NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX — With the way the standings shook out after the last weekend of play in the NAHL regular season, the Brahmas will open the Robertson Cup Playoffs against the Wichita Falls Wildcats for their South Division Semifinal series.
The Shreveport Mudbugs and the Corpus Christi IceRays will face off in the other division semifinal, and the winner of each best-of-five series will advance to the South Division Final.
The Brahmas, however, aren’t looking ahead. They’re going to take one series at a time, and first up on the list is this first matchup against the Wildcats.
The Brahmas were dominant in the season series against Wichita Falls, going 8-1-0 and racking up eight straight wins after dropping their first game of the year against the Wildcats.
Even beyond the head-to-head results, the numbers favor the Brahmas.
| TEAM | GOAL DIFFERENTIAL |
SHOTS FOR/GAME |
SHOTS AGAINST/GAME |
TEAM SV% | TEAM GAA | PP%/PK% |
| LSB | +55 | 34.92 | 23.3 | .903 | 2.25 | 19.7%/84.8% |
| WFS | -16 | 33.82 | 36.28 | .907 | 3.38 | 20.4%/78.8% |
As the table above indicates, the Brahmas and Wildcats are both high shot volume teams. However, the Brahmas hold a significant edge in shots allowed, as the team defense is a considerable strength and excels in suppressing opponents’ shots. This likely factors heavily into the fact that the Brahmas allowed just 2.25 goals per game over the course of the regular season.
In the special teams battle, the Wildcats’ power play just edges the Brahmas’ , but the Brahmas’ penalty kill is significantly more effective.
The greatest discrepancy between the two teams, however, is the overall goal differential.
Lone Star finished with a +55 on the season, while the Wildcats are one of just three teams in the Robertson Cup Playoffs to finish with a negative goal differential.
On paper, it’s the Brahmas who hold the advantage, but the team isn’t taking their opponent lightly.
Join us for playoff hockey at the NYTEX Sports Centre on April 14th and 15th. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 PM.
Playoff t-shirts and other Brahmas merchandise including specialty playoff programs and team trading card sets can be found in the NYTEX Sports Shop this weekend.
In addition, there will be a skate with the players after Game 2 on Saturday, so get ready to lace up!
For more fun, we’ve announced a Playoff Fan Appreciation Dinner. Since we know you’ll have a case of the Mondays, you may as well go out for dinner on April 16 in style. Join us at Abuelo’s at 6:00 PM and support our terrific sponsors by enjoying a delicious dinner while mingling with the Brahmas players and coaches.
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