El Paso Shows Life But Come Up Short In Odessa
December 6, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
El Paso Buzzards News Release
ODESSA, TX â The Buzzards arrived in Odessa 1-4-0 in their last five games with four new skaters and many questions. Odessa took an early 1-0 lead, but El Paso owned the rest of the first period. Troy Linna and Russ Guzior came off the 14-day IR and made an immediate impact. Both Linna and Guzior had goals to give the Buzzards a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period.
The second period began with the Buzzards picking up right where they left off, with center Joe Gray notching his fourth goal of the season to put El Paso up 3-4 early in the second period. In his first start in goal for El Paso the highly touted Blaine Russell had a busy second period, fending off 16 second period Odessa shots and allowing 3 power play goals in a two-minute span. Penalties cost The Buzzards in the second period allowing the Jackalopes to regroup and tie the game midway through the period. The Buzzards allowed one more goal, to leave them trailing 4-3 at the end of two periods.
The third period had the Buzzards playing catch-up while Odessa pelted Russell with another 16 shots. Odessa added their fourth power play goal of the night at 8:37 of the third period to seal the victory.
"Our effort was great early, but then we just fell apart," said Buzzards Head Coach Craig Coxe.
El Paso gave up four power play goals as Odessa finished the night 4 of 8 on the man advantage.
"Their power play killed us tonight," said Coxe of Odessa's performance.
El Paso finished the night with Guzior, Linna and Gray picking up goals. The Buzzards also saw production from the newest members of the team, defenseman Mathieu Paul and forward Joey Grasso both had one assist each. Winger Derrell Upton picked up two assists on the night as well. Blaine Russell in his first start in goal for the Buzzards faced 47 shots stopping 42, showing some of the form that got him drafted by Anaheim of the NHL.
"We made some mistakes and we'll learn from them," said Coxe as the Buzzards left the ice.
The Buzzards dropped to 5-14-1 and now head to Albuquerque, looking to right the ship with a victory against the New Mexico Scorpions. Game time is at 7:00 pm at the Tingley Coliseum, radio coverage begins at 6:45 with Mike LaPlaca "The Voice of The Buzzards" calling the play-by-play.
**LET'S GO BUZZARDS**
Sat., Dec. 7 Buzzards vs. New Mexico in Albuquerque, 7
p.m.
Radio: 6:45 pm 1380 AM "El Paso's Sports Ticket
Central Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2002
- El Paso Shows Life But Come Up Short In Odessa - El Paso Buzzards
- Gorillas forward Robertson joins front office - Amarillo Gorillas
- Brahmas make roster changes - Fort Worth Brahmas
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.
