Scott Sheppard sends his second goal into the net past Juha Toivonen

One game away...!

Brahmas defeat the Jackalopes 7-5, take 3-2 lead in conference finals

Texas Brahmas sniper Scott Sheppard was on fire Saturday night at the NYTEX Sports Centre, scoring a CHL playoff record-tying four goals and six points to lead his team to within one win of advancing to the Ray Miron President’s Cup Finals. Sheppard's hat trick is his second in a game five in a Conference Finals series. Last season Sheppard netted three goals in the 3-2 overtime win over the Colorado Eagles in the Northern Conference Finals.

"I thought it was a great crowd, a great atmosphere and it was nice, obviously to get the win, Brahmas head coach Dan Wildfong said. "I thought our boys came out really hard and when we got down a goal, they didn't quit, they just kept going."

The tone of the game would be established early in the first period as both teams came out playing fast, physical hockey with the determination warranted in match of this importance.

The Brahmas opened up the scoring when forward Brandon Benedict attacked Juha Toivonen's net to score his fifth goal in the postseason at the 6:37 mark with the feed coming via Kevin McLeod and Scott Sheppard.

Undeterred, Jackalope defenseman Ryan Palmer put the equalizer on the board just 89 seconds later after beating Texas goaltender Brett Jaeger's diving save attempt. Palmer was assisted by Kory Karlander and Kenny Bernard. At the 8:06 mark, it was a 1-1 game.

The Jacks hushed the sold out crowd and took the 2-1 lead at the 10:44 mark, netting their first power play goal of the series after 27 previous attempts. Colin Circelli, fed by Jeff Pierce, took his shot coming in from the right circle and found just enough space between the right post and Jaeger's leg pad to get the score.

After calls on Jackalope's Palmer and Karlander led to a 5-on-3 opportunity, Scott Sheppard took a feed from Jason Deitsch and sent a one-timer just inside the left post to tie it up again with just 51 seconds left in the opening frame. Kevin McLeod was also in on the assist. 16 seconds later, Sheppard would take control of the puck above the left circle in the Odessa zone and take it through the slot to top of the right circle, where he slapped a shot past Toivonen's right shoulder to make it a 3-2 game at the 19:25 mark. Brandon Benedict and Craig Minard were credited with the assist.

Odessa would lead the shot count 16-13 in the first frame, but Scott Sheppard's dual strikes in the final minute took away their lead and their momentum going into the first intermission.

Firmly in control of the game, the Brahmas would score twice more in the second period to make it a 5-2 affair. Travis Banga had the first goal at the 7:19 mark, assisted by Scott Sheppard and Brett Jaeger. Then it was Jason Deitsch, with a short-handed tally at the 10:57 mark that sent Juha Toivonen to ride the bench for the remainder of the game. Jeremy Symington, added to the roster just five days earlier as an emergency goaltender, would come in to finish the game.

The Brahmas were unable to solve the reliever and the period ended with the Brahmas ahead in the shot count (14-9) for the first time since the middle frame of game one.

The Brahmas opened the final period with a 5-0n-3 advantage due to a pair of calls in the final minute of the middle period. It wouldn't take long for Scott Sheppard to continue his assault on the Jacks after being set up by Jason Deitsch and Justin Kinnunen. Sheppard was able to send the puck flying past Symington to net the hat trick at the 36 second mark, sending the crowd at the NYTEX Sports Centre into a frenzy with a 6-2 lead.

Odessa refused to surrender and mounted an impressive comeback attempt, scoring three consecutive goals. The first came from Jeff Pierce, who scored his fourth goal of the post season off a feed from Kory Karlander and Russ Moyer at the 3:14 mark. Next up was Dominic Leveille, who cut the margin to two goals with his power play strike at the 12:43 mark. Jean Bourbeau and Kory Karlander were credited with the assist.

On another power play and with just over two minutes left, Odessa head coach Paul Gillis made the decision to pull Symington in favor of the extra attacker. It paid off as Kenny Bernard, assisted by Philippe Plante and Mike Ramsay, put a shot past Jaeger to make it a 6-5 game. With the extra attacker remaining in play, the Jacks struggle to gain control of the puck and were stung by a pass from Craig Minard to Scott Sheppard which led to the final score on the empty net with just one second left.

The Odessa attack gave them a 17-6 lead in the shot count in the period and 42-33 advantage in the game, but ultimately would find themselves with a long bus ride home, facing possible elimination on home ice in next Thursday's game six.

Brett Jaeger earned the win, his seventh in the post-season, stopping 37 of 42 shots against. Jeremy Symington took the loss, although he stopped nine of 10 shots faced. He is now 0-2 in the post-season.

Texas was assessed 42 minutes on 14 infractions. Odessa received 34 minutes on 10 infractions.

The Brahmas went 3 for 7 on the power play. The Jacks went 3 for 11. Prior to Saturday's game, Odessa had not scored a power play goal in 21 previous chances in the series.

The 3rd star of the game went to Jason Deitsch, who had a goal and two assists on the night. The 2nd star went to Brandon Benedict, who also had a goal and two assists and the 1st star went to Scott Sheppard, who had four goal and two assists.

You can view the box score here

You can view my photos from the game here

Game Six is scheduled for Thursday night at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa with elimination on the line for the Jacks and the championship series within the grasp of the Brahmas. The game is set for a 7:05pm CST opening face-off. Fans are invited to a game watching party at ZuRoma Bar and Grill at the NYTEX Sports Centre beginning at 6 PM.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith