Truth be told, Dan Wildfong wasn't quite sure what was going to happen when his team started spiraling downward in December and January.

"It really could have gone either way," the Texas Brahmas' first-year coach said of a run in which his team won just twice in 13 contests. "It was a tremendous test for us."

The fact the Brahmas recovered is a strong testament to the work of the 31-year-old Wildfong. The fact they have become the hottest team in the Central Hockey League and ended the regular season on a 23-5-1 run is the stuff of hockey fairytales – at least the kind that general manager Mike Barack likes to dream about.

Barack has been a part of the Brahmas for eight seasons, and he has seen the squad fight a losing battle for building space, fan attention and advertising dollars in Fort Worth.

That battle resulted in the team closing down last season, a move that seemed to underscore the fact that minor professional hockey could not work in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

So it was a bit of a risk when Barack and the old ownership group merged with NYTEX Sports (led by brothers Frank and Salvatore Trazzera) and brought the Brahmas back from the dead last summer.

Needing the building control they didn't have when they bounced around between the Fort Worth Convention Center and Will Rogers Auditorium, the group took a monumental leap of faith by moving the Brahmas to the old Blue Line Ice Rink in North Richland Hills.

"From a business standpoint, it was a bit of a risk, but we knew we needed to own the rink," Barack said. "And that has made it a lot easier for us to be successful off the ice this season."

The Brahmas average the lowest attendance in the CHL at 1,829, but that's an impressive number when you consider their newly named arena – the NYTEX Sports Centre – has a capacity of 2,340. Barack said the team is in the top three in the league in percentage of capacity and sold out three of its last four Saturday games.

"Things are really picking up," he said.

The reason, of course, is the team is winning. The old Brahmas shuffled players and seven coaches and still struggled to make the playoffs. When they clinched a postseason berth on Wednesday, it was their first foray into the playoffs since 2002.

"It's been so hard to build anything when we weren't winning on the ice," Barack said. "And in the middle of the season, there was some real concern that the old Brahmas were coming back. But, I can tell you, these are definitely the new Brahmas."

And the best part of the new Brahmas, Barack said, has been Wildfong. The all-time leading scorer of the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, Wildfong ended his playing career last season and stepped behind the bench with the idea that his eight years in the league gave him the insight to help mold a winner. But when the team started to struggle in December and January, Wildfong was tested heavily.

"Honestly, we had to pull together and really learn to believe in each other," Wildfong said.

The team has its share of leaders – goalie David Cacciola (26-15-3, 2.91 goals against average and .911 save percentage), leading scorer Jordan Cameron (30 goals, 34 assists) and defenseman Justin Kinnunen (42 points and plus-19) – but it really is a team. Ten players have 11 goals or more. Backup goalie Brett Jaeger is seen as one of the keys to the turnaround with a 13-5-1 record.

And that type of depth is what gives the team faith it can win when the playoffs start next week.

"I think the whole move has been good for us," Barack said. "When you think of starting from scratch, it was definitely a big undertaking. But, looking back, I think we needed the change."

The Texas Brahmas qualified for the Central Hockey League playoffs on Wednesday – the team's first postseason berth since 2001-02. The playoff schedule will be announced today and will begin this week.

■ Location: NYTEX Sports Centre, North Richland Hills

■ Coach: Dan Wildfong, first year

■ Record: 40-22-2, 82 points

■ Goals leader: Anders Strome, 34

■ Points leader: Jordan Cameron, 64