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Shots from the Point for December 16, 2013

December 16, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Three Things You Need to Know

1.) Record Start- The Rapid City Rush (18-3-0) tied the CHL record with 10 straight wins to start the season and they have not slowed down since. The club went 7-3-0 in their second 10 games tying them with the Colorado Eagles for the most wins (17) through the first 20 games of the season (since the CHL/WPHL merger in 2001-02 season). No team over the past dozen seasons has won 18 of their first 21 games and only the Rocky Mountain Rage (2007-08) earned as many points in their first 21 games going 17-2-2 (36 points). The Rush are on the cusp of another CHL record having won nine consecutive road games. The CHL record for consecutive road wins is 10 set four times, most recently in 2001-02 when Odessa accomplished this feat. Rapid City can tie and potentially break the record this weekend when they play in Denver on Friday and Saturday taking on the Cutthroats (12-8-4).

2.) Flocks Streak Comes to an End- The Quad City Mallards (10-4-5) saw their 10-game unbeaten streak come to an end on Saturday in Rapid City by a 5-1 count. The loss was the first for the Flock since November 15 when they fell in Denver. The unbeaten streak for the Mallards saw them post a 6-0-4 record making it the longest such stretch for the club since 2004 when they went 10-0-1 between March 19 and April 10. Quad City has the third best win percentage in the league at .658 trailing only Rapid City and Missouri. The Flock will be tested this week when they play at St. Charles (6-13-4) on Wednesday and at Tulsa (14-11-2) on Friday before returning home to play St. Charles on Saturday and then finishing up the busy week in St. Charles on Sunday.

3.) Shutout City- Exactly a third of the CHL's shutouts this season came this past weekend with three goaltenders pitching blanks against the opposition. Maybe the most impressive was rookie Ty Rimmer helping the Quad City Mallards to a 2-0 defeat of the Rapid City Rush on Friday night. Rimmer turned away a league season-high 48 shots in the win over the CHL's top team. Also on Friday night, Brampton's Grant Rollheiser made 31 saves against the Tulsa Oilers (a 4-0 win) earning his league-best third shutout of the season. The third shutout of the weekend came in Missouri on Saturday night when Allen's Bryan Pitton made 40 saves helping his team to a 3-0 win against the Mavericks. Entering Friday's games, the CHL had seen six shutouts in 106 games but over a 48 hour period, three more were added to the total.

By the Numbers

2: The number of goals that Denver Cutthroats forward A.J. Gale scored for the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League on Friday night in their 3-1 win over the Worcester Sharks. The Monarchs are the top affiliate of the Los Angeles Kings and Gale has been on loan with the squad since mid-November. Gale has three goals and one helper and is a +2 in 10 games with Manchester. Other Denver players in the AHL having some success are forwards Michael Schumacher (one assist in four games) and Vincent Arseneau (24 PIM's in five games) and defenseman Daniel Maggio (one assist in 11 games), all three are with Lake Erie.

One-Timers

-Forward Nicklas Lindberg has been a strong addition for the St. Charles Chill recording at least a point in all six games he has played so far. The veteran has helped his new team to a 3-3 record in his six appearances totaling a goal and six helpers.

-Rapid City forward Scott Wray is currently tied with CHL Hall of Famer Joe Burton for fourth on the CHL's all-time games played list. Wray has 708 games played and will pass Burton in his next appearance which is expected to be Friday night in Denver.

-The Quad City Mallards (10-4-5) and the St. Charles Chill (6-13-4) meet for the fifth time this season and for the first time since Nov. 29 on Wednesday night in Missouri. The Flock are 3-0-1 this season against the Chill using dominance in the third period as their springboard (outscored the Chill 11-2 in the final period).

-The Tulsa Oilers (14-11-2) had their four-game win streak snapped over the weekend with back-to-back losses in Brampton against the Beast (13-11-1). Brampton goalie Grant Rollheiser allowed just two goals on 64 shots in the two wins for the Beast. Tulsa will look to start another streak on Friday when they host Quad City (10-4-5).

-Missouri defenseman Henrik Odegaard has been granted a leave of absence by the league to allow him to attend the final training camp for the Norwegian Olympic Team in preparation for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Odegaard has made it the final tryout stage and will know in the coming days if he has made the Olympic roster.

-Arizona forward Kevin Baker helped end his team's seven-game skid on Saturday night with a two goal, one assist performance in a 4-3 win at Denver. It was his second multiple-point night of the season.

-CHL-TV, powered by America ONE Sports, is back for a second season with monthly and season packages available as well as all games on a given night available for $8.00. Visit www.americaonesports.com for ordering information.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2013


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