Bats Win 4 Straight Into New Year

January 2, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League have started the 2002-03 CHL regular season at 23-5-1 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 currently hold the CHL's top winning percentage.

After winning four straight games to conclude the calendar year, the Bats now lead Laredo by nine points in the Division race. This week, the Bats finish a four-game road swing at Bossier-Shreveport and Fort Worth. The Bats will then play 12 of their next 15 at home, starting with Sunday's game against Fort Worth.

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: The Bats went into the Christmas break with coal in their stockings, in the form of a 4-1 loss at Corpus Christi. Last week, the Bats made the season brighter, winning both halves of a home-and-home series against the Rayz. Last Thursday night, the Bats won in Corpus, 3-1.

Corpus Christi came out the aggressor, but the Bats gained the first lead on their first shot on goal. Pat Brownlee snaked a shot from the right point through a screen three minutes in, and just six seconds into a power play. The Rayz tied the game on a Cosmo Dupaul goal at 11:12, outshooting the Bats 18-7 in the first period.

The Bats turned it around for a 20-7 shot advantage in the second, but failed to cash in on several scoring chances, including two shorthanded breakaways and a 5-on-3 power play. In the third, though, Kelly Smart scored the game-winner at 5:07, and Dan Price a key insurance goal with 2 ½ minutes left. Bats goalie Matt Barnes stopped 35 of 36 shots faced to make it hold up.

The Bats scored once on six power play chances. And even though the Bats lost Jeff Greenlaw to a game misconduct after an early second period fight, they killed all five of the Rayz' power play chances.

A look back, continued: Last Friday, the Bats swept the home-and-home series, shutting out the Rayz, 2-0 before nearly 5,700 fans at the Cave. Austin goalie Matt Barnes stopped all 29 shots faced for his fifth shutout.

Neither team scored in a chippy first period, with the Bats penalty kill denying the Rayz on a lengthy 5-on-3 power play late in the period. 3 ½ minutes into the second, Dan Price came up with the puck on the blue line, stopped on the left circle, and ripped a power play goal to the shelf.

Working with a slight margin for error, Barnes came up big, poke-checking the puck away from Corpus' Layne Roland on a late second period breakaway, and then scrambling to get back in net for a spectacular save midway through the third. Mike Olynyk scored a big insurance goal on a pass into the slot with 5:43 left.

Austin's Shawn Legault finished the three-game series against Corpus with an exclamation point of sorts. Continuing a running feud with the Rayz' Brett Colborne, Legault elbowed the Corpus defenseman with just over a minute remaining, and was given a match penalty.

After Friday's game, the Bats headed to Lubbock, where on Saturday, they let a two-goal lead slip away before winning, 4-3 in a shootout.

Again the Bats took the first lead, with Dan Price banking in a goal off Lubbock's Paul Fioroni late in the first period. Kelly Smart added a shorthanded breakaway goal midway through the second. Lubbock disputed the score, contending the Bats' Tab Lardner should have been called for a penalty while providing Smart a path to the goal. The Bats outshot the ‘Kings 11-4 in the second period.

Lubbock came alive in the third, tying the game with goals 20 seconds apart. Two minutes after the game-tying goal, the Bats retook the lead on Lardner's rebound goal. But at 13:51, Lubbock retied the score on Barry McKinlay's power play shot from the point.

In overtime, both teams had chances but failed to score. In the ensuing shootout, Smart and Pat Brownlee led off with goals, but Gerald Tallaire and Price rang iron in the next two rounds. Austin goalie Peter Brady made it a moot point, stopping four of five shooters. Brownlee was credited with the game-winner, as the Bats outshot Lubbock 35-23 for the game.

New Year's Eve, the Bats wrapped up 2002 with a strange twist. Led by Matt Barnes' spectacular goaltending, and a hat trick from Kelly Smart, the Bats won 4-3 at Laredo. That, despite getting outshot 57-17.

Outshot 22-7 in the first period, the Bats led 2-0 on goals by Pat Brownlee, and Smart's shot banked in off a Laredo defender. Laredo's Dave Gilmore cut the lead in half early in the second, but Smart picked off a weak clearing attempt at the blue line, and walked in to make it 3-1 midway through the period.

Laredo countered on a disputed power play goal at 15:11 of the second. A Chris Grenville shot appeared to hit the post, but after consulting with the goal judge and both linesmen, referee Scott Hughes reversed his call and awarded the score. The Bats wasted no time, getting the goal back 64 seconds later, with Smart completing the hat trick on a deflection.

The Buck's Morten Ask cut the lead to one with about six minutes left, and then it really got dicey. A minor penalty on Austin's Mike Rees and a slashing major against Smart gave the Bucks a two-man advantage, and a power play over the final five minutes. Peppered with 20 shots in the third, Barnes continued to turn the Bucks away, finishing with 54 saves. With the win, the Bats moved nine points ahead of the Bucks in the Division.

A Present for Hughesy: Ice Bats Coach Brent Hughes will be on the bench for the All-Star Game for a third straight season. Hughes will guide the Southern Conference All-Stars January 23rd in Oklahoma City, thanks to the Bats' league-leading winning percentage as of Christmas.

Hughes led the CHL Southern Conference Team last season, and was Eastern Division coach at the WPHL All-Star Game two seasons ago.

Roster Flights:

Arrivals: Bats defenseman Mike Gaffney returned on New Year's Eve, after his second American League call-up of the season, this time to Cincinnati. Gaffney, who appeared in three games with Bridgeport earlier this season, appeared in two games with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks.

Last Saturday, the Bats signed rookie forward Ryan Rivard and added him to the roster. Rivard, who played in the Ontario Hockey Association last year, began his pro career with 23 games in Fort Worth this season, scoring three assists.

Roster Flights, continued:

Departures: Bats forward Randy Ponte has left the team to pursue a collegiate career. Ponte, who recorded 98 penalty minutes in 25 pro games this season, retains his college eligibility by leaving before January 1st.

Also, winger Shawn Legault is on indefinite League suspension after receiving a match penalty in last Friday's game. Legault has sat out the team's last two games, pending League review of the incident.

Player Plaudits: Bats goalie Matt Barnes was this week honored as CHL Goalie of the Week for the third time this season, after stopping 64 of 65 shots in consecutive wins last week. Also named November Goalie of the Month, Barnes continues to set a record pace, leading all league goalies with a sparkling 1.58 goals-against average and .947 save percentage. At 19-4-1, he ranks second in wins and shutouts, and third in minutes played.

Meanwhile, counterpart Peter Brady has cracked the top 11 among league goalies, at 4-1, with a 2.76 GAA.

Center Kelly Smart has cracked the top 15 in CHL scoring, with 18 goals and 16 assists. He's also second in the league with 6 game-winning goals. Winger Dan Price is second in team scoring with 13 goals and 14 assists. Forward Tab Lardner is second in the league at +19, while Pat Brownlee ranks second among d-men at +14. Forward Shawn Legault leads the team with 104 minutes in penalties, but also has 14 points in 18 games.

Potential Bite Victims: This weekend, the Bats face two teams trying to move up from the bottom of the Northeast Division. At 11-12-7, 3rd-place Bossier-Shreveport has had the goaltending to stay close, but not always the scoring to get over the hump. Winger Dan Wildfong pulls off a difficult double-double, leading the team in scoring (12 goals, 15 assists), and penalty minutes (158). Forward Trevor Buchanan has 24 points. Goaltender Ken Carroll ranks 6th in the league, at 8-8-3, with a 2.41 GAA. Former Ice Bats tender Jonathan Forest hasn't been as successful, with a 3-4-4 mark and 3.41 GAA. 5-3-4 at home, the Mudbugs play at Tulsa Thursday, then return home to face the Bats Friday.

Languishing with the league's worst record at 7-18-3, Fort Worth relieved Coach Todd Lalonde of his duties Sunday, and replaced him with veteran Coach Bill Inglis. Inglis, who served as Coach and General Manager for many years in the Stars organization with Kalamazoo (IHL), has his work cut out for him. The Brahmas were hammered 7-2 by Indianapolis in his first game New Year's Eve. Their anemic offense ranks last, averaging 2 ¼ goals per game, and they rate 14th on defense (3.79 goals allowed per contest). They are also last in both specialty teams categories. Veteran Joe Van Volsen leads the team with 30 points, while Chad Woollard has 14 goals and 12 assists. John Murphy ranks 4th in the League with 172 penalty minutes. Goalie Matt Mullin is 5-11-3, with a 3.06 GAA. Fort Worth, 3-7-1 at home, 4-11-2 on the road, has to face both defending President's Cup finalists this weekend. The Brahmas host Memphis Friday, before their home-and-home series against the Bats.

The Series: The Bats are 8-14-5 lifetime against Bossier-Shreveport, and were just 3-2-2 against the Mudbugs last season.

Now 35-15-1 lifetime against Fort Worth, the Bats won eight of the nine meetings last year, and the first two this year. The Bats edged the Brahmas 2-1 November 8th in Fort Worth, then blanked them 5-0 November 17th at the Bat Cave.

Comments From The Coach: On last week: "It's been a great week here after Christmas. The guys got some rest for four days, and I thought we played three great hockey games out of the break. I don't know if we deserved to win New Years Eve at Laredo, but Matt Barnes was obviously the best player on the ice, and he definitely deserved to win. It was one of those games where we had not just one or two guys have an off night, but it wasn't meant to be for half of our team. Still, we worked hard enough, and got the bounces to go our way. It could end up as an important game, for playoff tiebreakers, among other reasons.

Comments From The Coach, continued: On this week: "After playing a lot of games in our division, it'll be good to get out of conference. We haven't seen Bossier yet this year, but traditionally have trouble with them. I'm looking forward to playing them. Fort Worth has a new coach, and will likely be inspired to play a little bit more. We just need to keep plugging away. If we bring our work ethic, we should have a good chance to win the games.

Cave, Sweet Cave: After winning the WPHL attendance title four times in five seasons, the Bats placed second in the CHL last season, averaging nearly 5,000 fans per home game.

The Bats, who play 21 of their 32 home games after January 1st, return home for Time Warner Cable Family Day this Sunday. Families may purchase a package of four tickets, hotdogs, Pepsis and a game program for just $48. A public skate with the players follows the game.

For the first time in franchise history, the Ice Bats play all 32 home games on weekend dates—Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday afternoons. For this season, improvements at the Travis County Expo Center include all-new glass surrounding the rink, and climate control for the first time ever. In addition, the team has unveiled its "Kids Zone," an all-new interactive fun center for kids.

Season tickets and corporate partnerships for the 2002-03 Ice Bats season are on sale at the Ice Bats office. Prorated season tickets are available in full season, 16-game and 10-game plans. Free Belfry Club membership is included with all full season packages, and free parking with all full season and 16-game plans.

Individual game tickets are also available through the Ice Bats office or through all Star Ticket outlets, including all Austin-area Albertson's locations. Ticket prices remain the same as last season, and range from $11 to $21, depending on section, with discounted rates for groups of 15 people or more. To charge by phone, fans may call the Ice Bats office at 927-PUCK, or Star Tickets at 469-SHOW. On-line ordering is available through www.startickets.com.

Just For Kids: Youngsters are invited to join the Ice Bats for Pizza Hut Kids Day, Sunday, January 19th from 3-6pm. Participants will be able to watch an Ice Bats practice, skate with the players, get free Pizza Hut pizza and Pepsi, and tour the Bat Cave. Registration is open to kids ages 5-15, but is limited to just 250 participants. Registration forms are available at Austin-area Pizza Hut locations, and must be signed by parent or guardian to participate.

Hit the Road, Jack: Fans are invited to stop in at Henna Chevrolet, North I-35, and register to "Hit the Road" with the Ice Bats. One Grand Prize winner will receive two seats on the Bats' player bus to Fort Worth on Sunday, January 12th, and two tickets to that day's game, in addition to a team-autographed jersey, an autographed hockey stick of their favorite player, and a game program. Runners-up can win an autographed stick or tickets to future home games.

The VIP Treatment: For aspiring Donald Trumps, Diamond Shamrock is giving away a "VIP Night with the Bats." On Saturday, January 25th, contest winners will be treated to dinner at a local restaurant, a limo ride to the Bat Cave, four glass seats for that night's game against San Angelo, an autographed jersey and a chance to drop the ceremonial first puck. Fans may register at any participating Austin-area Diamond Shamrock location.

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. 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 January 2, 2003


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