Justin Aikins' rebound of a Simon Mangos shot gave the Mudbugs an early lead

Brahmas blow 3-1 lead, Mudbugs rally in shootout win

Texas earns point in home loss; Perrott scores first goal as Brahma

A point in the standings is better than nothing at all but don't tell that to Dan Wildfong. The Brahmas coach was livid after the 4-3 shootout loss to the visiting Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs tonight at the NYTEX Sport Centre. Wildfong made it clear on the bench that the team needed these two points and the look on his face was one of disgust as that extra point slipped away in the third period, to be lost in the shootout.

The Brahmas streak of six wins at home was snapped by the heart and hustle of a motivated Mudbugs team that came back from a 3-1 deficit midway through the third period to score two goals in the final 8:12 in regulation, forcing the game into overtime. The Mudbugs would take the comeback victory with a 2-1 goal advantage in the shootout.

With the point earned, the Brahmas’ record goes to 15-10-5, with 35 points. They remain in third place in the Southern Conference, three points ahead of Laredo and five points behind Allen. The Mudbugs improved to 16-11-1 with 33 points and are in third place in the Northern Conference, two points ahead of Tulsa and six points behind Rapid City.

The ‘Bugs drew first blood with their third shot of the night when Justin Aikins picked up the rebound of a Simon Mangos shot and tucked it past goaltender Joe Palmer to give the Mudbugs a 1-0 lead at 6:16 mark. Brett Smith also assisted.

The only penalty on the Mudbugs would be a costly one. The Brahmas were able to even the score with a power play goal, thanks to a Tripping call on David Rutherford. With 14 seconds left in the man-advantage, Mark Kolanos chipped a rebound chance over Ken Carroll’s shoulder at the 13:56 mark. Luke Sellars and James Hiebert were credited with the assist.

There was no further scoring in the period and the Brahmas went into the locker room leading the shot count 11-8 with the game tied at one all.

The Brahmas came out firing in the middle frame and took the lead with two special teams goals just over two minutes apart.

A High-Sticking Double Minor on Shawn Limpright at the 7:16 mark led to the first goal 56 seconds later when Nathan Perrot tipped a long Jordan Cameron shot into Carroll’s five-hole to put the Brahmas on top 2-1. Grant Jacobsen was also credited with the assist.

Short-handed after Perrott was called for Interference, a shot by Ross Rouleau from the point went wide but Jordan Cameron managed to redirect it into the net at the 10:23 mark. Grant Jacobsen was credited with his second assist of the night on that one.

The Brahmas would take the two-goal advantage into the locker room after out shooting the Mudbugs 18-5 in the middle frame, with a 29-13 shot advantage after 40 minutes.

Things went South early in the third period as the Brahmas were unable to put together any kind of offense. The Mudbugs on the other hand roared back to life after the second break, out shooting the Brahmas 18-3 and scoring twice to send the game into overtime.

A Charging call on Jason Deitsch and a subsequent hooking call on Jordan Cameron set up a power play strike by Jeff Kyrzakos, who sent a shot over Palmer’s right shoulder and into the net during the 5-on-3 power play, cutting the lead to 3-2 at the 12:48 mark. Shawn Limpright and Chris St. Croix were in on the assist.

In the final minute, with Ken Carroll pulled in favor of the extra attacker, Travis Clayton’s wrister beat Joe Palmer to the glove side with 49.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

After a scoreless overtime period in which the ‘Bugs held a 7-0 shot edge, Shawn Limpright was the first player to score in the shootout. Jordan Cameron answered to tie it for the Brahmas before Mark Johnson converted as the last shooter in the fifth round to clinch the 4-3 win.

With the loss, Palmer’s record goes to 8-3-4-2. Ken Carroll made 29 saves on 32 shots and earned the win. His record goes to 7-5-0-1.

The Brahmas went two for six on the power play. Bossier-Shreveport went one for six. Both teams were assessed 12 minutes on six infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game went to Nathan Perrott for his power play goal in the second. The 2nd Star was awarded to Jordan Cameron for his shorthanded goal and an assist and the 1st Star went to Bossier-Shreveport’s Mark Johnson for scoring the game-winning goal during the shootout.

You can view the box score here

You can view my photos from the game here

Observations:

• Through 40 minutes there were some real positives by the Brahmas. Special Teams accounted for all scoring with two power play goals and a shorthanded goal. This makes six power play goals scored in the last four games. The worm has turned on that one.
• A power play goal from enforcer Nathan Perrott was nice to see. There is more to his game than just two fists. Perrott saw numerous shifts and looked really good on the ice, despite not having played since last season and not having played in the states for two seasons. He made some tremendous hits tonight and looked like he might get into it with Neil Clark after the two got tangled up at the end of a play. Clark got lucky. I spoke with Nathan after the game and will be posting his interview on Thursday night.
• Another goal, another assist for Jordan Cameron who at 32 points (9 G, 23 A, +4) is on pace to break both of his scoring marks for the past two seasons.
• The Brahmas are 1-4 in shootouts this season.
• I thought Kevin Seibel worked into the defense pretty well for a guy who just got here. He had three shots on the night as well.
• Kudos (I hate that word) to the group of Mudbugs fans who made the drive from Shreveport and got to see their team rally for a win. I saw that guy with the Mudbugs sweater and the Yankees ball cap again – I still can’t handle that combination for some reason. Am I wrong here?

The Brahmas loaded up the bus and began the drive to Odessa, where they will face the league-leading Jackalopes (23-4-3, 49 points) on Thursday night at the Ector County Coliseum.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith