The Insider Preview - Texas Brahmas vs. Laredo Bucks

Series tied at 2-2, teams set for fifth meeting this season

The Texas Brahmas (33-12-4) host the Laredo Bucks (28-16-4) for a Friday night face-off at the NYTEX Sports Centre. The Brahmas lead the Bucks by 10 points in the Southeast Division and hope to extend their four point lead over the Odessa Jackalopes in the Southern Conference with a win. The Jackalopes also play tonight, hosting the Amarillo Gorillas (14-30-3).

The teams each have two wins in the series thus far. The Brahmas won 4-1 at the LEC on January 3rd and 6-2 at NYTEX on January 17th. The Bucks won 2-1 (Shootout) on December 6th and 5-4 (Shootout) at the LEC on January 21st. Yeah, you probably noticed that when the Brahmas were on, it was a big win. When the Bucks were on, they pulled off their wins by a hair. After tonight, the two team's will meet three more times, all in March.

The Brahmas have a league best 20-3-1 home record and a league best 11 straight wins at home. They have not lost at home since December 26th, when they were shutout 3-0 by Rio Grande Valley. They are coming off a two-game series at NYTEX versus the Odessa Jackalopes. As you know, they won both games. Prior to that, they had losses on the road at Bossier-Shreveport (4-1) and Oklahoma City (4-2).

The Brahmas have outscored their opponents 51-25 during their 11-game home winning streak. In addition, the Brahmas have lost just two regulation games this season when scoring the first goal. Overall, the Brahmas are 21-2-2 in the 25 games they have scored the first goal.

The Bucks are 9-10-3 on the road and are coming off of a two-game road series against the New Mexico Scorpions (19-28-2). They won both games at the Santa Ana Star Center. The Bucks had not won back-to-back road games since November 28th-29th, when they swept a two-game set at Arizona. Prior to the wins against New Mexico, the Bucks were defeated 5-4 by the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (25-20-4) at the LEC on February 10th. The Killer Bees are six points behind the Bucks in the standings and trying to catch up.

As Bob Hoffman mentioned in Shots From the Point today, a loss by the Bucks could put the nail in the coffin with just 15 games remaining after tonight and a potential 12 point difference. A win for Laredo gets them right back into the swing of things with three big games versus Texas remaining (two in Laredo) during the final seven days of the regular season. The Bucks and Head Coach Terry Ruskowski are not used to being in this position as far as the division crown goes as they have won five straight Southeast Division titles.

The Brahmas have a tough, three-game weekend in front of them (understatement). After Friday night's game against Laredo, they leave for a Saturday night game at Odessa and then return home for a Sunday afternoon match against the Oklahoma City Blazers. The Brahmas hope to clinch a playoff spot sometime this weekend but all three games will be fast and physical and it will take an incredible amount of fortitude to pull off any number of wins.

Short two defensemen with Justin Kinnunen with the Rampage in San Antonio and Eric Lundberg recovering from a ride into the boards during the Odessa series, the Brahmas will be relying on two rookies from the "Making the Cut" prospect camp to fill the gap. Dan Force was signed last Saturday but had minimal ice time in the game against Odessa. In addition, Ross Rouleau (Pete's younger brother) has been called on to re-join the team. Ross, if you remember, was signed after the "Making the Cut" camp and played in the first two games of the season before being placed on waivers. Both are capable young men and you just have to trust Fonger's judgement.

The Bucks' top three (active) scorers are Darryl Smith (F) with 54 points (28 G, 26 A), Alex Goupil (F) with 45 points (19 G, 26 A) and Rick Kozak (F) with 41 points (20 G, 21 A). On Special teams, the Jacks are ranked 7th in the league overall on the powerplay at 18.9% and 14th on the road at 13.8%. On the penalty kill, Odessa is ranked third in the league overall at 85.9% and sixth on the road at 83.7%.

The top three scorers for the Brahmas are Scott Sheppard (F) with 55 points (27 G, 28 A), Grant Jacobsen (F) with 47 points (18 G, 29 A) and Jordan Cameron (F) with 45 points (16 G, 29 A). On special teams, the Brahmas are ranked fourth in the league overall on the powerplay at 19.7% and fifth at home at 19.8%. On the penalty kill, they are ranked 12th in the league overall at 80.9% and fourth at home at 87.1%.

Brett Jaeger (24-6-4) is expected in net for the Brahmas. Sebastien Centomo (17-11-2) will be in net for the Bucks.

The Brahmas will be without forward Matt Quinn and defenseman Eric Lundberg.

The Bucks will be without center Jeff Bes, and forwards Bobby Russell and Rick Kozak are question marks. Defensemen Jaye Judd and Steve Weidlich have been taken off the injured reserve as of Wednesday. Both are expected to play tonight.

The game starts at 7:05pm and will be broadcast on Nifty-TV if you have an excuse not to be there in person. Immediately following the game is a game worn jersey auction for the Reliant Energy jerseys the Brahmas will be wearing.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith