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Shots from the Point for January 25, 2013

January 25, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Three Things You Need to Know

1.) Cutthroats Make First Visit to Wichita- The Denver Cutthroats (20-15-4, 44 points) visit the Wichita Thunder (23-14-3, 49 points) on both Saturday and Sunday in their first ever visit to the INTRUST Bank Arena. The Thunder have won back-to-back games and are alone in second place in the Berry Conference sitting five points behind the conference-leading Allen Americans (25-7-4, 54 points). The Cutthroats are on a 12-game road trip that has them out of the Denver Coliseum until February. Thus far, they are 2-4-2 on their trip and are coming off a win in Bloomington on Tuesday. The Cutthroats and Thunder played a pair of hotly contested games in Denver in late November/early December that saw the two clubs split the games with a win apiece. The teams combined for 72 penalty minutes in the two games. Former Wichita and current Denver forwards A.J. Gale (53 points) and Troy Schwab (43 points) both r ank in the top 10 in the league in scoring.

2.) Playoff Position Battle in AZ- The eighth place Arizona Sundogs (18-19-4, 40 points) host the ninth place Quad City Mallards (16-18-4, 36 points) in a pair of games slated for Friday and Saturday night. The Sundogs won the only meeting against Quad City this season 3-2 in a shootout in early January but the Mallards lead the all-time series with a 4-2-1 record. This season, the Sundogs lead the Mallards by four points in the chase for the eighth and final playoff spot (the Flock do have three games in hand). A pair of regulation wins by QDC would pull them even with Arizona for the final spot but the reverse of that could see them fall as many as eight points behind. The Mallards have lost three of their last four away from home and are 7-11-2 on the road this season. Arizona has won four of their last six at home and are 10-8-2 in games at Tim's Toyota Center this year.

3.) Allen Struggles?- The Allen Americans (25-7-4, 54 points) may appear to be hitting a road bump in their outstanding season with just one win in their last five games (1-2-2) but few other CHL clubs would give them much sympathy. The Americans are still in a great position with a five point lead in the Berry Conference and multiple games in hand over most of the competition including four games in hand over the second place Wichita Thunder. In all four of their recent losses, the Americans have fallen by just one goal (twice in overtime). In fact, Allen has played seven straight one-goal games and lead the league with 25 one-goal contests (six more than any other team). Allen's offense during their last five games has scored just 13 goals which is off their season average of more than three and a half goals per game. Their power play has also lost some fire striking just twice in 24 chances duri ng their last five games (8.3% compared to their season average of 23.2%). The Americans will look to get right back at home this weekend with a Friday showdown with Rapid City (18-16-5, 41 points) and a Saturday dance with Bloomington (21-16-1, 43 points) on the slate.

By the Numbers

748: The number of games that Tulsa defenseman Tyler Fleck has played in the CHL ranking him second on the league's all-time games played list. The veteran passed former Wichita Thunder forward Jason Duda last Saturday with his 746th game (has since played two more games). Fleck's CHL career started late in the 1999-2000 season when played six games with the Oklahoma City Blazers. He then went on the play nine more years in OKC before playing 20 games in Missouri during the 2009-10 season and since has been in Tulsa with the Oilers.

One-Timers

-Quad City's leading scorer, Mickey Lang, received a call-up to the Rockford IceHogs of the AHL (top affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks). Lang is expected to play for Rockford on Friday night. On the season, he is tied for fifth in the CHL in scoring with 47 points (22-25=47).

-Fort Worth goalie Kristofer Westblom has won four straight starts and is 12-5-2 on the season with a league-best three shutouts. His 2.30 GAA is third in the CHL,

-Missouri, 6-2-2 in their last 10, hosts Denver and Tulsa this weekend looking to build on their recent home ice success. The Mavs are 5-1 in their last six at the Independence Events Center with the lone loss coming to Tulsa on January 11.

-Denver forward A.J. Gale is currently on a five-game point streak with four goals and five assists over that span. He ranks second in the league with 24 goals and 53 points.

-The Rush returns to Allen on Friday night, the site of their last road game back on January 5. Rapid City is coming off a five-game home stand that had them go 3-2. In that game in Allen, the Rush fell 5-4 despite a hat trick from Jesse Schultz. The Americans scored three unanswered goals to erase a 4-2 second intermission deficit.

-The Bloomington Blaze do the Texas-Two-Step this weekend with a game in Fort Worth on Friday and a contest in Allen on Saturday. The Blaze went 0-1-1 last season at NYTEX Sports Centre and this Saturday's game will be the team's first ever visit to the Allen Event Center.

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

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from January 25, 2013


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