Hitmen Look to Take Out Rage
January 14, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Chicago Hitmen News Release
Game 1: Saturday, 1/15/11, 8:00 P.M. CST, West Meadows Ice Arena
Game 2: Sunday, 1/16/11, 2:30 P.M. CST, West Meadows Ice Arena
Chicago's first home games after the holiday break will come with a new look. A pair of trades have the familiar faces of former captain Hunter Brown and Jim Albrecht on new teams. Also Quentin Bicknase and Tony Domico, have been returned to the NA3HL where they were leading the league in scoring prior to their call-up. New to the team is Anthony Martinez, who was part of the return on the Brown deal.
The Rage come in scoring the fewest goals per game in the league at 2.27G/G, and despite the league's 8th best save% (.905) from their goalies allow 3.59 goals against per game. They are lead in scoring by Dakota Mason, who has 26 points (16,10). Mason is the only player with double digit goals for the Rage.
The Hitmen will look to several players to step up with 2 of their top 3 scores now gone. One of the players who will need to step up is Cody Damon. Damon a '91, had 8 goals in a seven game stretch from September 17th to October 9th. Since then he has not scored a goal and has only 2 assists, the last of which came October 29th. Joe Sposit and Gabe Gervais, a pair of the remaining 20 year-olds will also have to shoulder some of the load. The Hitmen will need a balanced attack, instead of the top heavy attack they had been using to this point.
Player to Watch: Anthony Martinez, the new defenseman was acquired in the Brown trade. Martinez, a Schaumburg native will make his debut this weekend. A -4 overall on the season, Marinez seems to be improving and is even over the last 11 games. Martinez has 7 points on the year on 3 goals and 4 helpers.
Fight Card: When these two teams played in Dawson Creek in November Cihak and Tyson McCallum dropped the gloves. That said neither team has fought much of late; the Hitmen have 1 in their last 7 games, while the Rage have 1 in their last 8.
Recipe for Success: As the Hitmen adjust to not having Hunter Brown on the blue line they will have to work to keep the play down in the Dawson Creek zone. The Rage allow the second most shots per game in the league and the Hitmen will need to take advantage given the high save percentage the Rage have show to this point.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 14, 2011
- Bulls Fall to Topeka 7-4 Despite Comeback - Amarillo Bulls
- Tornado Skin Wildcats to Make It Four in a Row - Texas Tornado
- Hitmen Look to Take Out Rage - Chicago Hitmen
- David Jacobson Could Set Jets Goaltending Record - Janesville Jets
- Bulls Host Topeka Tonight - Let The Showdown Begin - Amarillo Bulls
- Former Jr Blues Player Austin Coldwell Commits to University of Alaska, Anchorage - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Vandercook Records 2 Points in 100th Game with Wild - Wenatchee Wild
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