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Chicago Hounds Weekly Notes

January 29, 2007 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Chicago Hounds News Release


Hounds feast on Mallards, win 3-2

January 28th, 2007

Earlier in the week, Chicago skated away with a 5-4 victory at the Mark. This time, they wanted to get the win at home-and they accomplished that mission. Chicago rookie forward B.J. Radovich's brilliant move around the Mallards defense and then goalie Jason Tapp was the difference as the Hounds won, 3-2. With the Mallards pressing hard in the third period and down by only one goal, Radovich picked up a loose puck at center and breached the Mallards zone, skated around two defensemen and stuffed the puck in far-side on a sprawling Jason Tapp at 11:20. Down by two and late in the third with Tapp pulled for the extra attacker, Luke Stauffacher fired a shot which bounced off a Hounds defender and found its way behind Chicago netminder Chris Cuthbert bringing the game to within one goal. However, it was too little, too late and the Hounds held on to win by a score of 3-2. Credit the goaltending of Cuthbert who was brilliant in his second ever home game stopping 42 of 43 Mallards shots.

A big fight broke out in the second period when Chicago forward Sean Nicholson laid the body cleanly on Chad Wollard and Patrick Nadeau. Wollard, clearly upset, took out his frustration on Chicago defenseman Chris Gehrke. As those two were being taken to the penalty box, Wollard broke free from the clutches of the lineseman and went after Nicholson. While that fight was in progress, Patrick Nadeau attacked Hounds captain Steve Cygan. Mallard's defenseman added his name to the penalty list when he went after a Chicago player. While Quad City Defenseman Brent Currie was being escorted off the ice, he turned and delivered a forearm to the face of linesman Peter Cichy. The melee was finally settled down and several players were ejected from both sides. Steve Cygan was out of the game for Chicago as were the Mallards Brent Currie, Patrick Nadeau and Chad Wollard. When the smoke cleared, Chicago had a two man advantage for two minutes, but they couldn't capitalize.

Jason Tapp made 38 saves on 41 shots while Cuthbert stopped 41 of 43. Quad City had six power-play chances and scored two goals as a result, the Hounds went 1 for 7.

Clouds Clear Up, Hounds defeat Thunder, 3-2 3

January 27th, 2007

Bloomington's success over the Hounds is well documented. Despite winning only 12 times this season, four of the Prairie Thunder victories came against the Hounds. Going into Saturday nights contest at U.S. Cellular Collesium, Chicago looked to swing the momentum in their direction. Bloomington sports three former Chicago Hounds players and two of them registered goals during the night. First, it was Greg Koehler beating Hounds goalie Marty Magers on the power-play (7:09) giving his team a 1-0 advantage. Chicago would strike back late in the first stanza when Tom Zabkowicz would get a power-play goal of his own (19:05) tying the contest at one goal a piece. In the second, yet another power-play goal was scored (14:00), this time by Hounds forward Paul Caponigri who put his team up 2-1.

In the third period, the plethora of power-play goals continued and it was another former Hound, John Spoltore, that beat Magers (12:13) tying the contest again at two goals a piece. In the dying minutes of the third, the Hounds pounced on a turnover inside the Bloomington zone and Drew Otten passed off to Matt Amado who fired into an open net over a sprawling Thunder netminder Jeff Reynaert giving the Hounds the victory. Magers tested 26 times made 24 saves while Reynaert stopped 26 of 29. Both teams had two power-play goals, Bloomington had 10 chances while Chicago had 8.

Hounded by Komets, Lose 3-0

January 26th, 2007

An early goal became the difference in a closely contested game Friday night. Komets defenseman Guy Dupuis fired a shot from the point that took a strange bounce in front of Hounds netminder Chris Cuthbert and Komets forward Pascal Morency buried the puck at 1:18. The Hounds pressed throughout the contest, but were unable to stifle Fort Wayne's stellar goaltender, Kevin St. Pierre.

Chris Cuthbert who was also spectacular in his first start for Chicago at home making point blank saves several times during the contest. He turned aside 30 out of 31 shots. The final two goals for Forty Wayne came while Cuthbert was pulled for the extra attacker. Both times, the Komets gained possession of the puck and were able to lay in the shot to ice the game. Both teams were unsuccessful on the power-play with Chicago going 0-6 and Fort Wayne 0-7.

Pogo to Lace them Up in Practice!

In coordination with CLTV, Director of Media Relations Jason Shaya, and head coach Greg Puhalski, the Hounds will welcome to practice CLTV anchor Pogo. Long time hockey fanatic will be bringing a camera crew along with him for the ride and a wireless microphone to pick up some funny moments that are bound to happen. The segment is slated to air sometime in the early part of February. Jason Shaya is very excited about working with CLTV, "The Hounds, CLTV and Pogo are hoping to forge a strong working relationship and we are all looking forward to seeing what happens. Pogo seems genuinely excited about coming to skate, I just hope he knows what he is getting into," joked Shaya.

Standings:

There is no doubt this was the biggest week in the short history of the Hounds franchise. Chicago managed to skate away with six out of a possible eight points and defeated Quad City twice in one week creating a large point swing. With one game in hand, Chicago is ten points behind the third place Mallards. Perhaps, more importantly, they closed the gap on the Eastern conference fifth place Port Huron Flags. Excellent intensity, a consistent forecheck and solid netminding resulted in the three wins in four games. Head Coach Greg Puhalski takes these swings in stride and knows there is still more work to do, "I feel good about our overall effort this week. But, there are still a lot of things we must work on. We have to be ready to do this all the time. If we do, we will have more weekends like the past one."

The Goalie Story:

The Hounds received a weeks worth of steady goaltending. Marty Magers got two wins and Cuthbert got his second victory as a Hound against Quad City Sunday and now Chicago may have a goalie controversy on their hands. After the game Sunday, Cuthbert said he felt the most comfortable in the net as a Hound, "The communication with my defensemen is very important and that only comes with playing more. My teammates were excellent at clearing rebounds and it was a big win for this organization. I am happy to be a part of what is going on right now," remarked Cuthbert. Marty Magers was equally stellar in his victory against the Quad City Mallards on Wednesday night making several breathtaking saves in the third period in a game close. Marty said he feels like he's coming back to proper form but deflected praise, "The last two games were both close but we hung in there. The more I play, the better I start to feel again and this week was a true representation of what this team is capable of doing all the time."

Scoring Leaders:

Since being traded to Bloomington, Greg Koehler's mark of 27 points is being chased by several Hounds players. The first two on the list, Maris Ziedins and Steve Cygan are both tied at 24 points. Defenseman Chris Busby sustained an upper-body injury on Wednesday night and is expected back in the lineup this weekend. While he sits out, he won't be able to add to his 22 points which is good for third overall. Former Notre Dame forward Matt Amado had a three point week and is starting to find a groove with the lineup. The pairing of Amado and Cygan is a healthy pairing for Chicago and both those two are inching their way up the scoring leader board. Hounds Captain Steve Cygan likes playing with Amado and says they are developing a real good bond on the ice, "He's got a great wrist shot and is really fast. It feels like we've been playing together for a long time, but it's only been for the past couple months. Now we've had Drew Otten on the line and I think we're starting to come into our own as a unit."

Coming up...The Komets and Generals:

A week after dropping a 3-0 decision to Fort Wayne, the Hounds will face them again at the Sears Centre. In six games this season, the Hounds and Komets are tied at three wins each. Brenden Cuthbert took the loss in goal for Chicago despite a very respectable outing. The final two goals were into an empty net as Chicago tried desperately to register a goal with the extra attacker. Kevin St. Pierre was also good during the contest getting the shut out and is tied for second in the league with four this season. Hounds defenseman Mike Kautz says his team must be disciplined and aggressive on the forecheck on Friday, "We beat them three times and they have done the same to us. They are the number one team in the West, but we don't back down from them. We have to stay out of the box and pursue the puck all night long."

The Flint Generals are tearing it up and moved into third place in the Eastern conference. Former UHL great Kevin Kerr is one game below .500 with a record of 22-23-3 for 47 points. The last time these two teams met was Friday, December 15th and the Generals skated away with a 4-2 win. Hounds forward Tim Plett says the last game feels like a long time ago, "We have played so many games between then and now. I know we got off to a good start that game but it fell apart after the first period. Overall, I think we are much more equipped and ready for Flint. I've heard they are playing some really strong hockey and we look forward to the game."

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from January 29, 2007


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