Posted on Tue, Apr. 22, 2008

Brahmas won't be bullied, head to Game 7

By KELLY LYELL

Special to the Star-Telegram

LOVELAND, Colo. -- It's never a good idea to back a bull into a corner.

The Texas Brahmas, facing playoff elimination for the second consecutive game, won 5-4 Monday, snapping Colorado's nine-game postseason home winning streak and forcing a decisive Game 7 in the Northern Conference finals.

Anders Strome scored three goals, and Scott Sheppard and Tyler Skworchinski each scored one as Texas took it to the defending Central Hockey League champions.

Game 7 is at 8:05 p.m. Wednesday at Colorado, which is 33-6 at home this season.

"We can beat these guys," first-year Brahmas coach Dan Wildfong said. "We match up with them well. They push us around. We push back.

"They think they're the bullies of the CHL, but we can stand up to them."

That line of thinking was spurred not only by the physical nature of the game but also by a brawl after the final buzzer that left Texas forward Chris Thompson face-down on the ice while four different skirmishes broke out as officials tried to clear the ice.

Colorado coach Chris Stewart and his players said Thompson started it by firing a shot into the Eagles' empty net after the final buzzer had sounded.

Wildfong called the Eagles' response, which could lead to sanctions from the league, "classless."

With the scored tied 2-2, Texas center Blair Manning, working with the puck behind the Colorado goal, fed a nice pass from the right to an uncovered Sheppard in front, and the Texas forward fired it in for a 3-2 lead 10:19 into the third period.

Texas' next goal was even easier, with Strome taking a cross-ice pass from Jordan Cameron at the bottom of the left face-off circle and firing it past Colorado goaltender Sebastien Laplante on a power play at 13:09 of the second.

Strome added another power-play goal, which proved to be the game-winner, with assists from Jordan Cameron and Craig Minard.

Texas looked nothing like the team that had dropped the first two games of this series 4-1 and 2-0. The Brahmas answered every Colorado check with one of their own in an unusually physical but sloppy opening period.

By the middle of the second period, the Brahmas were controlling the tempo with aggressive play on the offensive end and a physical presence on the defensive end that kept Colorado players out of the sight lines of goaltender Brett Jaeger.

Jaeger, the top goaltender in this year's CHL playoffs with a 1.75 goals-against average and .950 save percentage coming into the game, once again was up to the task. He stopped 31 of 35 shots he faced.

Colorado's final goal came at 18:55 of the third, and Jaeger made a nice save on a mad rush at his goal with 36 seconds left after Colorado pulled its goaltender.

"Our guys worked really hard," Wildfong said. "It's not an easy battle to come in here and win, but we've been facing adversity all year.

"We had our backs against the wall, and we came out and did the job."

BRAHMAS 5, COLORADO 4