NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, Texas — They have the smallest venue, arguably the worst bus and fewer player perks than any other team in the Central Hockey League. Yet, the Texas Brahmas have managed to earn a trip to the Ray Miron President’s Cup Championship to take on the league’s showcase team, the Colorado Eagles, in only their second season back from the edge of extinction.
After years of poor performance on the ice and declining attendance, the City of Fort Worth failed to come to terms on a new lease agreement that would allow the team to continue playing in the city’s convention center. As a result, the Fort Worth Brahmas would sit out the 2006-07 season. Many doubted their return.
But the team would re-emerge in the late spring of 2007, having relocated to the NYTEX Sports Center, a multi-use complex in suburban North Richland Hills that houses indoor volleyball, soccer and flat-track roller derby as well as ice hockey. The NYTEX group became a minority owner of the re-named Texas Brahmas and the team became their primary tenant.
The financial savings for the Brahmas were enormous. In Fort Worth, the Brahmas paid to lease its venue and did not receive any revenue from parking and concessions. They also had to pay rent for office space and locker rooms and had to compete for weekend dates with conventions, Disney on Ice, the circus and other events that the city gave priority to.
The partnership with NYTEX significantly reduced operating costs and allowed the team to capture revenue from five sources – ticket sales, parking, merchandise sales, concessions and sponsorships. The Brahmas also received the highest priority when it came to scheduling.
The next step was hiring former three-time CHL All-star forward Dan Wildfong as a rookie head coach. Wildfong was the only candidate who interviewed with a prepared plan to win a championship, in his first season . He nearly made it. In the 2007-08 campaign, Wildfong took a group who had never played together as a team all the way to the Northern Conference Finals only to suffer a heartbreaking loss in a forced game seven against the defending champion Colorado Eagles.
Undeterred, Wildfong immediately began recruiting with little more to offer (compared to other teams) than his track record and determination to win a championship this season. He also managed, arguably, the best in-season signings of any team in the league. This included three players who returned to the team after the season started (Scott Sheppard, Jordan Cameron and Grant Jacobsen) and led the team in points (66, 60 and 55, respectively) during the regular season.
The Brahmas were moved to the Southeast Division of the Southern Conference after an off-season realignment and from the start, began to improve upon their performance of the previous year.
The team would eventually win their division, overtaking the Laredo Bucks who had held the top spot for the previous five seasons. Ending their season with a franchise best 42-16-6 record with 90 points (third in the league) and a league best 26-5-1 record at NYTEX, the Brahmas, like the Eagles, were the team to beat for the chance to advance to the championship series.
First up was the upstart Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, who the Brahmas swept in the Southern Conference Semi-Finals four games to none. Then came the Odessa Jackalopes in the Conference Finals. They battled the Brahmas all the way to a game seven showdown, only to lose an 8-1 season-ending game at NYTEX.
Now in their first appearance in the CHL Finals, the Brahmas, who have fought for respect since their return to play, are up against the regular season champion Colorado Eagles, who have been to the championship series three times before, winning twice.
The Brahmas beat the host team in a well-balanced 5-3 victory on Wednesday night at the Budweiser Events Center with 12 of the teams’ 16 players scoring a point. Game Two is set for Friday evening and the Eagles suddenly find themselves in a must-win situation before making the trip to Texas for three games at the NYTEX Centre.
In the history of the CHL, the team that has won Game One of the Finals has gone on to win the Cup 15 of 16 seasons. A second consecutive win at the BEC just might give the Brahmas all the respect they’ll need and a real opportunity to win their first President’s Cup on home ice.
Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com
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