Lone Star Brahmas – Odessa Jackalopes Preview For Oct 24
By Kirk Estes
The Lone Star Brahmas will kick off a nine game home stand when they welcome the Odessa Jackalopes to the NYTEX Sports Centre Friday night. The Brahmas are currently setting in fourth place in the eight team NAHL South Division with 11 points while Odessa is in a three way tie for sixth with eight points.
The Brahmas will be looking to continue their hot hand having won four of their last five games. Their lone loss in that span came on the road against Amarillo last Friday by a score of 2 – 1. Eric Carreras had a power play goal for the Brahmas only tally in the loss. Lone Star rebounded in a big way against the Bulls on Saturday with Carreras’ three power play goals and Ludvig Larsson’s four assists leading the way offensively. The performances by Carreras and Larsson earned the pair Easton Player of the Week recognition with Larsson named Second Star and Carreras receiving Honorable Mention. In net TJ Black took the loss on Friday night and Jake Kupsky got the win on Saturday.
Odessa on the other hand has lost four straight and five of their last six all on the road. They played only a single game last week in Wichita Falls where the Wildcats handed them an 8 – 5 loss. The Jackalopes held a one goal lead going into the first intermission, but were then outscored 6 – 2 over the final two periods. Christian Hausinger and Derek Brown each had 1G – 1A in the loss. Robin Johansson was saddled with the loss facing 38 shots on goal.
| Last 5 Games | W |
L
OTL
Pts
Brahmas
4
1
0
8
Jackalopes
1
4
0
2
Special Teams
Lone Star’s home power play has struggled a bit in the early going and currently is 20th in the league at just 11.1% having converted only 4 of 18 opportunities. They will be facing one of the tougher road penalty kill units with the Jackalopes holding down the 4th spot in the league at 88.6% allowing 5 goals on 44 kills.
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When the Brahmas go on the penalty kill they an impressive 89.5% with 2 goals allowed on 19 time short handed, good for 4th in the league. Odessa’s power play has played fairly well on the road scoring 7 times on 35 opportunities for 10th in the league at an even 20.0%.
The Brahmas will have to work to stay out of the box to keep Odessa’s power play off the ice. Lone Star is currently the third most penalized team in the league averaging 20.91 PIM’s per game compared to Odessa who is 10th at 17.83 PIM’s per game.
Goaltending Comparison Last 5 Games
W |
L
OTL
SO
GA
GAA
SV
SV%
Brahmas
4
1
0
0
9
1.80
117
.929
Jackalopes
1
4
0
0
25
5.00
138
.847
Who is Hot (Last 5 Games)
| Brahmas | G |
A
Pts
6
3
9
Eric Carreras
5
2
7
Ludvig Larsson
1
6
7
0
5
5
2
2
4
2
2
4
Jackalopes
G
A
Pts
Derek Brown235
314
134
044
044
Inside the Game
The Brahmas have had players receive weekly recognition from the league and Easton Hockey for three weeks in a row. Sebastin Vidmar was named South Division Player of the Week the past two weeks followed this week by Ludvig Larsson South Division Second Star and Eric Carreras South Division Honorable Mention.
Odessa’s Derek Brown is tied for the league lead in assists with 13 in 12 games played.
Sebastin Vidmar 9G – 4A is tied for 17th in the league in scoring is second in goals scored and tied for first in game winning goals with 4.
Eric Carreras is second in the league in power play goals with 5 in 11 games played.
Robin Johansson is third in the league with 263 saves and leads the league in losses with 6.
Jake Kupsky is 7th in the league in both goals against average and save percentage with a 1.84 GAA and a .930 SV%
Caleb Thompson is tied for fifth in the league in +/- ranking at a +9.
The Jackalopes have been a second period team so far this season outscoring their opponents 17 – 11 in the middle frame while being outscored 43 – 21 in the other two periods combined.
Lone Star has a -10 shots on goal differential so far this season while Odessa is -77.
The Brahmas are averaging 3.09 goals scored per game and 2.36 goals against. The Jackalopes have scored slightly better than Lone Star at 3.19 goals per game but are last in the league in goals against at 4.50.