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Shots from the Point for March 4, 2013

March 4, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Three Things You Need to Know

1.) Post-Season Ticket- On just March 2nd, the Allen Americans (34-13-9) became the first CHL team to clinch a playoff spot thanks to their 3-2 victory over the Missouri Mavericks. Allen has won a league-high four straight games and will be headed to the post-season for the fourth time in their four-year history. The Americans have had a hold on first place for most of the season and currently they lead both Wichita and Fort Worth by six points. Allen is traveling to Rapid City this week (more than 1,000 miles) to try and slow the red-hot Rush (30-22-5) in games on Friday and Saturday. Rapid City is 11-4-0 in their last 15 games and has climbed to fourth place in the conference with 65 points. Forward Jarret Lukin is one-to-watch for the Americans as he has scored the game winning goal in back-to-back games and in three of Allen's last five wins.

2.) Mallards Ascend to Top Eight- The Quad City Mallards (25-24-6) have climbed into the top eight in the league and a possible playoff berth. The Flock have won back-to-back games moving ahead of both Bloomington (54 points) and Arizona (55 points) in the standings with 56 points. Quad City is 5-3-1 in their last nine games and is in a very good spot to make the playoffs with a game in hand on Arizona and six head-to-head meetings remaining with the Blaze (four of them in Moline). Forward Mickey Lang has two goals and three assists over his last four games and currently sits just outside the top five in the league in scoring with 66 points (30-36=66). He is second in the CHL with 30 goals and leads the league with five shorthanded scores. The Mallards will look for three in a row on Friday in Missouri.

3.) Battle for Second Place- The Wichita Thunder (32-17-7) travel to Texas on Wednesday to play the Fort Worth Brahmas (32-18-7) in a battle for second place in the Berry Conference. Both teams currently sit with 71 points, six behind conference leader Allen. Fort Worth is back home after a four-game road trip that saw them go 1-2-1. Wichita has gone six straight games on the road without a victory going 0-3-3 over that stretch with their last road win coming on January 20 in Tulsa. So far this season, the Thunder have won five of the seven meetings with the Brahmas with Torrie Jung going 4-1 with a shutout against Fort Worth. The Thunder will be without a couple of players as forward Aaron Boogaard is serving game two of a three-game suspension and forward Matt Robinson is serving a one-game suspension for a slew-foot incident in Sunday's win over Missouri.

By the Numbers

599: The number of CHL points that Rapid City Rush forward Scott Wray has in his career needing just one point to become the 14th player to join the 600-point club. The veteran has 20 goals and 12 assists on the season and his 678 games played rank sixth on the league's all-time list. His 296 career CHL goals are the most among active players and fifth on the league's all-time goal scoring list.

One-Timers

-With the Quad City Mallards shootout win over Fort Worth on Sunday, Flock Head Coach Terry Ruskowski becomes just the fourth coach to reach 400 CHL wins joining Doug Sauter, Scott Muscutt and Chris Stewart.

-Allen's rookie goaltender Aaron Dell has won four straight decisions and six of his last eight. On the season, Dell is 18-6-6 and leads the league with a 2.18 GAA and a .924 save percentage. The University of North Dakota product has allowed just three goals in his last four games earning two shutouts over that stretch.

-After missing half of February on a call-up to the Lake Erie Monsters (AHL), Denver forward A.J. Gale returned to the club and picked up right where he left off scoring three times in two games keeping hold of his league lead in goals (34).

-Tulsa forward Ryan Menei has continued his torrid second half with two goals and seven assists over his last five games that has him tied for second in the league in scoring with 71 points (29-42=71). Since Jan. 11, Menei has scored 18 goals with 18 assists (36 points in 22 games).

-With back-to-back wins in Arizona over the weekend, the Rapid City Rush have now won four straight road games and will look for number five on Tuesday night when they visit the Denver Cutthroats. The two rivals have not seen each other since New Year's Eve and so far this season, the Fish have won seven of the 12 meetings.

-Johan Ryd's power play goal in the first period of Arizona's 4-2 loss to Rapid City on Saturday ended a stretch of 12 straight chances without a PP goal. The Sundogs are last in the league connecting at 12.3% on the season.

-Be sure to catch all of the action on CHL-TV all season long.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2013


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