Brahmas gain standings point, lose again to RiverKings

2nd shootout loss in a row at the DCC

For the second consecutive time in as many weeks, the Texas Brahmas lost to the Mississippi RiverKings in a shootout at the Desoto Civic Center. In front of a sparse Tuesday night crowd of 1,583 fans, the RiverKings managed 10 successful penalty kills in a row and weathered a 34-26 shot advantage by the Brahmas to earn two points and improve their record to 5-4-0 (10 points) to take the lead in the Northern Conference standings.

The Brahmas, who couldn't maintain an effective offensive rhythm, nonetheless picked up a standings point and improved to 3-2-2 (8 points) to tie the Laredo Bucks for fourth place in the Southern Conference standings, just one point behind the Allen Americans who were shutout in a 4-0 road loss to the Tulsa Oilers tonight (Tulsa is a point ahead of the Colorado Eagles in the Northern Conference, WTF?).

The first period went scoreless despite a clear advantage for the RiverKings which included a 9-4 shot advantage and three power plays, including a five-on-three for 1:38. Three Brahmas (Lee Jubinville, Pete Rouleau and Grant Jacobsen) were each called for hooking. The Brahmas had one power play opportunity but failed to capitalize.

Bobby Chaumont scored the first goal of the game off of a feed from David Simoes at the 1:35 mark of the second period. Just over four minutes later, Grant Jacobsen scored the equalizer thanks to the assistance of Dan Welch and Jordan Cameron at the 5:52 mark.

Defenseman David Simoes (who might expect a fine by Kevin Kaminsky for his undisciplined play tonight) was called four times in a row for Holding, Roughing, Unsportsmanlike Conduct and Slashing in the second half of the middle frame. Although the Brahmas spent the majority of the second half of the period with the man advantage, they were unable to convert, despite a 16-10 shot advantage. After 40 minutes, the game remained tied at one apiece.

The third period saw an utter breakdown in discipline by the RiverKings when player after player was sent to the sin bin for various infractions. Once again, despite five power plays in the period, the Brahmas were unable to beat Ray Jean, who was remarkable in net (and to think I trashed this guy before his first meeting against the Brahmas for a puck poor resume).

A tough break for Brahmas forward Jason Reese, who got his skate caught under a RiverKings player as both tangled and fell to the ice behind and to the right of the RiverKings net. Reese's left ankle and leg appeared to have been injured and you could almost hear him cry out in pain across three states. He was helped off the ice by trainer Tom Hart and there has been no word on his condition as of yet.

There would be no scoring in the third period as both teams played cautiously - neither wanting to give up a late goal to lose the game. The Brahmas led the shot count by 12-4 but were unable to find a way to solve Ray Jean a second time.

The game went into overtime with two shots tallied for each squad but there would again be no scoring and the game would be settled by a shootout.

Mississippi’s second shooter, Louis Dumont, beat Palmer to give the advantage to Mississippi. The Brahmas’ fifth and final shooter, Jordan Cameron scored the lone goal in the shootout for Texas, only to be followed by the RiverKings' Ryan Held, who posted the game winner with a shot that bounced off the post and barely slid past the goal line, too late for Palmer to catch.

Ray Jean stopped 33 of 34 shots faced (and 4 of 5 in the shootout) to earn the win. His record improves to 5-2-0. Jean now leads all CHL goalies in games played (7), minutes played (428.33), wins (5) and saves (202). He has the eighth best GAA at 2.80 and the seventh best save percentage at .910. Jean, 27, was also named the Oakley/CHL Goaltender of the Week, for games played through Sunday, October 25.

Joe Palmer, who also had a good night in net, stopped 24 of 25 shots faced (and 3 of 5 in the shootout) but takes the loss. His record goes to 2-0-2.

The Brahmas went 0 for 10 in the power play and the RiverKings went 0 for 7.

The Brahmas were assessed 14 minutes on seven infractions and the RiverKings were called for 20 minutes on 10 infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game was awarded to Grant Jacobsen for his game-tying goal in the second period. The 2nd Star went to Ryan Held, for the game winner in the shootout and the 1st Star of the game was given to goalie Ray Jean, who was outstanding in net tonight.

You can view the box score here

Observations:

• Although they spent the equivalent of an entire period with the man advantage, the Brahmas once again failed to convert a single power play goal. Any improvement they achieved on Saturday night was washed away and they now sit at the bottom of the special teams stats with an atrocious 7.69 power play percentage. They are ninth in the penalty kill with a 82.69 percentage.
• Fans questioned the whereabouts of James Hiebert, who was an apparent healthy scratch tonight.
• I don't fault Joe Palmer for his second shootout loss. Overall, he had a good game and was beaten by two outstanding forwards, Bobby Chaumont and Ryan Held. After tonight, he is second in the league with a 2.07 GAA and first with a .934 save percentage. Palmer's game and confidence seem to be improving with every start and the Brahmas are in good hands with Brett Jaeger in Houston.
• AJ Gale (3 G, 4 A, +3) and Lee Jubinville (1 G, 3 A, +1) lead the league in rookie scorers.

The Brahmas will return home to North Richland Hills to prepare for their trip to meet the Amarillo Gorillas for the first time this season on Friday night at the Amarillo Civic Center.