Chicago Hounds Weekly Notes

Published on January 22, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Chicago Hounds News Release


Hounds Fall Apart Against Rockford, lose 8-2: After coming off a loss to Bloomington in a game they felt they should have won, Chicago was looking to bounce back against Rockford. However, the IceHogs had other plans. Two goals scored only 35 seconds apart in the first period by Rockford's Kaleb Betts and Nicolas Corbeil chased Hounds goalie Marty Magers from the net in favor of Brenden Cuthbert. Down by three goals late in the same stanza, Chicago found life when Tim Plett registered his first of the night bangining home a loose puck in the crease at 19:34.

In the second period, with Mike Kautz in the box for cross-checking, Tim Plett struck again picking up another loose puck in the Rockford crease slashing the IceHogs lead to only one goal. Momentum began to shift in Chicago's favor. A couple of great scoring chances were cast aside by IceHogs netminder Fredric Cloutier. With just under five minutes remaining in the second period, Chicago had a 5 on 3 opportunity to tie the game but weren't able to capitalize and Rockford took over. They tallied four goals in the third period and ended up winning 8-2. Both Magers and Cuthbert were pulled during the game. Rockford was 1-5 on the power-play while Chicago went 0 for 7.

Thunder Struck by Bloomington: Despite controlling play for the majority of the game and registering 40 shots on the goal, the Hounds couldn't find answers for Jeff Reynaert. Bloomington held on and defeated Chicago by a score of 3-1 on the back of their goaltender, Jeff Reynaert. The winning goal was tallied by Prairie Thunder forward Jon Booras at 7:35 of the second period when he rifled a shot over the glove of goaltender Brenden Cuthbert, whom was making his third straight start for the Hounds. Later in the second period, Chicago fought back with a goal by Matt Amado who rushed the net and directed a rebound past Reynaert, slashing the Bloomington lead, making it 2-1. However, early in the final stanza, Trevor Baker capitalized on a turnover in the Hounds zone and stuffed the puck behind Cuthbert giving the Prairie Thunder a 3-1 lead and ending the night for the Hounds goalie who stopped 11 of 14 shots. The Hounds were unable to muster another goal and Bloomington escaped with a 3-1 victory.

Player Movement: Greg Puhalski announced today that Greg Koehler has been traded to the Bloomington Prairie Thunder in exchange for future considerations. Also, Forward Matt Johnson was acquired from Kalamazoo for future considerations. Johnson is expected to be in uniform when the Hounds host Fort Wayne on Friday night.

Standings:

After a rough weekend which Chicago was unable to secure any points, they sit near the bottom of the Western Conference. There is a significant differential in points between the third and fourth place teams in the West. Quad City has 14 more points than Chicago while playing one more game. There is significant ground to be made up and the season is now officially half way over for Chicago. Hounds defenseman Chris Busby knows the team must get on the right track very soon, "We've been struggling and there isn't much room left for error. It seems like every time we take a step closer, we move back a couple. These next few games will be crucial for us and we have to be prepared."

The Goalie Story: Recently, the Hounds problems have stemmed from inside the blue paint. The beginning of the season, the Hounds relied heavily on the goaltending of Marty Magers. Struggling recently, Marty has been pulled in several of his last starts. Newly acquired goaltender Brenden Cuthbert also hasn't displayed what the Hounds have hoped for and has been pulled twice in his last two starts. Head Coach Greg Puhalski is aware of the problems but isn't worried about his goaltenders, "The last few games both goalies have had a difficult time. I don't have any doubts Marty will get out of the funk he is in. Marty is the hardest working goaltender I have seen in a long time and with his hard work will come results."

Scoring Leaders:

With the departure of Greg Koehler, Steve Cygan and Chris Busy are now the leading scorers for Chicago. The captain is out with a lower-body injury recently, but he plans on being back very soon and Chris hasn't put up the points he once did at the beginning of the season. Both men have 22 points thus far. One point behind those two is Maris Ziedins with 21 points followed by Notre Dame product Matt Amado with 18 points.

Chicago to Quad City Wednesday: Up next for the Hounds will be a road game against the Mallards. In four games this season, the teams have split on games winning two each. The last time these two teams met was at the Mark and the Mallards skated off with a 6-4 victory. Quad City managed four goals in the first period of that contest and the Hounds nearly came back to win scoring four of the next five goals. The Hounds are prepared for their trip on Wednesday and know they need to come away with two points as they attempt to creep up the standings, "We always talk about how important games are against teams in our conference. We are chasing the Mallards for third place and a playoff sport, Wednesday night is a big game that we need to win," said Hounds defensemen Chris Gerhke. This meeting will be the one of two against the Mallards this week. Quad City comes to the Sears Centre to battle the Hounds again on Sunday afternoon at 4pm.

Storm Brewing in Bloomington. Despite only winning 12 games this season, the Prairie Thunder have four of those wins against the Chicago Hounds. The last time these two teams met was at the Sears Centre and despite being out-shot 40-19; the Hounds had few answers for Bloomington goaltender Jeff Reynaert. Currently, Bloomington resides at the bottom of the league, but they are close to catching Chicago resting only one point behind. Hounds defensemen Mike Kautz would like to see the same effort as Friday with different results on the scoreboard, "We had a strong defensive game and we controlled the play nearly the entire way. Unfortunately, they got all the bounces and their goalie played really well. We will try to bring the same intensity on Saturday and hope for a different outcome."

Komets come to Hoffman Estates...Fort Wayne rests on top of the Western Conference but they have problems playing the Chicago Hounds. In five games this season, Chicago has a winning record with three wins and two losses. The last time these teams met was on January 13th and the Hounds skated away with a 3-2 victory and all three goals were on the power-play. Consistency on special teams is an area the Hounds work on and in order to win games, they know it must be better, "Our victory against Fort Wayne last week was due to success with the man advantage. In order for us to be a better team, we have to try and get a power-play goal a game. Our percentage is at the bottom of the league, but we feel like we can due a lot more," remarked Hounds assistant coach Steve Cromie.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 22, 2007


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