Amarillo picks point in another exciting battle with Laredo

Published on November 15, 2005 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Amarillo Gorillas News Release


AMARILLO, TX "" Amarillo began a four-game road trip this past Friday against the very team that it stunned in the Gorillas' season-opener back in late-October, the Laredo Bucks. The contest marked the first of four straight away from The Jungle for Amarillo, continuing Saturday in Corpus Christi, the first of three meetings between the two squads during the 2005-2006 season.

As is typical in sport, each game had something very different to offer and none could have predicted exactly how it would all shake down.

We begin at the Laredo Entertainment Center...

6-5 SHOOTOUT LOSS AT LAREDO:

Amarillo entered the LEC off a 4-1 home loss to Tulsa, a penalty minute-filled affair, and also riding a season-long winless streak on the road at 0-2-1. Coach Ferras made significant mention that one of the most important things for the Gorillas to do to start the trip was to come out and set a tempo early, preferably by scoring first. Amarillo did just that...and didn't wait long.

Only 2:53 into the game, new acquisition Jeremy Kyte took advantage of the Bucks getting an early holding penalty by scoring just 24 seconds into the Gorillas' power play. The goal was Kyte's second of the season and first as a Gorilla. Keith Rowe would earn an assist, as would Joey Sewell against his former team.

Just under five minutes later, however, Laredo tied the game on a James Hiebert score, propelling another ten-plus minutes of back-and-forth offensive-minded play. Neither team would convert, though, until Serge Dube gave the Bucks a 2-1 lead with just 1:38 to play in the first period. The Gorillas were forced to respond again. Only nine seconds later, Jay Chafe scored his first professional goal, assists to Dave Rattray and Bryan Lachapelle, tying the game at 2-2, where the teams remained after 20 minutes of play. All told, Laredo out-shot Amarillo in the first 20-14 and each team was penalized only once.

Most of the second period belonged to Laredo, scoring just 1:32 in and then again 13 minutes later. The first goal was credited to Jeff Bes, his first of the year after missing the season's first eight games due to injury. Bes lead Laredo in scoring last season. The Bucks' second goal of the period was another belonging to James Hiebert, this time on the power play, at the 14:51 mark. Again, the Gorillas would attempt to chip away.

Rich Hansen, with three points in his first three games, capitalized with Amarillo on the man-advantage after a high-sticking call on Ladislav Kouba. For Hansen, the goal was his second of the year. Kevin Wilson and Derek Hahn picked up the helpers. After two periods of play, 4-3 Laredo and shots were even at 25-25 behind a strong 11-5 second for Amarillo.

Most of the final period consisted of Laredo controlling the tempo while Amarillo tried to avoid further damage. That was doable until the Bucks went on the power play with 11:18 to play. It only took Laredo 20 seconds before it would double its lead to 5-3 on Kouba's first goal of the game, on which Bes earned his second assist and third point of the evening.

Time continued to tick down. Then, with 5:35 remaining and the Gorillas still trailing by two, the Cardiac Kids showed up again. Joey Sewell scored his first goal of the season in the right end of the ice, Rattray and Lachapelle again picking up assists, narrowing the gap to just one goal. With just over one minute left and the score still 5-4, Amarillo pulled Shawn Degagne for an extra skater and it paid off to the team's advantage. Rich Hansen scored his second goal of the game with just 29 seconds to go in regulation, Hahn and Rowe assisting, to force the Gorillas' second overtime session of the season.

In the 4-on-4 frame, both defenses were terrific, allowing only three total shots, Laredo with the 2-1 edge. Shootout time.

The Gorillas entered play 0-and-1 in shootouts on the year, suffering a 3-2 (2-1) defeat at Tulsa in the year's second game. Unfortunately for Amarillo, the same thing would happen again.

Kouba scored first on Degagne after a Brent Hughes miss. But Hansen, already with two goals on the evening, tied the score in the second round in his first attempt. The teams then exchanged misses before Bes would get a shot. Already with three points, Bes scored what proved to be the game-winner as the Gorillas failed in their final two attempts "" Trevor Socholotuk hit the cross-bar in the fourth round and Joey Sewell could not convert for a second time against his former team in Amarillo's final effort.

At the end of it all, Shawn Degagne took the loss, allowing six goals and stopping 28 shots in nearly 65 minutes of play. Nathan Grobins earned the win, blocking 29 shots and also allowing five goals.

Amarillo was 2-for-7 on the power play and just 3-of-5 on the penalty kill as the two teams combined for 32 penalty minutes. The Gorillas had 14. Shots were even, 34-34.

The Gorillas dropped to 2-4-2, while picking up a much-desired point.

5-2 LOSS AT CORPUS CHRISTI:

With the Gorillas still in need of ending a road-winless streak, despite earning a pair of points in shootout losses, they marched into the AmericanBank Center to take on the Corpus Christi Rayz. Again, the goals were simple: set a tempo and score early. And, again, Amarillo entered with an apparent focal lock.

The first period was evenly paced, Corpus Christi out-shooting Amarillo 12-11, and the two teams combining for only six minor penalties. The Gorillas got on the board first at the 11:57 mark behind a Simo Pulkki slap shot from the left wing with his team on the man-advantage. The goal was the defenseman's first of the season and Trevor Socholotuk and Jeremy Kyte earned assists. Amarillo maintained its lead for just over six minutes, at which point Blair Stayzer somehow got a shot to trickle between the legs of goaltender Shawn Degagne, tying the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes. The next twenty minutes, however, belonged to the Rayz.

Captain Bernie John, with Mark DeSantis in the penalty box for high-sticking, put his team up 2-1 just 4:35 into the period. This proved to be one of the final sane moments of the period for Amarillo's overall psyche. Less than a minute-and-a-half later, at the 5:06 mark, a Josh Miskovich shot hit the crossbar in the right end of the ice, deflected out and then back behind Degagne. The agile goalie reached back for it and apparently had a hold of it. The officials, however, ruled that the puck first crossed over the goalie's crease, leading to an outburst and the eventual ejection of captain DeSantis. The entire team also became flustered on the ice. Only 1:18 later, with Corpus Christi on the power play, a Ryan Carter shot got past Degagne, leading to his getting pulled in favor of Jamie Vandespyker and a seemingly frustrating loss of composure. Before Degagne could get comfortable on the bench, referee Tom Sterns added him to the game's removal list, his second of the season. In a span of only 1:18, DeSantis and Degagne had been issued a combined 46 penalty minutes. Amarillo totaled 60 for the game to Corpus Christi's 16.

Amarillo managed to regain its focus midway through the game as Derek Hahn slapped home his team-leading seventh goal of the season past net-minder Scott Reid with just over eight minutes to play in the second. Brent Hughes and Rich Hansen earned the helpers, making the power play goal a complete connection of the "Triple H" line. Sadly, however, Carter would connect again, this time on Vandespyker, just two-and-a-half minutes later.

The third period did not produce any scoring and shots were dead-even at 13 per squad. Overall, the Rayz topped the Gorillas 39-36 in that category and 5-2 for the game. Amarillo maintained its league-best power play success rate by going 2-for-7 and 7-of-9 on the penalty kill, an area that still needs some improvement.

Shawn Degagne took the loss in net, evening his record at 2-2-1, allowing four goals on just 18 shots in 26:24 minutes of work. Jamie Vandespyker played the remaining 33:36 minutes, letting a single goal by while stopping 20 shots. He lowered his goals against average to 3.64. Meanwhile, Scott Reid picked up the win, his fourth, blocking 34 of the 36 shots he faced.

The Gorillas are now 2-5-2, last in the Southwest Division with six points. Amarillo, however, has two games in hand on first-place Lubbock, who leads the way with 11 points. On the other side, Corpus Christi improved to 6-3-0 for 12 points, good for first in the Southeast Division.

ON TAP:

Amarillo plays this coming Tuesday, Friday and Saturday at Tulsa and Odessa to finish off a four-game road trip, before returning home to battle Lubbock on Saturday, November 19th.

TUESDAY at Tulsa "" 7:00 PM

FRIDAY at Odessa "" 7:00 PM

SATURDAY vs. Lubbock "" 7:00 PM

TOP PLAYERS FROM THE WEEKEND:

Richie Hansen "" 2 Goals (PP), Shootout Goal, Assist +1 Jay Chafe "" 1st Professional Goal Jeremy Kyte "" Goal (PP), Assist Derek Hahn "" Goal (PP), 2 Assists Simo Pulkki "" Goal (1st of season "" PP) Jamie Vandespyker "" 20 Saves, Goal Against, 33:36 Minutes

RADIO:

Amarillo Gorillas Hockey Presented by NewsChannel 10 this weekend will be broadcast on 1440 AM The Score with Gorillas Pre-Game set to begin at 6:45 pm for each game this week. The games will also be available at www.amarillogorillas.com and on CHLTV (www.chltv.com).

PROMOTION:

Amarillo returns home on Saturday, November 19th, for another battle with division-rival Lubbock. The Gorillas will be wearing America-themed jerseys to commemorate a Military and Civil Servants Appreciation Night. The jerseys will then be auctioned off after the game. The night also celebrates the High Plains Food Bank Canned Food Drive. Just bring in ten cans of food and receive a free ticket to the game. There is a limit to 40 cans for four tickets per family. Cans will be accepted at the Gorillas' office, located at 1934 Civic Circle, between November 14th-19th. Please act quickly as there are a limited number of tickets available.

GET TICKETS:

Great seats are still available! Tickets for Gorillas games can be purchased at the Gorillas Hockey Office, located at 1934 Civic Circle off of I-40 and Georgia, the Civic Center Box Office and all Panhandle Ticket Outlets. These include Randy's Music Mart, the West Texas Event Center in Canyon and United Supermarkets. Tickets can also be charged by phone at (806) 378-3096 or (806) 242-PUCK (7825).

For further information on the Amarillo Gorillas, please contact Broadcaster and Director of Media and Public Relations Adam Kaufman at (806) 242-PUCK (7825).

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Central Hockey League Stories from November 15, 2005


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