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Bats Enter Final Week

March 10, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are 44-13-4 in defense of their Southeast Division and Southern Conference titles. The Ice Bats won their first ten games, the best opening streak in League history, and again won ten in a row coming out of the Christmas break.

The Bats have already clinched a berth in the 2003 President's Cup Playoffs, and despite earning just one point in four games last week, nailed down their second-straight Division title. The Bats now need just one point in their final three regular season games to win the Governors' Cup, and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. The Bats play their last three games on the road, at San Angelo, Indianapolis and Memphis.

With a 44-15-5 regular season record last year, the Ice Bats defeated San Antonio and El Paso en route to the team's first-ever appearance in the President's Cup Finals. There, the Ice Bats fell just one step short of the CHL's ultimate prize, falling to the Memphis RiverKings in five games.

A look back: Last week, the Bats were shut out in consecutive regular season games for the first time in franchise history. After a 2-0 loss last Tuesday at Laredo, the Bats were throttled, 6-0 at home Friday night by Indianapolis. The Ice put two goals on the board in the first. Andrew Taylor was left wide open on the doorstep for the first goal midway through the period, and Jared Dumba added a power play goal with 22 seconds left in the first. Indy kept the momentum going into the second, taking a 3-0 lead on a Scott Lewis goal 1:37 into the period.

The door to a comeback opened slightly midway through the second period, with consecutive minor penalties called against the Ice, but the Bats failed to convert on a half-minute of 5-on-3 power play time. Nate Elliott and Jason Baird added third period goals for Indianapolis, and Etienne Morin put the icing on the cake with a penalty shot goal inside the final two minutes. Indianapolis goalie Shawn Silver continued his outstanding play, stopping all 40 shots faced, for his sixth shutout. The spanking came despite a 40-25 Austin advantage in shots on goal.

A look back, continued: After suffering the consecutive shutouts, the Bats strung together two solid efforts against Bossier-Shreveport on the weekend. Saturday night, the Bats just didn't get the bounces, losing their final home game to the Mudbugs, 3-1.

The Bats outshot the ‘Bugs 10-1 in the early going, but the Mudbugs got the next nine shots on net. An omen of things to come, Austin's Dan Price hit the crossbar on a deflection midway through a scoreless first period. Bossier-Shreveport's Chris Brassard scored the game's first goal just 36 seconds into the second, on a power play blast low in the left circle. Then after the Bats' Mike Olynyk hit the post off a centering pass, the Bats coughed up the puck, and Bossier's Dan Wildfong scooped up the turnover for an unassisted goal.

Down 2-0, the Bats were denied on close chance after close chance, until Shawn Legault ended nearly 190 minutes of scoring futility with a power play goal off a face-off with 15 seconds left. But in the third period, Mudbug David Oliver added a key insurance goal. And Bossier goalie Ken Carroll made it stand up, stopping 29 of 30 shots. Most of the nearly 5,900 fans at the Cave left without knowing that, with a loss by Laredo, the Bats had clinched their second-straight Southeast Division crown.

Sunday was another intense battle in Bossier City, with the Bats this time extending the Mudbugs to a shootout before falling, 3-2. Again, the teams skated to a scoreless first period. The Mudbugs had a goal waved off midway through the second on a high stick, but took the lead on Jim Sprott's power play deflection with just 1.6 seconds left in the period.

The Bats battled back in the third, on Shawn Legault's redirect of a Kelly Smart pass, and Mike Rees' power play goal from the high slot with eight minutes left. Off a face-off win, Bossier's Dru Burgess tied the game with 3:50 left in regulation. From there, the teams battled through a scoreless overtime. Both teams scored in the opening round of the shootout, but shot blanks over the next four rounds. (Austin's Gerald Tallaire hit the post and the crossbar on his attempt in Round Two). Finally, the Mudbugs' Craig Minard scored the game-winner in Round Six, the first of sudden death. The win kept the ‘Bugs' playoff hopes alive in the wild Northern Conference race, while the Bats dropped four in a row for the first time this season.

Down the Stretch: The Southern Conference playoff picture is all but set heading into the season's final week. Austin and Odessa have earned Division titles. Laredo is also in, and will play Odessa in the first round. The Bats will play one of three teams in the opening round:

Team: Points: Games Remaining:
Lubbock 63 4 (@ Odessa... vs. El Paso... @ Fort Worth... vs. San Angelo)
Corpus Christi 63 3 (vs. Laredo... @ San Angelo... vs. Bossier-Shreveport)

New Mexico 61 4 (vs. El Paso... @ Memphis... @ Indianapolis... @ Wichita)

Meanwhile, in the Northern Conference, Indianapolis is the only sure thing, as the Ice has clinched its division, and needs just a point to clinch home ice up to the Finals. But there are still five other teams battling for the remaining three playoff berths:

Team: Points: Games Remaining:
Oklahoma City 77 4 (vs. Memphis... @ Tulsa... vs. El Paso... vs. Tulsa)
Amarillo 74 4 (@ Wichita... @ Bossier-Shreveport... @ Tulsa... vs. El Paso)

Memphis 74 4 (@ Oklahoma City... vs. New Mexico... vs. Austin... vs. Indianapolis)
Tulsa 73 4 (vs. Indianapolis... vs. Oklahoma City... vs. Amarillo... @ Oklahoma City)
Bos.-Shreveport 73 3 (vs. Amarillo... vs. Laredo... @ Corpus Christi)

Home Ice Advantage: Regardless of their opponent, the Ice Bats will begin the 2003 President's Cup Playoffs next weekend. A tentative schedule for the best-of-five first round series is as follows:

Game 1: Fri., March 21st, 7:30pm, at Chaparral Ice Center
Game 2: Sat., March 22nd, 7:30pm, at Chaparral Ice Center
Game 3: Fri., March 28th, (Time TBA) at first-round opponent
Game 4 (if necessary): Sat., March 29th, (Time TBA) at first-round opponent
Game 5 (if necessary): Mon., March 31st, 7:30pm, at Chaparral Ice Center

Player Plaudits: The Ice Bats are blessed with the CHL's top goalie tandem. Four-time CHL Goalie of the Week Matt Barnes leads all league goalies with a sparkling 1.96 goals-against average, and .934 save percentage. At 31-10-4, he also leads the league in wins and with eight shutouts.

Meanwhile, counterpart Peter Brady continues to climb the ladder, now 4th among league goalies, at 13-3, with a 2.24 GAA and .927 save percentage.

Center Kelly Smart ranks among the top dozen league scorers, with 28 goals and 41 assists. Dan Price (27 goals, 35 assists) is second in team scoring, and leads the league at +34. Defenseman Darryl McArthur is right behind him at +32. And forward Shawn Legault leads the team with 229 minutes in penalties, but also has 27 points in 37 games.

Barnes is a finalist for CHL Outstanding Goalie and MVP honors, while McArthur is among the finalists for the league's Outstanding Defenseman award. Award recipients will be announced this week.

Roster Flights: Departures: Bats goalie Peter Brady was called up to the American League for the third time on Sunday, his second stint with the Houston Aeros. Brady has also appeared on the roster with the AHL San Antonio Rampage.

Arrivals: With Brady gone, goaltender Martin Kresac has been signed as an emergency backup. The Bats also re-signed forward Keith O'Brien on Sunday. O'Brien is appearing in his sixth season with the Ice Bats on a fill-in basis.

Speaking of Arrivals: Bats winger Dan Price and wife Brooke welcomed a new addition to the lineup last Thursday. Luke Daniel Price weighed in at the perfect power forward size—7 lbs., 4 oz. New daddy Price did not play Sunday while on leave of absence.

Wounded Wings: Bats center Brett Seguin has missed the last seven games to injury, but is expected to return this weekend.

Potential Bite Victims: San Angelo represents the only team the Bats will face between February 1st and the end of the season that is out of the playoff chase. The Saints continue to play out the string at 18-36-6, 4th in the Southeast. Injuries and suspect defensive play did the Saints in early. They rank 12th on offense (2.95 goals per game) and last of the 16 teams defensively (4.25 average goals allowed).

Chris Peach leads the team with 22 goals and 40 assists, but is also –44. Troy Mann has 56 points, including 14 power play goals. At least San Angelo isn't going away quietly—Kori Davison's 370 penalty minutes lead the league. Goalie Scott Reid has seen more rubber than Akron, at 11-22-4, with a 3.99 GAA. 12-15-2 at home, San Angelo did play spoiler on Saturday, winning their last game, 6-3 at New Mexico.

Northern Conference leading Indianapolis is 39-14-7, and now waiting to see what shakes out in the rest of the Conference's convoluted playoff picture. 2nd defensively behind Austin (2.58 average goals allowed), Indy ranks 5th on the penalty kill (85.6%), but leads the league at home, killing 93.5% of opposing power plays there. Kevin St. Jacques leads the Ice with 73 points, including 53 assists. Jason Baird is in the top 20, with 25 goals and 39 assists. And Bernie John ranks 2nd among defensemen with 63 points. Named Goalie of the Week for the fifth time on Monday, Shawn Silver ranks 2nd at 29-10-3, with a 2.06 GAA and six shutouts. 21-4-5 at home, Indy visits Tulsa Tuesday, before the Bats come up Friday.

Don't count Memphis out of a return trip to the Finals, even though they've dropped two straight. The RiverKings are 35-21-4 and in the thick of the playoff chase. Memphis ranks only behind Laredo on offense (3.68 goals per game) and 4th on the power play (18.2%). First in goals and overall scoring, winger Don Parsons (55 goals, 45 assists) is a good bet to win his second straight MVP. Although his supporting cast isn't putting up quite the gaudy numbers they did last year, Kahlil Thomas has 22 goals and 43 assists, and Jay Neal 20 goals and 39 assists.

Outstanding Defenseman finalist Derek Landmesser has 53 points, and is +27. Toronto farmhand Jean-Francois Racine (21-9-3, 2.74 GAA) seems ready in net, but battle-tested Mark Richards (14-12-1, 3.12 GAA) can definitely step in, if need be. 22-6-1 at home, the defending President's Cup champs have a big one at Oklahoma City Tuesday, then step out of conference for home games against New Mexico and Austin.

The Series: The Bats are 17-8-2 lifetime against San Angelo, winning all five meetings this year by a combined score of 22-7. The Bats have won all three games played at San Angelo. The teams haven't met since the Bats ripped the Saints, 5-1 on January 25th at the Cave.

The Bats are 3-2 in the two-year series against Indianapolis, after splitting a pair of games this season in Austin. The Bats melted the Ice 4-1 on November 3rd, but Indy froze the Bats, 6-0 last Friday.

The Bats are 4-1 in lifetime regular season play against Memphis, winning both meetings this season at the Cave. Mike Gaffney scored the overtime game-winner in a 4-3 win December 15th, and the Bats downed the ‘Kings 5-3 January 17th.

Cave, Sweet Cave: Should the Bats advance to the second round of the playoffs, home playoff games will return to the Travis County Expo Center. The Bats posted a 24-7-1 record at home this season, among the best in the CHL. For this season, improvements at the Travis County Expo Center included all-new glass surrounding the rink, and climate control for the first time ever. In addition, the team unveiled its "Kids Zone," an all-new interactive fun center for kids.

Start Your Engines: The Bats will be revving up for the post-season this Wednesday, March 12th, at RPM Indoor Raceway in Round Rock. From 8-9pm, (at the special Ice Bats rate of $18 per person), fans may go kart-racing with and against their favorite Ice Bats players, on one of two indoor racetracks. RPM Indoor Raceway is located on I-35 at exit 251.

Hockey Hoedown: Chaparral Ice Center, I-35 just south of Wells Branch, will present "Hockey Hoedown," its first-ever Ice Bats pep rally and playoff season celebration, from 2 to 4pm on Sunday, March 23rd. Representatives from Chaparral Ice will be on hand to talk to interested kids and their parents about summer programs, including Learn-to-Skate and Learn-to-Play-Hockey classes. Fans may also get information on the Rafter Hangers Fan Club, and meet Fang. The event is free to the public, sponsored by St. Arnold's Brewery.

Fang's Gang: Youngsters now have a chance to sign up for "Fang's Gang" at their nearest Austin-area Wendy's location. Club members receive an ID tag and membership perks, like tours of the locker room, watching practice sessions, free tickets and merchandise discounts. Each month, "Fang's Gang" members will also be selected to go to lunch at Wendy's with their favorite Ice Bats players. The program is free to join.

In the Air: All Ice Bats road games will be broadcast on News Talk 1260, KWNX-AM, presented by State Farm Bank. The Texas Dodge Dealers Warm-up Show begins 20 minutes prior to opening face-off. The broadcasts are also available on the worldwide web, through the Ice Bats website. Ice Bats Director of Broadcasting, Media/PR Glen Norman is in his fifth busy season providing all the play-by-play action.

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 designed and built by Syndetic Design. Currently on the site, fans may vote for their favorites in the Texas Dodge Dealers Post-Season Player Awards, which will be handed out at a post-season event at Dave & Busters.

Home or away, Bats fans can 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 March 10, 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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