Brahmas showing improvement, look to build on impressive wins

November 22, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Fort Worth Brahmas News Release


FRIDAY, NOV. 22 AT INDIANAPOLIS, 7:00 P.M. (CST), PEPSI COLISEUM (follow live, up-to-the-minute scoring on www.pointstreak.com)

SATURDAY, NOV. 23 AT INDIANAPOLIS, 6:00 P.M. (CST), PEPSI COLISEUM (follow live, up-to-the-minute scoring on www.pointstreak.com)

Nota-bulls:

A Terrific Tuesday: Playing one of their best all-around games of the season, the Brahmas started a daunting seven-game road trip off on the right foot with a 2-1 victory over Odessa on Tuesday, Nov. 19 in one of their three Tuesday games scheduled for this season. Fort Worth got scoring production from six different players, including the game-winning goal from the recently signed Sean Hughes. Although Odessa pelted Brahma goaltender Matt Mullin with 50 shots, he was up to the task, saving all but one of them.

"Maybe we should play more on Tuesdays'," coach Todd Lalonde joked. "I hope this is a sign of things starting to come together.

Things needed to come together quickly for the Brahmas just a day after the Austin Ice Bats, who have not lost in regulation this season, handed the Brahmas a 5-0 defeat on Sunday, Nov. 17. Austin converted on 3 of 7 power-play opportunities, getting two goals from Brett Seguin and two assists apiece from Gerald Tallaire, Pat Brownlee and Mike Rees.

Road Rage: Center Joe Van Volsen and forward Chad Woollard have done the majority of their scoring in the team's eight road games. While Van Volsen has scored three goals at the Fort Worth Convention Center, he tends to record more assists on the road, tallying eight of his 12 in the road uniform this season. Woollard has scored 11 of his 14 points on the road this season, including seven of his team-high nine goals.

Mullin's Milestones: Matt Mullin passed Cam MacDonald as the Brahmas saves leader in a single game this season with 49 in a victory over Odessa. He also tied MacDonald for the team season high with 19 saves in the first period. Despite the gaudy numbers, Kory Cooper, who made 55 saves and 30 in a period against Bossier last season, still holds the Brahmas' all-time records in those two categories. Mullin hopes he never breaks those records.

"It's nice to have a game like that where you can make a number of saves," he said. "But I don't want to make a habit of having to save that many.

T.L. Turns 100: While coach Todd Lalonde is far from turning 100-years old, he did reach 100 points as a Brahmas coach this week. Wins against Memphis and Odessa brought his total in Fort Worth to 45 and his 10 overtime losses in the past two seasons push his point total to the century mark.

Injury report: During the last two weeks, the Brahmas have been down to as few as 11 skaters at certain points, but many of the Fort Worth players are quickly healing from injuries. Jason Reesor, who missed three games, returned Tuesday and recorded an assist, and forward David Fry continues to make progress and could return as early as this weekend against Indianapolis.

Previous results:

Friday, 11/15 at Oklahoma City; 6-3 L

Saturday, 11/16 vs. Memphis; 4-3 W

Sunday, 11/17 at Austin, 0-5 L

Tuesday, 11/19 at Odessa, 2-1 W

Brahmas standouts:

Joe Van Volsen: Doing damage even when he does not get any shots off, Van Volsen recorded five assists in the last three games. During that span, he had two games _ Memphis and Austin _ when he did not shoot.

Matt Mullin: Winning two of three decisions last week, Mullin was solid in the pipes. In victories over Memphis and Odessa, Mullin made 95 saves and allowed only four goals.

Chad Woollard: Pushing his team-leading goal numbers up to nine, Woollard has tallied at least one goal in three of the Brahmas' last four games. He scored two goals and had 10 shots against Oklahoma City. The only game he did not score this week was a shutout to Austin.

Chad Michalchuk: Despite spending a lot of time face down on the ice after instigating an opponent to take a cheap shot, Michalchuk managed to stay on his skates long enough to record two goals and two assists during the last four games. In the Memphis victory, Michalchuk scored the game-tying goal and assisted on the game-winner to Jim Midgley.

Know thy competition:

The Brahmas will continue their journeys away from home this weekend as they will fly to Indianapolis, Indiana on Friday morning for a weekend doubleheader at the Pepsi Coliseum against the Indianapolis Ice.

Entering this weekend's play, the Ice are currently three points in front of the Brahmas in the Northeast Division standings at 4-4-5. Three players—forwards Jason Baird and Kevin St. Jacques, as well as defenseman Bernie John—have led the Indy attack. Baird leads the Ice in points with 16 (8G/8A) and he is also tied with St. Jacques for the team lead in goals. John, who continues to be one of the dominant blueliners in the CHL, leads all Indy players with 9 assists and has a total of ten points (1G/9A). Despite the impressive efforts of that trio, scoring goals has been the Achilles heel for the Ice this season, as they are last in the CHL in goals for with just 29 in 13 games played. With very little support, the Ice have benefited from solid goaltending from the duo of Shawn Silver and Jamie Morris. This weekend's set of games in Indy will be the second and third meetings of the season between the Brahmas and the Ice. Ft. Worth defeated the Ice 4-2 in the Brahmas home opener on Sat. Nov. 2, 2002.



Central Hockey League Stories from November 22, 2002


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