Buzzards Hold Strong in the Week that Went Wrong
January 6, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
El Paso Buzzards News Release
The El Paso Buzzards battled against financial troubles, the flu and a tough schedule, but forged ahead and collected a needed six points to remain in the playoff chase. The Buzzards are only nine points behind Lubbock for the fourth and final playoff spot. However, the organization's financial troubles overshadowed the terrific play by the team. Buzzards CEO Bill Davidson held a press conference on Sunday to address the team's financial woes and said he is working on forming a limited partnership group with local investors to alleviate the team's debt.
In a difficult stretch of five games in seven days, El Paso jumped out to early leads in all of the games. Some of the key performers for the Buzzards included defenseman Rhett Dudley (four goals, seven assists), right winger Derrell Upton (one goal, seven assists) and left winger Troy Linna (a hat trick on Sunday, six goals and one assist). The Buzzards earned the points playing with only 11 skaters. The flu virus ravaged the team and forced left wingers Scott Mahar and Russ Guzior to miss action. In addition, defenseman Mathieu Paul and right winger Josh Tymchak were suspended for inappropriate on-ice conduct and defenseman Jeff Potter continues to recover from a thumb injury. Credit must be given to Buzzards' head coach Craig Coxe for motivating his team with all of the team's distractions and playing so well in the adversity.
LAST WEEK'S BUZZ
Mon., Dec. 30 New Mexico 3 vs. Buzzards 2 at the Nest
Tues., Dec. 31 Buzzards 3 vs. Amarillo 4 F/OT in Amarillo
Fri. Jan. 3 San Angelo 3 vs. Buzzards 4 F/SO at the Nest
Sat. Jan. 4 Buzzards 5 vs. Lubbock 6 F/OT in Lubbock
Sun. Jan. 5 Amarillo 3 vs. Buzzards 9 at the Nest
THIS WEEK'S BUZZ
Thur., Jan. 9 Buzzards vs. Laredo in Laredo, 6 p.m. Radio: To be determined
Notes: The Buzzards battle the expansion Laredo Bucks for first game of a three-game road trip. Laredo, however, is not playing like an expansion team should. The Bucks hold the second place spot in the Southeast Division with a 19-9-4 overall record. Laredo is a tough customer at home as well, going 12-3-1 in 16 games. The last time the Buzzards battled Laredo; the Bucks won 4-2 at the Nest. Buzzards' left winger Russ Guzior scored a goal and an assist in the losing effort. Laredo's leading scorers are wingers Eric Schneider (22 goals, 27 assists) and Chris Grenville. (21 goals and 23 assists).
Fri., Jan. 10 Buzzards vs. Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, 6 p.m. Radio: To be determined
Notes: This will be the Buzzards second time this season battling the newly renamed Corpus Christi Rayz. The Buzzards fell to the old Ice Rays 3-2 behind goals from Troy Linna and Jeff Scharf. The Rayz are 10-5-1 at home, but 15-16-1 overall.
Sat. Jan. 11 Buzzards vs. Austin in Austin, 6 p.m. Radio: To be determined
Notes: Austin escaped El Paso with a 2-1 victory when they last met the Buzzards. The Ice Bats sit in first place atop the Southeast Division with one of the best records in the Central Hockey League. Austin is led by one of the best goaltenders in the CHL, Matt Barnes. Coming into this week's action, Barnes is 20-4-1 with a 1.52 goals against average and a .949 save percentage.
BUZZARD OF THE WEEK
Defenseman Rhett Dudley has been named Buzzard of the Week for the week of Dec. 30 to Jan. 5. Dudley scored four goals and seven assists for 11 points in five games. Dudley reached a milestone on Saturday, collecting his 200th career point on an assist in Lubbock. On the season, Dudley has five goals, 24 assists for 29 points with a plus/minus rating of +10.
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Central Hockey League Stories from January 6, 2003
- Bluelining crew - OSC Original by Mike Wallin
- Gorillas Win Three of Four Games over Week - Amarillo Gorillas
- Rayz Take 2 of 3 Over Weekend; Lose Roland For A Month - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Mudbugs Week in Review - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Hot Bucks win Six of Seven - Laredo Bucks
- Scorpions Finish Hectic Week with Big Win - New Mexico Scorpions
- Buzzards Hold Strong in the Week that Went Wrong - El Paso Buzzards
- Scorpions make another trade with Memphis - New Mexico Scorpions
- Torrid Ice 9-2-0 in Last 11 - Indianapolis Ice
- Saints Week in Review - San Angelo Saints
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