Brahmas drop sixth straight in Allen

143 total penalty minutes in 3-2 contest

From the Brahmas' press release:

In what was a preview of next week’s opening-round playoff matchup, the Americans topped the Brahmas 3-2 in a physical contest at the Allen Event Center.

The Americans got out in front early when Mike Berube beat Brahmas netminder Mark Guggenberger for a powerplay goal at the 13:27 mark of the first period.

Texas answered with a first-period goal of its own at the 17:59 mark, as T.J. Fox put a wrister by Marco Cousineau. For Fox, the goal was his 17th of the season and his second in the last three games against Allen.

At the 14:01 mark of the second period, the Americans took a 2-1 lead on former-Brahma Jason Deitsch’s 16th goal of the season.

Allen then extended its lead to 3-1 just over a minute into the third period when Jim McKenzie added his 20th goal of the year and fourth in seven games versus the Brahmas this season.

With 10:22 to play in the third period, Greg Eskedjian buried a loose puck by Cousineau to bring the Brahmas back within one. For the rookie defenseman, it was the first goal of his professional career. But that would be the last of the Brahmas’ scoring, as Allen made it four straight wins against Texas.

Cousineau made 28 saves on 30 Brahmas’ shots to earn the victory in his first game back with the Americans after a stint with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Guggenberger stopped 24 of 27 shots fired on net by Allen in a losing effort.

Mark Guggenberger made 24 saves on 27 shots faced and takes the loss. His record goes to 21-11-3-3 with a 2.25 GAA (1st in the league) and a .913 Save Percentage (9th in the league).

The Brahmas were assessed 60 minutes on 16 infractions and went for 0 for 5 on the power play.

Blind Mouse: Tudor Floru
Linesman 1: James Sanders
Linesman 2: T.J. Nua

1st Star: Jim McKenzie (ALN)
2nd Star: Bruce Graham (ALN)
3rd Star: Brendon Hodge

You can view Pointstreak's Box Score here and their GameLive broadcast here.

The Brahmas will return home to the NYTEX Sports Centre to host the Evansville IceMen in the regular season finale. It will be the first time the IceMen have been to the shoebox, so give 'em a nice welcome. The opening puck drop is set for 4:00 pm CST.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith