Brahmas’ spirit seems promising for next year’s season
by Matthew Navy, reporter

    The stadiums are full of them—ice skaters who play to win, but no team is more exciting and dynamic than the Fort Worth Brahmas, a four-year Western Professional Hockey League (WPHL) team that has played a gut-wrenching season to fans who attend their games.

    The team, averaging 2,500 attendance per game, has played against other WPHL teams such as the Amarillo Rattlers, the Austin Ice Bats and the Odessa Jackalopes in its March 18 game.

    The Brahmas began in the summer of ’97, starting its franchise with five other teams that doubled the league’s size. Unfortunately, the team faced many setbacks and obstacles in its rise to a team that would stand out among the rest.

    Problems started with the fact that Fort Worth already had a WPHL team: the Fort Worth Fire. In addition, the team has faced many injuries and player losses as well. On the plus side, in the past three seasons the Brahmas have received numerous awards from the league, achieved the Governor’s Cup Champions title and over ranked the hometown’s old team, the Fort Worth Fire, pushing Fire to resignation in the 1998-99 season. This action turned Cowtown into a one-team town once again.

    All but two of the Brahmas’ games have been played at the team’s home stadium, the Fort Worth Convention Center. The 31-year old Convention Center can seat up to 11,500 people, and it has now become the established home for the only professional sports team in Fort Worth.

    The team, consisting of 16 players, 14 skaters and two goalies between the ages of 21 and 31, has had a tough season this year, playing against other WPHL teams in and outside the state of Texas. The Brahmas are nearly two steps away from being a National Hockey League team, but their record this year of 19-42-04 and seventh place in the Eastern Division Standings might set them back a bit from possibly achieving this goal in the near future.
    “On the ice we’re struggling,” Jeff Bowerman, the Brahmas’ director of media and public relations, said. “Off the ice we’re having a phenomenal year.”

    Bowerman joined the Brahmas executive offices this January, coming from the Central Texas Stampedes, which ceased operations late last year. Their demise gave Bowerman the chance to be welcomed to the Brahmas and also gave rise to the team’s latest growing excitement of a promising next year: the new coach from Central Texas, Todd Lalonde.

    Lalonde, an experienced professional hockey coach, has been coaching the Brahmas since January, but his real performance and impact on the team doesn’t begin until next season. Lalonde said he wants to give the team the “ultimate opportunity,” and although he is new to the team, he believes they will all get his new tactics down by next season.

    “They’re getting a little better each time we play,” he said. “With structure and form, they’ll be ready by next season for sure.”

    Another transfer from the Central Texas Stampede to the Fort Worth Brahmas is player #23, Craig Johnson. This is the eighth consecutive year of pro hockey for the young man, who started with Fort Worth this season, and he’s coming in with awards. While with the Stampedes, he served as team captain the last two years under Lalonde. His training in National Hockey League teams and other teams gave him a respectable name.

    Johnson is happy with the change to the Brahmas.

    “They’re a good bunch of guys, and it’s just too bad we had a late start in scoring for the season,” he said.

    The most important member of the Brahmas is #33 Justin Cardwell, the team’s MVP leading in goals, points, shots, PP goals and assists. Cardwell, a 28-year-old four-year pro skater from the Canadian Nationals, is by far the crowd pleaser of the team.

    “He’s a tremendously hard worker,” Bowerman said, “and when you combine work ethic with his skill, you get the numbers.”

    The team’s seasonal statistics so far have not been good, but the spirit still seems to be there. Cardwell thought the members were building up for next season and were not quite as ready this season as they thought they were.

    In his first year with the WPHL, Cardwell described the contest.

    “The challenge is there, and the teams are more closely matched in stats than in Canada. The games are always sure to be close,” he said.

    Cardwell praised Lalonde as a hard-working motivator who puts the players to work where they are needed.

    The March 16-18 weekend was the team’s busiest three-day stretch at the FWCC of the season. The Brahmas played the Austin Ice Bats on Friday, losing with a 5-2 score and a total shot count of 21.

    Johnson said the team was feeling down going into the weekend.
    “It’s tough to keep games going. Some games you get the bounce; some you don’t,” he said.

    The Saturday game against the Corpus Christi IceRays was another defeat, but the skill and talent of the Brahmas showed during the match. Cardwell scored two go

als and made one assist, placing his stats as sixth in the league.
    After the first period, the Brahmas were falling behind with the score 2-0 in favor of the IceRays, but the team stormed back to score three unanswered goals in the second, taking a 3-2 lead. Unfortunately, the IceRays responded with a return of two goals, bringing the score to 5-3, and even Cardwell’s second goal of the game couldn’t bring the Brahmas to victory as their ferocious offensive attack was shunned by the opposing team who won the game, 5-4.

    The last and final game of the weekend, reaching 4,824 in attendance, was against the Odessa Jackalopes whom the Brahmas lost to last year.

    This time the Brahmas were ready for revenge. The Jackalopes, currently leading the Western Divisional standings, daunted over the Brahmas with a record of 37-20-9.

    The first period ended with the Brahmas in the lead 2-0, but in the second period the Brahmas scored another point to create the vision of a promising victory over the Jackalopes.

    In the third period the opposing team scored a point, but the incredible defense of the Brahmas was too much for the victors of the past as they lost the game 4-1 and placed a final 38-shot count over Fort Worth’s 28.

    The team’s last two goals were scored by #7 Steve Dowhy, making this his first two-goal game of the season.

    What’s next for the Brahmas?

    With more games remaining, they have already been eliminated from playoff contention.

    Their goal is to play the role of the spoiler in trying to ruin the winning chances of the upcoming competition: the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, the Lake Charles Ice Pirates and the Tupelo T-Rex’s.

    The fierce competition of the Brahmas for next season looks promising, and with a couple of changes in the roster and coach’s handbook, the Brahmas might be too hot for one ice ring to hold next season.