Scott Sheppard battles Chris Green for control of the puck

Brahmas win big in Corpus Christi

Defeat IceRays 6-3, overtake the Eagles in points race for Governor’s Cup

In front of a “Kids Day” crowd of nearly 4,000 at the AmericanBank Center, the Texas Brahmas defeated the Corpus Christi IceRays in a physical, late-morning game.

Although the Rays put up a good effort through two periods, the Brahmas pulled off another of their third period runs, outscoring Corpus Christi 4-1 in the final period. In four games this season, the Brahmas have outscored the IceRays 12-2. Dan Wildfong’s record against the IceRays as a coach is now 8-0.

"They play us hard every time we play them,” Wildfong told The Corpus Christi Caller-Times’ Greg Rajan. It's not an easy game by any means. We just stuck with it. We have three pretty deep lines and when you keep going to the net and keep shooting, things are gong to happen."

Rajan sums up the Brahmas this way in his blog, In the Crease:

“Pencil the Brahmas into the finals. No team in the South will beat them in a playoff series.”

The win puts the Brahmas at the top of the league in points at 77; a lead they hold at least until we know the outcome of the Colorado Eagles game against the Tulsa Oilers tonight. In addition, the Brahmas now have a seven point lead over the Odessa Jackalopes in the race for the Southern Conference title. The Brahmas already have a reasonable lock on the Southeast Division title with a 15 point lead over the Laredo Bucks.

The Brahmas capitalized on the first IceRays penalty (on Chris Richards for tripping) of the game when Grant Jacobsen scored on Kris Tebbs with 38 seconds left in the man-advantage. Pete Rouleau and Kevin McLeod were in on the assist. The score was 1-0 at the 9:09 mark.

Corpus Christi fired back less than four minutes later on a powerplay of their own when Jeremy Leroux beat David Cacciola to tie it up at the 13:08 mark. Ryan Bennett and John Adams were credited with the assist.

The IceRays outshot the Brahmas 19-9 in the first 20 minutes.

Corpus Christi scored first in the second period on another powerplay opportunity after Grant Jacobsen was called for high sticking. This time, it was Justin Quenneville who beat Cacciola with the assist from Curtis Huppe and Ryan Crane at the 3:59 mark.

Greg McConnell got the equalizer on an even-strength goal, re-directing the puck over the gloved hand of Kris Tebbs at the 17:41 mark with an assist from Jordan Cameron.

The Brahmas outshot the Rays 11-7 in the middle period but Corpus Christi had the shot lead at 26-20 through 40 minutes. The score was tied, 2-2.

The Brahmas took control in the third period, scoring three goals in less than five minutes. They began on their first powerplay opportunity of the period after Adam Powell was called for interference. It only took 47 seconds for Jordan Cameron to beat Kris Tebbs after receiving a pass from Grant Jacobsen and Mike Vellinga. The Brahmas had the 3-2 lead at the 5:48 mark.

Less than four minutes later, the Brahmas extended their lead by two goals when Kevin McLeod scored on Tebbs with the assist from Jason Deitsch and Scott Sheppard at the 9:34 mark.

Jordan Cameron put the nail in the IceRays’ coffin with his second goal of the period, an even-strength effort with a little help from Greg McConnell and Grant Jacobsen. The goal accounted for the third point for both Cameron and Jacobsen in the game. At the 10:40 mark, it was a 5-2 game.

Corpus Christi’s Adam Powell managed a late goal at the 18:57 mark, assisted by Ryan Bennett and Chris Richards to make it 5-3 but Grant Jacobsen and Jordan Cameron connected again 28 seconds later to put the icing on the cake with Jacobsen’s second goal and fourth point of the game at the 19:25 mark. Jacobsen and Jordan combined for four points each on two goals and two assists each in the game; three points each in the third period alone.

The Brahmas outshot the Rays 12-8 in the final period but Corpus Christi led the shot count in the game by two at 34-32.

David Cacciola saved 31 of 34 shots to get his second win in a row. His record goes to 11-6-1-1.

The Brahmas went 2 for 4 on the powerplay. Corpus Christi went 1 for 7. The Brahmas were assessed 16 minutes on 8 minors. The IceRays were assessed 10 minutes on 5 infractions.

The third star was awarded to Greg McConnell for a goal and an assist. The second star went to Grant Jacobsen for two goals and two assists. The first star went to Jordan Cameron, also for two goals and two assists.

You can view the box score here

The Brahmas will return to base in North Richland Hills today and get ready to prepare for Friday night’s game at home against the Amarillo Gorillas. The game will feature the return of former Brahmas Mark Carragher for the first time since he was placed on waivers on January 16th. After 13 straight wins at NYTEX, the Gorillas will see if they have what it takes to stop the running of the bulls.

It is also Puck Night at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a Texas Brahmas puck.

Photo Credit: Michael Zamora