Insider Preview – Texas Brahmas vs. Odessa Jackalopes

aka The Battle of the Southern Conference Leaders

This weekend, the two top teams in the Southern Conference will do battle at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The Texas Brahmas (31-11-4) are currently in first place with 66 points while the Odessa Jackalopes (30-12-5) are right on their tails at 65 points.

The two teams have met three times at NYTEX this season. The Brahmas won the first game, a pre-season exhibition, 3-2 in overtime. In the regular season, the Brahmas won by a score of 7-3 on October 25th but lost 5-2 on November 8th. The two teams will play four more times this season (three at NYTEX and one at Ector County Coliseum)

The Jackalopes have led the conference for most of the season and they are 17-7-2 on the road. Things have started to slip lately as they’ve lost their last four games in a row, three of them on the road. Their last game, on Wednesday night, was a painful 5-0 loss to the New Mexico Scorpions.

The Brahmas are coming off their first back-to-back losses since mid-December. Both were on the road where the Brahmas have a 13-9-3 record. On the up side, they are 18-3-1 at home this season. This is put up or shut up time for the Brahmas who can in two games, prove their lead in the conference is legitimate and possibly take a five point lead into next week as they prepare for the final push toward the playoffs.

The Jackalopes' top three scorers are Dominic Leveille (F) with 70 points (21 G, 49 A), Sebastien Thinel (F) with 66 points (29 G, 37 A) and Kory Karlander (F) with 55 points (26 G, 29 A). On Special teams, the Jacks are ranked 2nd in the league overall on the powerplay at 22.01% and first on the road at 20.80%. Recently, they’ve gone 6 for 37 in their last five games. On the penalty kill, Odessa is ranked fourth in the league overall at 85.21% and third on the road at 86.30%.

Dominic Leveille is the player to watch on the Jackalopes squad. In the last 10 games, Leveille has scored 16 points (5 G, 11 A) and is a +4. Another to watch is Sebastien Thinel, who has been the road warrior this season. Thinel has scored 40 points (16 G, 24 A) and is a +12 during his travels this season.

The top three scorers for the Brahmas are Scott Sheppard (F) with 54 points (26 G, 28 A), Grant Jacobsen (F) with 46 points (18 G, 28 A) and Jordan Cameron (F) with 43 points (16 G, 27 A). On special teams, the Brahmas are ranked third in the league overall on the powerplay at 20.10% and fifth at home at 20.60%. On the penalty kill, they are ranked 12th in the league overall at 81.20% and third at home at 88.60%.

Scott Sheppard is the man to watch on the Brahmas squad. In the last 10 games, Shep has scored 14 points (7 G, 7 A) and is a +4. He has scored 28 points (8 G, 20 A) and is a +10 at home this season. Another to watch is Grant Jacobsen, who leads the home guard this season with 29 points (11 G, 18 A) and is a +11 at NYTEX.

If overtime is necessary, it is notable that the Jackalopes are 0-3 in OT and the Brahmas are 5-1. The Jacks are 3-2 in shootouts and the Brahmas are 2-3.

Juha Toivonen (9-4-1-1) is likely to get the start in net for the Jackalopes with Alexandre Vincent out on goaltender IR since February 7th. Toivonen is 10th in the league with a 2.82 GAA and 14th with a .900 save percentage. He has one win against the Brahmas this season.

Brett Jaeger (22-6-4-2) is the likely candidate to start in net for the Brahmas. Jaeger is third in the league with a 2.32 GAA and second with a .928 save percentage. He has one win against the Jackalopes this season.

In addition to Alexandre Vincent, the Jackalopes will be without forward Marc Rechlicz and defenseman Dave Van Drunen, both out on the 30-day injured reserve.

The Brahmas are likely to be without forward Matt Quinn, who suffered and undisclosed injury on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. Jason Deitsch sat out that game. It is not known if he will play this weekend.

Both games start at 7:05pm and will be broadcast on Nifty-TV.

Friday night is Youth Jersey Night; the first 1,000 kids 12 and under will receive a free Brahmas youth jersey courtesy of Ashley Furniture, so the game is sure to be a sellout.

On Saturday, in recognition of St. Valentine’s Day, ZuRoma Bar and Grill (located in the NYTEX Sports Centre) will feature couples dinners for a special rate before, during and after the Brahmas game.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith