
CHL Playoff Races Intensify
February 22, 2005 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release
Entering the final fifth of the 2004-2005 Central Hockey League regular season, league parity is at an all-time high, with 15 of 17 clubs remaining in contention to earn one of eight available post-season invitations to the Ray Miron President's Cup Playoffs.
The Colorado Eagles, with a single win in their remaining 12 games, will become the first CHL team to lock up playoff position, with the Wichita Thunder and Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs also closing in on post-season berths. The Thunder currently have a healthy 15-point lead in the race for one of two available wild card slots in the Northern Conference, while the Mudbugs hold an 11-point advantage in the Northeast Division race. Five teams (Tulsa, New Mexico, Fort Worth, Oklahoma City and Memphis) are separated by just seven points in the battle for the second Northern Conference wild card berth.
In the Southern Conference, playoff position is just as tenuous, with five teams within four points of each other atop the conference standings. The San Angelo Saints hold a mere two-point lead over both Lubbock and Amarillo in the Southwest Division, while a single point separates Corpus Christi and Austin in the Southeast. Needing strong finishes to qualify for the playoffs are Odessa (10 points out of playoff position) and defending champion Laredo, currently trailing a playoff spot by eight points.
Each of the four CHL division winners will be seeded first or second in their respective conference, and each playoff series will be played in a best-of-seven games format.
Central Hockey League Standings Through games of 02/21/05
Northwest Division GP W L OTL PTS
Colorado 48 35 07 06 76
Wichita 47 33 12 02 68
New Mexico 48 23 19 06 52
Topeka 49 14 31 04 32
Northeast Division GP W L OTL PTS
Bossier-Shreveport 47 30 13 04 64
Tulsa 49 25 21 03 53
Fort Worth 47 23 19 05 51
Oklahoma City 48 20 19 09 49
Memphis 49 22 25 02 46
Southwest Division GP W L OTL PTS
San Angelo 49 27 18 04 58
Lubbock 46 27 17 02 56
Amarillo 47 24 15 08 56
Odessa 47 19 20 08 46
Southeast Division GP W L OTL PTS
Corpus Christi 49 24 18 07 55
Austin 49 25 20 04 54
Laredo 47 23 22 02 48
Rio Grande Valley 48 13 32 03 29
Central Hockey League Performance of the Week
With his Amarillo club in the middle of an intense Southern Conference playoff race, Gorillas alternate captain Dave Rattray stepped to the forefront on Friday, February 18th in a 4-1 road victory at Amarillo. Rattray scored twice in the first period and once in the third to record his first professional hat-trick, and also assisted on Amarillo's other goal for a four point night. The Edmonton, Alberta native now has 12 goals on the season, including game winners against Odessa, Colorado and New Mexico.
Central Hockey League Results â 02-15-05 through 02-21-05
TUE, FEB 15
Wichita 1 vs Oklahoma City 4 Brad Herauf (OKC), Goal, Assist
Corpus Christi 1 vs Bossier-Shreveport 0 Josh Blackburn (CRP), 32 Saves, Shutout
San Angelo 3 vs Lubbock 4 SO Jason Maxwell, Anders Strome (LUB), 2 Goals Each
Colorado 4 vs Tulsa 2 Matt Desrosiers (COL), Goal, Assist
Laredo 4 vs Rio Grande Valley 2 Brent Cullaton (LAR), 2 Goals
WED, FEB 16
Lubbock 3 vs Corpus Christi 0 Shawn Conschafter (LUB), 37 Saves, Shutout
THU, FEB 17
Topeka 4 vs Memphis 1 Dallas Flaman (TOP), 2 Goals, Assist
FRI, FEB 18
Amarillo 4 vs Odessa 1 Dave Rattray (AMA), Hat-Trick, Assist
Topeka 1 vs Bossier-Shreveport 3 Shane Palahicky (BOS), GW Goal
Wichita 5 vs Corpus Christi 3 Travis Clayton (WIC), 2 Goals, Assist
Colorado 5 vs Memphis 2 Karlis Zirnis (COL), Goal, 2 Assists
San Angelo 3 vs Fort Worth 1 Chris Robertson (SNG), GW Goal
New Mexico 1 vs Laredo 4 James Hiebert (LAR), 2 Goals
Tulsa 6 vs Oklahoma City 3 Dallas Steward, Jason Bermingham (TUL), 2 Goals Each
Rio Grande Valley 4 vs Austin 6 John McNabb (AUS), 2 Goals, Assist
SAT, FEB 19
New Mexico 4 vs Rio Grande Valley 2 Mike Oliveira (NMX), Hat-Trick
Colorado 1 vs Memphis 4 Travis Banga (MEM), 2 Goals
Laredo 0 vs Odessa 3 Derek Dolson (ODE), 21 Saves, Shutout
Tulsa 0 vs Lubbock 4 Anders Strome (LUB), 4 Goals
San Angelo 3 vs Amarillo 2 SO Bret Dececco (SNG), SO GW Goal, Assist
Topeka 4 vs Oklahoma City 5 Michel Beausoleil, Garret Cameron (OKC), 2 Goals Each
Bossier-Shreveport 2 vs Fort Worth 3 Joey Bastien (FTW), GW Goal, Assist
Wichita 4 vs Austin 5 Chris Richards (AUS), 4 Assists
SUN, FEB 20
Colorado 5 vs Bossier-Shreveport 2 Greg Pankewicz (COL), Hat-Trick
New Mexico 2 vs Corpus Christi 1 SO Randy Murphy (NMX), SO GW Goal, Assist
Austin 5 vs Rio Grande Valley 3 Jeff Neufeld (AUS), 2 Goals, Assist
Laredo 2 vs Amarillo 4 Derek Hahn (AMA), Goal, Assist
Central Hockey League Leaders Through Games of 02/21/05
Points Team GP PTS
Duda, Jason WIC 47 83
Clayton, Travis WIC 47 78
Pankewicz, Greg COL 43 75
Parsons, Don MEM 49 73
McNabb, John AUS 48 65
Bullock, Greg CRP 49 65
Nelson, Riley COL 48 63
Multiple Players Tied At 61
Goals Team GP G Parsons, Don MEM 49 44
Beausoleil, Michel OKC 48 35
McNabb, John AUS 48 34
Woollard, Chad FTW 47 32
Strome, Anders LUB 46 31
Clayton, Travis WIC 47 30
Pankewicz, Greg COL 43 30
Multiple Players Tied At 29
Assists Team GP A
Duda, Jason WIC 47 56
Clayton, Travis WIC 47 48
Bullock, Greg CRP 49 48
Pankewicz, Greg COL 43 45
Richards, Chris AUS 48 44
Landmesser, Derek MEM 48 44
Aucoin, Phil MEM 47 38
Hahn, Derek AMA 47 38
Plus/Minus Team GP +/-
Williamson, Brad COL 45 +35
Duda, Jason WIC 47 +33
Nelson, Riley COL 48 +33
Pankewicz, Greg COL 43 +32
Desrosiers, Matt COL 45 +32
Clayton, Travis WIC 47 +29
Esdale, Paul WIC 44 +28
Zirnis, Karlis COL 47 +27
Penalty Minutes Team GP PIM Parker, Derek WIC 41 332
Anderson, Dallas AUS 43 304
English, Scott MEM 42 279
Legault, Shawn NMX 44 261
Goetz, Kenny MEM 38 230
Wildfong, Dan BOS 47 226
Shmyr, Ryan RGV 41 222
Hiebert, James LAR 45 213
Rookie Scoring Team GP PTS Aucoin, Phil MEM 47 59
Lukajic, Mike TOP 49 43
Marsh, Kevin COL 43 43
Banga, Travis MEM 30 43
Sheppard, Scott BOS 47 39
McIver, Derrick CRP 49 37
Paiement, Adam LAR 42 37
Smith, Brett BOS 43 37
Goaltender Wins Team GP W Weiman, Tyler COL 36 28
Reid, Scott SNG 45 26
Ruggiero, Bill TUL 42 24
Carroll, Ken BOS 30 22
Leslie, Lance LUB 37 22
Degagne, Shawn AMA 38 20
Barnes, Matt AUS 36 20
Beaudry, Miguel NMX 44 20
Goals Against Team GP G.A.A Weiman, Tyler COL 36 1.70
Dolson, Derek ODE 19 1.88
Carroll, Ken BOS 30 2.11
Leslie, Lance LUB 37 2.30
Guerrera, David LAR 25 2.31
Flick, Jason WIC 26 2.45
Degagne, Shawn AMA 38 2.56
Symington, Jeremy LAR 25 2.60
Shutouts Team GP SO Weiman, Tyler COL 36 8
Carroll, Ken BOS 30 3
Leslie, Lance LUB 37 3
Barnes, Matt AUS 36 3
Multiple Players Tied At 2
Save % Team GP % Weiman, Tyler COL 36 .942
Dolson, Derek ODE 19 .937
Leslie, Lance LUB 37 .927
Carroll, Ken BOS 30 .924
Zelenewich, Brent CRP 30 .919
Degagne, Shawn AMA 38 .917
Flick, Jason WIC 26 .917
Multiple Players Tied At .916
CHL Attendance Report
TEAM TOTAL # AVG
Oklahoma City 218,044 27 8,075
Laredo 145,822 24 6,075
Bossier-Shreveport 128,109 24 5,337
Colorado 121,647 23 5,289
Rio Grande Valley 123,884 24 5,161
Tulsa 101,275 22 4,603
Fort Worth 108,736 24 4,530
Lubbock 103,131 23 4,483
New Mexico 105,274 24 4,386
Corpus Christi 96,004 24 4,000
Wichita 85,304 22 3,877
Austin 108,453 28 3,873
Memphis 73,206 22 3,327
Odessa 72,457 22 3,293
Topeka 74,014 24 3,083
Amarillo 73,118 25 2,924
San Angelo 58,796 25 2,351
TOTALS: 1,797,274 407 4,415
Central Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2005
- Rayz can't get monkey off their back - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Fans, charity recipients win out in âKings of the Alleyâ event - Mississippi RiverKings
- Scorpions back home after good road trip - New Mexico Scorpions
- Ice Bats Play Final Homestand - Austin Ice Bats
- Rayz hold lead in tight division race - Corpus Christi IceRays
- CHL Playoff Races Intensify - CHL
- âBuck Out Illiteracyâ Big Success - Laredo Bucks
- RiverKings Coach's Show to originate live from Ronald McDonald House - Mississippi RiverKings
- Saints still number one in conference - San Angelo Saints
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
