Jason Deitsch catches Amarillo goaltender A.J. Bucchino out of position and takes the shot

Brahmas win 14th in a row at NYTEX!

Defeat the Amarillo Gorillas 5-3

The Texas Brahmas proved they just can't be stopped at home as they won their 14th straight game in front of a sold out crowd of 2,369 at the NYTEX Sports Centre, defeating the Amarillo Gorillas 5-3. The Brahmas have not lost a home game since December 26th (3-0 versus the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees). Before that they had not lost at home since December 6th (2-1 shootout against the Laredo Bucks). Their home record is now a league best 23-3-1. Their overall record improved to 37-12-5.

The Brahmas would get on the board first when Scott Sheppard received a drop pass from Jason Deitsch and wristed the puck by Amarillo goaltender A.J. Bucchino from the slot, giving the Brahmas an early 1-0 lead at the 3:17 mark. Brandon benedict was also in on the assist.

Deitsch would score next, with the Brahmas on a 5-on-3 powerplay. After taking a cross-crease pass from Jordan Cameron, Deitsch beat defender Sam Ftorek and fed the puck past an out of position Bucchino to make it 2-0 at the 7:38 mark.

The Brahmas outshot the Gorillas 11-7 in the period.

With the Brahmas leading 2-0 to begin the middle period, Amarillo would battle back to within one with thier first goal coming at the 8:11 mark. Gorilla's defenseman Jamie McKinven took a shot from the right point, with center Stuart MacRae tipping it past David Cacciola to make it a 2-1 game. Joe Guenther was also credited with the assist.

Scott Sheppard scores his second of the game on the powerplay

After Gorilla's defenseman Alex Grieg was called for tripping, the Brahmas rallied with a powerplay goal from Scott Sheppard at the 16:27 mark, on assists from Jason Deitsch and Jordan Cameron. The score was now 3-1.

Matt Burto watches his first of two goals in the making

Matt Burto would follow with another Brahmas less than two minutes later, after tipping a feed from Pete Rouleau past Bucchino to take a 4-1 lead.

The Gorillas would battle back before the period was over. John Snowden took a pass from Stuart MacRae and broke in on Cacciola. Despite losing the puck off the front of his stick, the puck's inertia carried it past the Brahmas' netminder and behind the goal line at the 19:05 mark to make it 4-2.

Amarillo led the shot count in the second period at 13-9.

The Gorillas would close to within a goal at the 8:32 mark of the third period, when former Brahmas forward Mark Carragher beat a screened Cacciola for his fifth goal of the season.

Just over a minute later, the Gorillas received their fifth power play of the night on a Kevin McLeod cross-checking minor. The man-advantage would work against Amarillo, however, when Matt Burto scored a short-handed goal off a feed from Tyler Skworchinski at the 10:17 mark. It was the Brahmas' league-leading 16th short-handed goal of the season and the score was now 5-3.

Nathan Saunders motions to Amarillo defenseman James Jernberg that he's ready to go again

The Gorillas' frustration grew until things reached a boiling point at the 11:20 mark, when a melee broke out near the Brahmas bench. Nine penalties were called as a result, four coming on Brahmas enforcer Nathan Saunders (five minute fighting major, 10 minute fighting (instigator) misconduct, 10 minute leaving the bench game misconduct, two minute fighting (instigator)) who alledgedly left the bench to go off on Amarillo defenseman James Jernberg. He was ejected after the smoke cleared. Jason Deitsch and Grant Jacobsen were each given minors for roughing. Jernberg received a five minute fighting major. Jonathan Ornelas and Gordon Bell each received minors for roughing.

Despite the resulting 5-on-3 power play, the Gorillas failed to get on the scoreboard once again.

The game ended with the Gorillas outshooting the Brahmas 12-10 in the third and 32-30 in the game but leaving with their fifth road loss in a row.

David Cacciola stopped 29 of 32 shots for his 12th win of the season. His record stands at 12-6-1-1.

The Brahmas went 2 for 6 on the powerplay. Amarillo went 0 for 5. The Brahmas ended up with 41 penalty minutes on 11 infractions. Amarillo tallied 23 minutes on 10 infractions.

First Star: Matt Burto

Second Star: Scott Sheppard

Third Star: Jason Deitsch

You can view the box score here

You can view photos from the game here

The Brahmas travel to Bossier City to take on the Mudbugs tonight at the CenturyTel Center. The game is set for 7:05pm and can be viewed on Nifty-TV.

Photo Credits: Robert Keith