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Cotton Kings Weekly Notes

January 20, 2003 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Lubbock Cotton Kings News Release


LUBBOCK COTTON KINGS

2002-03 WEEKLY RELEASE

FOR THE WEEK OF JAN 20 – 26TH SPOTLIGHT PREPERATION

Cotton Kings forward Blaz Emersic and defenseman Derek Holland will head off to Oklahoma City Tuesday afternoon for the 2003 Dodge CHL All-Star Game festivities. The two are Lubbock's only representatives for the Southern Conference squad, which is looking for a repeat victory after a win in Corpus Christi last season. The festivities begin Wednesday morning for the players, as the teams will have an early morning visit to the Oklahoma City National Bombing Memorial and then will shuttle over to the Ford Center for Media Luncheons and meetings. Comedian Chris Bliss will highlight the CHL All-Star Banquet Wednesday night at the Hall of Mirrors at the newly renovated Civic Center Music Hall in downtown Oklahoma City, where both teams will be introduced to fans and have a team meal. Teams will hit the ice for the first time Thursday morning for a morning skate and then will take a break during the afternoon in preparation for the CHL showcase. The showcase begins at 6 pm with the BC Clark/CYMA Skills Competition, which involves all participants of the game. Derek Holland will be involved in the Hardest Shot Competition and Emersic will be competing in the Fastest Skater Competition and the Breakaway Relay Competition going one-on-one with Tulsa goaltender Rod Branch. The 2003 Dodge CHL All-Star game will begin face-off at 7:35 or immediately following the skills competition. Sports Radio 1340 KKAM will carry the broadcast feed beginning with the pregame show at 7:20 pm, as legendary Oklahoma City Blazers and former OU Sooners broadcaster John Brooks will call the action. Emersic and Holland will rejoin the ‘Kings Friday in Albuquerque prior to the ‘Kings match-up with New Mexico.

LIGHTS CAMERA ACTION

They teach in journalism class, that when covering news, it is important to remember there are always two sides to every story. Although the Lubbock Cotton Kings will not be the key ingredient for an upcoming story, it will be nice to be included in a story. While in Laredo last Friday, the Cotton Kings were caught in the middle of a media hype covering the Laredo Bucks. The Laredo Bucks are one of three (El Paso and San Diego are the others) hockey teams placed on US soil which border Mexico, and Laredo's first year success has drawn national attention. CBS Evening News with John Roberts (the Sunday evening edition) sent reporters to Laredo last Friday to report on how a small border town has been able to averaging 6,740 fans per game and find out how a Canadian sport has turned into an addiction for a primarily Hispanic based community. While CBS was filming their story Friday, the Cotton Kings were Laredo's opponent and unfortunately with a 3-1 loss, the ‘Kings were unable to place a damper on CBS's story. The story is expected to air Sunday, February 2nd nation-wide on CBS affiliates.

‘KING OF THE WEEK

Mike Dawson has been named as Lubbock's ‘King of the Week for January 13-19th. The utility man led all ‘Kings skaters offensively with 3 points off of a goal and 2 assists in three games. Dawson is naturally a defenseman, but due to the lack of depth on the ‘Kings roster, he has transitioned into a forward. He assisted on Lubbock's only goal Saturday night in Corpus Christi and followed it up Sunday with a goal and an assist, assisting on Julius Halfkenny's overtime game winning goal.

SWING ‘KINGS

The boys of winter will spend time Wednesday becoming the boys of summer for a day, as the Lubbock Cotton Kings will take batting practice with the Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball squad during their 2:30 pm practice. Defenseman Barry McKinlay approached the idea after having an opportunity to have batting practice two seasons ago in Tupelo with Mississippi State University. The Cotton Kings have several players that played both baseball and hockey growing up, like goaltender Mike Brusseau, who earned all-state honors in Michigan. Texas Tech baseball head coach and Texas Baseball Hall of Famer Larry Hays will have Cotton Kings players separate into groups amongst Red Raiders and they will join in taking batting practice together.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Fri. Jan. 17 1-3 L @ Laredo Top Star: LAR-Morton Ask 2 pts. (1g,1a)

Sat. Jan. 18 1-2 L @ Corpus Christi Top Star: CRP-Russell Hogue 1 pt (1g)

Sun. Jan. 19 4-3 W (ot) vs Amarillo Top Star: LUB- Julius Halfkenny 1pt (1g)

WEEK AHEAD

Fri. Jan. 24 8:11 PM @ New Mexico Scorpions Radio: KKAM 1340 AM

Notes: Lubbock leads the season series with New Mexico 4-2-0, but is 0-2-0 in New Mexico this season. The all-time series is deadlocked between the two teams, as both teams have an all-time record of 19-14-5 against each other. ‘Kings forwards Blaz Emersic and Paul Fioroni have combined for 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points against New Mexico. Lubbock is 11-1-0 when leading after two periods, with their lone loss coming in their previous visit (Jan. 5) to New Mexico.

Sat. Jan. 25 7:05 PM vs El Paso Buzzards Radio: KKAM 1340 AM TV: Cox Ch. 9

Notes: The Buzzards make their third visit to Lubbock of the season to close out the weekend. Lubbock leads the season series 4-2-0 with Blaz Emersic leading the series in scoring (2g,5a,7pts). The Buzzards are 2-10-3 on the road this season, as the ‘Kings are seeking their sixth consecutive victory on home ice.



Central Hockey League Stories from January 20, 2003


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