Kris Tebbs' diving attempt to stop Jordan Cameron's shot is unsuccessful as the Brahmas' 18th shorthanded goal is scored15 Straight!
Brahmas perfect at NYTEX in 2009, shutout IceRays 3-0
The Texas Brahmas extended their league-leading home streak to 15 games last night with three special-teams goals for a 3-0 shutout of the Corpus Christi Ice Rays completing a five-game season sweep, the first in franchise history for Corpus at the hands of a divisional opponent (looks like the Laredo Bucks aren't the only team thankful for the Brahmas move to the South).
As a head coach, Dan Wildfong has never been beaten by the IceRays (9 attempts in two seasons). The game also marked the return of former Austin Ice Bats head coach and new IceRays coach Brent Hughes to the NYTEX Sports Centre. Hughes now has two seasons without a win in North Richland Hills. Not bad for a shoebox rink, eh Rajan?
The Brahmas and the Mississippi RiverKings are tied with 81 points and the Colorado Eagles maintain the lead for the Governor's Cup with 82 points. The Brahmas now have a 14-point lead over the Laredo Bucks for the Southeast Division crown and have maintained their seven point lead over the Odessa Jackalopes for the Southern Conference title.
David Cacciola was solid in the net, stopping all 23 shots against and notching his franchise-best fourth shutout.
The first period was mostly a yawner but with a lot of good defensive play on both sides. Only three shots had been taken overall in the first 10 minutes. The Brahmas took control late in the game with two goals in just over two minutes.
After a late high-sticking call on Brandon Benedict, Jordan Cameron scored the Brahmas' league-best 18th short-handed goal of the season. A center ice turnover and a pass from Grant Jacobsen gave him his 21st goal of the season and the Brahmas a 1-0 lead with 2:48 left in the period. The Brahmas led the shot count 6-1 after 17 minutes.
Benedict was up next for the Brahmas after a hooking call on IceRays defenseman Chris Mei gave the Brahmas the man-advantage with 1:27 left to play. Defensemen Justin Kinnunen and Craig Minard set up the play and Benedict fired the puck past Kris Tebbs to make it 2-0 at the 19:23 mark.
The Brahmas outshot the Rays 8-2 in the first period and with a 13-0-0 record of wins when leading after the first at home, well, let's just say the game was already well in hand.
Tebbs' terrible night continues as Benedict sails another one over his shoulder to make it 3-0
It only took 45 seconds to seal the deal when Brandon Benedict, taking advantage of a slashing call against IceRays defenseman Ryan Crane, beat Tebbs again to make it a 3-0 game. Kinnunen and Minard were in on the assist again. The Brahmas led the shot count in the game 9-2 at this point.
The game really ended there. The IceRays outshot the Brahmas 12-7 in the middle period, 9-6 in the third and 23-21 in the game, but found a force field name David Cacciola in front of the Brahmas' net.
Cash's record goes to 13-6-1-2 with the win.
The Brahmas went 2 for 11 on the powerplay. The IceRays went 0 for 7.
The Brahmas were assessed 20 minutes on 10 infractions. Corpus Christi was assessed 28 minutes on 14 infractions.
The 3rd star went to Justin Kinnunen for his two assists in his first game back from his stint with the San Antonio Rampage (AHL). The 2nd star went to Brandon Benedict for his two powerplay goals, giving the Brahmas the win and the 1st star went to goaltender David Cacciola for his shutout.
Here's a cool fact courtesy of uber-blogger Greg Rajan: That's 15 straight home wins for the Brahmas. To show you how far that franchise has come, they didn't have 15 total home wins in 2002-03, 2003-04 or 2005-06. They eeked out 16 in 2004-05.
You can view the box score here
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