Ice Bats Fall Short in Final Week
March 22, 2005 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release
Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League finished the 2004-05 CHL season with a 28-27-5 record, in third place in the league's Southeast Division. Despite remaining in contention until the final week of the regular season, the Ice Bats will miss out on the post-season for the second consecutive year.
A look back: The Ice Bats started their season-ending eight-game road swing 2-0-1 against Northern Conference opponents, but lost their last five games to divisional opponents to finish out of the playoff picture. Last Wednesday, defending CHL champ Laredo scored five specialty teams goals, ripping the Ice Bats 6-2.
The Bucks scored twice in the first seven minutes on a power play goal by Scott Kelman and a shorthanded goal from Dion Hyman. Laredo opened a 3-0 lead on an Oriel McHugh power play score 4:21 into the second period. At that point, Austin Coach Greg Gatto replaced starting goalie Matt Barnes with Peter-Emmanuel Brady, and the move jump-started the team. Chris Richards flipped the puck down the slot for a John McNabb score at 8:03 of the second.
The Bats nearly got back within one with splendid chances on a delayed penalty call midway through the period, but the Bucks beat Brady for consecutive scores late. Igor Agarunov scored from the high slot between Brady's pads for the second shorthanded goal, and McHugh added an even strength goal from high in the right circle with four minutes left in the period.
Richards scored from the slot with just five seconds remaining in the second period, but the Bats were able to generate only seven shots in the third, and Laredo's Jeff Bes scored the final goal midway through the third period. Specialty teams were the clear difference in the game, as the Bucks scored three times on eight power play chances. The Ice Bats failed to score on seven man-advantage opportunities, and gave up two shorthanded scores. The win was Laredo's tenth in 11 games, and combined with Lubbock's overtime win at Colorado, mathematically eliminated the Bats from the playoffs.
On Friday, Rio Grande Valley scored seven goals on Austin goalie Peter-Emmanuel Brady, blitzing the Ice Bats 9-3 at the Dodge Arena. Poor defensive play doomed the Bats nearly from the start.
The Ice Bats jumped on the board on Tom Kotsopoulos' shot to the shelf 3:24 into the first period, but the Killer Bees came back to tie it up just over two minutes later on a goal by defenseman Josh Mizerek. The Bees took the lead on a Bill Newson shorthanded goal at 8:17, then opened a 4-1 advantage on a Blaz Emersic rebound and a Joe Guenther power play goal late in the period.
Just 16 seconds into the second period, the Killer Bees went right back to work, forward Ryan Shmyr poking the puck from under Brady's glove for a score. The Bees scored twice more within a four-minute period to take a 7-1 lead, and Brady was lifted in favor of goalie Matt Barnes.
Newson scored Rio Grande's eighth unanswered goal before Austin center Chris Richards shut off the string at 11:42 of the second period. Austin defenseman Mike Mohr added a rebound goal four minutes into the third, but Newson scored in the final minute to complete the hat trick and a five-point night.
The teams, which met five times over the final five weeks of the season, engaged in a line brawl with 2:43 remaining, touched off by Shmyr. After winning five straight in the season series, the Ice Bats lost the last three meetings against the Killer Bees by a combined 20-5 score.
In the final game of the CHL season for both teams, Corpus Christi claimed second place in the Southeast Division with a 6-2 win over the Ice Bats Saturday at the AmericanBank Center. The game was marred by a second period brawl and late-second period controversy.
Top scorer John McNabb scored the only goal of the first period 3:30 into the contest, receiving a centering pass from Chris Richards and firing in a shorthanded goal from a sharp angle low in the left circle. It was McNabb's team-leading 37th goal of the year, his league-leading sixth shorthanded goal.
The Bats then scrambled to hold the lead. Shortly after McNabb's goal, Austin forward Kelly Smart slid into the crease to keep the Rayz' Ken McKay from poking in a rebound that had bounced away from Bats goalie Matt Barnes. And late in the period, the Bats dodged another bullet when a loose rebound bounced on top of the net behind Barnes and lodged there.
The game erupted into a line brawl 12:41 into the second period, when Corpus defenseman Dominic Periard zoomed across the ice and blind-sided Ice Bat Dallas Anderson. The ensuing melee resulted in 127 minutes in combined penalties and seven ejections. Somehow, the Rayz came out of it with a seven-minute power play, taking the lead on a McKay score and a Dave Gilmore power play goal.
But the real controversy came in the final minute of the period. Hauled down leading a two-on-one rush with no penalty called by referee Tom Sterns, Ice Bats winger Kris Knoblauch got off the deck and scored what appeared to be the game-tying goal. Sterns instead waved off the goal and issued a bench minor penalty against Ice Bats Coach Greg Gatto, who was protesting the non-call on the prior play. That drove Gatto over the edge, and he littered the ice with water bottles and sticks, before ushered off on a game misconduct penalty with 39 seconds left in the period.
Gilmore scored another power play goal with 24 seconds remaining in the period, and after a cross-checking major on Austin's Mike Mohr at the 20-minute mark, the Rayz scored twice more on the power play to start the third. The Ice Bats, playing the entire third period with just ten skaters, got a power play goal of their own from Smart, but Corpus Christi's Jason Baird wrapped up scoring with a shorthanded goal at 17:44. Gilmore scored a power play hat trick, along with an assist, as the Rayz finished 4-for-9 on the power play.
The Playoffs:
Competition in the Ray Miron CHL President's Cup Playoffs begins this week. Here are the pairings for best-of-seven first-round play.
Northern Conference:
(1) Colorado vs. (4) Tulsa
(2) Bossier-Shreveport vs. (3) Wichita
Southern Conference:
(1) Laredo vs. (4) San Angelo
(2) Lubbock vs. (3) Amarillo
Player Plaudits: Ice Bats winger John McNabb finished the season among the top ten in league scoring (5th in goals), with 37 goals and 37 assists. Center Chris Richards also finished in the top ten overall (3rd in assists), with 18 goals and 54 assists. Jeff Alcombrack was among the top dozen defensemen with 11 goals, 24 assists, and forward Kris Knoblauch was among the top ten rookies, with 18 goals and 23 helpers. Forward Dallas Anderson finished second in the CHL with a franchise-record 395 penalty minutes. And goalie Matt Barnes, 22-17-3 with a 3.23 GAA overall, ranked 2nd with four shutouts.
Comments From the Coach:
"It was just an inconsistent season from start to finish. We were so up and down all year. Because of that, it was frustrating at times, and exciting at times. But I'm already looking forward to next season. You start working on it a little bit through the year, contacting potential players for the next season. Now I can really turn my attention to recruiting next year's team. I compare it to a teacher that takes over someone else's class halfway through the school year. It's really not your class or your students. I'm excited to get started putting together next year's team, and setting the standards."
Celebrate the Season: Fans are invited to join the Ice Bats players, coaches and staff to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2004-05 season, at the season-ending Fan Appreciation Party, Texas Dodge Dealers Post-Season Player Awards Presentation, and Ice Bats Children's Charities Jersey Auction. The event will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, March 23rd from 7-9pm at the Hard Rock Cafe, 222 East 6th St. Ice Bats players will be on hand to receive the Texas Dodge Dealers Post-Season Player Awards, based on fan balloting, and there will be an auction of the team's game-worn jerseys to benefit Ice Bats Children's Charities.
Just Wait âTil Next Year: Season tickets for the 2005-06 CHL season are already on sale. The Ice Bats will play their Tenth Anniversary season at the Travis County Expo Center. Fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at (512) 927-PUCK, or log onto the team's website at www.icebats.com for more information.
Central Hockey League Stories from March 22, 2005
- Ballard Named CHL Goaltender of the Week - Oklahoma City Blazers
- Ice Bats Fall Short in Final Week - Austin Ice Bats
- Thunder finalizes playoff roster - Wichita Thunder
- Saints Playoff Roster Set - San Angelo Saints
- "G-UENiT" Claims Second CHL Oakley Player of the Week Honor - Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
- CHL Names Final Oakley Player & Goaltender of the Week - CHL
- Bees Hand Out End of Year Awards - Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
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