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Bats Play Two Before Christmas

December 16, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League have begun defense of their Governors' Cup title, opening the 2003-04 CHL season with an 11-9-5 record. Though 6-2-3 in their last 11 outings, the Ice Bats earned just two points in three games last week. Still, the second-place Ice Bats lead Rio Grande Valley by a point and Corpus Christi by two points in the Southeast Division standings. This weekend, the Ice Bats step out of division to finish a four-game road swing at Amarillo and Fort Worth.

Last season, the Ice Bats earned a franchise-best 46-14-4 record, clinching their second straight Southeast Division title and the Governors' Cup for the league's top overall regular season record.

Defeating New Mexico and Laredo in the 2003 President's Cup Playoffs, the Bats earned their second straight Southern Conference crown and a berth in the Cup Finals. There, however, for the second straight year, the Ice Bats fell one step short of the CHL's ultimate prize, falling to the Memphis RiverKings in five games.

A look back: Last week, the Ice Bats lost a pair of shootouts, then were blanked at Rio Grande Valley. On Thursday night in Austin, Bossier-Shreveport slipped by the Bats for a 2-1 shootout win. The Ice Bats scored first, Derek Stone cashing in on a scramble in the crease with three minutes left in the first period. The Ice Bats nursed that 1-0 lead until 7:22 of the third period, when Bossier's Chad Spurr tied the game on a power play goal.

After a scoreless overtime, Spurr and Craig Minard scored in the shootout, while the Ice Bats could manage only a Brandon Carper goal. Spelling Ken Carroll, Mudbug goalie Jeff Blair stopped 37 of 38 shots faced. The win represented a measure of revenge for the ‘Bugs, after the Ice Bats pulled an overtime and a shootout win out of Bossier City earlier this season.

On Friday night, the Ice Bats traveled to face a shorthanded Corpus Christi team. Due to suspensions, injuries and the reassignment of their top scorer to another league, the Rayz took to the ice with just 12 skaters. But they battened down the hatches to wrest a 4-3 shootout victory.

Three times, the Rayz took a lead in the game, only to have the Ice Bats tie each time. Corpus Christi's Mike Rodrigues and Austin's Gerald Tallaire exchanged power play goals 1:50 apart midway through the first.

With 3-1/2 minutes remaining in the opening period, Corpus Christi's Chris Page took advantage of a defensive miscommunication and scored a shorthanded goal. Austin's Brett Seguin again tied the game from a sharp angle five minutes into the second.

Moments after that, the Rayz had a would-be goal waved off, but they did take their third lead on Page's second goal of the night at 12:13. Corpus Christi Coach Pat Dunn, trying to rest his shorthanded team, was warned about late line changes, then whistled for delay of game. With four minutes left in the second, the Ice Bats took advantage of the penalty, Daniel Tetrault's shot from the point snaking through traffic for the tying power play score.

Play tightened up through a scoreless third period and overtime, and the Rayz won the game with three shootout goals. Nick Udovicic scored the winner in Round Five. Page led Corpus Christi with two goals and an assist. The shootout loss spoiled a 2-for-6 night for the Bats on the power play, and 1-goal, 2-assist performances for Seguin and Tallaire.

The Ice Bats finished the week with a disheartening 3-0 loss at Rio Grande Valley on Saturday. A scoreless game blew up in quick fashion in the third period.

Ice Bats goalie Shawn Conschafter, making his first Austin start, stood on his head through two periods-- stopping all 27 shots faced, 16 in the second period alone. A lengthy delay preceded the third period, as officials fixed a hole left by a stalled zamboni. Then, poof! The Killer Bees put two goals on the board within 12 seconds.

After fanning on a one-timer, the Bats' Daniel Tetrault slipped, springing Rio Grande's Billy Newson the other way. Steered wide by the back-checking Brandon Carper, Newson fired the puck on net from the wing, then followed up to poke home his own rebound. Just 12 seconds later, the stunned Bats gave up a Matic Kralj goal.

Newson capped scoring with a power play goal from the slot at 11:53 of the third. That was plenty for Bees goalie Jeff Levy, who stopped all 23 shots faced for his fourth shutout.

Player Plaudits: Ice Bats goalie Jonathan Forest now ranks among the top six league goalies, at 7-3-4, with a 2.09 goals-against average and .932 save percentage. Forward Gerald Tallaire leads the team in scoring with 5 goals and 18 assists. Linemate Brett Seguin is second with 22 points. And Brent Hughes has a team-most 8 goals, to go along with 3 assists. Forward Shawn Legault ranks 4th in the league with 115 penalty minutes.

Potential Bite Victims: After winning 11 straight games in November, Amarillo continues to lead the Southwest Division. The Gorillas, 16-7-1, hold a six-point lead and two games in hand on their closest pursuer, San Angelo. Reigning CHL Rookie of the Year Derek Hahn leads a balanced attack with 12 goals and 14 assists. Forward Scott Wray has 8 goals and 11 assists, and a pair of ex-San Antonio Iguanas, Henry Kuster and Mark DeSantis, have 16 points each. Winger John Dean has scored 10 goals, including three shorthanded. But all their success hasn't kept Coach Joe Ferras from tinkering, as he obtained center Shawn Roed in a trade with Fort Worth last week. Third in the league in wins, two-time Vaughn Goalie of the Week Shawn DeGagne is 12-5-1, with a 2.12 GAA.

Back-up Jamie Vandespyker is 4-2 with a 2.06 GAA in limited play. Here's a stat for you: Amarillo boasts the CHL's top road record, at 11-2-1-- but is just 5-5 at home.

Now 4-18-3, Fort Worth lost 13 straight at one point. The Brahmas rank last in the league on offense (2.12 goals per game), defense (3.76 average goals allowed) and the power play (11.2%). For all those reasons, (and a 1-10-1 home record), veteran Coach Bill Inglis lost his job in early December, and was quickly replaced by former Corpus Christi bench boss Al Sims. Fort Worth is starting to show signs of life, but still has a lot of work to do. Veteran Chad Woollard has the team scoring lead with 7 goals and 9 assists. Aaron Davis (4 goals, 8 assists) enters the week with a four-game point streak. But the team lacks any kind of depth, and dealt Roed to the Gorillas to get two players back-- forward Derrell Upton and former Ice Bat Joey Bastien. Goalies Erasmo Saltarelli (1-10-3, 3.44 GAA) and Tyler Nilsson (3-8, 3.74 GAA) will be appreciative of anything that makes the Brahmas more competitive. Fort Worth is at Memphis Friday, before hosting the Bats Saturday.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 15-6-3 lifetime against Amarillo, after falling to the Gorillas, 3-2 in a shootout November 8th in Austin.

The Bats are 40-15-1 lifetime against Fort Worth, and edged the Brahmas, 2-1 November 22nd at the Bat Cave.

Comments from the Coach:

On last week: "I'm disappointed with the way we played in the divisional games. Against Shreveport, I thought we played hard... it was a good battle between the goalies and a close game. But Friday and Saturday, we played poorly and lacked intensity at times. We have to win the games in our division, and I felt like those are two games we should have won."

On this week: "Amarillo is a good hockey team. They've played well this season. They're in our conference, so they're one of the teams we're trying to beat for a playoff spot. And Fort Worth won't lay down by any means. They beat Oklahoma City and knocked off a good San Angelo team last week. So they're putting things together and we can't take them lightly. We need to take these four points heading into the holiday break."

Cave, Sweet Cave: The Ice Bats will return home for the next time on Saturday, December 27th. The Bats and Dell, Inc. will present "Lance Armstrong Foundation Night" as the Ice Bats take on the Oklahoma City Blazers. For the game, the Ice Bats will wear special yellow jerseys to honor the Austin-based champion cyclist and five-time Tour De France winner. In addition, a portion of all proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation to support cancer survivorship programs and research. Tickets to the game are available by calling (512) 927-PUCK.

On the following evening, Sunday, December 28th, a charity auction and dinner will take place at Carlos ‘N Charlies on Lake Travis.

Beginning at 4pm, the team's game-worn yellow jerseys will be autographed and auctioned to benefit the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Ice Bats Children's Charities. Other auction packages will include luxury suite seats at a Dallas Stars or Dallas Mavericks game. Fans can even bid to participate as an honorary assistant coach, radio commentator or public address announcer at an Ice Bats game.

Admission to the charity event is free. Ice Bats season ticket holders will also receive a complimentary fajita buffet dinner and ticket to a future Ice Bats home game. Non-season ticket holders may receive the dinner and game ticket by making a $10 donation.

Founded in 1997 by Armstrong, a cancer survivor, the Lance Armstrong Foundation exists to "enhance the quality of life for those living with, through, and beyond cancer." The Foundation funds community programs to aid in the development of innovative after-treatment services and support for survivors, as well as grants that support research for better understanding of cancer and cancer survivorship.

Tickets to all Ice Bats home games are now available at all Texas Box Office locations, including the Ice Bats ticket office and all Austin-area HEB stores. On-line ordering is available through www.TexasBoxOffice.com. To charge by phone, fans may call Texas Box Office at (512) 477-6060, or the Ice Bats ticket office at (512) 927-PUCK.

Individual game tickets range in price from $10 to $30, depending on section, with discounted rates for groups of 15 or more. In addition to group tickets, season tickets remain on sale at the Ice Bats office, in full-, half-season, or 10-game plans. Free Belfry Club membership is still included for all new full season packages, as well as free parking for all full-season and half-season plans.

For more information, fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at (512) 927-PUCK, or log onto the team's website at www.icebats.com.

In the Air: For the second straight season, all Ice Bats away games will be broadcast on News Talk 1260, KWNX-AM. The station will broadcast all road games during the 2003-04 regular season and CHL Playoffs. All road games will also be available live on-line, through www.SportsJuice.com. The Texas Dodge Dealers Warm-up Show begins 20 minutes prior to game time. Ice Bats Director of Broadcasting, Media/PR Glen Norman will handle play-by-play duties for a sixth straight season.

Bats in Cyberspace: Bats fans can learn the latest about their team by logging on to www.icebats.com. The official website of the Bats was newly re-designed by BeyondBeyond Design and constructed by webmaster Nathan Jones. New on the site, fans can explore the complete line of Ice Bats merchandise, on sale through Chaparral Gear just in time for the holidays.

Home or away, Bats fans can also follow the action with real-time scoring on the website, courtesy of Pointstreak.com. Fans will be able to access a game box score in real-time, as well as those of all other CHL games being played.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 16, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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