Brahmas road losing streak swells to seven games
December 18, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Fort Worth Brahmas News Release
What's next?:
FRIDAY, DEC. 20 AT WICHITA, 7:30 P.M. (CST), KANSAS COLISEUM (access live, up-to-the-minute scoring on www.pointstreak.com)
SATURDAY, DEC. 21 VS. INDIANAPOLIS, 7:05 P.M. (CST), FWCC (access live, up-to-the-minute scoring on www.pointstreak.com)
Nota-bulls:
Traveling Troubles: The Brahmas dropped two more road games last weekend, extending their road losing streak to seven games and falling into a tie with El Paso for last place in the Central Hockey League. Both teams have 14 points this season, but the Brahmas are percentage points ahead, having compiled the points in two less games.
Fort Worth is holding hope that a more conducive schedule is ahead of the team. The Brahmas play 11 of their next 16 games at the Fort Worth Convention Center.
"We have to believe that when we get to play some games on our ice, we'll start getting some breaks," head coach Todd Lalonde said. "It just seems like when anything can go wrong on the road, it does.
The Brahmas are close to .500 at home, sporting a 3-4-0 home record this season.
Vacation Scoring: Four of the Brahmas may not be crazy about returning to their home ice as they have recorded 29 of their 35 points on the road. Forward Chad Woollard, who scored a goal against Oklahoma City on Saturday, now has tallied 14 of his 18 points on the road, and defensemen Adam Davis, who recorded an assist last weekend in Oklahoma City, has scored all but one of his seven points on opponents' ice this season. Newcomers Craig Foddrill and Sean Hughes have combined to record nine of their 10 points on the road.
Help Wanted: Because center Joe Van Volsen has been held pointless in his last four games, the Brahmas have been forced to find offense from different sources. During Van Volsen's brief slump, Craig Foddrill has contributed four points, Mike Tilson has chipped in with three and Jim Midgley and Chad Woollard have each added two points. Van Volsen does, however, continue to lead the Brahmas in scoring this year with 23 points (5G/18A).
D Goes O: The Brahmas' defensive unit got a little offensive last weekend, recording four of the team's five assists. Lee Jacobson tallied his first two assists in almost a month, and veteran defensemen Adam Davis and Mike Tilson each added an assist against Oklahoma City.
Tortured by Tulsa: The Brahmas have been shutout only four times this season, but half of the shut outs have come at the hands of Tulsa Oiler goaltender Rod Branch. He had 30 saves against Fort Worth in a 2-0 blanking last Friday night, and he also added a 22-save shut out vs. the Brahmas on Nov. 1.
Injury report: The Brahmas' injury woes continue as forward Sean Hughes and defenseman Mike McKinnon were both injured in Friday's Tulsa game and were forced to miss the Oklahoma City game on Saturday. Hughes is expected back Friday in Wichita, while McKinnon may join forward David Fry, defenseman Craig Johnson and forward Chad Michalchuk on the injured reserve list. Fry is on the season ending IR, while Johnson and Michalchuk remain on the 14-day IR. Fort Worth was down to 13 skaters and two goaltenders for the Oklahoma City game.
Previous results:
Friday, 12/13 at Tulsa; 2-0 L
Saturday, 12/14 at Oklahoma City; 6-3 L
Brahmas standouts:
Craig Foddrill: Continuing to give the Brahmas another scoring source, Foddril scored a pair of goals against Oklahoma City on Saturday. He now has six points (4G/2A) in eight games with Fort Worth.
Lee Jacobson: For the first time since Nov. 15, Jacobson tallied an assist Saturday in Oklahoma City. He did not wait a month do record another one, adding a second assist against the Blazers.
Chad Woollard: Upping his team lead in goals to 12, Woollard recorded another goal vs. Oklahoma City. Woollard was inches away from having a multi-goal weekend, firing 11 shots on goal in two games.
Matt Mullin: Although he came back from the road trip with two losses, Mullin allowed only goal and made 45 saves against Tulsa. After being pelted the night before, Mullin returned to the net on Saturday, making 32 saves in the loss to Oklahoma City.
Know thy competition:
After playing 10 of their last 12 games on the road, the Brahmas are looking forward to playing 11 of their next 16 contests at the Fort Worth Convention Center. It starts this weekend, when Fort Worth travels to Wichita for a 7:30 p.m. game Friday at the Kansas Coliseum and returns home to play Indianapolis at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.
The Thunder (6-12-6) are in fourth place in the Northwest Conference, but they are 4-4-4 at home this season. The Brahmas and the Thunder have split their two games this season. Wichita is second in the league, averaging 3.71 goals a game, but they also have given up the most goals in the league.
That may be just the Brahmas need as they have scored a league-worst 2.23 goals a game, including last weekend's shut out by Tulsa. Fort Worth has struggled on the power play during its seven-game losing streak on the road, culminating with an 0-for-7 performance last weekend, but new scoring sources have been rising to the fore.
The Brahmas won their last home (2-1 over Corpus Christi), and they will look to make it two in a row vs. Indianapolis on Saturday. The Ice avenged a Nov. 2 loss to Fort Worth with two postregulation victories over the Brahmas in mid-November. On consecutive nights, Indianapolis beat Fort Worth in overtime and in a shootout.
The Ice (11-7-5) are in second place in the Northeast Division, and they hold a 13-point lead over the Brahmas. Indianapolis has struggled to a 3-5-1 record on the road this season, but their strong penalty kill (80.6%, best in the CHL) has kept them in games.
If Fort Worth is to escape the cellar in the Northeast Division, head coach Todd Lalonde has stressed the importance of picking up points at home. A home victory against a tough opponent could be the spark the Brahmas need to go on a winning streak to close out the year.
Central Hockey League Stories from December 18, 2002
- A CHL Primer - OSC Original by John Gary
- Oilers Food and Coat Drive This Weekend - Tulsa Oilers
- Saints Forced to Switch Veteran Forwards - San Angelo Saints
- Brahmas road losing streak swells to seven games - Fort Worth Brahmas
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