Green Bay Gamblers Weekly
Published on October 19, 2004 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Green Bay Gamblers News Release
The Green Bay Gamblers dropped a pair of games over the weekend to the Waterloo Black Hawks (4-1) and Lincoln Stars (4-2). With the two losses the Gamblers fell to 1-5-0 on the 2004-05 regular season. On Friday night the Gamblers traveled to Young Arena to face off against the defending Clark Cup Champion Waterloo Black Hawks. After giving up a short-handed goal early in the 1st period the Gamblers responded at the 11:25 mark when Mark Stockdale and Blake Wheeler capitalized on a two-on-one odd man rush. Wheeler's goal was his team high 3rd of the season. The Black Hawks regained the lead in the 2nd period on Thomas Fortney's power play goal. Sixty-five seconds later Zach Bearson pounced on a puck in the crease area and chipped it by Michael Zacharias to up the Black Hawks lead to 3-1. The Gamblers, who put 13 shots onto the Waterloo goal in the 1st period, could not muster any offense in the 3rd period as they managed just six shots on net. Waterloo salted the game away in the final minute on a David Meckler empty-net goal to make the final 4-1. Despite turning aside 37 shots, Zacharias suffered his third loss on the young season. In the other crease, Drew O'Connell stayed undefeated for the Black Hawks with a 24-save performance. On Saturday night the Gamblers returned home to face off against the USHL Western Division leading Lincoln Stars. Lincoln forward Jared Boll notched a pair of goals and Steve Jakiel made 19-saves to lead the Stars to a 4-2 win. The victory was the Stars first at the Resch Center since the 2002-03 season.
Trailing 1-0 in the 1st period the Gamblers tied the score at the midway point when Mark Magnowski scored his first career USHL goal. Green Bay again tied the score when Wheeler knocked home a rebound from the slot area just: 14 second into the middle period. Lincoln responded with a power play goal from Boll and then late in the 2nd period J.J. Koehler's shot from just inside the blue line eluded rookie goaltender Dan Rosen to give the Stars a 4-2 lead.
The 3rd period featured little offense, but plenty of fist-to-cuffs. Randy King, who had fought earlier in the game, went with Boll and then later in the period Adam Davis and Stars forward Ryan Hohl went on two different occasions. Davis got the best of Hohl, leaving the Stars forward bloodied after each tilt.
Rosen started the game, but was pulled after allowing four goals on 21 shots in 40 minutes of work. Rosen's replacement Michael Zacharias played well in the 3rd period stopping all nine Lincoln shots.
LEAGUE LEADER
Green Bay Gamblers forward Blake Wheeler is 2nd among all USHL rookies in goals. The 2004 1st round pick of the Phoenix Coyotes scored a pair of goals this weekend increasing his goal total to four on the young season.
ICE TIME
The Gamblers and Indiana Ice will meet for the first time this Friday at the Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Ice, which moved from Danville after the completion of last season, will make their first appearance at the Resch Center the following evening.
TRANSACTIONS
On Thursday the Gamblers acquired forward Sam Kelly from the Indiana Ice. Kelly, who was 29th overall pick at the 2004 USHL Entry Draft, appeared in both games over the weekend for the Gamblers. In six games this season, Kelly has 14 penalty minutes and has a plus/minus rating of â3.
STAT OF THE WEEK
The forward line of wingers Billy Smith and Wheeler and centerman Mark Stockdale have combined for 15 of the Gamblers 30 points on the 2004-05 campaign. The three-some also has seven of the Gamblers 12 goals this season.
PROMOTIONS
CHURCH NIGHT
The Green Bay Gamblers are proud to announce that Saturday, October 23 at the Resch Center has been designated as Church Night. Along with some great hockey action, those in attendance will also be treated to a FREE concert by One Way Ticket before and after the game, Pastor Olympics, and a chance to skate after the game. For group ticket information contact Lea Goehring at 405-1141 or 1-800-428-8411 if out of the Green Bay area. You must bring your own skates to participate in the open skate following the game.
SHOWDOWN IN TITLETOWN
The Green Bay Gamblers and St. Norbert Green Knights will be playing a double-header at the Resch Center over the weekend of October 29-30. The Gambler will lace up the skates against the defending Anderson Cup Champion Tri City Storm and St. Norbert will be facing off against fellow NCAA Division III power R.I.T. Games times are at 5:05 PM and 8:05 PM. The Gamblers will be playing the late game on Friday and the early game on Saturday. For tickets or to find out more about the specialty priced weekend ticket packages call the Gamblers at 405-1237.
GAMBLER HOCKEY TALK BACK
Gambler Hockey Talk Back Presented by Miller Lite will take place this Tuesday, October 18, 2004, at 5:30 PM at the Bay City Smokehouse, located inside the Best Western Midway Hotel. Host Jeff Mitchell will be talking with Gambler head coach Mark Mazzoleni. Gamblers Hockey Talk Back will be followed by Players Talk Back, which will run from 6:00 â 6:30 PM. Special guest Jeremy Dehner will try his hand at the Miller Lite 12-pack of question and the Gamblers Sports Quiz. While at the Bay City Smokehouse, fans will have a chance to watch the Gamblers game on the big screen from the previous weekend, take advantage of food and drink specials, get player autographs, and register to win great prizes
The show starts at 5:30 PM. Gamblers Hockey Talk Back can also be heard live on WOWN 99.3 FM the official home of Gamblers hockey.
LPH/USHL Players of the Week:
Brandon Harrington â Sioux Falls Stampede (Rochester, Minnesota) earned Offensive Player of the Week Honors with three goals in a trio of Stampede wins last week. Harrington was also posted a plus/minus rating of +2. His three-goal outburst raised his goal total to four on the 2004-05 campaign.
Aleksandrs Jerofejevsâ Sioux Falls Stampede (Riga, Latvia) was named the USHL Defensive Player of the Week after registering six points in three games. Jerofejevs notched four of six points while the Stampede was on the power play. The USHL newcomer also had the overtime winner in the Stampede's 2-1 win over Sioux City.
USHL REPORT
GUERIN LEADS COLLEGE RANKS
Former Des Moines Buccaneers forward Marty Guerin leads the NCAA Division I ranks in goals and in scoring. Guerin, who is a sophomore at Miami of Ohio, has registered 10 points on six goals in four games. Other USHL alumni in the top 10 in scoring include North Dakota freshman Ratislav Spirko (Tri City), and Miami of Ohio junior Chris Michael (Green Bay)
IN-SEJNA
Worcester forward Peter Sejna has notched five points in his first two games with the Ice Cats. The former Des Moines Buccaneer and 2003 Hobey Baker Award winner currently ranks 8th in the American Hockey League in scoring. Another individual with USHL experience Don Granato (Green Bay 94-97) is the head coach at Worcester.
LANCER THREESOME LEADS POINTS RACE
Scoring goals in Omaha this season has not been a problem for the Lancers. The catalysts for head coach Mike Hastings offense has been the trio of forwards Trevor Smith, Brock Bradford, and Corey Carlson. Smith leads the USHL scoring race with 14 points and his seven goals is also tops in the league. Bradford, who like his teammate Smith, played last season in the British Columbia Junior Hockey league, ranks 2nd in scoring with 12 points, and Carlson is 3rd with 11 points on the 2004-05 season.
ALUMNI REPORT
CARTER NETS BIG GOAL
Minnesota State Mankato freshman forward Ryan Carter picked a good time to score his first career collegiate goal. Trailing late in the 3rd period on Friday night to the top ranked North Dakota Fighting Sioux, Carter, who served as the Gamblers team captain last season, found the back of the net to tie the game at 2-2. The following evening, the Fighting Sioux, which is home to former Gamblers defensemen Matt Greene (01-02) and Matt Jones (99-01), escaped the Midwest Wireless Center in Mankato with a 2-1 win, taking three out of a possible four points from the Mavericks over the weekend.
MICHAEL LEADS MIAMI
The Miami of Ohio Redhawks stayed undefeated on the 2004-05 season with a weekend sweep over Notre Dame. One of the driving forces behind Miami's sweep was former Gamblers forward Chris Michael, who registered a goal and an assist in each game for a four-point weekend. The junior forward, who spent two seasons honing his skills with the Gamblers (00-02), his third on the team in scoring with six points (2g & 4a)
WISCONSIN ROLLS
Badgers captain Adam Burish tallied a pair of assists over the weekend to lead Wisconsin to a weekend sweep over Mercyhurst at the Kohl Center in Madison. On Friday night, the one-time Gambler (01-02) notched the game tying assist in the Badgers 3-2 win. The following evening, Burish was joined on the score sheet by fellow Gambler alum A.J. Degenhardt, who tallied a goal in the Badgers 8-0 romp. Freshman defenseman Kyle Klubertanz (02-04) appeared in both games for the Badgers over the weekend, while fellow freshman Josh Engel (03-04) did not dress for either game.
JOHNSON BACKSTOPS DOGS
Minnesota-Duluth goaltender Josh Johnson turned aside 33 Michigan Tech shots on Friday night to lead the Bulldogs to a 5-4 win at the MacInnis Student Ice Arena in Houghton, Michigan. With the win Johnson, who patrolled the crease for the Gamblers during the 2002-03 season, improved his season record to 2-0-0 to accompany a 2.50 goals against average and a .923 save percentage
HONOR ROLL
Air Force forward Eric Ehn (03-04) scored his first collegiate goal on Saturday in the Falcons 4-0 win over American International College...Connecticut goaltender Brad Smith (03-04) made 31 saves in the Huskies 4-1 loss to R.P.I. on Saturday night...Matt Johnson (99-02) scored a pair of goals for Merrimack College in the Warriors 5-4 loss to Providence College on Friday night...Minnesota-Duluth forward Tim Stapleton (00-02) recorded a pair of assists including a helper on the game winner in the Bulldogs 5-4 win over Michigan Tech on Friday. Stapleton and fellow Gambler alum Brett Hammond (99-01) each added a goal the following evening in the Bulldogs 6-3 win over the Huskies...Luke Beaverson (02-04) Alaska Anchorage and Sean Garrity (03-04) St. Cloud State, each saw their first collegiate action this past week.
United States Hockey League Stories from October 19, 2004
- Cedar Rapids RoughRiders Weekly Update - Cedar Rapids RoughRiders
- Home cookin' recipe for Ice - Indiana Ice
- Steel capture first home win - Chicago Steel
- Green Bay Gamblers Weekly - Green Bay Gamblers
- USHL weekly - USHL
- Stampede Sweep Player-of-the-Week Honors - Sioux Falls Stampede
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.
