NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX–
With Gameday at hand, your Lone Star Brahmas are currently en route to Odessa for the first game of a gritty road trip comprised of four games in three other barns over the course of six days. Immediately following tonight’s game against the Jackalopes, the Brahmas will be on their way to El Paso for two games against the Rhinos, and then arrive for one more game in Oklahoma against the Warriors on Wednesday December 11th before returning to the NYTEX Sports Centre for the December 16 & 17 home-stand hosting the New Mexico Ice Wolves.
While the Brahmas enjoy a modest 3 point lead for the NAHL South Division lead, as well as familiar ranking among the entire NAHL table, the momentum built so far can turn another direction all too easily during a long road trip. The Brahmas are riding a 4-game win streak with a salty record of 7-1-1-1 over the past ten contests. In this post, we will take a closer look at the teams playing tonight, as well as a preview of the remaining road trip opponents.

JACKALOPES PREVIEW:
Odessa Jackalopes are undoubtedly feeling a confidence boost after sweeping the Amarillo Wranglers last week, and improved form with the past ten games now a respectable 4-6-0-0. The Jacks also have the reigning NAHL Bauer Hockey South Star of the Week: TANYON BAJZER (MORE INFORMATION BELOW).
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ODESSA’s RECENT BOX SCORES:
FRIDAY DEC 2:
Amarillo 3 @ Odessa 4 (OT)
John Perdion scored just over a minute into overtime to lift the Odessa Jackalopes to a 4-3 victory over the Amarillo Wranglers. Odessa got out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Ryan Mansfield and Logan Ganz. Amarillo responded with three straight of their own as Kyle DeMarco, Roman Zap and Chase Davis put Amarillo ahead 3-2 early in the third period. John Christen tied the game with his first goal of the season, setting the stage for Perdion’s heroics in overtime. Gergely Orosz picked up the win as he made 29 saves. Carter Clafton was dealt the loss despite making 40 stops for Amarillo.
SATURDAY DEC 3:
Amarillo 2 @ Odessa 5
Tanyon Bajzer and Ryan Mansfield each scored twice as the Jackalopes completed a weekend sweep thanks to a 5-2 win on Saturday. Odessa jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Mansfield scored twice and Bajzer scored his first goal. Amarillo got goals from Tommy Chunchukov and Ben Ivey to make it close, but a goal from John Wojciechowski and an empty-net goal from Bajzer secured the 5-2 win. Quentin Sigurdson made 35 saves in the win, while Luca Ganz made 24 saves in the loss.
RHINOS PREVIEW:
The Rhinos are sitting only 1 point behind the aforementioned Jackalopes and only 2 points above the last place Ice Rays. With the past ten games in the identical form as the Jack’s, this weekend’s series presents an opportunity for the Rhinos to overtake the Jacks in the Dirty South standings as well as a risk to fall behind Corpus. This weekend will deliver a Brahmas team only hours removed from the game tonight, and every team will seek to capitalize on any formidable opponent on the second night of a back-to-back-to-back road trip. This situation creates a need to balance work load minutes and a marathon running mindset.
EL PASO’s RECENT BOX SCORE:
FRIDAY DEC 2:
El Paso 5 @ Corpus Christi 4 (OT) – Tristan Kimmen scored two goals, including the overtime-winner as the Rhinos salvaged a weekend split in Corpus Christi thanks to a 5-4 win on Friday. El Paso trailed 4-1 in the 3rd period. Corpus had a 4-1 lead with goals from Logan Neilson, Hans Martin Ulvebne, Cameron Crolley, and Oleksii Dakhnovskyi. Kimmen had the lone goal for the Rhinos until the 3rd period when they exploded for three straight goals to tie the game at 4-4 as Reid Lune, Luke Morris, and Mark LaFrance all found the back of the net. With just :50 seconds left in overtime, Kimmen netted the game-winner. Nolan Suggs made 38 saves in the win, while Thomas Kiesewetter made 30 saves in the loss.
WARRIORS PREVIEW:
This ‘four games at three barns over six nights’ road trip for the Brahmas reaches the last leg on Wednesday December 14th at the Blazers Ice Centre in Oklahoma. Lest we forget, the most recent games for the Warriors were against the Lone Star Brahmas at the Shoebox aka Main Arena at NYTEX Sports Centre. Friday night started with the Brahmas snapping the Warriors streak to move ahead in South Division for the outright lead. The Warriors to that point had enjoyed the top spot for a few days. Saturday’s contest widened the gap as Arthur Smith delivered his NAHL-leading third shutout this season, earning him the award of ACME Brick Wall of the Game. The Warriors are going to be on the war path and eager to regain the top spot with our without secondary assistance from the Jacks and the Rhinos.
Brahmas Vice President and Play-by-Play Announcer Chad Siewert is keen to point out that “all of the Warriors vs. Brahmas games, thus far this season, have ended with results favoring the home team; meaning barn advantage is key.” The Oklahoma crowd will be fired up, no doubt, and the Brahmas will be wise to prepare for the Warriors seeking to take advantage of any possibility their opponent might arrive barn-sour. Mindful focus on the system of discipline, and the teamwork philosophy is the recipe for achieving strong-to-quite-strong success on this road trip, and arrive psychologically prepared for the December 16th &17th home stand of 2022 against the New Mexico Ice Wolves, also hungry to ascend the crowded top-half of the South Division.
OKLAHOMA’s RECENT BOX SCORES:
FRIDAY DEC 2:
Oklahoma 3 @ Lone Star 4 – Ryan Comishock’s goal with 2:25 remaining in regulation was the difference as the Lone Star Brahmas knocked off the Oklahoma Warriors 4-3. Ivan Zadvernyuk got the Brahmas on the board first with his second of the season. Max Dronen and Malte Hasselgren responded for Oklahoma giving them a 2-1 lead in the second period. Antti Autere knotted the game up at two heading into the second intermission but Owen Carlile scored in the opening minutes of the final frame to put Oklahoma back ahead. Dhillon Wilde tied the game at three just 6:25 into the third and then it was Comishock’s fourth of the year that proved to be the game winner for Lone Star. William Gramme only needed 13 saves to earn the win in goal. Cameron Korpi took the loss as he stopped 24 of 28 Lone Star shots.
SATURDAY DEC 3:
Oklahoma 0 @ Lone Star 4
Arthur Smith shut down the red hot Oklahoma offense as the Brahmas blanked the Warriors by a score of 4-0. Nate Mann finally broke the scoreless tie just 44 seconds into the middle frame. Then Bauer Swift scored on the power play to increase the lead to 2-0. In the third period Dhillon Wilde added a goal and then Matthew Macdonald put things on ice with an empty net tally. Daniel Duris made 17 saves in the loss for the Warriors.
IN OTHER NEWS!
The Lone Star Brahmas have been sending players to skate with the U18 Brahmas Hockey Travel teams’ practices. This week the 12UA Junior Brahmas practice included Arthur Smith, Ray Murakami, and Jakob Karpa! After practice, the players stopped for a photo which features the NEW TEXANS HOCKEY ACADEMY SWEATERS which are INCLUDED FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS of the 2022 JRB Holiday Camp featuring skills and drills with Lone Star Head Coach and GM Dan Wildfong as well as other Brahmas Hockey coaches. More information available at: https://www.nytexsports.com/hockey-camps/
DON’T FORGET TO RESERVE YOUR NYE TICKETS!
PLAYERS MENTIONED IN THIS POST:
(courtesy of NAHL Communications Dept.)
NAHL South Star of the Week:
TANYON BAJZER – Odessa Jackalopes
Odessa Jackalopes forward Tanyon Bajzer, 20, helped his club get back on track this past weekend with a home sweep of the Amarillo Wranglers. The 6’1/170 lbs. native of Cleveland, OH, had five points in the two wins and was a +4. On Friday, Bajzer had an assist in a 4-3 overtime win. On Saturday, he had two goals and two assists in a 5-2 win. For the season, Bajzer is tied for the team scoring lead with 18 points in 22 games played. “Tanyon had a great weekend. He’s starting to turn the corner and making a big impact on our team. We are looking forward to seeing where it takes him moving forward,” said Odessa head coach Scott Deur.
2nd Star: Simon Bucheler, G, Shreveport Mudbugs
Honorable Mention (alphabetical): Yusako Ando, F, New Mexico Ice Wolves – Carter Clafton, G, Amarillo Wranglers – Chase Davis, F, Amarillo Wranglers – Ryan Mansfield, F, Odessa Jackalopes – Hayden Nichols, F, Shreveport Mudbugs – Arthur Smith, G, Lone Star Brahmas – Carsen Stokes, G, New Mexico Ice Wolves – Dhillon Wilde, F, Lone Star Brahmas