Cotton Kings Weekly Notes
October 24, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Lubbock Cotton Kings News Release
KINGS LOOK FOR TWO
The Lubbock Cotton Kings defeated the Odessa Jackalopes 4-3 in an overtime shootout Saturday night at the Lubbock Municipal Coliseum to open up the 2006/2007 regular season and now prepare for a pair of road games. The Kings hit the road for the first time this season Friday night, as they make their first ever venture to the Chaparral Ice Center in Austin to face the Austin Ice Bats (formerly played at the Travis County Expo Center). Lubbock will conclude their road trip Saturday in Odessa with a tilt against the division rival Jackalopes. If Lubbock musters up a win Friday in Austin, it would mark the first time in franchise history the Kings began the season 2-0-0.
NEW ADDITIONS
The Cotton Kings added a pair of players to Tryout Agreements over the weekend and the two players could possibly be added to the active roster. Forward Ross McCain and goaltender J.F. Perras (per-raw) each join the Kings after attending training camps in the ECHL. The two were teammates at Dalhousie University (Halifax, NS), which is the same program that produced former Cotton Kings Jan Melichercik and Neil Savary. McCain, a 5'9" 185-pound native of Florenceville, NB, spent four seasons at Dalhousie (02/03 - 05/06) and produced 19 goals and 18 assists for 37 points in 103 games. He attended training camp with the Long Beach Ice Dogs and recorded a pair of assists in a preseason game. Perras comes to Lubbock after attending camp with the Stockton Thunder, where he allowed one goal in two periods of work during exhibition action. He has extensive amateur playing experience and spent the past four seasons at Dalhousie University. Perras appeared in 80 games with the Tigers and posted a 3.14 GAA and a 90.4% save percentage in 80 games. Prior to Dalhousie, the 6'0" 190-pound Embrun, Ontario native played five seasons of junior hockey, appearing with the Smiths Falls Bears (97/98) of the Central Junior A Hockey League (Jr. A) for a season before advancing for four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League with the Erie Otters (98/99 - 00/01) and the Ottawa 67's (01/02). At the major junior level in the OHL, he combined for a 78-57-17 record with a 3.17 GAA and an 89.8% save percentage in 170 games. He also posted 13 shutouts in the OHL.
CAPTAINS
Prior to the season opener, Cotton Kings Head Coach Chris Dashney announced his team captains. Veteran forward Bobby Brown was chosen as the Team Captain with veteran defensemen Craig Minard and Troy Neumeier wearing the "A" on the jersey as Assistant Captains. It is the second time Brown has served as the Team Captain, as he was the inaugural Team Captain of the Kings during the 99/00 season. Captains are counted on for their leadership attributes and do serve a purpose on the ice. The Captain is the only player who is allowed to talk with referees about rule interpretations. When the Captain is not on the ice, any Assistant Captain on the ice fulfills the Captain's official role as liaison to the referees.
THAT IS A FIRST
There were a lot of firsts in the Cotton Kings season opener against Odessa. The first goal of the season was tallied by Simon Watson and the goal was his first of his pro career. Philippe Lacasse was playing in his first pro game and tallied his first professional goal and game winning goal. Goaltender Kyle Stanton earned the win in net for his first North American professional victory. The shootout win was the first OT win for the Kings in a season opener in franchise history.
THE WIENERSCHNITZEL TOP DOG OF THE WEEK
Each week a member of the Cotton Kings is selected as the "Wienerschnitzel Top Dog of the Week" for their performance in the previous week's game, and this week's recipient for their effort last week is rookie forward Philippe Lacasse. The Gatineau, Quebec native was appearing in his first professional game and tallied a pair of goals and contributed an assist for a three-point performance. His second goal was the decisive goal in the overtime shootout and stood as the game winning goal.
BROADCAST SCENARIOS
There will be a couple broadcast programming notes as the Kings hit the road this weekend. Tony Uminski will handle the play-by-play duties filling in for Chris Due, who has a prior commitment, Friday in Austin. Uminski has broadcasted over 500 pro hockey games and currently does work with the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League. The broadcast can be heard live on KOOL 98.1 FM. Saturday, Due will return behind the mic as the team will be in Odessa, and the broadcast will be determined by the status of the Major League Baseball World Series. If there is a World Series game Saturday night, then the game will be carried on KOOL 98.1 FM, but if there is no baseball, the game will air on KFYO 790 AM.
NASCAR
Thanks to Pennzoil/Quaker State, the Cotton Kings have a pair of tickets to give away to the Dickies 500 Nascar race at the Texas Motor Speedway on November 5th, which is part of the Nextel Cup series. Log onto the Cotton Kings homepage (www.cottonkings.com) and register for the drawing for a chance to win the pair of tickets.
THIS WEEK'S "INSIDE THE NUMBERS"
11 - Power Plays - Lubbock and Odessa combined for 11 power play opportunities in the second period in their season opener (16 total in the game).
30 - Penalty Minutes - It's just one game, but with the 30 minutes in team penalty minutes the Kings tallied in their season opener, they rank as the second most penalized team in the Southern Conference. Last season, the Kings only surpassed 30 minutes in 8 of their 64 games and they ranked as the second least penalized team in the league (19.5 average per game).
199 - Points - Cotton Kings forward Trevor Weisgerber is a point away from his 200th career point.
WEEK AHEAD
Fri. Oct. 27 7:35 pm at Austin Ice Bats Radio: KOOL 98.1 FM TV: None
Notes: The Cotton Kings start the week on the road with their first road trip of the season, making their first trip ever to the Chaparral Ice Center to battle the Austin Ice Bats. Austin continues to be coached by former Cotton Kings Head Coach Bill McDonald. Lubbock faces Austin for the 23rd time all-time and holds a 10-8-4 all-time record against the Bats, while Austin holds a 12-8-2 series advantage. The all-time leading scorer in the series is former Austin forward Dan Price, who has 22 points (9g,13a), while Lubbock's all-time leader is former King Jan Melichercik, who had 5 goals and 15 assists for 20 points in 19 games.
Sat. Oct. 28 7:00 pm at Odessa Jackalopes Radio: KFYO/KOOL TV: CHLTV.COM
Notes: Lubbock continues on the road by making their first trip of the season to Odessa to face the Jackalopes. Lubbock leads the season series after a 4-3 shootout win Saturday in Lubbock. Odessa leads the all-time series with a record of 46-20-5. Lubbock is 25-41-5 all-time against Odessa and former King Jan Melichercik is the Kings all-time leader against the Jacks with 43 points (16g, 27a). Lubbock's Philippe Lacasse (2g,1a) and Simon Watson (1g,2a) each lead this season's series with three points. This is the 72nd all-time meeting between the two clubs.
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