Lone Star Brahmas – Corpus Christi Icerays Preview For Mar 6
By Kirk Estes
This weekend will signal the next to last home series for the Lone Star Brahmas in the regular season. They will welcome the Corpus Christi Icerays to the NYTEX Sports Centre looking to pull another four points from the series in their quest to overtake the Topeka Roadrunners. Lone Star currently stands two points behind Topeka so they will be hoping for a little help from Amarillo in their home series against the Roadrunners.
The Brahmas have played the Icerays five times so far this season building a 3 – 1 – 1 record in the process. Three of the games have been one goal games with two going beyond regulation.
09/27/14 – Brahmas 1 at Icerays 2
10/10/14 – Icerays 2 at Brahmas 3 OT
10/11/14 – Icerays 2 at Brahmas 5
02/06/15 – Brahmas 2 at Icerays 3 SO
02/07/15 – Brahmas 5 at Icerays 3
This past week the Brahmas pulled off a two game sweep against the Jackalopes in Odessa although they had to work to claim the win in game one. Pat Egan put Lone Star on the board in the opening frame Friday night and they held onto the one goal lead past the 16 minute mark of the second when Odessa tied it up. Peter Kessel reestablished the lead early in the third, but once again Odessa responded sending the game to overtime and then a shootout. Anton Santesson and Sebastian Vidmar scored in the shootout while Jake Kupsky allowed only a single goal to grab the win. Things went a little smoother for Lone Star on Saturday evening as they jumped all over the Jackalopes scoring three times in the first 2:57 of the contest. Vidmar got them started just 45 seconds in followed by goals Roman Uchyn and Storm Wahlrab. Kessel added his second of the weekend in the middle frame and then TJ Black made it stand up stopping all 26 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season.
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Corpus Christi was in Hidalgo over the weekend salvaging a split against the Killer Bees. In game one, Wes Michaud scored in the first and second to go into the third holding a 2 – 1 lead. Rio Grande put the puck past Andrew Lindgren three times in the third before Matt Olson scored with less than 30 seconds to go. However, the Icerays could get no closer and lost 4 – 3. In the second game Tanner Lomsnes had a first period goal and the teams went into the first intermission tied at one. Rio Grande took a two goal lead in the second and then Corpus Christi ripped off five unanswered goals to claim a 6 – 3 win. Michaud scored twice, Travis Howe once and Lomsnes completed his hat trick with a pair in the second. Lindgren got the win facing only 18 shots on the night. They made their way back to Corpus Christi on Tuesday evening to finish up the rubber game of the three game series. Things did not go well for the Icerays Rio Grande scored three in the first period before Michaud got Corpus Christi on the board in the second. The Killer Bees scored late in the second and twice early in the third to establish a five goal lead. Howe and Mason Kreuger tried to pull the Icerays back into the game in the third, but Rio Grande added another to put a halt to any idea of a comeback. Lindgren faced 27 shots making 20 saves in the loss.
| Last 5 Games | W | L | OTL | Pts |
| Brahmas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| Icerays | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
Special Teams
Lone Star and Corpus Christi are neck and neck on the power play. However the Brahmas hold the advantage when it comes to the penalty kill. The Brahmas currently have the 7th ranked power play in the NAHL at 21.16% on 51 goals in 241 opportunities. The Icerays are one spot behind in 8th scoring 45 times in 215 power plays good for 20.93%. The Brahmas PK has been one of the best all season and a big factor in the season success. They are setting at 2nd in the league allowing only 28 goals in 230 kills for an 87.83% kill rate. The Icerays come in at 80.99% killing off 196 of 242 power plays. They currently rank 16th in the league.
At home the Brahmas’ power play is hitting at 22.7% on 29 goals in 128 opportunities which has them ranked 6th in the league. They will be up against a Corpus Christi road penalty kill that is 20th in the league at 78.6% allowing 28 goals on 131 penalty kills.
When a man down, Lone Star’s home penalty kill is ranked 2nd in the NAHL at 88.9%. They have allowed 13 goals on 117 kills. The Icerays road power play is one of the best in the league ranking 2nd in the league after scoring 28 times in 118 opportunities or 23.7%
Head to head this season the Brahmas are 4 – 26 on the power play while the Icerays are 2 – 22. Lone Star also has a shorthanded goal scored against Corpus Christi.
Goaltending Comparison Last 5 Games
| W | L | OTL | SO | GA | GAA | SV | SV% | |
| Brahmas | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1.80 | 125 | .933 |
| Icerays | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 3.60 | 121 | .871 |
Who is Hot (Last 5 Games)
| Brahmas | G | A | Pts |
| Sebastian Vidmar | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Ludvig Larsson | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Oskar Andren | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Anton Santesson | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Pat Egan | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Icerays | G | A | Pts |
| Tanner Lomsnes | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| Wes Michaud | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Travis Howe | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Mason Kreuger | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Ryan Cusin | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Inside the Game
The Brahmas have climbed up the NAHL overall standings and currently set at 3rd behind only Janesville and Topeka. Corpus Christi is the highest ranked team to not yet clinch a playoff spot at 9th overall in the league.
Lone Star has a 22 – 3 – 1 record as the home team averaging 4.19 Goals Scored and a 2.00 GAA. That is compared to Corpus Christi’s 7 – 13 – 5 road record with a 2.96 Goals Scored average and a 4.00 GAA.
A 2.18 GAA has the Brahmas setting at 2nd in the league. In addition they have the 5th best Save Percentage at .910 and they allow the 2nd fewest Shots on Goal averaging 24.31 per game. Corpus Christi is 19th with a 3.24 GAA, 15th with a .892 Save Percentage and allow an average of 29.90 Shots on Goal which is 14th.
On offense the Brahmas average 3.49 Goals Per Game which is 5th while the Icerays are 8th averaging 3.20 Goals Per Game.
TJ Black and Jake Kupsky form the top goalie tandem in the league. Black is 3rd with a 1.95 GAA while Kupsky is 7th with a 2.21 GAA. Corpus Christi’s Andrew Lindgren is 24th with a 2.86 GAA.
Hayden Hanson leads the Brahmas with a +7 rating over the last 10 games. Caleb Thompson is second on the team with a +5.
Sebastian Vidmar (28G – 41A) and Wes Michaud (23G – 37A) lead their respective teams in most offensive categories. Vidmar leads the Brahmas in Goals, Assists, Points, +/- and Game Winning Goals. Ludvig Larsson leads the team in Power Play Goals and Power Play Assists. Michaud leads the Icerays in all categories and is tied with Ryan Cusin in Power Play Assists.
Anthony Cortese (13G – 32A) leads all defensemen in scoring. Alexey Solovyev (7G – 22A) is the top scoring Lone Star defenseman.
Travis Howe leads the NAHL in Penalty Minutes with 215 and Major Penalties with 7. As a team Corpus Christi leads the league with 38 10 Minute Misconducts.
The top five teams in the league in Penalty Minutes are all in the NAHL South Division including Corpus Christi at 3rd averaging 23.34 minutes per game and Lone Star at 5th averaging 21.12 minutes per game.
Lone Star has a +19 / +10 / +41 goal differential per period. Corpus Christi is at -12 / +5 / +1.