Brahmas looking to build on last season's successess
by Rawly Bransom, Sports Editor

   The Fort Worth Brahmas are trying to build on late success from last year to make their mark on the CHL North Conference.
   When a team has only 16 wins out of 64 games, they do not have a great season.
   The Brahmas allowed 251 goals while only scoring 146 goals. The 146 was the lowest number scored out of any CHL team.
   When a team is not successful, it must reevaluate, take what did work for the team and build from there.
   Such is the case with the Brahmas.
   To do that, for the 2003-2004 season the Brahmas have brought back 28-year-old goalie Erasmo Saltarelli and 22-year-old defenseman Adam Davis.
   Saltarelli, who played in 15 games last season and was the goalie of record in 14 games, posted a 5-7-2 record down the stretch.
  All five of his wins came in his last nine starts and all on home ice. He posted a .888 save percentage and 3.80 goals against average.
   A Montreal native, Saltarelli played four years of collegiate hockey for Princeton University with a record of 27-23-11 and had his best season his senior year with a record of 17-10-7.
   In his five years as a pro, he has played in the East Coast Hockey League and United Hockey League and won his only NHL start for the Blackhawks in 2001.
   "Erasmo is, without a doubt, a very talented player, and he proved toward the end of last season how effective he can be in this league," Bill Inglis, Brahmas head coach, said.
   Adam Davis was also brought back to help strengthen the defense.
   This will be Davis' third season as a Brahma, and the team is counting on him to be a major factor. Davis played in all 64 games for the Brahmas and won praise across the CHL for his defensive skills.
   Davis also emerged last year as an offensive threat for the Brahmas as well as scoring 23 points on eight goals and 15 assists. Davis led all Brahma blueliners and was fourth on the team in points.
   This will also be Davis' fifth season playing hockey in the Metroplex.
   He played two years of junior hockey for the Texas Tornado, a North Richland Hills-based team.
   Davis graduated from Crestwood High School in Dearborn, Mich., in 1998 and has been playing in either junior hockey or professional hockey ever since.
   "Adams is the kind of player I want to build my team around," Inglis said. "He's smart, has a ton of potential and has a great attitude."
   The Brahmas have a long road ahead of ahead of them before they begin their season in late October.
   Defense must be a major concern for them, and with the signing of two of their best defensemen, the Brahmas seem to be moving forward.