Jason Deitsch celebrates after scoring his first goal on Sebastien Centomo

12 straight home wins!

Jason Deitsch, Brahmas defeat the Bucks 5-2

Buried in the first period by four straight goals, the Laredo Bucks became the Texas Brahmas latest victims at the NYTEX Sports Centre as the Brahmas posted their league best 12th straight home win. The Brahmas record improves to 34-12-4 and with 72 points are just three points away from the lead for the Governor's Cup, thanks to the Colorado Eagles fourth straight loss last night.

The win also gave the Brahmas a 3-2 season-series lead and a 12-point standings lead over second place Laredo in the Southeast Division. Three remaining games between the two teams are scheduled for March 14th at NYTEX and March 18-19th at the Laredo Entertainment Center.

The Laredo squad looked out of sorts throughout most of the game. Unable to develop any momentum, the game went South for them very quickly. The Brahmas attack was led by the Sheppard-Deitsch-Banga line. Forward Jason Deitsch, whose two goal, two assist performance in the first period, earned the first star of the game.

No doubt the incredible fans at NYTEX also were a factor in the win.

"It’s great when you have this much fan support," Dan Wildfong told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "We just need to continue to take this on the road with us."

The Brahmas scored the first goal on their first shot of the game. Nathan Saunders fed the puck to Jason Deitsch who spun full-circle to avoid a defender and found Scott Sheppard heading for the net. Sheppard took the pass and fired the puck past Sebastien Centomo at the 3:51 mark for the 1-0 lead. The goal was Sheppard's team-leading 27th of the season.

Less than five minutes later, Sheppard matched his goal total from last season at the 8:48 mark on a last second pass from Deitsch right in front of the crease. Shep drilled his shot past Centomo for the 2-0 lead. Travis Banga was also in on the assist.

Deitsch continued his assault on Centomo, sending a long pass from Kevin McLeod behind the Bucks' goaltender. It appeared that Centomo kicked the puck in as he skated back into his net. Brandon Benedict was credited with the assist. The score was now 3-0 at the 13:02 mark.

With only :23 seconds remaining in the period, Deitsch ended the night for Sebastien Centomo with his second goal, again off a pass from Kevin McLeod, at the 19:37 mark. The Bucks actually outshot the Brahmas 8-7 in the period but with four of seven shots resulting in points for the Brahmas, coach Roscoe pulled his 'tender.

The second period lacked the excitement of the first but the Brahmas' penalty killers proved why they lead the league in shorthanded goals. After Nathan Saunders was called for tripping, the PK unit went to work. With just 13 seconds left in the Bucks' powerplay, Grant Jacobsen sent a pass from the left circle to Jordan Cameron, who shot the puck past Bucks reliever Andrew Martin, giving the Brahmas a five goal lead at the 13:30 mark.

The Bucks outshot the Brahmas in the second period 13-6 and 21-13 through the first 40 minutes but found themselves down by five goals after two.

Laredo ended Brett Jaeger’s bid for a shutout with goals from Ryan Salvis and Josh Bonar in the third period. Salvis scored at the 6:30 mark off a feed from defenseman Jaye Judd after Jaeger slipped and watched helplessly as the puck slid past him and into the net. Bonar's first goal of the season came on the powerplay with a little help from Salvis and Brent Cullaton at the 15:35 mark. The Bucks would not score again and the game would end with a 5-2 score.

All things considered, Brett Jaeger had a fantastic night, earning his 25th win of the season, stopping 24 of 26 Laredo shots to improve to 26-6-4-2 for the Brahmas. Andrew Martin played well in relief of Centomo in net, setting aside 16 of 17 Brahmas shots.

Laredo outshot the Brahmas for the game 26-24.

The Brahmas went 0 for 4 on the powerplay. Laredo went 1 for 7.

The Brahmas were assessed 16 minutes on 8 infractions. Laredo was assessed 10 minutes on five infractions.

The third star of the game went to defenseman Kevin McLeod, who assisted on the two Deitsch goals in the first period. The second star went to Scott Sheppard with two goals of his own in the first. The first star was awarded to Jacon Deitsch for a four point performance in the first period.

You can view the box score here

You can view my photos from the game here (not edited yet)

Laredo coach Terry Ruskowski was sullen after the game but after a short talk with his players in the visiting locker room, Roscoe came out to spend some time with fans and well-wishers.

The Brahmas left for Odessa after the game for a Southern conference showdown with the Odessa Jackalopes tonight with a 7:05pm start.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith