Buzzards Square off Against Jackalopes
December 27, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
El Paso Buzzards News Release
EL PASO, Texas – An early New Year’s resolution for the El Paso Buzzards will be beating the Odessa Jackalopes as the Buzzards look to improve their home record at 7 p.m., Friday, at the El Paso County Coliseum. Catch all of the action on KHEY 1380 AM, El Paso’s Sports Ticket with play-by-play announcer Michael LaPlaca and Michael Hissam doing color commentary.
The Jackalopes have won all five of the regular season matchups against the Buzzards this season. In the previous contest, the Buzzards fell to Odessa 6-2 in Odessa. BuzzardsÂ’ center Joe Gray scored a goal and an assist, left winger Russ Guzior notched a goal and center Jeff Scharf collected an assist. The Jackalopes lead the all-time series 29-20-4 against El Paso.
“You can’t focus on the past,” said Buzzards’ head coach Craig Coxe. “Our team has a new look, a new system and new direction. I respect Odessa and their team, but this is hockey and we have to come out and win.”
The Buzzards received an honor this past week from the Central Hockey League as Guzior was selected as the Central Hockey LeagueÂ’s Player of the Week for the week of Dec. 16-22. Guzior, 28, led the Buzzards to back-to-back home wins over New Mexico and San Angelo over the weekend, figuring in five of the teamÂ’s nine goals. In a 4-2 win over New Mexico on Dec. 20, the Chicago native and BuzzardsÂ’ captain scored his 13th goal of the season, then potted a hat trick and an assist the following evening in a 5-3 win over San Angelo. The 5-foot-10-inch, 190 lb. forward has accumulated 16 goals and nine assists with a plus/minus rating of +4 in 21 games this season.
DID YOU KNOW
The Buzzards begin a brutal stretch of seven games in 10 nights on Friday, Dec. 27. The Buzzards conclude a homestand against Lubbock, Odessa and New Mexico on Monday, Dec. 30 before traveling to Amarillo on New YearÂ’s Eve. The Buzzards come back home Jan. 3 to take on San Angelo, then hit the road for Lubbock on Saturday, Jan. 4 and finish the stretch at home against Amarillo Sunday, Jan. 5.
WHERE THEY STAND
BUZZARDS - Coming into Saturday's action, the Buzzards, prior to FridayÂ’s game against Lubbock, earned 16 points and are in fourth place in the Southwest Division. The Buzzards will play without defenseman Jeff Potter who is out with a thumb injury. Potter is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. With the Buzzards short two players on their roster, the Buzzards have improved defensively. El Paso has out shot their opponents in their last three games and their penalty killing percentage has improved. Goaltender Blaine Russell has been the primary beneficiary of the new defensive scheme becoming the first of the BuzzardsÂ’ netminders to boast a winning record this season.
ODESSA – Before their game Friday against the New Mexico Scorpions, the Jackalopes (40 points) come into the game 18-6-4 overall and 7-3-2 on the road for first place in the Southwest Division. The Jackalopes play a neutral-zone trap, which limits the offensive chances of their opponents. The results have been positive for Odessa, outscoring their opponents 85 to 63. On the power play, the Jackalopes come in with a 19.3 percent success rate, fourth in the league. Odessa is second in the CHL on penalty kill situations with an 89.0 percent success rate. Odessa showcases one of the best goaltenders in the league, Mike Gorman. Gorman is 12-4-4, third in the CHL in goals against average at 2.02 and second in save percentage at .936 percent.
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Central Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2002
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