Craig Minard puts pressure on the Sundogs' Mark Kolanos

Insider Preview - Texas Brahmas vs. Arizona Sundogs

Defending CHL champions make first trip to NYTEX Sports Centre

The Texas Brahmas host the Arizona Sundogs on Friday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre, the first game following the All-Star break. This is the fourth and final meeting of the two teams in the regular season. The Brahmas took two of three games during a late December road trip to Prescott Valley.

The Brahmas at 22-10-3 and 47 points, remain atop the Southeast Division with a three point lead over the Laredo Bucks. They trail the Southern Conference leading Odessa Jackalopes by four points. All three teams play on Friday.

The Brahmas are coming off of a four-game road trip where they won three games in a row, only to fall 4-1 to the Mississippi RiverKings last Saturday night. But the Brahmas had won six games in a row and six straight road games prior to that loss. They have won nine of their last 11 games and have a 12-3-1 home record.

The Brahmas' top three scorers are Grant Jacobsen with 37 points (16 G, 21 A), Jordan Cameron with 35 points (14 G, 21 A) and Scott Sheppard with 34 points (18 G, 16 A). Jacobsen leads the league with a .348 shot percentage.

The Brahmas lead the league in shorthanded goals with 12 and have yet to give one up this season. They also remain the least penalized team in the league.

The Sundogs at 17-18-2 and 36 points trail the Jackalopes by 15 points in the Southwest Division. They lost a two-game series against the Jackalopes last weekend but had won the previous six games in a row. They are 11-9-0 on the road.

Arizona's scoring leaders include Joel Irving with 46 points (25 G, 21 A), Martin Gascon with 42 points (7 G, 35 A) and Adam Perry with 35 points (12 G, 23 A).

Goaltender Marco Emond is expected to start against the Brahmas David Cacciola. The two last met on December 20th when the Brahmas defeated the Sundogs in a wild 8-3 contest. The game featured the now infamous last-minute brawl in which we saw a rare goalie fight between the two netminders. Emond has a 13-9-2-1 record. He is 17th in the league with a 3.27% GAA and 15th with a .902 save percentage. Cacciola has a 6-5-0-1 record. He is 13th in the league with a 3.00 GAA and 13th with a .906 save percentage.

On special teams, the Brahmas are number three in the league with a 20.22 powerplay percentage. The Sundogs are number seven with a 18.50 percentage. On the penaty kill, the Brahmas have the slightest advantage with a 81.17% kill rate over the Sundogs at 79.23%.

The Brahmas will be without rookie forward Pete Rouleau who has been granted leave by the league. They will also be without defenseman Mike Vellinga who is on injured reserve.

The Sundogs will be without right wing Tyler Liebel and forward Jason Visser (out for remainder of season), both on injured reserve.

The game begins at 7:05pm and will be broadcast on Nifty-TV.

Photo Credit: Matt Santos/Arizona Sundogs