Game 27: Brahmas at Mudbugs

The previous two games were Brahma wins. The scores were 4-2 and 8-3... The Mudbugs are 15-7-2 (or 15-9, adjusted) whereas the Brahmas are 15-8-3 (or 15-11, adjusted). The Brahmas are better considering the points system (33 points to the Mudbugs 32), but winning percentage says the Mudbugs are the better team.

Brahma Player Stats 08-09

Name	Scott Shepherd	Grant Jacobson	Jordan Cameron	Pete Rouleau
Goals	12	8	9	8
Assists	12	15	11	12
Points	24	23	20	20
+/-	+7	+6	+6	+3

This is a strong top four. All four are in the positive and have a strong impact... that's what you want your top four to have on your team.

Mudbug Player Stats 08-09

Name	Tyrel Lucas	Joe Blaznek	Travis Clayton	Brett Smith
Goals	10	7	11	9
Assists	12	15	10	12
Points	22	22	21	21
+/-	0	-4	0	+3

Not as strong of a top four on the team, but these guys have played two less games than the Brahmas.

Goalie Comparrison

Name	Games	Record	GAA	SV%
Brett Jaeger	18	9-4-3	2.49	.920
Ryan Mior	11	6-4	2.42	.904

The Brahmas and Mudbugs are pretty evenly matched on goalies. I like the roster of the Brahmas over the the 'Bugs. The 'Bugs also have a second goalie, who looks just as good as Mior and is 5-0-1 (or, simply 5-1) Forecast: The Brahmas are really the better team at most angles. Despite that, I think they are still going to drop this one. 2-1 will be the score. Johnny Out.

Home Ice

Game 19: Brahmas vs. Mudbugs

I had to get rid of the Mudbugs font on the logo. I had to. It was awful. It's much better like this... way cooler, I guess. And next time, the gray line on the right will be gone, too. Anyway, we have a hockey game to talk about, not logo chatter.

Brahmas lost to the Oilers in their last game.

The Mudbugs are 10-5-2 (10-7, adjusted) going into a game against Witchita, which they should win. If that is the case, the 'bugs will be 11-5-2 (or 11-7) coming into the game against the Brahmas.

The Brahmas are now 11-6-1 (or 11-7, adjusted) and now have three home games before hitting the road for six games. Saturday, they play the Laredo Bucks and next Tuesday, they play the Killer Bees.

Brahmas to Watch:

• Scott Sheppard (F): 19 points; 10 assists (6)
• Grant Jacobsen (F): 17 points; 10 assists (7)
• Pete Rouleau (F): 16 points; 10 assists (1)
• Justin Kinnunen (F): 13 points (9)
• Brett Jaeger: 12 games, 8-2-1 record, with a 2.44 GAA and a .921 SV%

Jaeger's numbers got better but he still grabbed the loss. Strange. And it sucks for him... oh well, you put up a good performance and you still lose. It must be a Murphy thing.

Mudbugs to Watch:

• Kevin Cooper (F): 18 points (0)
• Tyrel Lucas (F): 17 points; 10 assists (0)
• Joe Blaznek (F): 16 points; 10 assists (-2)
• Brett Smith (C): 15 points (1)
• Ken Carroll: 8 games, 4-3-1 record, with a 2.84 GAA and a .914 SV%

Forecast: Well, I believe the Brahmas have the better team and the better goalie. The generally spells out a win for the good-guys, however the intangibles point to... oh, yeah, the Brahmas. Brahams win this one, 4-2.

Home Ice

Game 15: Texas vs. Bossier

I love minor league logos. There's something about them that just makes them really cool to look at... maybe it is the name of the team or something, but they really do come across as really, really cool. With that said, I like the Mudbugs logo to a certain extent. I don't think I would have gone with the font for the name... it looks pretty amateurish. However, the crawfish looks very cool.

The last two games (well, really the first two games...) I predicted the Brahmas to win, missing the game on Sunday against Oklahoma City, which they lost. I nailed the first two games and didn't have a prediction on the OKC game. I also nailed the three NFL games and the Mavericks game. I'm on a tear of some kind... or maybe I'm just that lucky. I'll go with either one with no complaints.

The Brahmas are 9-4-1 (9-5, adjusted) and Bossier is 9-4-1 (9-5, adjusted). Both teams have the same record, so this will be a test to see who is better prepared for a playoff game very early in the season. It probably won't have to much to do with the playoff standings later, but then you never really know.

Brahmas to Watch:

• Pete Rouleau (F): 15 points
• Grant Jacobsen (F): 15 points
• Tyler Skworchinski (F): 12 points
• Scott Sheppard (F): 16 points
• Brett Jaeger: 10 games, 7-1-1 record, with a 2.64 GAA and a .913 SV%

Mudbugs to Watch:

• Kevin Cooper (F): 18 points
• Tyrel Lucas (F): 16 points
• Joe Blaznek (F): 15 points
• Simon Mangos (D): 14 points
• Ryan Mior: 7 games, 4-2 record, with a 2.22 GAA and a .917 SV%

Both teams look to be evenly matched. The Brahmas have scored 138 points this season to the 147 that the Mudbugs have scored, so only 9 points seperate the two. The Mudbugs do appear to have slightly better players in the way of points, but I really don't think that would be the difference in this game. I really don't. My best guess always goes back to what the Grandfathers would say, and this goes to just about any sport... "defense will always win it." Don't know if that really applies in today's sports, but it always sounds nice. Forecast: This game will go to overtime. I like the Mudbugs in this one with a score of 4-3.

Home Plate