Amarillo earns first road win of season

Published on November 16, 2005 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Amarillo Gorillas News Release


TULSA, OK "" For perhaps the first time all season, the Gorillas truly controlled the tempo of a game from the opening face-off to the final buzzer, beating the Tulsa Oilers 4-1 at the Tulsa Convention Center. The game also marked Amarillo's first road win of the season in six attempts.

Jamie Vandespyker got the start in net for the Gorillas after relieving Shawn Degagne in the team's 5-2 loss at Corpus Christi on Saturday and performing well with 20 saves in 21 opportunities. Meanwhile, the Oilers countered with Marco Emond for the second time in three match-ups.

With an announced crowd of 4,396, Amarillo got off to a quick start, storming into the left end of the ice and scoring just 3:07 into the first period while on the man-advantage. Kevin Wilson received a terrific pass inside the slot from Derek Hahn and got it past Emond for his third goal of the year and first on the power play. Hahn earned his team-leading tenth assist and continues to pace the Gorillas with 17 points.

Back-and-forth play continued throughout the first period before Mark DeSantis took the puck out of his own defensive end, passed ahead to former Oiler Jeremy Kyte in the neutral zone, and Kyte went coast-to-coast through traffic for his third goal of the season with just 1:03 remaining. Amarillo went to the locker-room shortly thereafter for the first intermission with a 2-0 lead, out-shooting Tulsa 12-8.

The Oilers cut the lead in half early in the second period when, on the power play, Jaroslav Cesky batted home a Henry Kuster rebound for his first goal of the year. Kuster earned his Tulsa-leading seventh point on his third assist.

The rest of the second involved a few roughing penalties but was mostly stagnant as Amarillo again out-shot Tulsa 15-12 and lead 2-1 after forty minutes of play.

In the third, it was all Gorillas. Amarillo's Rich Hansen took a pass from Kevin Wilson, crept in front of Marco Emond and wiggled his way around the tender ever so gently for his Gorillas' rookie-leading fourth goal and seventh point in only his sixth game. Wilson and Brent Hughes both had helpers, Wilson's ninth point and the tenth for Hughes, who is now just one point shy of 100 for his professional career.

Later in the period, with the Gorillas playing short-handed but leading 3-1, Tulsa pulled Emond with more than six minutes to play in favor two-skater advantage but the move failed to pay off. Despite the gutsy maneuver, neither team scored during the penalty.

The Oilers pulled Emond again, however, with just over one minute to play and Jeremy Kyte struck again with an empty net goal, his fourth score of the season, giving the Gorillas the 4-1 edge with 19 seconds left. Captains Mark DeSantis and Dave Rattray each received assists on the play. DeSantis leads the team in defensemen scoring with ten points.

Just one second later, right off the center-ice draw, Mat Goody dropped the gloves with Shawn Futers, who had been getting on the nerves of many Amarillo players throughout the evening. Goody won the speedy fight and quickly rushed off the ice to the locker-room.

The Gorillas hung on for the 4-1 win, out-scoring Tulsa 2-0 in the final frame, despite getting out-shot 16-6 in the third period and 36-33, overall, for the game. Neither team was heavily penalized, combining for 44 penalty minutes, a slight edge to Amarillo. On the power play, the Gorillas were 1-for-6 and 6-of-7 on the penalty kill.

Jamie Vandespyker earned his first win of the season, blocking 35 shots, while improving to 1-3-1. Marco Emond dropped to 1-3-0, stopping 29 would-be Gorillas goals and allowing three scores.

Amarillo is now 3-5-2 with eight points, while Tulsa is 5-4-0 for ten points. The Gorillas still sit third in the Southwest division, three points behind division-best Lubbock and hold a game in hand.

Amarillo returns home on Saturday, November 19th, for another battle with division-rival Lubbock. The Gorillas will be wearing America-themed jerseys to commemorate a Military and Civil Servants Appreciation Night. The jerseys, sponsored by the United States Army, will then be auctioned off after the game. The night also celebrates the High Plains Food Bank Canned Food Drive. Just bring in ten cans of non-perishable food and receive a free ticket to the game. There is a limit to 40 cans for four tickets per family. Cans will be accepted at the Gorillas' office, located at 1934 Civic Circle until November 19th. Please act quickly as there are a limited number of tickets available.

Amarillo Gorillas Hockey Presented by NewsChannel 10 on Saturday will be broadcast on 1440 AM The Score with Gorillas Pre-Game set to begin at 6:45 pm live from the Civic Center. The game will also be available at www.amarillogorillas.com and on CHLTV (www.chltv.com).

Meanwhile, many of the Gorillas' players will also be on-hand at the United Supermarket locations on Georgia and 45th and Bell on Wednesday night, November 16th, handing out vouchers at both locations from 5:30 "" 6:30 pm to those who brings ten non-perishable canned foods in support of the High Plains Food Bank Canned Food Drive.

Great seats are still available to all upcoming home games! Tickets for Gorillas games can be purchased at the Gorillas Hockey Office, located at 1934 Civic Circle off of I-40 and Georgia, the Civic Center Box Office and all Panhandle Ticket Outlets. These include Randy's Music Mart, the West Texas Event Center in Canyon and United Supermarkets. Tickets can also be charged by phone at (806) 378-3096 or (806) 242-PUCK (7825).

For further information on the Amarillo Gorillas, please contact Broadcaster and Director of Media and Public Relations Adam Kaufman at (806) 242-PUCK (7825).

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