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Belecki leads Brahmas to win over Bats

January 26, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Fort Worth Brahmas News Release


Fort Worth Brahmas goaltender Brent Belecki was a Sunday savior for the Brahmas stopping 43 of the 44 shots sent his way by the Austin Ice Bats to backstop the Brahmas to a 4-1 win in CHL action Sunday afternoon in Austin.

In just his second start for the Brahmas since being acquired in a trade with the Corpus Christi Rayz on January 16, Belecki turned in the type performance that has made him one of the top goaltenders in the CHL for the last three years. Being fired upon repeatedly by the Ice Bats skaters, Belecki allowed just a single powerplay goal to get by him in the Brahmas third consecutive win over their I-35 rivals.

The Fort Worth skaters gave Belecki and the Brahmas a huge advantage in the first period as they scored two unanswered goals. First, right wing Joey Bastien deflected a Gary Baronick shot past Ice Bats goaltender Jonathan Forest at the 9:42 mark of the period to give the Brahmas an early one goal lead. Then, with just 1:52 left in the opening period, Fort Worth center Aaron Davis banged in the rebound of a Jeff Scharf shot for a powerplay goal to put the Brahmas up 2-0.

In the second period, Belecki was in a word, spectacular. In large part because of three consecutive powerplay chances to start the period, the Ice Bats fired off 24 shots at Belecki in the period. The Calgary, Alberta native stopped 23 of those 24 shots, allowing just a powerplay goal from the Ice Bats Brett Seguin that deflected off a wall of skaters in front of him to get into the net. Several of the saves by Belecki were of the jaw dropping variety, specifically on a partial breakaway by the Ice Bats Gerald Tallaire in the waning moments of the period.

The Brahmas answered Seguin's powerplay goal with a tally of their own. Joey Bastien took a long headman pass from Derrell Upton and split the Ice Bats defense. As he was being pulled down from behind, Bastien managed to throw a backhand shot on goal. Forest made the initial save for the 'Bats, but the rebound went right to the stick of the Brahmas T.J. Warkus. The second year pro from Sudbury, Ontario hammered the puck in to the net to restore the Fort Worth lead to 3-1 with 4:23 left in the second.

Belecki was again the story in the third period. As the Ice Bats battled to get back the game, Belecki came up with an answer every time. Getting into a groove, Belecki made save after save to keep the Bats at bay. The Brahmas did their part defensively, using short shifts and smart defensive tactics to keep the Ice Bats on their heels. Fort Worth scored the only goal in the third period, with center Jeremy Vanin icing the game with an empty net goal with just five seconds left in the game.

The win snapped a two game losing streak for the Brahmas and improved their record to 13-22-6. Fort Worth will continue their season high eight game road trip next Saturday, January 31, as they travel to the Ford Center in Oklahoma City to take on the Blazers. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:35 p.m., with the game being broadcast by the Brahmas live on KTFW 1460 AM beginning at 7:15 p.m.

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