Monday, January 5, 2009

Texas Brahmas in Tulsa to take on the Oilers

Bulls seeking fifth straight road win

The Texas Brahmas face off for the third of four games against the Tulsa Oilers this season tonight at the BOK Center in Tulsa. The Brahmas defeated the Oilers 6-2 at the NYTEX Sports Centre on November 22nd but were beaten by a score of 2-1 at the BOK Center on December 2nd.

Tonight is the Oilers first game under new head coach Tony Martino. Martino, a former goaltender, helped lead the Oilers to the 1993 Central Hockey League championship, the first season of the reborn league.

The 9-17-4 Oilers have lost five of their last six games but are coming off a 3-2 win over the Rapid City Rush on Saturday night. That was the final game under interim coach Taylor Hall, who has returned to his full time general manager duties. The Oilers were 1-2-1 in the interim period. The 20-9-3 Brahmas have won seven of their last eight games.

Both teams have made recent roster moves. The Oilers waived goaltender Guy St. Vincent and left wing Dennis Sicard. Tonight also will mark the first home game for defenseman Kevin Seibel. The Brahmas yesterday acquired center Travis Banga from Rio Grande Valley in exchange for Topher Scott, Matt Byrnes (who had been acquired in an earlier trade with Wichita) and future considerations from Rocky Mountain and Rapid City that had been owed to Texas. Banga is not expected to be in the Brahmas line up until Friday night when they play the Mississippi RiverKings.

Oilers defenseman Peter Kennedy will miss tonight's game with a thumb injury suffered December 31st in a game at Wichita. Brahmas defenseman Mike Vellinga is also out with an injury.

The game will not be shown on Nifty-TV as the BOK Center is not set up for broadcast capabilities yet. You can listen on internet radio here

The game starts at 7:05pm.

Photo Credit: Les Stockton

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