The Brahmas headed to Corpus Christi last night to renew an old rivalry during the IceRays’ home opener. After a hard week for the Brahmas in Blaine, Minnesota, both teams went into this game with a record of 1-4-1. During the early part of the game, head coach Dan Wildfong was forced to seek medical attention for what broadcasters reported as kidney stones.
The Brahmas opened strong and were given their first power play less than a minute into the game. During the power play, the Brahmas showed a more coordinated offense than has been seen in the previous 6 games. Despite the increase of offensive action, the Brahmas just couldn’t manage to convert the advantage into a goal. Seconds after his release from the sin-bin, IceRay Eric Purcell steals the puck and races down the ice unimpeded, slides it past netminder Jacob Nehama for the goal at the 2:48 mark of the first period. The remainder of the first period saw even play with both teams offensively strong, but the Brahmas were unable to score. IceRays picked up two more goals in the period by Martin Hojbjerg (Assist: Tony Roisum, Malo Ville) and Grant Hutton (Assist: Maurin Bouvet, Tony Roisum).
The second period saw energetic play from both sides as the Brahmas tried to make up the points, but were still unable to get past the IceRays defenses. Just after the half, a few quick hits to IceRays Forward Jake Derflinger, resulted in a major fighting penalty and game misconduct being awarded to Nick Blase. Shortly after that, the IceRays scored 3 more points in as many minutes. Goals were awarded to Kyle Froese (Martin Hojbjerg, Malo Ville), Eric Purcell (Tony Roisum) and Malo Ville (Martin Mojberg, Wes Michaud). The Brahmas made several attempts to recover, but couldn’t connect. With just over a minute remaining in the period, Grant Hutton scores the IceRays 7th goal of the game with assists by Eric Purcell and Caleb O’Brien.
Still unwilling to admit defeat, the Brahmas hit hard the first half of the 3rd period, but Corpus Christi defense was unwavering in front of their home crowd. With 9:19 left in the game, Lucas Bennet scores the final goal of the evening with an assist from Eric Purcell and Caleb O’Brien. Throughout the night, The Brahmas showed a lot of heart and spirit, never giving up even as the IceRays kept extending the lead. Final score for the night: Corpus Christi IceRays 8, Lone Star Brahmas 0.
The Brahmas will be back on the ice at 7:05pm tonight to face the IceRays yet again. Log on to www.fasthockey.com to watch the action, or join your fellow Brahmas fans in ZuRoma Bar & Grill to watch for free at 8851 Ice House Drive, inside the NYTEX Sports Centre, Home of the Brahmas.