Bronze Off Week-Brahmas Preview

With the upcoming Labor Day holiday coming up there is not too much Bronze League activity to talk about, so I think it’s a good time to start the Texas Brahmas 09-10 previews.

The Brahmas title defense begins on October 16th in Colorado with a rematch of last years CHL Finals against the Colorado Eagles. The Brahmas will play two games in two days against the dirty birds in their barn just outside of Ft. Collins. During the finals last season the Brahmas split the Eagles 1-1 in the two games played their. The loss was a heartbreaking one in overtime. Justin Kinnunen got called for slashing giving the Eagles the power play which ultimately took the Brahmas down in that game. We know what happened when the Brahmas returned to our home, the Nytex Sports Centre, we kicked their asses in three straight games which ended the Eagles run, and left the Brahmas champions of the Central Hockey League.


Several of the key players to last years success are back on board this season including CHL MVP Jason Deitsch. Deitsch spent a good portion of last season playing in the American League with the Houston Aeros. Deitsch is a proven winner having won championships in the NAHL, UHL, ECHL, and now CHL. Call him a good luck charm, or just a great player. He will no doubt bring his veteran leadership back to the Brahmas as they defend their title this season.

Returning again this season to join Deitsch in the goal scoring department is Jordan Cameron. Cameron is one of the best stick handlers in the league hands down. He stands 6’4”, and can bring the heat both in scoring and hitting. Cameron will no doubt be challenging Deitsch for CHL MVP this season.

Also back is the lone representative from the Brahmas to the CHL All Star game last season, Justin Kinnunen. The man who goes by Juice is the fastest skater in the CHL, and also spent time in the American League last season. He played nearly a dozen games with the San Antonio Rampage before coming back to guard the blue line for the Brahmas. Juice is a converted forward whose speed and stick handling abilities make him nearly impossible to defend or get past.



Joining Juice on the blue line will be captain Craig Minard who put up ridiculous plus minus numbers last season proving that discipline is his strong suit. His veteran leadership and great hockey sense are a valuable asset to the organization. Hockey is in Minard’s blood as cousin Chris Minard’s name was etched on the Stanley Cup last year for his work with the Penguins. Chris recently signed a deal with the Edmonton Oilers for next season. Also back on the blue line is Kevin “Marv” McLeod. McLeod who hails from Calgary is one of the best offensive defensemen in the league. He is a sniper in the purest sense of the word. He can score from just about anywhere. His offensive spark kept other teams on their toes all season. Marv will no doubt anchor this very impressive defensive core.

New to the Brahmas this season is Derek Merlini who is 6’6” 245 lbs, no doubt an ominous looking creature that will put fear in the eyes of the other teams this season. Kyle Deck and Casey Russell who both stand 6’1” and 200 lbs will be joining Merlini as Brahma rooks this season. Both have had impressive careers and should fit in fine with this crew. Russell should really fit in with the crew as he is the step brother of Stick and Puck Class instructor Matt Burto.

Goaltending should not be a problem this year as Brett Jaeger is back between the pipes for a third season in purple and black. Jaeger was hands down the best goalie in the CHL last season. He is solid as a rock, and will no doubt frustrate opponents throughout the CHL this year.

The rest of the Brahmas that have signed so far this off season can be found here: http://www.brahmas.com/thebrahmas/roster/

Saturday Practice Times

There are still some times available for practicing this Saturday. If you do not see your team on the list below, have your coordinator respond in the comments section with what time they want, and Nytex will get you locked in.

5:00
Senators and Indians

6:30
Bandits and Ice Kings

8:00
Silver Bullets and Stingers (Cancelled) OPEN

9:30
Spider Monkeys and OPEN

Week Two Winners

The Ice Kings continued their domination of the Bronze League with another shut out, this time 7-0 over their biggest rival the Silver Bullets. The big did feature the first tussle of the season when Scott Stevens of the Bullets and Mike Hvidston of the Kings went at it.

The Senators beat the Bandits 4-1. A team effort from the Sens as four different people scored.

The Indians lost to the Jaguars. The Birdman aka Casey Bird was in net for the Indians, and did a respectable job of only allowing 2 goals. Unfortunately the Indians could only muster one goal.

The Stingers rolled the Spider Monkeys who were playing with a massively short bench and substitute goalie.

So after week two we have three undefeated teams, the Stingers (no suprises), the Jaguars (what?), and the Ice Kings (who?). The Keller Indians have yet to find the win column along with the Spider Monkeys and Bullets.

The Uniform Czar?

The Uniform Czar has been in Slovenia in a search form some new water resistant thread that can heal the sick, and cure the world wide aids epidemic. While he has been gone his trusty assistant Ivan has been keeping tabs on the Bronze League.

Initial reports from Ivan are that the Bandits have a very snazzy new sweater/sock thing going on. Very professional looking, the uniform czar will no doubt be very pleased when he sees the pics.

The Stingers and Indians roll out their usual look. Consider these two the Dodgers and Yankees of the league, solid, steady, dependable uniforms.

The Senators are starting to look a little ragged. The equipment manager apparently ran out of the red jerseys, and some of the new guys are sporting just solid red jerseys this season.

Silver Bullets still look good in those silver jerseys with the little bullet man on them.

No word yet on how the Ice Kings look. Word on the street is that they are or will be a LA Kings white sweater.

Spider Monkeys are solid as they always have been.

Jaguars, the league is waiting to see those fancy new unis with the new logo!

Golf with the Brahmas

The Brahmas annual golf tournament is approaching. To sign up you can go to the Brahmas website at www.brahmas.com, or just call Nytex and ask one of those folks up there 817-336-4423. If you havent played before it is a good time. Coors provides free beer, so you can if nothing else get loaded. Lots of prizes, tons of drunken Canadians, and of course golf. This year Hooters is sponsoring a hole, and will have Hooters girls and wings out there. Good times for sure with the golf tournament, so lets go, Eh.

A Quick Notice About Parking on Saturday

The Dallas Derby Devils will be having their final bout of the season this Saturday at the Nytex Sports Centre. This is their championship bout, so expect a full house over in the Tejas Volleyball Arena. Just FYI

Week Two Featured Match Up...Silver Bullets vs. Ice Kings

The marquee match up this week is going to be the Silver Bullets vs. the Ice Kings. This will be the first time that #99 Mike Hvidston will face off against his former team.

Both teams won their season opener, and both teams are full of hope for the new season. The Bullets have added Nytex front desk employee Ethan giving them a burst of speed. Ethan has already tallied one goal in his first game with the Bullets. And Brandon Suits and Casey "Birdman" Bird have proven that they can provide a spark for the SB's when needed. For the Kings perhaps shaking things up by eliminating the old Arch Angels name will provide a breath of fresh air for the squad. Big forwards Rick Gregory and Chris Moseley have already notched 5 goals between the two of them in the first week. Perhaps the new franchise name has helped Captain (#99) Mike Hvidston change his goonish ways. In week one he did not have a single penalty which is odd considering in 14 games last season he had 32 PIMs.

Who will win this battle folks? Killer predicts a Bullets win 5-3

Where Did Dickie Dunn Go???????

Folks looks like our own Dickie Dunn has finally signed a contract overseas, and will be hitting the ice this fall as a member of the Unison Ligers of the Manchester I League in Manchester England. Dickie will be donning the #7 for the Ligers this season in an homage to his childhood hero, Chris Chelios. Dickie was unavailable for comment at press time do to food poisoning from vegetable curry. Hopefully more details will be released soon, as should a press release from the Ligers. Sad loss for the Nytex Bronze League, but we wish Dickie well.

Private Lessons

Brahma Forward Matt Burto is spending his summer in Texas. Instead of going back to the North East where he hails from, he is spending his time down here at the Nytex Sports Centre teaching lessons, and working out in preperation for another season of CHL hockey. Matt asked the Killer to throw it out there to the Bronze League that he is available for lessons (group or private), and now that the kiddos are back in school, the ice is less crowded during open hockey sessions. But Matt can work with you before work or after work is that is what you need. To get more info on all this hit up Jared or Chad over in the Brahmas Sales office jjohnson@brahmas.com or csiewert@brahmas.com

Duncanville Star Center

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/yahoolatestnews/stories/082509dnmetduncanville.110c2527a.html

From the Dallas Morning News.

Week One

Week One is in the books, and there is still no word on the two new teams. This probably means our little league will stay 8 teams this season, which is fine and dandy with me.

Week One saw some blow outs. The Ice Kings smoked the Bandits in the new franchise battle. 8-0 was the score, Handits seemed to be hampered by a lack of defense. Kings look strong. The Silver Bullets beat the Senators 6-4. Senators seem to have lost all their D men from last season, and are adjusting to a new lineup. The Jaguars made a statement with a 7-1 whopping of the Spider Monkeys. And the Stingers took down the Indians 4-3 on the heels of Steve Meeks hat trick.

It is way to early to speculate, but looks like this season has a different feel from last season.

BREAKING NEWS-EXPANSION TALK

Just got word from the big boss man that due to some shannanigans over at Euless, our Bronze League might be absorbing two teams to expand our league back to ten teams.

This weeks schedule will not be affected, if the two teams come on board they can just play each other either in the late slot Saturday or during the week sometime. This means that every teams schedule would be reworked to get in the two new teams. It would also mean that everyone plays each team one time during the regular season. Stay tuned to here for all the details. I will keep everyone up to speed on the progress of the league expansion.

The Great 8

Tarrant County's Championship Hockey Teams

The Texans were an affiliate of the NY Islanders back in the 70's. They won the CHL's Adams Cup in 1978 over arch rival the Dallas Blackhawks.
http://www.islesinfo.com/FortWorthTexans.html

The Fire were Fort Worth's main hockey team in the early to mid 90's. They won the cup that currently resides inside Nytex back in 96/97/. In fact, their championship banner hangs over the south end of the arena today.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Worth_Fire

And then the Brahmas last season took the Presidents Cup as CHL champions. So that makes three championships for Tarrant County, unless someone can do more thourough research (Killer spent all of three minutes on this post, top quality journalism folks)!

Schedule is up and official

http://www.leaguelineup.com/schedules.asp?url=nytex_i_league&sid=314991504&divisionid=416613


Its up folks, so check it out. First game is this Saturday. All teams are tied, and the Keg is now back up for grabs.

New Season Ch Ch Changes

With the dust barely settled on last season, we forge ahead with a new one. The league appears to have been extremely busy during the off season. Things are going to be interesting this season in the Bronze League. Lets take a look at some of the changes happening for this new season.

For Starters we have four teams that are no more (more or less). The Hurricanes washed their squad of all the ringers, and have reformed under the moniker of BANDITS. They have some sweet new jerseys, and a full roster. They also merged with the remaining boys from Mid Air to form a super team of sorts. Expect big things from these guys throughout the season.

So Mid Air and the Hurricanes are the first two teams we will not see in the standings, now for the next one, the Arch Angels. The Angels are gone, and reformed under the name, Ice Kings. The Ice Kings now have a Silver League and a Bronze League squad, which the Killer thinks is great. I think every team in the Bronze League should be affiliated with a Silver League team. This gives guys a spot to move into if they feel they are ready to take their game up a level. Or vice versa if they feel the Silver is too much.

The fourth team you wont see this season is the Ice Gators. A team that fought hard all the way to the finals with no subs. The Gators have split up. Mike Wolf has moved to Montana, Andrew Busboom (Goalie) has signed with the Senators as has the duo of Zach Gunter and Roger Bishop (Much to the chagrin, <- misspelled?, of the Stingers). No word on where the other Gators have ended up. One report has them in the swamps of Louisiana fighting alligators with their bare hands.

So we now have 8 teams, all with solid rosters. The teams this season are:

Keller Indians
Stingers
Senators
Jaguars
Bandits
Ice Kings
Spider Monkeys
Silver Bullets

All are reporting strong rosters, and this season looks to be the greatest ever in the Bronze League. Congrats to last season’s champs, the Keller Indians.

Right now it looks like there has been lots of roster juggling going on in the off season. We have several new players joining the league. Some teams have moved up their better players and made room for rookies which is the spirit of the Bronze league. Some teams have remained the same (why fix what isn’t broken).

There was talk of moving to point streak, in an effort to avoid any BS, we will be rolling out with schedules and stats on league lineup same as always again until further notice. No sense in losing three or four weeks of stats cause Point Streak wasn’t set up right? The schedule is up on league lineup now, however it is not final. There are going to be some changes to it tonight, so until we make a blog announcement here stating that the schedule is final, consider it only tentative.

Schedule will be finalized hopefully tonight.

Gator-Gate

Stay tuned, your old pal Dickie is working on a story that's gonna bust wide open the shady recruiting shenanigans by some of the coordinators....

Think a Good Thought

For Nytex employee, and Bronze League coach Jim Anderson who was taken to the hospital last night after cutting either his hand or arm in a zamboni accident. Details are still sketchy, no one knows exactly what happened, but he was taken to the hospital for a pretty severe cut to the arm and/or hand from the zamboni blade.

So think a good thought for Jim, he has been a fixture of the nytex I League for a long time.

Practice Times for the Next Season

1st Practice Times have been announced, schedule to come out shortly.

This Saturday the 15th of August starting at 6:00 we have the Senators and Indians, 7:30 Bullets and Bandits, 9:00 Angels and Monkeys, 10:30 Jags and Stingers, 11:59 Mid Air.

There are 9 teams in the league now, and word on the street is that Nytex is looking to make the league only an 8 team league. This will help with the schedule once Brahmas season hits, but more importantly help cut down ont he number of late night games.

Keller Indians over Ice Gators for the Keg

A couple of pictures real quick, more breakdown of the semifinals and finals to come...