Frostbite maintain lead in the East

November 21, 2005 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- The Adirondack Frostbite have held the top spot in the Eastern Division throughout the entire 2005-06 season. In their last ten games, the Frostbite have a record of 8-2-0. Although their division rival Danbury Trashers defeated Adirondack on Saturday 5-4, the Frostbite currently have a lead of ten points in the standings over second place Danbury.

A combination of veterans and newcomers has contributed to the team's success. Four-time UHL Most Valuable Player Hugo Belanger currently leads the squad with 22 points (6g, 16a) which also ranks in a tie for fourth in the league. Center Sylvain Cloutier has tallied 21 points (4g, 17a) and rookie right wing Kevin Watters has 19 points (12g, 7a). Watters leads all UHL rookies in goals and is tied for the overall league lead. Another rookie right winger, Lyon Porter, is second on the Adirondack team with nine goals for the season.

Goaltenders Kris Tebbs and Derek Gustafson have been one of the best tandems in the league through the first five weeks. Tebbs has a 2.26 goals against average (GAA) and a .917 save percentage (SPCT) which ranks him fourth among UHL goaltenders in both categories. Gustafson has a 5-1-0 record and a .902 SPCT.

HOME SWEET HOME - The leaders in each division have been tough on home ice. Kalamazoo has a perfect 7-0-0 record at home while Central Division co-leader Muskegon has lost just once at home (6-1-0). Rockford has yet to be beaten in regulation in their building (8-0-1) and Adirondack boasts a 6-1-0 record on their home ice.

FANTASTIC FINISHES - Two UHL games were decided in the final seconds during the week. Motor City pulled the goalie for an extra attacker late in the third period of Friday's game vs. Rockford. Center Adam Edinger gave the Mechanics a goal with just 32 seconds left on the clock to send the game into a shootout which Motor City went on to win.

The Port Huron Flags used a three-goal third period to come from behind to defeat the Roanoke Valley Vipers on Saturday 5-4. Defenseman Jeff Cameron scored a goal with 30 seconds remaining in the game to cap off the victory for the Flags.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Adirondack Frostbite - (2-1-0) - The Frostbite have allowed the first goal of the game in each of their last four games...Forward Mark Hurtubise has at least one point in each of his first six games with the Frostbite...Right wing Kevin Watters leads all rookies and is tied for the league lead with 12 goals...Adirondack ranks third in the UHL in goals for per game (4.36) and second in goals allowed (2.64)...The team has out-shot their opponents in 11 of 14 games this season...Adirondack ranks second in the UHL in both shots for (35.64) and shots against (28.57).

Danbury Trashers - (1-0-1) - Danbury leading scoring Alex Goupil has a point in nine of 12 games this season... Three Trashers are averaging over a point per game this season; Goupil, Drew Omicioli, Jeff Daw...Jayme Platt became the fourth goaltender to play for Danbury this season when he stopped 23 of 24 shots in the 2-1 shootout loss to Elmira on Friday...After next Friday's visit to Richmond, Danbury will begin their longest home stretch of the season as their next five games will be at the Danbury Ice Arena.

Elmira Jackals - (1-1-1) - Forward Justin Laverdiere recorded his first professional point on Sunday when he assisted on Kevin Cooper's second period goal vs. Richmond...The Jackals continue to lead the UHL in minor penalties (142)...Goaltender Nick Boucher stopped all five Danbury shooters in the shootout on Friday to earn the victory. For the week, he stopped seven of nine shooters in the shootout...Boucher played three games in three days during the weekend. He currently leads the UHL in saves (324) and is fifth in minutes played (577).

Flint Generals - (1-0-1) - Defenseman Fabien Laniel netted a hat trick (3g) on Saturday vs. Missouri plus added an assist. He currently leads all UHL defensemen with five goals...Adam Sturgeon leads UHL defensemen with a .286 shooting percentage. That mark also ties him for fourth overall in the UHL...The Generals lead the UHL in road penalty killing (90.7%)...Flint has won three consecutive home games...The Generals have been outscored in the first and third periods this season by a total of 33-20.

Fort Wayne Komets - (0-3-0) - The Komets have lost four straight in regulation for the first time since joining the UHL in 1999...Center Colin Chaulk collected his 400th professional assist on Friday vs. Muskegon...Center Mark Smith registered his 200th professional point when he scored a shorthanded goal vs. Rockford on Saturday... Newcomer defenseman A.J. Bozoian tallied his first professional point when he dished out an assist on Sunday vs. Rockford...Left wing P.C. Drouin had his league season high 11-game point streak snapped in the 4-2 loss to Rockford on Sunday...Fort Wayne will host on game on Thanksgiving for the 44th consecutive time in team history.

Kalamazoo Wings - (4-0-0) - Kalamazoo has a six-game winning streak and a seven-game home winning streak. Both are the longest current streaks in the UHL...Center Mike Manley has three goals this season. All three have been shorthanded which ties him for the league lead...The K-Wings have outscored their opponents 37-10 at home this season...Defenseman Lee Ruff played the 300th game of his career on Friday...Joel Martin (1.20 GAA, .959 SPCT) and Jeff Reynaert (1.86 GAA, .930 SPCT) rank in the top two spots among UHL goaltenders in goals against average and save percentage...Forward Tim Turner is one point shy of 100 for his career.

Missouri River Otters - (0-2-0) - Center Damian Surma has either scored or assisted on 12 of the 28 River Otters goals this season...Winger Scott Horvath is tied for fourth in shooting percentage in the UHL (28.6%)...Missouri leads the league in penalty minutes per game (38)...The River Otters have been outscored 64-28 this season, but have equaled their opponents in the second period by scoring 14 and allowing 14...Missouri ranks last in the UHL in both goals per game (2.00) and goals allowed per game (4.57).

Motor City Mechanics - (2-0-0) - Goaltender Rod Branch is tied for the league lead in wins (7), second in minutes played (693:58), and tied for third in saves (317)...Mike Burgoyne and Matt Smith are tied for second in goals (4) among UHL defensemen...Forward Peter Szabo is currently riding a three-game assist streak...The Mechanics are the second least penalized team in the UHL with a 21.57 PIM per game average...Motor City fired 22 shots in the second period on Saturday vs. Quad City. It was the most shots registered by a UHL team in the second period this season.

Muskegon Fury - (1-1-0) - The Fury suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday...Before that game, the Fury had established a club record by starting the season 10-0-0...Muskegon is the only team in the UHL without a road loss...The Fury lead the UHL in goals per game (5.27)...Center Jeff Nelson recorded a UHL season high six points (2g, 4a) in Friday's 9-6 win vs. Fort Wayne...Robin Bouchard recorded his 1,000th professional career point when he assisted on the game-winning goal on Friday. The following night, he netted the 500th goal of his pro career...Bouchard has four consecutive multi-point games...Muskegon has the top three scorers in the UHL (Todd Robinson, Jeff Nelson, Robin Bouchard)...Jeff Nelson leads the UHL with a plus-15 rating.

Port Huron Flags - (2-0-0) - The Flags are 5-0-0 vs. opponents outside their division, but just 1-6-1 within their division...Defenseman Jeff Cameron scored two goals in the third period, including the game-winner with 30 seconds remaining, in the 5-4 victory vs. Roanoke on Saturday...Ryan Gillis leads UHL defensemen in penalty minutes (65)...Right wing Brad Mehalko had his ten-game point streak snapped vs. Roanoke...Scott Hay leads UHL goaltenders with three shootout wins...Left wing Brett Lutes is tied for the UHL lead with 60 shots on goal.

Quad City Mallards - (1-2-0) - Goaltender Jason Tapp set a Mallards season high when he made 42 saves on Saturday vs. Motor City...Defenseman Andrei Lupandin registered the 200th point of his career when he dished out an assist on Saturday...Forward Glenn Detulleo has a point in six of the last seven games. During the stretch, he has tallied nine points (2g, 7a)...Defenseman Sam Nasreddine netted his first goal as a Mallard on Sunday vs. Kalamazoo...Forward Patrick Nadeau is riding a five-game point streak.

Richmond RiverDogs - (2-2-0) - Right wing David Brosseau is currently on a five-game point streak and has a goal in four of the last five games...Defenseman Dan Vandermeer has a point in 10 of 13 games this season... Goaltender Doug Groenestege earned his first professional victory on Sunday as the RiverDogs beat Elmira 4-3 in the shootout. He made 37 saves in regulation and stopped four of five shooters in the shootout...The RiverDogs welcomed their highest attendance of the season on Saturday (7,412).

Roanoke Valley Vipers - (0-2-0) - Left wing Josh Tataryn netted a hat trick (3g) on Saturday vs. Port Huron... Before the weekend, the Vipers had allowed just five goals in the third period through ten games. That total was equaled in the two losses during the weekend. Roanoke was outscored 5-0 combined in the third period... Defenseman Alex Jerofegevs is riding a four-game assist streak...The Vipers rank first in the UHL in home penalty killing (90.7%), but rank last in road penalty killing (70.4%).

Rockford IceHogs - (2-1-1) - The IceHogs have not lost at home in regulation this season (8-0-1)...Winger Jason Notermann has a goal in six of the last seven games...After going through a stretch of 3-for-45 (6.7%) on the power play, the IceHogs went 6-for-24 (25%) in the last three games...Winger Jason Ralph played his 300th professional game on Wednesday...Despite a season low 20 shots on goal, Rockford earned a 4-2 victory on Sunday vs. Fort Wayne...Rockford had not given up a shorthanded goal at home since April 4, 2004 until Fort Wayne netted two shorthanded goals in the first period on Saturday. That was a stretch of 50 games without allowing a shorthanded goal on home ice...The IceHogs are 10-0-0 when scoring the first goal of the game.



International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 21, 2005


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