Buzzards to Afflict Stinging on Scorpions
November 21, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
El Paso Buzzards News Release
El Paso, Texas â After a heartbreaking loss to the Cotton Kings, the Buzzards pack up their suitcases and travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico to battle the New Mexico Scorpions in a Southwest Division clash Friday at 7 p.m. Buzzards' head coach Craig Coxe, not happy with the effort put forth by his players on Wednesday, had a 30-minute closed door meeting with his players after the Wednesday game. The Scorpions, one of the top teams in scoring and power play average in the Central Hockey League, will be fully rested to fend off the Buzzard attack. In their previous game Tuesday, the Tulsa Oilers trounced the Scorpions 6-0.
In a recap of Wednesday's game, Jeremy Vokes and Derrell Upton each scored a goal for El Paso and Josh Tymchak collected two assists in a losing effort as the Buzzards fell to the Lubbock Cotton Kings 5-2. Craig Binns and Blaz Emersic both had a goal and an assist for the Cotton Kings.
Upton's goal, his ninth of the season, started the Buzzards' scoring with a redirection past Cotton Kings goaltender Mike Brusseau at 14:54 in the first period. The tip in came from two crisp, cross-ice centering passes by Tymchak and defenseman Jason Tessier that found its way into the back of the net. Vokes scored his first goal of the year on the power play at 1:04 in the second period with a wrist shot that beat Brusseau on his glove side. Tymchak and defenseman Rhett Dudley assisted on Vokes' goal.
Special teams turned out to be the difference in the game. The Buzzards were out shot in the game 29-24 and were only 1 for 7 on the power play. Lubbock went 3 for 10 on the power play with goals from three different players.
"Special teams is the way we lost," said Coxe. "Tonight they scored on three power-play goals. That's the game right there and we just couldn't get anything going on the power play.
Buzzards' goaltender Matt Carmichael returning to action after a two-game break played well, stopping 24 of 29 shots and making numerous difficult saves in traffic and on deflections. The loss is the Buzzards sixth in a row as they fall to 4-10-1 and 3-6-0 at home. Buzzards' fans did see the return of left winger Troy Linna, who came back from a shoulder injury. The attendance for Wednesday's game was 2,302 at the El Paso County Coliseum.
WHERE THEY STAND
Coming into Friday's action, the Buzzards (nine points) are in fourth place in the Southwest Division, but are just seven points behind Lubbock for third place. The Buzzards are 1-4-1 on the road and 3-6-0 at home. El Paso has 39 goals for and has allowed 51 goals. The Buzzards' leading scorer is center Jeff Scharf (8-9=17). Left winger Russ Guzior, the Buzzards' second leading scorer, is out with a shoulder injury that occurred against Lubbock on Saturday. Guzior said he expects to miss two to three games. The Buzzards are ninth in the league on the power play with a 13.5 percent success rate and twelfth in the league on penalty kill opportunities with an 83.2 percent rate. The Buzzards will play three of their next four games at the Nest against Odessa and San Angelo.
New Mexico comes into the game 8-6-1 overall, 4-1-0 at home this season and two points behind Odessa for first place in the Southwest Division. The Scorpions are fourth in the CHL on the power play with an 18.2 percent success rate and ninth in the league on penalty kill situations with an 84.7 percent success rate. Center Chris Richards leads the Scorpions in points (9-12=21) and is tied for fourth in the league in scoring.
Central Hockey League Stories from November 21, 2002
- Buzzards to Afflict Stinging on Scorpions - El Paso Buzzards
- Saints Sign Another Forward - San Angelo Saints
- Mudbugs Sign Former Monroe Moccasin - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Oilers Take to the Road - Tulsa Oilers
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