Saturday, January 10, 2009

Brahmas "All Shook Up" by the RiverKings

Mississippi wins by score of 4-1

On Elvis Presley night at the DeSoto Civic Center, the Texas Brahmas were soundly defeated by the Mississippi RiverKings, halting their six-game road win streak. The RiverKings played strong during the entire game and an excellent defensive effort through 60 minutes prevented the Brahmas from getting any momentum going.

Travis Banga got his first start with the Brahmas, wearing the #71, Lance Galbraith's old number.

The Brahmas got on the board early, scoring their 12th shorthanded goal of the year
at the 4:55 mark while Justin Kinnunen sat in the penalty box on a hooking call. With just 14 seconds left on the penalty kill, Jordan Cameron took possession of the puck and skated up ice, taking a shot that was stopped by Kevin Beech but Grant Jacobsen got the rebound scoring with a backhander for his 16th goal of the season.

The RiverKings got the equalizer at the 7:35 mark when Matt Summers skated in unassisted and took a shot, beating Brett Jaeger in the upper left hand corner of the net.

Then at the 12:07 mark, the RiverKings took the lead on a powerplay goal scored by defenseman Jeff Alcombrack who skated in from his own zone, beat a pair of Brahmas defenders and shot the puck past Jaeger to make it a 2-1 game. Kevin Beech was credited with the assist.

The penalties mounted as play got rougher and rougher as the period wore on, with each team called three times. The Brahmas went 0 for 3 on the powerplay; Mississippi went 1 for 3.

Mississippi outshot the Brahmas 10-8 in the period with at least three more scoring chances shot wide or saved by Jaeger. Justin Kinnunen also had a chance to tally a goal early in the period but it hit the post.

The second period opened with a fight between David Simoes and Nathan Saunders at the opening face off. Just two seconds into the period, the defensemen squared off with Simoes connecting on several rights thrown before he took Saunders down. Both were assessed fighting majors resulting on four-on-four hockey for five minutes. Travis Banga had a chance to score on a centering play with 17 seconds left on the powerplay but he hit the side of the net.

The period was otherwise uneventful, although hard fought. The Brahmas outshot the RiverKings 8-5 but Mississippi held the lead after two at 2-1. The RiverKings are unbeaten when leading after 40 minutes this season.

That statistic held true as Jeff Nelson and Garrett Larsen set up another score for the Riverkings at the 11:59 mark in a flurry of activity in front of the net. Jaeger couldn't get control of a rebound and Matt Summers was able to score his second of the night, giving Mississippi a 3-1 lead. Then at the 15:21 mark, Jeff Nelson scored a powerplay goal, assisted by Garrett Larson and Jeff Alcombrack.

The RiverKings stifled the Brahmas for the remainder of the period and the game ended with the first Texas loss since December 26th. It was Mississippi's third victory in four games against the Brahmas this season. Texas fell to 22-10-3 with the loss.

The RiverKings outshot the Brahmas 12-7 in the final period and 27-23 in the game. The Brahmas were assessed 25 minutes on 11 penalties. The RiverKings were assessed 17 minutes on seven calls. The Brahmas went 0 for 6 on powerplay opportunities. Mississippi went 2 for 10.

Kevin Beech got the win with 22 saves on 23 shots. His record improves to 17-8-0-2. Brett Jaeger takes the loss, stopping 23 of 27 and his record goes to 16-5-3-1.

All three stars went to the RiverKings so that's all I'll say about that.

The Brahmas have set a franchise record for shorthanded goals with 12. The previous record was 10 with the one man disadvantage set in the 2003-04 season.

You can view the box score here

The Brahmas return home for a few days off during the all-star break before hosting the Arizona Sundogs on Friday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. It will be the first time the Sundogs have visited the Brahmas home ice and it will be the fourth game between the two teams this season with the Brahmas taking two of three in Prescott Valley.

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