Insider Preview - Texas Brahmas vs. Mississippi RiverKings

Brahmas looking for seventh straight road win in Southaven, but Kevin Kaminski has other plans

The Texas Brahmas (22-9-3) travel to the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi to take on the Riverkings (21-12-0) tonight. In what will be the biggest challenge the bulls have faced on their current road trip, the Brahmas face a tough RiverKing team that has won eight of their last nine at home, including a 6-0 spanking of the Tulsa Oilers last night.

The RiverKings won back-to-back games against the Brahmas during their last trip to the DCC on December 12-13. With 42 points, Mississippi is one point behind Oklahoma City and two points behind the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in the Northeast Division. All three teams are playing tonight. The RiverKings play the Blazers on Sunday.

The Brahmas have been on fire going 11-3-2 since early December and have firmly claimed their spot atop the Southeast Division with a five point lead over the second place Laredo Bucks with 47 points. A win tonight against Kevin Kaminski's RiverKings would be huge, to say the least. After tonight, the Brahmas will be off until January 16th, when they host the Arizona Sundogs at the NYTEX Sports Centre.

Texas has won six straight games overall and six straight road games (just one shy of the longest CHL road win streak this season). They are coming off a 5-4 overtime win against the Blazers on Wednesday.

The Brahmas went 24-7-1 during the second half of the season a year ago and are already 2-0 during their second half this season. Their top three scorers are Grant Jacobsen with 36 points (15 G, 21 A), Scott Sheppard with 34 points (18 G, 16 A) and Jordan Cameron, also with 34 points (14 G, 20 A).

Goaltender Brett Jaeger has won seven straight games allowing just 13 goals over that stretch. He currently number four in the league with a 2.41 GAA and number two with a .923 save percentage. He is expected to start tonight.

The RiverKings top three scorers are Louis Dumont with 34 points (13 G, 21 A), Bobby Chaumont with 32 points (20 G, 12 A) and Jeff Nelson with 30 points (11 G, 19 A) for 30 points.

Goaltender Kevin Beech is number six in the league with a 2.45 GAA and number 13 with a .905 save percentage. Last night's win was the second shutout in the last four games for Beech and it was his fourth straight win. His season record is now 16-8-0. Beech is expected to start tonight.

On special teams, the Brahmas are number three with a 20.69 powerplay percentage. The RiverKings are number four with a 19.83 percentage. On the penalty kill, the RiverKings have the advantage with a 83.71% kill rate over the Brahmas 81.22%.

The Brahmas will welcome forward Travis Banga to the line-up tonight. Banga, a two-time all-star, has scored 269 points (116 G, 153 A) in 246 career CHL games.

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 RiverKings will be without forward Dallas Costanzo who is also on the IR.

On the lighter side of things, the RiverKings will be hosting a Elvis Presley birthday celebration to honor Mississippi's favorite son. The first 1,000 fans will receive a commemorative Elvis hockey puck.

Game time is 7:05 PM and broadcast coverage is on 96.1 FM The Pig starting at 6:50 tonight. Tonight's game will also be shown on Nifty-TV.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith