Gorillas weekly notes - week of 3/2/09
March 3, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Amarillo Gorillas News Release
LAST WEEK: In three road games, Amarillo went 1-2-0 last week. The Gorillas lost to New Mexico Wednesday, in the closest match so far this season against the two teams (despite overcoming a 4-0 deficit, Amarillo lost 5-4). Friday, Amarillo lost to Texas, 5-3, in their only visit this season to the NYTEX Sports Centre. On Saturday, the Gorillas won their third game of the season against the Odessa Jackalopes, 6-5. Down 3-0 in the second period, Amarillo scored three goals in a season-low 45 seconds to tie the game-they would later win on an Austin Sutter third-period slapshot goal.
THIS WEEK: Amarillo will finish a five-game road trip with a pair of games in Rapid City Tuesday and Wednesday. Each game between the Gorillas and Rush has been exciting this season-the Gorillas are 2-0-1 against Rapid City thus far, with no game decided by more than two goals. Amarillo will then host the Oklahoma City Blazers on Friday and Rocky Mountain Rage on Saturday.
THIS SEASON: On the season, Amarillo is 16-34-3. They are currently fourth in the Southwest Division, 13 points behind New Mexico for third. The Gorillas are 17 points behind Arizona for the fifth and final playoff spot in the CHL's South.
AGAINST THIS WEEK'S OPPONENTS: Amarillo has managed at least a point in each contest against Rapid City in 2008-09, winning the first two games and losing their latest game against the Rush in a shootout on February 11. The Gorillas have lost each game played against Oklahoma City this season, going 0-3-0 in three contests. Amarillo boasts one win in three tries against Rocky Mountain (1-2-0), getting their first-ever win at the Broomfield Events Center in November.
ATTRITION: The Gorillas have lost 104 man-games to injury this year. Injuries have been spread throughout the team-only two Gorillas have played all 53 games with the team this year (Austin Sutter and Sam Ftorek).
THE CURSE OF GORMAN: Despite their relative position in the Southwest Division, Amarillo has dominated Odessa when Mike Gorman is between the pipes. Gorman, who played with the Jackalopes from 2001-08, has allowed only 15 goals in five games to his high-scoring former team. Meanwhile, with Gorman in net, the Gorillas have scored 22 goals, and are 3-1-0 against Odessa when the veteran netminder factors in the decision.
FIRST TIME SCORERS: After Warren Galloway's two-point game against Odessa last Saturday, Amarillo has witnessed 18 different players scoring their first career CHL point this season. Galloway was playing in just his third game with Amarillo, after coming from the Chi-Town Shooters of the AAHA earlier last week.
SNOW BLIND: Since joining the Gorillas early in the season, John Snowden has been a model of consistency in the Amarillo lineup. Over the team's last 18 games, he has notched points in all but four tilts, including six multi-point games. The veteran has been near a point-per-game with Amarillo (42 points in 43 games), and is third on the team with 31 assists.
SMOOTH SUTTER: Over his last two seasons with the Gorillas, Austin Sutter played his best hockey in February and March. It comes, then, as no surprise that the Alberta native had nine points in February, five of which coming in his last two games. Sutter was among team leaders in February for plus/minus, as he registered a +2 mark last month (and was a +5 in last week's play alone)
YOSEMITE AMARILLO SAM: Defenseman Sam Ftorek leads all blueliners in the CHL with 55 points through 53 games. With 11 games remaining for the Gorillas in the CHL regular season, Ftorek leads Colorado's Aaron Schneekloth by six points in the league's defense scoring race. The 11-year pro is on pace for his best single-season point output in his career, with his previous high coming in 2002-03 with Greensboro of the ECHL (61).
RELIABLE CAR: Since joining the Gorillas in late January, Mark Carragher has tallied 10 points in just 17 games-a remarkable feat, given that the second-year forward had 23 points in 85 games with Texas prior to playing in Amarillo. Carragher also leads the Gorillas in plus/minus, having collected a +3 rating in the 17 games.
CLEARING THE ZONE: Amarillo is 7-4-1 when leading after one period and is 9-0-2 when leading after two...the Gorillas average only 18.2 penalty minutes against per game, second-fewest in the CHL...Amarillo has suffered against their own division, going 7-15-1 against Arizona, Odessa, and New Mexico combined...steady defenseman Alex Greig is a +2 on the season, seven points better than the next-closest defenseman on the Gorillas' roster with at least 15 games played.
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