Texas Brahmas pull off another third period comeback!

Score four goals in the third period for the 4-2 win tonight in Corpus Christi

The Texas Brahmas won with another third period comeback tonight at the American Bank Center, defeating the Corpus Christi IceRays 4-2. After trailing 2-0 to start the period, the Brahmas put up four goals and improved to 28-10-4, becoming the third team to reach 60 points on the season.

It was the third of five meetings between the two teams and for the Brahmas, it was their 700th game after entering the league 11 1/2 years ago.

A high-energy first period was dominated early by the IceRays. Just 28 seconds into the game, the Rays went on the powerplay after drawing a hooking call on Craig Minard. They capitalized on the opportunity 10 seconds before the man advantage expired when Jeremy Leroux and Chris Richards set up a play for Adam Powell, who was able to beat David Cacciola to make it a 1-0 game. It was Powell's first goal since playing the Brahmas at the NYTEX Sports Centre on January 2nd. He scored the first two goals in that IceRays loss.

The Brahmas were held shotless for most of the first half of the period. It was a physical game from the start with the intensity building as time wore on. The IceRays' penalty killers stopped the Brahmas only powerplay of the period and their defense held the Brahmas scoreless after one. Corpus Christi outshot the Brahmas 10-8.

The second period saw the physical contact continue to elevate as both teams fought hard. The IceRays made it a 2-0 game at the 4:55 mark on a beautiful play set up by Bob Rapoza and Mark Tobin. After receiving the puck from Rapoza, Tobin was able to break away from Eric Lundberg and skated right up to Cacciola leaving the puck in front of the crease for Chris Richards who was in stride on his right and able to put it right between Cacciola's legs.

The Brahmas were unable to solve Kris Tebbs, who had 22 saves through two periods. Texas outshot the IceRays 14-9 in the second but once again, were unable to put together any sustained offense.

A telling statistic at this point : This season, the Brahmas were 3-8-0 overall and 1-6-0 on the road when trailing after two periods. The IceRays on the other hand, were 8-0-0 when leading after two periods at the American Bank Center. But once again, statistics meant nothing to the Brahmas, who managed another third period comeback, the third in as many consecutive road games.

Justin Kinnunen, who has been aggressive all night, managed a pair of goals 89 seconds apart to tie the game up. The first goal came at the 2:56 mark on a powerplay with Scott Sheppard assisting. The second came on a rebound at the 4:25 mark with the assist by Sheppard and Travis Banga after all three crowded in front of the crease.

Kinnunen got his third point of the period, and the Brahmas took their first lead of the night at the 12:19 mark. Jason Deitsch had taken a shot from the right circle. The puck bounced off the pads of Tebbs and then after a mad scramble resulting in a rolling puck in the crease, Deitsch was able to get the rebound at the right post, beating Tebbs to make it a 3-2 game. That goal would end up the game-winner as the Brahmas and Cacciola managed to shut down the IceRays for the remainder of the game.

Scott Sheppard put the nail in the coffin with 54 seconds left, scoring on an empty net after Kris Tebbs left in favor of the extra attacker.

Another great win for the Texas Brahmas in a game where they found momentum when it counted most.

Outshooting Corpus Christi in the third period 13-8, the Brahmas won the shot total in the game 35-27.

David Cacciola improved to 8-5-0-1, getting the win after saving 25 of 27 shots faced.

The Brahmas special teams went one for three on the powerplay. The IceRays went one for five. The Brahmas were assessed 10 minutes on 5 infractions. Corpus Christi received 6 minutes on 3 infractions.

Mark Tobin of the IceRays received the third star for his two assists. Scott Sheppard received the second star for his three point (1 G, 2 A) performance and Justin Kinnunen earned the first star for his own three point performance (2 G, 1 A).

You can view the box score here

You can read the Corpus Christi Caller-Times' Greg Rajan's article and blog entries on the game here and here

The Brahmas return home tonight to get ready for a pair of home games this weekend at the NYTEX Sports Centre. On Friday night, the Brahmas will host the Mississippi RiverKings. On Saturday night, the Tulsa Oilers come to town.