Ice Bats Hope To Continue Leading Race for Playoffs This Weekend
March 5, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release
(Austin, TX) - Despite losing two of three this past weekend, the Central Hockey League's Austin Ice Bats have won four of their last six games, and still hold a two point advantage over Amarillo in the race for the Southern Conference's final playoff spot.
Four out of the five playoff spots in the CHL's Southern Conference have been locked up already, leaving one spot left. The Ice Bats currently sit in that fifth spot with a 23-31-1 record and 47 points on the season. Amarillo trails by two points at 18-27-9, and Corpus Christi is four points back at 18-30-7. In Austin's nine remaining regular season games, two are against Corpus and one is at Amarillo. Austin and Amarillo each play three games this weekend while Corpus Christi plays twice, but all three teams will be scoreboard watching throughout the weekend.
The Ice Bats have not participated in a playoff game since 2003.
Friday vs. Oklahoma City - 7:30 PM, Chaparral Ice Arena
Friday will be the second and final meeting this season between the Bats and Blazers, who last played on Halloween 2007, when Oklahoma City spooked the Ice Bats 7-3 in Oklahoma City. At that time three of the Bats top six scorers this season weren't even on the team. Ted Vandermeer was out with an injury suffered in pre-season, Mike Bartlett was playing for Arizona, and RG Flath was a member of the Blazers. Oklahoma City are led by one of the CHL's best D-men in Mike Burgoyne, who leads the team with 50 points this year (17 goals, 33 assists), and goalie Jason Wolfe. A goaltending monster who stands at 6'5" and a 235 pounds with a 2.91 Goals Against Avg.
Saturday @ Rio Grande Valley - 7:35 PM
Sunday vs. Rio Grande Valley - 4:05 PM, Chaparral Ice Arena
The last time the Ice Bats and Rio Grande played a home-and-home series Austin swept both games back on February 21st and 22nd. Austin heads to Hidalgo, TX on Saturday looking for revenge from their previous contest against the Killer Bees, which the Bats lost 3-2. The Bats are 5-3 vs. Rio Grande this season, and 2-1 when playing on the road. The question for Rio Grande will be who starts in goal. David Lemanowicz (Luh-MAN-o-vich) has been the number one guy with 30 appearances this year, but Austin has given him problems. Lemanowicz is 1-4 with a 3.66 Goals Against Avg. in 5 appearances vs. the Ice Bats. Meanwhile, backup AJ Bucchino (Boo-KEE-no) was impressive in the previous meeting between Rio Grande and the Bats stopping 39 of 41 shots to preserve a 3-2 win. This year Bucchino has stood tall in limited action vs. Austin with a 2.58 Goals Against Avg. in two appearances.
Sunday matinees have been a coin flip for the Ice Bats, who are 3-3 in their Sunday games. Sunday will be the third of five contests against the Killer Bees during the month of March.
Bat Droppings...
- Saturday will be RG Flath's first meeting against his former club. Flath was waived by Oklahoma City on November 29th, and joined the Ice Bats on December 1st.
- Four of the Bats next six games will be against the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees
- Brendan Cook (10 goals, 6 assists), RG Flath (4 goals, 6 assists), and Mike Bartlett (3 goals, 7 assists) have scored a combined 36 points in the last 10 games.
- Since January 1st, the Ice Bats have only suffered one three-game losing streak (February 15, 16, and 17). The Ice Bats currently have lost back-to-back games entering Friday's contest.
- Henry Kuster is six goals away from breaking into the CHL's Top 10 Career Goal Scoring Leaders.
The Ice Bats are the AA Affiliate for the NHL's Minnesota Wild and the AHL's Houston Aeros (AAA). The team is currently playing its 12th season in Austin. Single game tickets and mini-plans are available by calling 512-927-7825 or visiting icebats.com.
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Central Hockey League Stories from March 5, 2008
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- Ford Center vote passes - Oklahoma City Blazers
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