Kevin McLeod and Grant Jacobsen congratulate Jordan Cameron after the Brahmas victory

Brahmas win again!

Cameron's late score defeats Mudbugs 3-2

The Texas Brahmas won their second consecutive road game tonight at the CenturyTel Center in Bossier City. Two special teams goals, nine straight penalty-kills and a late strike by Jordan Cameron was enough to give the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs their second loss in as many nights.

With the win, the Brahmas' record goes to 23-17-5 with 52 points but they remain just a point ahead of the Laredo Bucks in the third place position in the Southern Conference (the Bucks beat Amarillo 4-2 tonight).

The quality of play tonight versus what we saw last night in Corpus Christi was refreshing to say the least. Yet, like last night the Brahmas spent the better part of the first frame defending their zone.

The Mudbugs got on the board first with a man-advantage due to a Hooking call on Elias Godoy. David Rutherford skated strong into the high slot and then sent the puck to Justin Aikins, who buried it into the net at the 13:46 mark. Tyrel Lucas was also credited with the assist.

On the ensuing face-off, Nathan Perrott and Neil Clark had some words and then came to blows. Or more like hugs. The two danced around a bit with Perrott maybe landing a blow to Clark before taking him down to the ice. Both received Five-Minute Fighting Majors for their efforts.

The Mudbugs led the shot count 15-7 and took the 1-0 lead into the locker room after 20 minutes.

Scott Thauwald was called for Slashing 3:41 into the middle frame but it took just nine seconds for the Brahmas to sour the Mudbugs power play opportunity with an unassisted tally by Tyler Skworchinski. It was the Brahmas’ 16th short-handed goal of the season; best in the league (Odessa and Tulsa are tied with 11 each). It was Skworchinski’s fourth of the season.

The Mudbugs failed to take advantage of four straight power plays and a five-on-three for 49 seconds late in the second period. The out shot the Brahmas 15-12 but were unable to solve Jaeger, who looked to be in championship form. After 40 minutes, the game would remain tied at 1-1.

The third period saw some early four-on-four action after Elias Godoy and Mudbugs defenseman Scott Kalinchuk were each assessed two minutes for Roughing and sent to the sin bin at the 3:34 mark. 14 seconds later, David Pszenyczny beat Brett Jaeger and gave the lead back to Bossier-Shreveport with a little help from Shawn Limpright and Simon Mangos at the 3:48 mark.

Less than four minutes later, Pszenyczny was in the box for Holding and the Brahmas evened it up with a power play goal by Justin Kinnunen. Jason Deitsch and Tyler Skworchinski assisted.

Later in the period, the Mudbugs had a 5-on-3 for 27 seconds and a four-minute 5-on-4 after Tyler Skworchinski was called for a High Sticking double minor, but they failed to convert.

The game appeared to be heading into overtime when Kevin McLeod sent a high pass from center ice to Jordan Cameron, who was skating along the boards near the Mudbugs bench. Cameron gloved the puck and quickly dropped it to the ice, skating into the Mudbugs zone. He avoided two defenders and ripped a quick shot over DeCaro’s shoulder with only 15 seconds left in the game for his third game-winning goal of the season.

You can view a video of the play here

The Brahmas had a 13-10 shot advantage in the final frame. Bossier-Shreveport had a 40-32 shot advantage in the game.

Brett Jaeger made 38 saves on 40 shots and earned the win. His record goes to 12-10-1-1. John DeCaro made 29 saves on 32 shots and takes the loss. His record goes to 14-10-1.

The Brahmas went one for six on the power play. Bossier-Shreveport went one for 10. The Brahmas were assessed 27 minutes on 12 infractions. The Mudbugs received 19 minutes on eight infractions.

The 3rd Star of the game went to the Mudbugs’ David Rutherford who only had an assist but was a home player in a close game (WTF?). The 2nd Star was awarded to Brett Jaeger for his performance in net and the 1st Star went to Jordan Cameron, who scored the game-winning goal.

You can view the box score here

You can view my photos from the game here

Observations:

• The Brahmas’ 16 short-handed tallies put them on pace to beat last season’s total of 19 (tied with Colorado for the highest number of SHG’s).

The Brahmas head home tonight (with a special guest on the bus) and will get a day of rest before preparing for three games in four days beginning with a visit from the Laredo Bucks on Friday, February 12th. The Brahmas will host the Allen Americans on Saturday night and then will travel to Allen for a Monday afternoon game.

Image Credit: Robert Keith