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Shots from the Point for December 23, 2013

December 23, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Three Things You Need to Know

1.) Battle at the Top- The Rapid City Rush (20-3-0, 40 points) and the Missouri Mavericks (17-6-1, 35 points) go head-to-head this weekend with games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday in South Dakota. The teams split two games in Rapid City back in mid-November. The Rush are coming off a two-game sweep in Denver where they set a CHL record by winning their 11th straight road game. The Rush are also the first CHL team to win 20 of their first 23 games in a season. Missouri is coming off a 6-1 win versus St. Charles on Friday and a 3-2 win in Tulsa on Saturday. David Pszenyczny scored a goal with three assists in the two wins earning the Oakley Player of the Week and Shane Owen allowed just three goals stopping 55 of 58 shots earning the Oakley Goaltender of the Week.

2.) Tight in the Middle- Only three points separate the third place Tulsa Oilers (15-12-2) and the three clubs tied for the fifth spot in the standings. The Oilers have 32 points and are currently slotted into the third spot, two points ahead of the Allen Americans (14-9-2) who are an impressive 9-4-0 on the road this season. Three teams are tied for the fifth spot with the Brampton Beast (14-12-1), the Quad City Mallards (12-6-5) and the Denver Cutthroats (12-9-5) all sitting with 29 points. The Mallards are the hottest team of the bunch with a 6-3-1 mark in their last 10 games and the Cutthroats are the squad that has slipped the most with a 3-5-2 mark in their last 10 contests. This weekend, this group will get acquainted with Allen and Tulsa meeting Thursday and Saturday and the Mallards head to Brampton for three straight games.

3.) Everybody In- There are three teams at the bottom of the standings all currently fighting for the eighth and final playoff spot. The Wichita Thunder (8-14-4) have the lead currently after a split on the road in Arizona this past weekend. Wichita has battled their way to a 6-5-2 record on the road and currently have a one point edge over the Sundogs (9-16-1) who have lost eight of their last 10 games. Sitting in 10th place is the St. Charles Chill (7-16-4) who have dropped three straight games but still are just two points out of the final playoff slot.

By the Numbers

13: The number of players with double-digit points this season for the Missouri Mavericks, the most of any team in the CHL. The Mavericks are led by Sebastien Thinel with 32 points and then have a dozen other players who have recorded 10 points or more. The list does not include Kyle Hood who has missed 10 games with injury and currently sits with five points (2-3=5). Defenseman Sam Posa is closing in on double-digits with two goals and six assists (eight points).

One-Timers

-Tulsa rookie Adam Pleskach netted his fifth multiple-goal games and second hat trick on Saturday night in the Oilers win over Quad City. Pleskach leads all rookies with 19 goals (in 24 games). He has a ways to go to get into the conversation for rookie goal scoring record which is 56 strikes set in 1998-99 by San Antonio's Johnny Brdarovic.

-Denver forward Garett Bembridge continues to pace the circuit in scoring currently sitting with 42 points (22-20=42). The forward is coming off a three point (1-2=3) night on Saturday and is currently riding a seven-game point streak with six goals and six assists during the hot stretch.

-Brampton's Andrew Fournier is coming off a two-goal game in Allen on Saturday and has been one of the hottest scorers in the league with five goals over his last five games.

-The Mavericks 3-2 win in Tulsa on Saturday night put an end to the Oilers five-game home winning streak. The Mavs have won five straight over the Oilers in the head-to-head series and all three wins this season have come by one goal. The clubs meet again on New Year's Eve in Missouri.

-The Brampton Beast tied the CHL season high with 16 minor penalties (seven coming in the third period) on Saturday night in their 6-2 win at Allen. In the game, Brampton stopped all 11 Allen power plays and are the top team in the CHL killing nearly 88% of their shorthanded chances.

-The Denver Cutthroats have converted 6 of their last 14 power play chances and have taken the league lead with a 22.3% PP percentage. In their last three games, 66% of the Cutthroats scores have come with the man advantage.

-The Arizona Sundogs have scored the first goal in 58% of their games this season (15 of 26). However, in those 15 games they have won just five times. Rapid City is the top team when scoring first winning 14 of the 15 times they have struck the initial goal.

-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 23, 2013


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