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Bats Win 7 Straight to Halfway Point

January 8, 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 26-5-1 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.

Entering this week, the Ice Bats have won seven straight games, and 11 of their last 12. And they now lead Laredo by 11 points in the Division race. The Bats have a chance to build on that lead, playing 11 of their next 14 games at home, starting this Friday and Saturday.

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 have won seven straight games out of the Christmas break, all but two of them coming on the road. Last weekend, the Bats christened 2003 with three victories, including road wins at Bossier-Shreveport and Fort Worth.

After surrendering 57 shots in a New Year's Eve win at Laredo, the Bats were determined to return to playing solid defense in the New Year. Last Friday, the Bats and goaltender Matt Barnes shut out Bossier-Shreveport 1-0.

Shortly after killing a penalty on Brett Seguin, the Bats took the first and only lead of the game. Bursting up ice, Kelly Smart centered for a Tab Lardner tap-in at 15:34 of the first. Barnes took over after that, turning aside 34 Bossier shots in a game surprisingly open and end-to-end. An equally game Mudbug goalie Ken Carroll stopped 30 of 31 shots in a losing cause.

With just one goal, and a combined 34 minutes in penalties, the game took just two hours and 14 minutes to complete.

A look back, continued: Last Saturday's game at Fort Worth pitted teams heading in opposite directions—with the Bats trying to win their sixth straight, and the Brahmas looking to avoid a seventh straight loss. The Bats hung three goals on the board in the first period, and held on for a 4-2 win.

The Bats scored first 5 ½ minutes into the game, and nine seconds into a power play, on a Darryl McArthur shot from the point. The team's "S-T-P Fuel Line" then roared to life. Dan Price centered to Gerald Tallaire for a re-direct score at 14:52. And just over two minutes later, Brett Seguin centered to Mike Gaffney for a wrister from the right circle.

Fort Worth got on the board early in the second, when Sean Hughes gathered a rebound off the chest of Austin goalie Peter Brady, and slid by Brady to put the puck in the empty net. But Gaffney ripped a slap shot from the right circle to give the Bats a 4-1 lead into the third.

The Bats lost some intensity in the third period, but surrendered just a Joe Van Volsen score with three minutes left. Gaffney scored two goals, while Tallaire, Seguin and McArthur added two points each. Brady stopped 34 of 36 shots.

On Sunday, the Bats completed a home-and-home sweep over Fort Worth with a seesaw 4-3 win at the Cave. Austin's Mike Olynyk led off scoring with a goal from the slot 6 ½ minutes in. The Brahmas tied the game on a Chad Woollard goal off a face-off win, and took the lead on a Jason Reesor power play goal late in the first.

The Bats regained the advantage with two power play scores in the second—marking the first time since November 19th the Bats scored two power play goals in a game. Dan Price tied the score on a deflection, and Doug Johnson gave the Bats the lead on his slapshot from the point.

Fort Worth tied the game on Woollard's backhander 1:43 into the third, but the Bats took the lead for good in the middle of the period. Brahmas goalie Matt Mullin came out to tip the puck away from Austin's Gerald Tallaire on a breakaway chance, only to have Price scoop up the loose change for the winning goal. Price's two goals led the way, while "S-T-P" linemates Tallaire and Brett Seguin each had two assists. Woollard's two goals led Fort Worth.

Road Warriors: With last Saturday's win at Fort Worth, the Bats upped their road record to 16-3-1, by far the best in the league. And they have won five straight road games, one short of equaling the franchise record. Now at the halfway point of the league season, the Bats have 32 games remaining—20 at home and just 12 on the road.

All-Star State: 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.

Bats goalie Matt Barnes will start in goal for the Southern Conference squad, as selected in voting among league coaches, public relations personnel and media members. It will be Barnes' second All-Star appearance.

On Wednesday, Coach Hughes named three more Ice Bats to the Southern Conference lineup. Center Kelly Smart will make his second All-Star appearance, while defensemen Mike Gaffney and Darryl McArthur were named to the team for the first time.

Roster Flights:

Departures: Bats defenseman Darryl McArthur was called up on Wednesday to the Houston Aeros of the American League, top affiliate of the NHL Minnesota Wild. McArthur will play in Houston Thursday and Friday night, and is expected to return for the Bats' game on Saturday. Also, winger Shawn Legault remains on a 10-game CHL suspension after receiving a match penalty in a game December 27th against Corpus Christi. The Bats will be without Legault until January 18th.

Wounded Wings: Left winger Jeff Greenlaw has missed the last four games to injury, and is listed as questionable for this week.

Player Plaudits: Three time CHL Goalie of the Week, and the November Goalie of the Month, Matt Barnes continues to set a record pace. Barnes leads all league goalies with a sparkling 1.52 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. At 20-4-1, he is tied for the league lead in wins, is second with six shutouts, and fifth in minutes played. Meanwhile, counterpart Peter Brady has cracked the top nine among league goalies, at 6-1, with a 2.69 GAA.

Center Kelly Smart is in the top 20 in CHL scoring, with 18 goals and 19 assists. He's also second in the league with 6 game-winning goals. Winger Dan Price is second in team scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists. Forward Tab Lardner is third in the league at +20, while Darryl McArthur 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: Trying to keep pace with the Bats, Laredo is 11 points back, at 19-9-4. The only league team to average more than four goals per game, the Bucks have weathered numerous call-ups in their active affiliation with San Antonio of the American League. Prolific winger Eric Schneider is back from his AHL stints, and ranks 4th in the league with 22 goals and 27 assists. Linemate Chris Grenville is in the top ten, with 21 goals and 23 assists, including 11 power play goals. Recalled to San Antonio last week, Michel Periard rates 3rd among CHL defensemen with 32 points. He returns, but goaltender Lance Leslie (14-7-3, 2.74 GAA) was called up Wednesday. That leaves goaltending this week to backup Marc-Andre Leclerc (5-2-1, 3.16 GAA). The Bucks are 7-6-3 on the road, but 12-3-1 at home. They'll host El Paso Thursday before coming to Austin Friday.

At 11-18-4, El Paso is still within striking range of a playoff berth, just six points out of third place in the Southwest. All-Star Jeff Scharf leads the team with 16 goals and 22 assists, including four shorthanded goals. Forward Derrell Upton has 33 points and defenseman Rhett Dudley 29. Josh Tymchak rates 3rd in the league with 188 penalty minutes. Goaltender Blaine Russell (5-2-2, 3.15 GAA) has been a good pickup, and this week, the Buzzards obtained goalie Jamie Ronayne (5-10-1, 4.33 GAA) from San Angelo. El Paso has played competitive hockey despite distractions off the ice, as CEO Billy Davidson searches for investors to help the team out of its financial plight. 2-7-3 on the road, it might actually benefit El Paso to get away for awhile—as they swing through the Southeast Division at Laredo, Corpus Christi and Austin this week.

Fort Worth has dropped eight consecutive games heading into their Wednesday night contest at Corpus Christi. But after they were slaughtered in their first three games under new Coach Bill Inglis, the Brahmas were more competitive in two games against the Bats last week.

Now 7-21-3, Fort Worth still ranks last on offense (2.29 goals per game), 14th on defense (3.90 goals allowed), 15th on the power play and last on the penalty kill. Joe Van Volsen leads the team with 34 points, while Chad Woollard has 17 goals and 12 assists. John Murphy ranks 4th in the league with 184 penalty minutes, but has been bothered by concussions. Former Coach Todd Lalonde traded away defenseman Mike Tilson to Corpus Christi, so Inglis re-signed veteran Mike Rusk in an effort to replace him. Top goalie Matt Mullin is 5-12-3, with a 3.24 GAA. Fort Worth is 3-9-1 at home, and after Wednesday's game, will return home for contests against Bossier-Shreveport, Oklahoma City and Austin.

The Series: The Bats have won three of the four games played in their first year of competition against Laredo. The Bucks return to Austin for the first time since October 19th, when the Bats earned a 3-1 victory in their home opener.

The Bats are 18-5-2 lifetime against El Paso. The teams split games during the regular season last year, but the Bats won this season's only meeting, 2-1 on December 14th in El Paso.

Now 37-15-1 lifetime against Fort Worth, the Bats won eight of the nine meetings last year, and the first four this year—two in Austin and two in Cowtown. Prior to last weekend's games, 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: "We went into Bossier and played a pretty good hockey game. Actually, I thought the whole game was pretty good... up and down and a real goaltending show. Then we played well enough to win in the two games against Fort Worth. Those are hard games to get up for, a first-place team against a last-place team. Some guys excel in those games, and some find it hard to get going. As I said, we played well enough on the weekend to win six points. I think in my heart as a coach, we still can step it up a couple notches, and we'll have to. But what more can you really ask for on any given weekend than to win all your games.

"Our top line is definitely showing spurts of doing what they did last year. A guy like Gerald Tallaire is capable of scoring 40 goals a season. I'd like to see him put the puck more in the net and build his confidence. And he'll have to down the stretch—seven goals won't be enough in the second half. I haven't had a problem with that line and what they've done defensively this year. And now I think they're flirting with returning to the kind of offense we expect from them.

On this week: "We start off with our toughest game, against Laredo. We need to keep the distance between us and them. And we have something to prove to ourselves, after our effort there on New Year's Eve. But then we need to come out and play against El Paso and Fort Worth too. We can't let down just because we're at home now. If we don't come out to play, we're not going to win games. It's a constant message I'll be giving our team in practice this week, all the way to Friday's game.

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, celebrate the fashion statement that is the mullet, with "Mullet Night" this Friday. Contestants will compete for a $500 cash prize in the "Best Mullet" contest, and fans may have their picture taken in the "Mulletizer," simulating the hockey hairdo of choice.

Then Saturday, "Ice Bats Fan on Board" car window signs go to 3,000 fans, courtesy of Verizon Wireless.

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.

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.

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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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