Americans captain Jarret Lukin brings the puck up ice
Brahmas lose 5-3 at the AEC
The Allen Americans moved to the top of the CHL leader board tonight after a 5-3 win over the visiting Texas Brahmas. Donning the sweaters of the Dallas Freeze and the Fort Worth Fire, the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie before the Americans pulled ahead in the final frame and held off their cross-town rivals for the win. That's four out of four victories for the Americans against the Brahmas this season.
Scott Campbell, who was signed by the Brahmas in early August but didn't make the final roster, finished the night with 23 saves on 26 shots and his second consecutive win after being signed by the Americans on December 9th.
With the victory, the Americans improve to 18-4-1 and move back into first place in the Berry Conference with 37 points.
The Brahmas opened up the scoring with a pair of goals late in the first period.
Greg Hogeboom notched his 10th goal of the season, finding the back of the net on the power play at the 15:14 mark. Dan Riedel and Jason Krischuk were in on the assist.
Newcomer Chris Moran tallied his first of two goals on the night on a feed from Jason Deitsch, beating Campbell 1:04 later.
The Americans would fire right back with an unassisted strike by Brian McMillin 1:01 later, firing the puck past Wayne Savage to cut the Brahmas lead to 2-1 heading into the first intermission.
Allen had a narrow 11-10 shot advantage after 20 minutes of play.
The second period saw the Americans take the lead with a pair of power play goals. Judd Blackwater collected his own rebound and deposited the puck past Savage 3:43 into the period to tie the game up at two. Jarret Lukin, playing in his first game since November 27th, struck 3:10 later to give Allen their first lead of the night at 3-2.
Shots were even at nine apiece in the middle frame.
Chris Moran's second goal of the night 2:02 into the third period tied the game at three for the Brahmas but was answered quickly by the Americans. Justin DaCosta's shot found it's way through Savage and into the net to put Allen back on top 4-3 with 14:46 remaining in regulation.
David Nimmo would put the game away and end any chance of a Brahmas comeback with an empty-net goal with 43.1 seconds remaining to secure the final score at 5-3.
With the loss, the Brahmas' record goes to 11-5-3 (.568, 25 points). They remain in third place in the Berry Conference. Mississippi, Arizona, Rio and Tulsa have also moved into the 25 point club. Texas is now 5-5-2 on the road.
Wayne Savage stopped 26 of 30 shots faced and takes the loss. His record goes to 4-5-1-1 with a 2.73 GAA (9th in the league) and a .912 save percentage (8th in the league).
Scott Campbell turned away 24 of 27 shots faced and earned the win. His record goes to 2-0-0.
The Brahmas went 1 for 7 on the power play. The Americans, who have the number one power play unit in the league (22.66%), went 2 for 6.
Texas was assessed 19 minutes on eight infractions. Allen received 21 minutes on nine infractions. The Brahmas penalty kill moved down a notch after tonight's action. They now hold the second slot (Bossier-Shreveport moved to first) in the league this season with 14 power play goals allowed and an 86.92 percentage.
The 3rd Star of the game went to Chris Moran, who had two goals on the night. The 2nd Star was awarded to Judd Blackwater, who had a goal and an assist and the 1st Star went to Justin DaCosta, who tallied the game winner.
Referee: Tudor Floru
Linesmen: Nathaniel Farkas, Michael Johnstone
You can view the box score here and the Game Live broadcast here
You can view the Brahmas' press release here
On Saturday night, the Brahmas host the Odessa Jackalopes, who at one point were the Fort Wayne Komets of the Berry Conference. The Jacks earned their second straight win in a 7-4 final against the Laredo Bucks tonight.
Photo Credit: Chip Crail
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