The Texas Brahmas are just one victory away from a trip to the Southern Conference Championship series after winning their third game in a row tonight over the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees. The 6-2 win at the Dodge Center puts the Brahmas in position to sweep the 'Bees, who were unable to produce any offensive momentum in the game. Six different Brahmas scored goals (Cameron, Kinnunen, Skworchinski, McLeod, Rouleau, Sheppard), once again showing their depth.
"I think we finally played the way we are capable of playing," Brahmas head coach Dan Wildfong said. "We played our systems well and we played a full 60 minutes - I think we had two or three breakdowns and when we did, they capitalized, but other than that, I think we gave them a lot, so I was happy with tonight."
The Brahmas looked sharp from the outset and they scored almost immediately. Grant Jacobsen's shot rang off the glove side of the pipe and then Jordan Cameron slapped the puck in on the rebound to make it 1-0 at the :51 mark. Jacobsen and Matt Burto were credited with the assist.
The Killer Bees looked a bit sluggish coming out of the gates. Down two games to none, the 'Bees seemed to lack the urgency that one would expect from a team in their position.
A close call for the Brahmas came when Jay Hardwick sent a shot in and Jaeger made a glove save but the puck bounced out and landed near the goal line and Jaeger nearly pushed it in as he tried to recover.
Penalties were light as referee J.P. Silvain turned a blind eye to infractions on both sides. An exception came as Jordan Cameron had his shot stopped by Wylie Rogers and then clocked Grant Goeckner-Zoeller with an elbow to the face. After the bodies were removed from the ensuing scrum, Cameron was given a double-minor for Elbowing and Roughing. Defenseman Jesse Perrin was also called for Roughing. The Brahmas, who have struggled with the penalty kill all season, were able to hold off the 'Bees.
Rio Grande Valley led on the shot count 13-10 after 20 minutes but the score remained 1-0, Brahmas.
The physical play increased in the second period. Matt Burto was called for Slashing at the 6:12 mark. The Brahmas, who led the league in short-handed goals during the regular season, scored another just 24 seconds later when all-star defenseman Justin Kinnunen stole the puck at the 'Bees blue line and beat Rogers with an unassisted strike at the 6:36 mark.
Less than a minute later, Rogers made a huge stop when the Brahmas' Tyler Skworchinski had a clear shot after a breakaway.
The Killer Bees finally made it onto the board when Matt Byrnes sent the puck to Aaron Lee, who was positioned outside the left circle. Lee's shot rolled past Brett Jaeger in a narrow opening between his leg and the pipe to make it a 2-1 game at the 8:31 mark.
The Brahmas remained on the attack throughout the period and Wylie Rogers made save after save, eventually facing 18 shots in the middle period.
The Killer Bees started losing discipline mid-way through the period, taking three penalties in a row. After the third penalty, the Brahmas scored 33 seconds into the ensuing powerplay when Tyler Skworchinski, re-directed a 50' shot by defenseman Kevin McLeod, rifling the puck past a screened Rogers, who never saw it coming. Nathan Saunders was also credited with the assist. At the 17:54 mark, it was 3-1, Brahmas.
Less than two minutes later, Scott Sheppard sent a redirect to McLeod, who sent the puck high on the blocker side to make it 4-1 with just 19 seconds left in the period.
The Brahmas led the shot count 18-5 in the period and led 28-18 after 40 minutes.
In clear control of the game after two periods, the Brahmas scored again with a wrap-around goal by Pete Rouleau who beat an out-of-position Wylie Rogers at the 7:18 mark. Matt Quinn was also in on the assist.
The Killer Bees managed to score again at the 9:46 mark when Jesse Bennefield put one past Brett Jaeger with the assist by Grant Goeckner-Zoeller and Topher Scott.
Brahmas fans held their collective breath a couple of minutes later when Brett Jaeger apparently hyper-extended his right leg after the 'Bees Evan Rankin landed on him in the net. Rankin had been hooked from behind by Justin Kinnunen, who would be called for Tripping. Unable to shake off the pain, Jaeger went back to the bench after stopping 23 of 25 shots and relief goaltender David Cacciola came in to finish the game.
The Killer Bees were unable to convert on the powerplay and could not solve Cacciola who would make four saves. They gave up another goal at the 19:26 mark when Scott Sheppard sent the puck straight into the net with the assist from Brandon Benedict and Jason Deitsch. The game would end with the final score 6-2, Brahmas.
Rio Grande Valley was unable to convert on all four of their powerplay opportunities. The Brahmas went one for five.
Brett Jaeger got the win, his third in a row in the playoffs.
Wylie Rogers took his third loss in a row, stopping 27 of 33 shots. The final shot count was 33-29, advantage Brahmas.
When asked what he would tell his players going into Friday night's game four, Killer Bees head coach Chris Brooks commented:
"It's no different than when we started the series; right now we're 12 wins away from the championship," Brooks said. "If you look at it any other way, you're done. You've got to come out, stick to game plan and really commit to playing defense...skate on the cycle. We've been loose on the cycle. Probably three of the goals tonight, we got beat off the cycle. We've got to be stronger."
The 3rd star went to Tyler Skworchinski who had a goal tonight. The 2nd star went to Justin Kinnunen, who also had a goal and the 1st star went to Kevin McLeod, who had a goal and an assist.
The Brahmas were assessed 10 minutes on five minors. The Killer Bees were assisted 12 minutes on six infractions.
You can view the box score here
The series will continue with game four set for Friday night at 7:35pm.
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