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Bats, Scorps Make 5-Player Deal

January 26, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League today announced completion of a five-player trade with the New Mexico Scorpions, acquiring scoring forward Chris Richards and defenseman Arturs Kupaks, as well as the rights to forward Josh Tymchak. In exchange, the Ice Bats traded to New Mexico veteran forward Shawn Legault and defenseman Daniel Tetrault. Richards and Kupaks are expected to arrive in Austin in time for this week's games.

The 28-year-old Richards, a native of Cornwall, Ontario, is in his fifth professional season. He currently ranks sixth in league scoring with 17 goals and 38 assists in 42 games, and last Thursday represented the Scorpions in the CHL All-Star Game in Albuquerque. A four-year product of Ohio State University, Richards began his pro career with one season in Germany, and a 75-point season with Indianapolis and Macon in the CHL. He scored 66 points with the Scorpions in 2001-02, and a career-most 30 goals and 46 assists en route to All-Star honors with New Mexico last year.

Kupaks, 30, from Riga, Latvia, is another perennial All-Star in his tenth pro season. A two-time All-Star in the East Coast League, Kupaks was named Western Professional Hockey League Defenseman of the Year in 2000 with Lubbock. Kupaks set a single season league record for defensemen that year with 70 assists and 86 points. Kupaks also spent the past two seasons with New Mexico, ranking fifth among league defensemen with 56 points in 62 games last year, and appearing in the CHL All-Star Game in Oklahoma City. This season, he ranks among the top 15 d-men with 24 points in 42 games.

Tymchak, 29, from Winnipeg, Manitoba, is in his sixth professional season, recording 111 penalty minutes in 29 games before leaving the Scorpions in January for personal reasons.

"We felt like our hockey club was underachieving and changes had to be made," said Jeff Greenlaw, Ice Bats Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations. "We owe it to our organization and our fans to improve the team, and could no longer sit by and watch the team struggle. Hopefully, the new blood will be a positive for our hockey club."

"Our fans should remember both Chris Richards and Arturs Kupaks as players that were thorns in our side in the playoffs last year," Greenlaw said. "Chris is among the leading scorers in the league. He's a tremendous playmaker, gritty, a great face-off man and a great leader. When he became available, he was the number-one guy on our list."

"Kupaks is another guy that's an offensive threat every time he touches the puck. Their system has changed a little bit, and he's become more of a two-way player for them this year. But he put up 56 points for them two years ago and was an All-Star. I would expect these two very skilled players to help kick-start our offense, and help bring some of our guys out of offensive slumps."

Greenlaw said the additions of Richards and Kupaks came at a high price. Legault, a veteran winger, ranks second in the CHL with 208 penalty minutes, having also scored 9 goals and 10 assists in 37 games. Tetrault is the team's top scoring defenseman, with 9 goals and 14 assists in 41 games. Like Richards, Tetrault (a three-time All-Star with Austin) appeared in last Thursday's league showcase in Albuquerque.

"It's with a heavy heart that we trade both players," Greenlaw said. "We gave up two quality individuals that we didn't want to deal. But you have to give something to get something. Tetsy played well for us after a slow start. But he's a far better player than he's shown this year, and a change may do well for him."

"Shawn, I've known for a long time," Greenlaw said. "He's the toughest guy in the league in my books. He works extremely hard and is a very intense player. No one wants to win more than Shawn, and he's shown some frustration this year. Bottom line is, teams that aren't winning have to make changes."

17-18-6 on the season, the Ice Bats trail second-place Rio Grande Valley by two points in the Southeast Division and for the final Southern Conference playoff position. The Bats return to action this Thursday night at Corpus Christi, then come home for games Friday against the Rayz and Saturday against Indianapolis.

Tickets to both 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.

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.

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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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