Green Bay Gamblers Weekly
December 15, 2003 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Green Bay Gamblers News Release
LAST WEEKEND
The Green Bay Gamblers welcomed a pair of USHL Eastern Division foes to the Resch Center this past weekend. The Gamblers lost a heartbreaker to the Chicago Steel 3-2 on Friday night, but the following evening Green Bay moved into the 4th and final playoff spot in their division with a 4-1 win over St. Louis.
In the weekend opener against Chicago, defenseman Dan Venard would open the scoring at the 10:34 mark of the 1st period. The lead would last a little over one minute, as the Steel tied the game on a rebound goal.
The Gamblers power play would produce the next goal, as Nate Dey blasted a slap shot from the right wing circle to give Green Bay a 2-1 lead. Chicago would once again have an answer as they capitalized on a power play late in the 2nd period to tie the game at 2-2.
For a third straight game the Gamblers would find themselves tied going into the third period, and for a third straight game they would suffer the same fate. Chicago would grab their first lead of the game at the 2:00 mark of the third period and would hang on the rest of the way for the 3-2 win.
On Saturday night, with 2003 Winston Cup champion Matt Kenseth in the building, the Gamblers would get goals from four different players and goaltender Brad Smith turned aside 26 shots, to lead Green Bay to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Heartland Eagles.
Sean Garrity would tally his first career USHL goal and Kyle Klubertanz would score on the power play to give Green Bay a 2-0 lead after the 1st period of play.
St. Louis would register a goal on the power play to make it a 2-1 game, but Jeff Hazelwood would find the back of the net after a wild goal mouth scramble to give the Gamblers a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes.
Green Bay, who was 7-0-1 when bringing a lead into the 3rd period, put the nail in the coffin when Jimmy Kilpatrick buried a slap shot from the right wing circle into the top corner to make it a 4-1 affair.
Goaltender Brad Smith, who was making his Gamblers home debut turned aside 26 shots for his first career USHL win.
Miller Lite Players of the Week: .
The Miller Lite Offensive Player of the Week is forward Jimmy Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick, 18, scored a goal and added an assist in the Gamblers 4-1 win over St. Louis on Saturday night. Along with his two-point game on Saturday, Kilpatrick, who is tops on the team in goals (9) and points (17) was also a +2 on the weekend.
The Miller Lite Defensive Player of the Week is goaltender Brad Smith. Smith, 20, who was making his Gamblers home debut on Saturday night, earned his first career USHL win as he allowed only one goal on 27 shots to lead Green Bay to a 4-1 victory over St. Louis. The Grand Rapids, Michigan native was acquired via a trade in mid-November from the Central Texas Black Hawks. *Please note the Miller Lite Players of the Week are only team awards and not the league Players of the Week.
âGamblers College Signees:
Luke Beaverson â North Dakota
Ryan Carter â Minnesota State - Mankato
Nate Dey â St. Cloud State
Mitch Ganzak â Miami of Ohio
Sean Garrity â St. Cloud State
Jeff Hazelwood â Maine
Chris Kelley â Harvard University
Kyle Klubertanz - Wisconsin
Victor Oreskovich â Notre Dame
*Corey Schneider â Boston College
Mike Taylor â Harvard
Dan Venard â Notre Dame
*On the Gamblers Affiliate List
ANOTHER GAMBLER FOR THE CRIMSON
The Green Bay Gamblers have announced that forward Mike Taylor has committed to Harvard University for the 2004-2005 college hockey season. Taylor, becomes the second Gambler to commit to the Crimson, joining defenseman Chris Kelley.
Taylor, 17 (2/26/86), who is duplicating what current Gambler Jimmy Kilpatrick did last season, playing before and after his senior season at Holy Angels, has appeared in 10 games with Green Bay notching five assists.
Taylor becomes the 11th Gambler to commit to a NCAA Division I institution.
BIG "D"
The defensive pair of Mitch Ganzak and Kyle Klubertanz have combined for eight points on two goals and six assists in their last five games. Klubertanz, who led the Gamblers in assists (26) last season, notched a goal and an assist this past weekend to bring his season scoring output to 11 points. Ganzak, who played last season in the North American Hockey League, also had a productive weekend as he had a pair of helpers, and like Klubertanz, the Redford, Michigan native also has 11 points on the 2003-04 campaign.
IRON MAN
Forward Brandon Longley appeared in his 141st game as a Gambler on Saturday night. During his three-year tenure with the Gamblers, the Elk River, Minnesota native has compiled a scoring line of 11 goals and 25 assists to along with 235 minutes in penalties.
STAT OF THE WEEK
The forward line of Eric Ehn, Jeff Hazelwood, and Jimmy Kilpatrick combined for six points in the Gamblers 4-1 win over St. Louis on Saturday night. Ehn dished out two helpers, and both Hazelwood and Kilpatrick had a goal and an assist.
PROMOTIONS
RED LINERS CHRISTMAS PARTY
On Tuesday, December 16, 2003, at 6:15 at Hanrahan's the Gamblers Red Liners Booster Club will be having their annual Christmas Party. All Booster club members, players, coaches, front office and their families are welcome to attend. For more information contact Bob Hellman (490-9582).
MARK OSIECKI SHOW
Tuesday night (12/16) host Jeff Mitchell will sit down with the head coach of the Green Bay Gamblers Mark Osiecki for another installment of the Mark Osiecki Show presented by Miller Lite. Joining Jeff and Mark will be the Gamblers Miller Lite Player of the Week. The show takes place at Hanrahan's Pub & Grill and starts at 5:30 PM. The Mark Osiecki Show can also be heard live on AM 1570 The Score.
LPH/USHL Players of the Week:
Ratislav Spirkoâ Tri City Storm
Spirko (Vrutky, Slovakia) earned Offensive Player of the Week honors after registering two goals and three assists in two games over the weekend. Spirko, who will be playing for Slovakia at this year World Junior Championships, leads the USHL in goals (20) and is tied for the league lead in points (33)
Shane Connelly â Chicago Steel
Connelly (Cheldenham, PA) earned Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording back-to-back wins. In his two wins, the 17-year old rookie, posted a 2.00 goals against average and a .947 save percentage.
USHL REPORT
FORMER BUCCANEER SIGNS WITH SAN JOSE
The United States Hockey League announced that former Des Moines Buccaneer defenseman Garrett Stafford has signed with the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. In keeping with club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Stafford, a Los Angeles native, is currently the Cleveland Barons' fourth-leading scorer and sixth overall among AHL defensemen with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 20 games.
In three seasons with Des Moines (1996-99), Stafford amassed 75 points in 146 regular season games.
SPIRKO AND GRABAREK IN THE TOP SPOT
Tri City forward Ratislav Spirko and Cedar Rapids forward Jan Grabarek share the top spot in the USHL scoring race with 33 points. Spirko, who will be playing for the Slovakia at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Finland, has registered 20 goals, which is also tops in the USHL and 13 assists. Grabarek, has amassed his 33 points on 13 goals and a league high 20 assists.
ALUMNI REPORT
QUARTET OF GAMBLERS LEAD RED HOT BADGERS
With their two wins over Minnesota State this past weekend the Wisconsin Badgers moved their current unbeaten streak to 14 (10-0-4) matching a school record that was set in 1982. In Friday's 4-1 victory over the Mavericks former Gambler Adam Burish (2001-02) tallied his team leading second short-handed goal of the season. On Saturday's 3-2 win, senior forward John Eichelberger, who played in Green Bay during the 1999-2000 season, would spearhead Wisconsin's offensive attack, as he assisted on the game winner, and also had a helper on the Badgers second goal of the game. Along with Burish and Eichelberger, former Gambler Dan Boeser (1998-00), who adorns the captain "C" on his sweater and A.J. Degenhardt (2000-02) are also members of the upstart Badgers.
INTO THE EMPTY NET
Former Gambler and current Alaska-Anchorage forward Dallas Steward recorded empty net goals in back-to-back games to lead the Sea Wolves to a two-game weekend sweep over Colorado College. In Friday's 5-2 win, Steward, who is the team's Assistant Captain, scored an empty-net goal at the 19:59 mark. The following evening, the Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin native tallied another empty-netter in the final minute to give Anchorage a two-goal cushion in the team's 3-1 win over the Tigers.
WEEKEND HEROES
Former Gambler forward Alan Swanson (1999-01), scored the game-winning goal in Northern Michigan's 2-0 win over in-state rival Michigan Tech on Saturday night. For Swanson, it was second game winner in the last four games...Wayne State forward Nate Higgins (2002-03) recorded a goal and an assist in the Warriors two game weekend set against American International College... Minnesota-Duluth forward Tim Stapleton (2000-02), who led the Bulldogs in scoring last season as a freshman, tallied a goal in each of the Bulldogs two games this past weekend verse North Dakota ... Colorado College senior defenseman Andrew Canzanello (1999-00), whose 14 points ranks 2nd on the Tigers, recorded a pair of assists in the team's two-game weekend series verse Alaska-Anchorage.
*Number in parenthesis by player's name signifies year(s) in which they played in Green Bay.
NHL WATCH
Ty Conklin who led the Gamblers to back-to-back National Championships (1996, 1997) has appeared in 19 games for the Edmonton Oilers posting a 8-7-1 record to accompany a 2.43 goals against average and a .919 save percentage.
In San Jose, Tom Priessing, who played two seasons in Green Bay (1997-99) has appeared in 21 games with the Sharks, registering a line of one goal and three assists for four points. Pressing, who was an All-American at Colorado College last season, is the first player in Gamblers team history to register a goal in a NHL regular season game.
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United States Hockey League Stories from December 15, 2003
- Spirko Named USHL Offensive Player of the Week - Tri-City Storm
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