Insider Preview - Texas Brahmas @ Corpus Christi IceRays

Brahmas lead the series 3-0

The Texas Brahmas (35-12-5, 75 points) travelled on Monday to Corpus Christi where they will take on the IceRays (22-26-4, 48 points) later this morning at the AmericanBank Center. The Game will mark the first meeting between the Brahmas and a Brent Hughes coached team since the final game of the 2007/08 season when the Austin Ice Bats won a 4-1 match at the Chaparral Ice Arena.

Hughes, who was named head coach of the Rays on February 17th after rookie coach Sylvain Cloutier was dismissed, went 1-1 in his first two games this past weekend. The Rays defeated the Oklahoma City Blazers on Friday night (2-1) but lost to the New Mexico Scorpions on Saturday night (5-3). They are 13-14-1 at home this season.

The Rays are still in the hunt for the fifth and final playoff berth in the Southern Conference, trading places frequently with the Arizona Sundogs for the position in the standings. They currently have a one point lead.

The Brahmas are coming off a 5-3 win over the Oklahoma City Blazers on Sunday. They have beaten the IceRays three times this season; twice at the NYTEX Sports Center and once at the AmericanBank Center. They are 13-9-4 on the road this season.

If the Brahmas win and the Colorado Eagles lose on the road against the Tulsa Oilers (the Oilers lead the series 2-1) tonight, they will take the first place position in the race for the Governor's Cup. The Brahmas can take a seven point lead in the Southern Conference with a win this morning and a loss by Odessa tonight against the Mississippi RiverKings.

IceRays' top three scorers are Chris Richards (C) with 65 points (26 G, 39 A), Justin Quenneville(C) with 57 points (16 G, 41 A) and Ryan Bennett (RW) with 50 points (22 G, 28 A). On Special teams, the Rays are ranked 11th in the league overall on the powerplay at 16.1% and 9th at home at 17.7%. On the penalty kill, Corpus Christi is ranked 11th in the league overall at 81.6% and 11th at home at 82.2%.

Adam Powell (LW) is the danger man today, having scored four points (4 G, 0 A) against the Brahmas this season. Watch also for Justin Quenneville (C). In the last 10 games, he has put up 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and is a +2. He has scored 30 points at home this season (8 G, 22 A).

The top three scorers for the Brahmas are Scott Sheppard (F) with 59 points (29 G, 30 A), Grant Jacobsen (F) with 48 points (18 G, 30 A) and Jordan Cameron (F) with 48 points (18 G, 30 A). On special teams, the Brahmas are ranked third in the league overall on the powerplay at 19.9% and fourth on the road at 19.7%. On the penalty kill, they are ranked 12th in the league overall at 80.9% and 14th on the road at 75.9%.

Scott Sheppard is the man to watch for the Brahmas. In the last 10 games, Shep has scored 10 points (5 G, 5 A) and is a +2. He has scored six points (3 G, 3 A) against the Rays this season and is a +3 against them. Sheppard is the lead road warrior this season, having scored 27 points (18 G, 9 A) while travelling. Keep an eye on Kevin McLeod also. McLeod has scored 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and is a +8 in the last 10 games.

David Cacciola (10-6-1) will get the start for the Brahmas. Kris Tebbs (18-17-3) will be in the net for Corpus Christi.

The Brahmas will be without forward Matt Quinn and defenseman Eric Lundberg. The IceRays will be without forwards Patrick Steinmayr and Brett Connolly, left wings Mark Tobin and Jonathan Trottier and defenseman Jozef Sladok.

Massey Ratings shows the Brahmas as the likely winner today - let's hope they're right!

The game begins at 11:00am this morning and will be broadcast on Nifty-TV.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith