NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Cotton Kings Game Night Preview

March 24, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL) - Lubbock Cotton Kings News Release


3/24/07 - AMARILLO GORILLAS (32-26-4) @ LUBBOCK COTTON KINGS (23-31-9)

- 7:05 PM CITY BANK COLISEUM

IT ENDS TONIGHT

The Lubbock Cotton Kings conclude the 2006/2007 tonight with their final game of the season, as they play host to the I-27 rival Amarillo Gorillas. Lubbock was eliminated from playoff contention Wednesday and they play their final home game and overall game of the season tonight. It is not Amarillo's last game of the season. The playoff-bound Gorillas will close out the regular season Sunday night hosting Odessa. Amarillo and Arizona each are tied with 68 standing points, so Amarillo still has something to play for, battling for the fourth spot in the Southern Conference standings. They are also just two standing points behind New Mexico for the Southwest Division title.

THE SERIES

Lubbock closes out the regular season at home for "Fan Appreciation Night" with the Cotton Kings hosting their I-27 rival Amarillo Gorillas. The game marks the 11th meetings on the year, the fifth in Lubbock and the 85th all-time meeting. Lubbock brings in a 46-26-12 all-time series record and Amarillo brings a 38-40-6 all-time series mark. Lubbock leads the season series 6-4-0 and has already clinched the season series. The Kings are led by Simon Watson and Kyle Nosan, who each have 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in the series. The Gorillas are led by Bill Vandermeer, who has 5 goals and 6 assists for 11 points in the series. Former King Jan Melichercik (10g,34a) has 44 points against Amarillo to stand as the all-time leader in scoring against Amarillo for the Kings. Amarillo's all-time leader in scoring against Lubbock is Gorilla Derek Hahn, who has 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 points.

THE LAST TIME

3/10/07 - Amarillo Gorillas forward Matt Miller collected a pair of goals to help lead them past the Lubbock Cotton Kings 5-1 in front of 4,291 fans at the Cal Farley Coliseum in an I-27 series battle.

The Gorillas came out full of energy in the first period, and the 3-1 lead they took into the locker room after the opening 20 minutes was pretty indicative to the pace of the period. David Silvertone began the scoring for the Gorillas 1:37 into the contest, as he sped past Kings defenseman Craig Minard down the right side and cut into the slot to slip a shot past Kings goaltender Kyle Stanton. Gorillas goaltender Shawn Conschafter attempted to keep a puck alive in front of the net, but an attempted poke clearance of a loose puck deflected off of Jonathan Hobson with 8:31 remaining in the period and went behind Conschafter for a power play goal to tie the game at 1-1. Amarillo responded just 24-seconds later with a goal by Jason Chafe to regain the lead. During a 4-on-4 even strength session, the Gorillas extended their lead to 3-1 with Miller converting on a breakaway with 1:28 remaining in the period.

After a scoreless second period, the Cotton Kings had any thoughts of a comeback bid diminished by a pair of Amarillo goals 37 seconds apart. The first was tallied by Miller for his second of the game, and it came 5:57 into the third period. Austin Sutter extended the lead to 5-1 immediately following Martin's goal to put the game out of reach at 5-1.

Amarillo heavily out-shot the Cotton Kings 44-27 in the game, and Stanton made 39 saves in the loss. Conschafter stopped 26 of 27 shots to record the win. Lubbock was 1 for 4 on the man-advantage, while keeping the Gorillas scoreless on their five chances.

ROSTER CHANGES

The Cotton Kings have not made any roster moves for tonight's game, while Amarillo has activated Chris Lipsett from the IR and signed goaltender Andrew Mossburg to a five-game contract.

STANDINGS

Kings - 55 points, 5th place, 15 points back, Southwest Division.

Gorillas - 68 points, t-3rd place, 2 points back, Southwest Division.

TEAM LEADERS

Kings - Points: 58 Bobby Brown, Goals: 32 Anders Strome, Assists: 36 Bobby Brown, Penalty Minutes: 208 Paul McBrien.

Gorillas - Points: 74 Bill Vandermeer, Goals: 37 Bill Vandermeer, Assists: 46 Rich Hansen, Penalty Minutes: 239 David Silverstone.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kings - Power play: 14.3% 15th, Penalty killing: 86.9% 2nd.

Gorillas - Power play: 15.2% 11th, Penalty killing: 84.3% 9th.

GOALTENDERS

Kings - JF Perras (15-14-3, 3 SO, 2.82), Kyle Stanton (7-16-5, 1 SO, 3.57).

Gorillas - Shawn Conschafter (19-14-1, 1 SO, 3.15), Jamie Vandespyker (13-12-3, 0 SO, 3.37), Andrew Mossburg (0-0-0, 0 SO, 0.00).

WHAT'S NEXT

Lubbock - Final Game

Amarillo - Sunday, March 25th 5:00 PM vs. Odessa Jackalopes Cal Farley Coliseum

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2007


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.

Other Recent Lubbock Cotton Kings Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central