NORTH RICHLAND HILLS — With the Odessa Jackalopes all but eliminated from playoff contention coming into the weekend, this series had very little bearing on the standings. However, the rivalry that exists between the Brahmas and Jacks lends an undercurrent of drama to any games between the two teams, and fans were certainly treated to plenty of that this weekend.
Friday night was relatively quiet — if you could call a Brahmas hat trick and a 4-3 overtime loss quiet. Drake Glover accounted for all three Lone Star goals, scoring twice on the power play and once at even strength.
However, some sloppy turnovers were the Brahmas’ undoing on Friday, as Odessa capitalized for two goals then took advantage of a friendly bounce for their third goal.
Newcomer Ludwig Stenlund scored in about a minute into overtime to give Odessa the win. The Brahmas suffered just their second overtime loss this season in twelve chances, but picked up the extra point.
If Friday night was a quiet one (each team took just 16 penalty minutes), Saturday was an entirely different story.
The second period was particularly eventful, with all four goals being scored during the middle frame. The Brahmas goals were scored by Hunter Stanley, Austin O’Rourke, and David Marabella, while Stenlund picked up Odessa’s lone tally.
Goals aside, the second period was notable for the extracurricular action between whistles.
One day shy of the anniversary of last year’s line brawl, tempers once again flared as the two teams combined for 285 PIM. Two scrums in the last two seconds of the second period accounted for the vast majority of those penalty minutes and resulted in eleven players simultaneously in their respective penalty boxes.
The Brahmas, however, had the last laugh, winning the final meeting between the two teams this season by a score of 3-1 and taking the season series 9-2-1.
Catch all the highlights from Saturday’s action on YouTube.
The Brahmas are back at the NYTEX Sports Centre this weekend for their final regular season series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. They will be wearing their St. Patrick’s Day specialty jerseys on Friday night, and there will be a postgame auction for fans who would like to own a game-worn green jersey.