Hogeboom thrives in Italy

Former Brahma has 20 points in 14 games

Former Texas Brahmas star forward Greg Hogeboom has had an excellent start to the 2011-12 season with Alleghe HC in Italy, leading the team with 20 points (11 G, 9 A), including seven power play goals and three game-winning goals through 14 games.

Hogeboom notched a hat trick in an 8-3 win over Valpellice on October 27th. All three Hogeboom goals were on the power play as Alleghe went 5-for-8 on the man-advantage.

Hogeboom, 28, was the second leading scorer for the Brahmas last season (tied with Chad Woollard with 92 points) and was first in power play goals (15), assists (55) and +/- (tied with Jason Krischuk at +16). He was also one of two players (Krischuk) to play all 66 regular season games.

Hogeboom's 92 points (37 G, 55 A, +16) and 22 penalty minutes constituted his best output in seven pro seasons and placed him sixth among all Central Hockey League players in points (92), fifth in goals (37), sixth in assists (55) and second in power play goals (15).

Alleghe HC is currently ranked fourth in the Lega Italiana Hockey su Ghiaccio (the top tier of professional ice hockey in Italy) with 24 points.

Hogeboom plays alongside forward Vince Rocco, a teammate of Brahmas defenseman Jim Burichin at Niagra University.

Image Credit: Enrico Bardin

McLeod injured in game against Copenhagen

Former Brahmas defenseman underwent surgery today

Former Brahmas defenseman Kevin Mcleod underwent surgery today to repair what has been described as severe damage to his teeth and jaw, sustained during Yesterday's AL Bank Cup match between EfB Hockey and Hockey Copenhagen.

Midway through a hard fought match, McLeod was reportedly hit in the face by a fast traveling puck. He suffered a broken jaw and lost three teeth, with several others pushed in or otherwise damaged. Bleeding heavily, McLeod was assisted off the ice and had to leave the game.

"I know they say that the damage comes and goes for all teams, but this was really ugly," EfB's head coach Tomas Jonsson said.

The accident occurred 34 minutes into the contest and the remainder of the middle period had to be interrupted because of the time needed to clean up blood on the ice. As a result, the third period was extended for six minutes.

McLeod was taken to Hvidovre Hospital, where he received about 40 stitches and was then transferred to University Hospital where specialists could assess the damage to his jaw. McLeod underwent surgery this afternoon.

"It was a sad and ugly incident," EfB Ice Hockey sports chief, Peter Gommesen said. "He is probably going to be out until the New Year."

McLeod's former teammate and former Brahmas goalie Brett Jaeger was in net for Copenhagen and earned the win in the 3-2 victory, which keeps his team's playoff hopes alive.

"We must thank Brett Jaeger for the victory," Copenhagen head coach Morten Hagen said. "He made some incredible saves under intense pressure from Esbjerg."

McLeod, 27, spent the 2010-11 campaign with Hvidovre Ligahockey (Denmark), scoring 23 points (7 G, 16 A) and 123 penalty minutes. He added two assists in four playoff games.

He began the 2011-12 season on a six-game tryout with the Vienna Capitals, member of the Erste Bank Hockey League in Austria. He signed a contract with Esbjerg on September 26th and has tallied four assists and 12 penalty minutes thus far.

Prior to traveling overseas, McLeod spent three seasons with the Brahmas, registering 114 points (46 G, 68 A) and 201 PIM in 168 regular season contests and 20 points (5 G, 15 A) and 40 PIM in 31 post-season games.

Photo Credit: EfB Hockey

Cal Wild returns...

Rookie forward Matt Wallace placed on waivers

The Texas Brahmas have placed rookie forward Matt Wallace on waivers today according to Pointstreak. Wallace, who played the past four seasons at Hobart College (ECAC-W) saw limited shifts and made one shot during last Saturday night's home and season opener against the Tulsa Oilers.

Wallace (left) during last Saturday's game against the Oilers

The move opened a roster spot for the returning Calin Wild, who showed real promise last season but was unable to come to terms with the club during the summer. Wild's agent announced that he had signed with the Brahmas via Twitter today. Pointstreak has also verified this.

Wild, 24, tallied 21 points (10 G, 11 A, -10) and 24 penalty minutes in 55 regular season games played during his rookie season. He added two points (2 G, 2 A, -2) in four post-season contests. He was signed by the Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL) on August 10th but did not appear in a game this season with Gwinnett.

Wild is primed and ready for a breakout season and fans will be happy to see him back in purple and black!

Photo Credit: Robert Keith

Kyle Howarth watches as the final minute plays out on the ice at NYTEX

A taste of their own medicine

Brahmas shut out 3-0 in season opener

Coming off the high of last Saturday's 5-0 win over the Allen Americans, the stage was set for another high energy, high-spirited effort by the boys in purple and black. There wasn't a person in the house that wasn't amped up for the season opener and ready to see a big win.

Unfortunately, that win placed two points in the column marked Tulsa Oilers and the Texas Brahmas received nothing but a wake up call and a whisper in their ears: "All glory is fleeting, All glory is fleeting".

Still, a good effort was put forth although a little bit of the fire displayed during the pre-season was missing. In the end, the team that worked harder won. Sometimes it's as simple as that. The two teams were very well matched and Tulsa was hot, coming off their 4-1 season-opening win over the Allen Americans on Friday night. Hats off to Ian Keserich who has allowed just one goal in 120 minutes of play.

If anything positive can come out of the loss, it will be a show of character - how these men will learn from what they experienced on the ice and how they can rebound from adversity and make the necessary adjustments to move forward with their chins held high. After all, it could be worse (finger pointed at the Allen Americans).

One request to Fonger and Ronnie: can we have at the very least, one entire practice a week devoted to special teams, specifically the power play? I hate to go through another season of watching nothing come out of 5-on-3 advantages. It's past time to make an effort to improve on this part of the game.

ad·van·tage (ad-van-tij) noun

1. any state, circumstance, opportunity, or means specially favorable to success, interest, or any desired end.

(Thanks to Dictionary.Com for the definition)

I hate to single any one out one way or another, but I have to give a verbal high five to Al Curran, who in my opinion has been showing a lot of moxie on the ice. I want to also give special thanks to Mark Guggenberger, who wore his catcher last night and used it to shield yours truly from wayward pucks, allowing me to leave the rink with an intact noggin.

What to say about the game? Well, a scoreless first period with power plays that came up short
for both sides. Tulsa out shot the homies 11-9 but had yet to solve Silverthorn, who made some sharp saves.

The middle frame saw the Brahmas take the SOG lead 12-7, but it was the Oilers who drew first blood when Gary Steffes found the back of the net at the 5:00 mark, assisted by rookie defenseman Jeff Terminesi and Michel Beausoleil. Two more power plays for each side; nothing gained. It's safe to say that the Brahmas appeared disorganized during the period and their defense of the net faltered.

In the final frame, the Brahmas led the shot assault again, this time 13-10 but Keserich was true to form and halted any scoring opportunities. A hooking call on Brahmas Captain Adam Hogg at the 12:50 mark led to the Oilers second strike 36 seconds later, this time by rookie forward Ryan Kramer. Dylan Clark and Mike Ullrich were credited with the assists.

Down by two, Ron Vogel pulled Silverthorn in favor of an extra attacker but the gamble backfired when Patrik Levesque drove the puck down ice, adding the final insult to injury tally at the 19:25 mark. Gary Steffes and Ryan Kramer were credited with setting up the score.

Steve Silverthorn stopped 25 of 27 shots faced in 58:20 of play and takes the loss. Ian Keserich stopped all 34 shots faced and earned the win.

The Brahmas were assessed eight minutes on four infractions; the Oilers received six minutes on three infractions. Texas went 0 for 3 on the power play; Tulsa went 1 for 4.

Referee: Zak Blazic
Linesmen: Bill McGoldrick, John Grandt

1st Star: Keserich, Ian (Tulsa) - 34 saves on 34 shots faced
2nd Star: Silverthorn, Steve (Texas) - 25 saves on 27 shots faced
3rd Star: Steffes, Gary (Tulsa) - Two points on five shots (1 G, 1 A, +2)

You can view Pointstreak's box score here and their Game Live broadcast here

Photos from the game can be viewed here and here. As always, it takes time to edit the 800+ shots taken, so be patient and keep checking back.

The Brahmas will be off today but practice resumes on Monday in preparation for next weekend's three-in-three, which includes hosting the Allen Americans on Friday night, a road trip to play Tulsa at the BOK Center on Saturday night, followed by a trip home to host Tulsa on Sunday afternoon.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith

Wildfong to begin four-game suspension

Ron Vogel will fill in as Brahmas' bench boss

The Texas Brahmas will be without head coach Dan Wildfong tonight, as well as the next three games due to a league suspension that carried over from last season. Assistant coach Ron Vogel will serve as the head coach on the bench in Fonger’s absence.

Wildfong's suspension was levied as a result of his making contact with two on-ice officials while arguing a decision unfavorable to the Brahmas (understatement) during the March 26th game at Rio Grande Valley.

For those who don't remember the circumstances of the suspension, here's Greg Rajan's excellent recap:

The Brahmas led 4-0 after the first period, but stopped skating and didn't get a great performance from goalie Steve Christie, and Rio took a 5-4 lead with six minutes left. Then things got strange in the final minute.

With 42.2 seconds left, the clock froze, albeit briefly for a few seconds. Then with 3.8 seconds left, Chad Woollard got the puck above the left circle and unleashed a rocket of a slap shot that beat goalie Jerad Kaufmann high to the glove side.

Then things got strange.

The Bees lobbied that time should have already expired, and referee Jon McIsaac consulted with linesmen Bill McGoldrick and Jon Shaw and then ruled no goal. Dan Wildfong was incensed, jumped off the Texas bench and made contact with McIsaac and one of the linesman.

I talked to ex-IceRays goalie and Brahmas assistant coach Ron Vogel and some of the other Corpus exes-turned-Brahmas after the game and they said they were told that McIsaac consulted the head off-ice official keeping time with a stopwatch in the catwalk and the referee was told that eight seconds should've come off the clock when it froze.

Regardless of the reason for Wildfong's actions, the CHL stood by their argument that contact should have never been made with the officials. Following an appeal by the Brahmas organization, the league reduced the initial seven game suspension to the first playoff game and the first four games for the 2011-12 season.

And here we are.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith

Mike Towns putting the pressure on during Saturday night's game at NYTEX

And then there were 21...

Brahmas release Walker, Towns

The Texas Brahmas released two more players from their training camp roster today, leaving just two more cuts to make before the 2011-12 roster is announced. Placed on waivers were center Nolan Waker and forward Mike Towns.

Waker, 26, played the last five seasons for the University of Manitoba (CWUAA). During his collegiate career, Waker tallied 42 points (21 G, 21 A) and 60 penalty minutes in 134 games played. Prior to joining the Bisons, he spent one season (2005-06) with the Brampton Battalion (OHL) and two seasons each with the Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) and Kelowna Rockets (WHL).

Towns, 25, played four seasons (2003-07) with the Penticton Vees (BCHL) where he registered 52 points (21 G, 31 A) and 517 PIM in 190 games played.

One goaltender and one other player will be released by weeks end. I expect the other to be a forward as history has shown the Brahmas can use the seventh defenseman.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith