Bats in Championship Rematch
Published on April 15, 2003 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release
Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League have moved into the Finals of the league's 2003 President's Cup Playoffs, taking on the Memphis RiverKings in a rematch of last year's title series. The Bats defeated New Mexico in four games, and Laredo in six games to advance to the championship round.
The Ice Bats finished the 2002-03 regular season with a franchise-best 46-14-4 record. The 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. In the final two weeks of the regular season, the Bats clinched a playoff berth, their second-straight Southeast Division title, the Governors' Cup for the league's top overall regular season record, and home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
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: Austin's top scoring line and specialty teams were the differences, as the Bats defeated Laredo, four games to two in the Southern Conference Finals. The Bats won three games in three nights to eliminate the regular season's number-two team.
Game 1: As the cliché goes, it's a shame someone had to lose. With both goalies putting on a show, Laredo claimed Game One of the Southern Conference Finals, 1-0 in overtime April 3rd at Chaparral Ice Center.
The Bats took advantage of three power plays, for a 13-8 shot advantage in the first period. But it was Austin goalie Matt Barnes that made the first tough save, stopping Laredo's Chris Grenville on a shorthanded breakaway in the final minute of the period.
The second period ended in much the same fashion, as the Bats did everything but score on a flurry of power play shots in the final three minutes. And again, Barnes was called upon to stop a shorthanded breakaway, this time stoning Laredo's Eric Schneider. For his part, Laredo goalie Lance Leslie also made spectacular saves, stopping all 25 shots faced over the first two periods.
The Bucks controlled the third, outshooting Austin, 16-4 for the period, but Barnes kicked them all out. And the Bats had the best scoring chance, with Leslie just getting his glove around a Dan Price shot that bounced onto the goal line. At 5:12 of overtime, Laredo's Andy Lundbohm finally decided it, digging out a rebound and flipping it into the net for his third straight game-winner. It ended a display of playoff goaltending at its bestâwith Leslie stopping all 35 shots faced, and Barnes 40 of 41.
Game 2: The Bats controlled play in Game Two, limiting Laredo chances in a 4-1 win April 6th at Chaparral. Laredo defenseman Serge Dube opened scoring with 1 ½ minutes left in the first on a power play rebound. But the Bats turned the momentum around, outshooting the Bucks 10-3 in the second. Shawn Legault tied the score 1 ½ minutes into the second, storming the net and flipping the puck over Laredo goalie Lance Leslie.
The Bats took the lead midway through the second, as Pat Brownlee's shot from the slot bounced in off Laredo forward Eric Schneider. The Bats had chances to stretch the lead, but Matt Sharuga fired wide on an odd-man rush, and Leslie stopped Tab Lardner on two shots from in close.
Leslie stopped a Mike Gaffney shot from the slot midway through the third, but the Bats finally gained a 3-1 advantage with 3:20 remaining. Gerald Tallaire deflected in Brett Seguin's centering pass short-side, and the Bats added a Sharuga empty netter with 42 seconds left. Tallaire and Seguin led with two points each. The Bats limited Laredo to 21 shots, and goalie Matt Barnes stopped 20 of those.
Game 3: With the series shifting to Laredo tied at one, the Bats and Bucks exchanged scoring chances in a seesaw Game Three last Tuesday. Laredo won, 4-3 in overtime.
The Bats led first on Mike Rees' power play rebound 5:16 into the game. But with 41 seconds left in the period, the Bats power play coughed the puck up low in their zone, and Laredo's Morten Ask tied the score on a scramble in the crease. The Bucks outshot the Bats 15-4 in the period.
Laredo's Eric Schneider pumped in a shot from the wing on a breakaway 13 minutes into the second period to give the Bucks a 2-1 lead, but the Bats regained the advantage in the third. Tab Lardner whirled to throw a shot past goalie Marc-Andre Leclerc four minutes into the final period. And 4 ½ minutes later, Brett Seguin dumped in a shot along the goal line.
The Bats were able to maintain the lead into the final four minutes, but with 3:20 left, the Bucks' Andy Lundbohm blasted in a slapshot from the left circle. That sent the game to overtimeâwhere at 15:48, Steve Weidlich's shot bounced low into the right circle, and Laredo rookie Jonah Leroux jumped on the rebound for the winner, his first pro goal.
Game 4: Fighting for series survival, the Bats outlasted Laredo for a 4-3 double-overtime win last Thursday in Laredo. The Bats ripped out to an early lead on the power play, only to have the Bucks come right back to tie.
The Bats scored first on an odd-man rush goal by Tab Lardner 3:26 in, but Laredo's Stefan Keski-Kungas tied the score on a rebound just 48 seconds later. Then, with Laredo whistled for three consecutive minor penalties midway through the period, Austin's Gerald Tallaire and Dan Price converted 5-on-3 power play goals. The Bats led 3-1 after one.
The Bucks roared back on goals by Morten Ask and Joey Sewell in the first ten minutes of the second period. Now tied at three, the teams sat back a bit in a scoreless third period. The Bats controlled the first ten minutes of overtime, Laredo the final ten minutes. With 8:02 left in OT, Austin goalie Matt Barnes cradled a shot as he fell back in the crease. The puck popped free, but the whistle blew before Laredo's Dave Gilmore slammed it into the net, and the would-be winner was waved off.
The Bats looked like the fresher team in the second overtime, evening the series at 10:15. Price walked from behind the net into the slot, and fired a backhander that deflected in off the shoulder of teammate Brett Seguin. Credited with his third playoff game-winner, Seguin also added two assists, stunning the sellout crowd of 8,214.
Game 5: The Bats took their first series lead in a sound overall performance in Game Five, edging the Bucks, 4-3 last Friday, in the return of playoff hockey to the Expo Center. Just 18 seconds after Laredo's Serge Dube opened scoring six minutes in, the Bats' Matt Sharuga countered with a key wraparound goal. The Bucks struck again early in the second on a Dave Gilmore goal, but the Bats' power play and S-T-P Line took over.
Austin's Brett Seguin tied the score on a power play backhander from the slot. The Bats then scored goals 62 seconds apart late in the periodâSeguin even strength and Mike Gaffney on the power play. The Bats then protected the lead throughout the third period, surrendering only an extra attacker goal with 1:23 remaining. Scoring twice on four power play chances, the Bats got two goals and an assist from Seguin. Linemates Dan Price and Gerald Tallaire added three and two assists, respectively.
Game 6: The Bats wrapped up the series in six, again counting on their top line and power play for a 3-2 win last Saturday at Laredo. Gerald Tallaire opened scoring with a power play goal off a Dan Price centering pass 5:55 in, but the Bucks countered on Eric Schneider's rebound goal 21 seconds later. However, d-man Pat Brownlee tapped in another Price pass for a power play goal at 19:05, and the Bats led 2-1 after one. Laredo's Jonah Leroux retied the score midway through the second with a shot low off the glove of Austin goalie Matt Barnes. But this time, the Bats retaliated quicklyâas within 20 seconds, Price got the goal on a backhand from the slot.
With their bench shortened to a number of injuries (most noticeable the Game Five knee injury of leading scorer Andy Lundbohm), the Bucks made one last gaspâoutshooting the Bats 33-9 over the final two periods. But Barnes stopped 35 of 37 shots faced in the game. And the Bats again scored on half of their four power plays, getting three points each from Price and Brett Seguin.
Fully Revved: The "S-T-P Fuel Line" of Brett Seguin, Gerald Tallaire and Dan Price has combined for 16 goals and 30 assists in ten playoff games so far, accounting for nearly 57% of the team's post-season scoring. The trio totaled 9 goals and 21 assists in the six-game series against Laredo, and at least one member figured in the scoring on 13 of the team's 18 goals in the series.
Special Time: Ice Bats specialty teams were lethal in the series against Laredo, scoring 7 power play goals on 26 chances (26.9%). (Over the last four games in the series, the Bats were 7 for 19, for 36.8% conversion). Meanwhile, the Bats killed all but one of 30 Laredo power play chances in the series.
For the Record: The Bats set or tied a couple of league records during the regular season. The Bats are the league's all-time best defensive team, their team goals-against average of 2.17 setting a new CHL mark, surpassing Odessa's 2.29 mark from last year. Also, Bats goalie Matt Barnes tied the league record with eight shutouts. His save percentage of .934 was just 1/10th of a percentage point off the league mark.
As for franchise records, this year's team rewrote the book. The Bats set franchise marks for most wins and total points, fewest losses and overtime/shootout losses, fewest goals allowed and top penalty-killing percentage. The Bats also set team records for longest overall and home winning streaks, and tied the team record for consecutive road wins. Individually, Barnes set team records for victories, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts.
Player Plaudits: The Ice Bats finished the regular season with the CHL's top goalie tandem. The CHL's Most Outstanding Goalie for the season, and a four-time Goalie of the Week, Matt Barnes led all league goalies with a sparkling 1.96 goals-against average, and .934 save percentage. At 33-10-4, he also led the league in wins and with a league record-tying eight shutouts. Meanwhile, counterpart Peter Brady finished 4th among league goalies, at 13-4, with a 2.29 GAA and .926 save percentage.
Center Kelly Smart finished among the top dozen league scorers, with 29 goals and 42 assists. And he led the team with 7 game-winning goals, 9 power play goals and 4 shorthanded goals. Dan Price (27 goals, 37 assists) was second in team scoring, and led the league at +35. Defenseman Darryl McArthur and forward Gerald Tallaire tied for second at +32. And forward Shawn Legault led the team with 251 minutes in penalties, but also had 27 points in 40 games.
Playoff Plaudits: Bats center Brett Seguin leads the league in playoff scoring, with 7 goals and 11 assists. Gerald Tallaire ranks 2nd with 6 goals and 9 helpers, while Dan Price is in the top five, with 3 goals and 10 assists. Mike Gaffney ranks 2nd among d-men in scoring, with 9 points. And as he was during the regular season, Matt Barnes is the league's top playoff goalie, at 7-3, with a 1.91 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
Potential Bite Victims: Facing Memphis provides a stern test for the Bats in the Finals. The defending champs suit up a dozen players off last year's team. Talented and offensively balanced, the RiverKings finished the 2002-03 regular season with a 39-21-4 record, second in the Northern Conference behind Indianapolis. And after winning their final four games to get into the post-season chase, one knew they'd be tough to knock off.
Memphis finished as the league's 2nd-best offensive team to Laredo, averaging 3.67 goals per game. And their power play was 3rd, at 18.9%.
Defensively, the âKings held opponents to just under three goals per contest, and their penalty kill was in the top six, at 84.6%. But while 25-6-1 at home, the RiverKings were just 14-15-3 on the road.
Two-time league MVP and last year's playoff MVP, Don Parsons was as good as everâleading the CHL in goals and overall scoring, with a whopping 57 goals and 49 assists, for 106 total points. He scored 15 power play goals and 8 game-winners. The only other RiverKing in the league's top 20, set-up man Kahlil Thomas had 23 goals and 44 assists.
Fellow holdover Jay Neal finished third on the team with 20 goals and 41 assists. Newcomer Derek Landmesser was a finalist for Outstanding Defenseman honors, ranking 4th among blueliners with 57 points, and finishing the season +31. When not on call-up, Jonathan Gagnon was averaging over a point per game, with 26 goals, 22 assists, and 10 power play goals in 44 games. Michal Stastny, nephew of NHL Hall of Famer Peter Stastny, added 23 goals and 24 assists in 47 games.
While winger Riley Cote led the team with 241 penalty minutes, d-man Luch Nasato was always busy trying to get opponents into penalty trouble.
In net, youngster Jean-Francois Racine was among the league's top dozen goalies, with a 22-9-3 record, and 2.75 GAA. Veteran Mark Richards didn't even stop 90% of the shots faced in the regular season, while going 17-12-1, with a 2.93 GAA.
That's changed in the post-season, as Richards is back to form at 7-1, with a 2.68 GAA. Going into the Finals against Austin, the RiverKings are averaging a gaudy 4.33 goals per playoff game, and their power play is clicking at nearly 29%. Thomas is tied for 2nd in the league in playoff scoring with 15 points, and has a 7-game scoring streak. Parsons has 8 goals and 6 assists, with 5 goals coming on the power play. Gagnon has 7 goals, 5 assists, and Nasato ranks 2nd among defensemen with 9 points. Memphis came from behind with two wins to nip Oklahoma City in five games in opening round play. The RiverKings then swept Indy in four in the Northern Conference Finalsâwinning both high-scoring shootouts and low-scoring defensive tilts.
The Series: As they did during the prior season, the Bats won two of the three regular season games played against Memphis, making their lifetime record 4-2 against the RiverKings. Here are highlights of the season series:
Dec. 15 @ Austin: Bats 4, Memphis 3 (OT)
Teams come off long bus rides to play third in three days, but combine for classic... Parsons 2 goals in loss... Playing fourth game in as many days, Gaffney returns from call-up to go +4, with 2 goals, 1 assist (including game-winner at 2:13 of OT).
Jan. 17 @ Austin: Bats 5, Memphis 3
Bats fulfill promise on "Guaranteed Win Night," snapping Memphis' 8-game win streak... Lardner 2 goals... Parsons 2 goals in loss... 133 combined penalty minutes, with four game misconducts in 2nd-period brawl... Bats 2-8 on power play.
Mar. 15 @ Memphis: Memphis 3, Bats 1
âKings outshoot Bats, 31-16 in regular season finale... Game decided early, with 2 Memphis power play goals in first... Four fights signal strong continuation of rivalry.
Finals Rewind: The RiverKings downed Austin in five close games to win the President's Cup last season. Excluding an empty-net score, all four Austin losses came by one goal. Here are highlights of last year's championship series:
Game 1 (4/19) @ Austin: Memphis 5, Bats 4
Bats outshoot âKings 46-24 in seesaw affair (4 ties, 5 lead changes)... Stastny 2 goals... Parsons and Mueller net 3 points each.
Game 2 (4/21) @ Austin: Bats 4, Memphis 2
Bats score in first, then teams combine for 5 goals and 42 penalty minutes in wild second period... Price leads with 1 goal, 2 assists.
Game 3 (4/25) @ Memphis: Memphis 4, Bats 2
Parsons and Price trade 2 goals each... Smart goal waved off at buzzer to end second... Mueller scores game-winner in third... Richards stops 32 of 34 shots.
Game 4 (4/26) @ Memphis: Memphis 4, Bats 3
Memphis jumps to 3-0 lead on 2 disputed goals in first... Eric Labelle's 2 goals lead Austin comeback that falls short... RiverKings 2 for 8 on power play.
Game 5 (4/28) @ Memphis: Memphis 5, Bats 4 (OT)
Memphis leads 2-0, but Bats storm back to take lead... Thomas scores tying goal late third... Stastny decides series on odd-man rush at 5:48 of overtime.
Comments from the Coach:
On the Conference Finals: "Our top line was great in the series, and Brett Seguin has to be having one of his top playoff seasons. Our ability to capitalize on our power play chances was huge, and to kill their power plays was huge too. A lot of guys did some unsung work on our penalty killâguys like Smart, Greeny, Olynyk, McArthur, Brownlee and Rees. Our specialty teams pretty much won the series for us. I also think we went into the series as the more physical team, a little bigger and stronger. We kind of wore them down, and they lost two or three guys down the stretch. Any time you lose one player, it effects all the other guys, because everyone has to take on more ice-time and step up in their roles. It wears on you to have guys like Greeny and Legault pounding on you all night.
On the championship rematch: "I think Memphis is very much the same team as last year, strong on the power play, and featuring one of the best players in the league in Parsons. Richards seems to get hot this time of year, and he played every game against Indy. They've got good depth, with Stastny, Palahnuk and Gagnon all in Memphis now. We're just looking for a different outcomeâgetting good solid goaltending like we have been, keeping our specialty teams performing and catching a few breaks.
"We'll definitely be talking about last year with our team, to help drive intensity. Any time a team takes the cup and rings away from you, you're going to be more intense and work harder to see it doesn't happen again. And it'll be important to let our new guys who weren't here last year, know what to expect.
Cave, Sweet Cave: The remainder of the Bats' playoff run will take place at their normal home, 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 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.
In the Air: The Ice Bats have reached agreement for all playoff games, home and away, to 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 April 15, 2003
- Memorable Season Comes to a Close for Ice - Indianapolis Ice
- Bats in Championship Rematch - Austin Ice Bats
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.
