MAVERICKS LOSE FIRST GAME IN REGULATION, 5-3 TO BRAHMAS
Missouri remains in first place in Turner Conference with 6-1-1 record

NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas – The Missouri Mavericks’ lost their first game in regulation and first road game in a 5-3 loss to the Texas Brahmas Tuesday night at NYTEX Sports Centre.  Five different Brahmas had multiple-point games, and goaltender Mark Guggenberger stopped 29 of 32 shots in the win against the Mavericks.  Mavericks’ forward Vern Cooper had a pair of assists to lead the Mavericks and goaltender Gerry Festa had 24 saves on 29 shots in his first loss of the season.  The Mavericks remain in first place in the Turner Conference with a 6-1-1 record and will return home for a pair of games this weekend at Independence Events Center.

Box Score

“We had some terrible defensive breakdowns tonight and not enough urgency,” said Mavericks’ Head Coach Scott Hillman.  “We will get more traffic in front of the opponent’s goalie on Friday night and we will be ready to play.”

For the second straight game, Mavericks’ forward Andrew Courtney opened the scoring when he beat Brahmas’ goaltender Guggenberger at the 2:40 mark of the first period.  Courtney extended his scoring streak to five games with the goal and he was assisted by Zach Carriveau and Cooper.  The Brahmas answered with a pair of goals just 59 seconds apart late in the first period and never relinquished the lead.  Calin Wild and T.J. Fox scored goals at the 17:03 and 18:02 marks respectively and the Brahmas took the 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Brendon Hodge gave Texas a 3-1 lead at the midway point of the second period on assists from Jacques Perreault and Chad Woolard, but the Mavericks answered less than three minutes later.  Rookie forward Kris Hogg scored the Mavs’ first shorthanded goal of the season and made it 3-2 when he stole the puck from a Brahmas’ defenseman and beat Guggenberger for the unassisted goal.  The one-goal deficit proved to be the closest the Mavericks’ would get as the Brahmas tallied two power play goals late in the second period.  Mavericks’ forward Carlyle Lewis was in the penalty box for a five-minute charging penalty and Adam Hogg and Jordan Kary scored power play goals for the Brahmas to make it a 5-2 game.  Through two periods, the teams were tied in shots with 18 apiece, but the Brahmas held the three-goal lead.

The Mavericks scored with an extra attacker late in the third period on Sebastien Thinel’s fifth goal of the season, but it was too little too late.  Missouri outshot the Brahmas 32-29 in the game, but lost their first game in regulation this season.  The loss also marked the Mavericks’ first loss against the Brahmas in team history.  Missouri was previously 2-0-0 against Texas with both wins in Texas.