the 12-9-0 RiverKings. Then it's off to Prescott Valley, Arizona for a three-game series against the Sundogs. The trip will end with a game in Bossier City against the Mudbugs before returning home to NYTEX to host the Killer Bees again on December 26th.

Photo Credits: Robert Keith