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Ice Bats Host Two In Belton

March 16, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are 32-25-3 on their 10th-Anniversary 2005-06 season, after winning seven of their last eight games. As a result, the Bats have solidified their hold on second place in the CHL's Southeast Division race, and the third of four playoff positions in the Southern Conference. The Ice Bats are three points ahead of Rio Grande Valley, and six points above Amarillo in the Conference.

The Ice Bats finished 6-1 on the road over the past two weeks, and now look forward to hosting two games at the Bell County Expo Center in Belton. The Bats welcome Tulsa Friday night and Laredo on Saturday.

A look back: After winning four games at Youngstown and Fort Worth the week prior, the Ice Bats took two of three tough games on the road again last week. Last Friday, Tulsa winger Jaroslav Cesky scored twice in the third period, helping the Oilers complete a 6-4 comeback win over the Ice Bats at the Maxwell Convention Center.

The Bats seemingly took the game by the throat with three goals in quick succession midway through the first period. From behind the net, winger Mike Tucciarone's attempted pass deflected off a Tulsa player for the game's first score 11:10 into the opening period. Just 23 seconds later, John McNabb centered into the slot for a Julian Smith goal. And at 14:17, Tucciarone was at it again, centering from behind the net to a wide-open Jason Kenyon for a power play goal.

But Tulsa stormed back for three in the second period. Forward Mike Lukajic scored 62 seconds into the period on an extended shift spent in the Austin zone. Rookie Jim Dahl gloved down a Mario Joly centering pass and brought Tulsa within one at 10:38. Then the Oilers came all the way back on Henry Kuster's wrister from above the left circle, which fluttered by Ice Bats goalie Miguel Beaudry with 13 seconds left in the second.

Cesky received a cross-ice pass from Kuster and flew around the Austin defense to give Tulsa its first lead 5:43 into the final period. Bats defenseman Aaron Schneekloth threaded in a shot from the blue line to tie the game with 7:12 remaining. But Cesky again blew around Bats defenseman Darryl McArthur with 1:33 to play for the game-winning score. Kuster added an empty net goal in the final minute.

Cesky's four points led scorers to keep Tulsa's playoff hopes alive. Tucciarone's three points led the Ice Bats.

After letting a 3-0 lead slip away on Friday, the Ice Bats held on for a tough 4-3 win Saturday night at Wichita's Kansas Coliseum. The Thunder nearly opened scoring 4:23 into the contest on a power play. But a second rebound shot was covered by Bats goalie Miguel Beaudry, and after extended conversations with both linesmen and the goal judge, referee Steve Cruickshank ruled the puck had failed to clear the goal line.

Outshot 14-3 in the opening period, the Bats leaned heavily on Beaudry, whose glove robbery of Wichita's Travis Clayton on a point blank shot was one of several spectacular first-period stops. The Bats scored the only goal of the period with 68 seconds remaining, winger Britt Dougherty whacking in an Aaron Davis centering pass from behind the net.

Beaudry stopped 16 of 17 shots faced in the second, and the Ice Bats built on the lead. Davis split defenders for a score seven minutes into the period. Then just 62 seconds after Wichita's Ben Murphy crashed the net to put the Thunder on the board, Bats winger John McNabb strapped Wichita defenseman Daniel Tetrault on his back and scored a huge shorthanded goal. Defenseman Darryl McArthur's wrist shot from high in the left circle put the Bats up 4-1 late in the second period.

The Ice Bats then fought off the Thunder in the third. Tetrault scored a power play goal at 13:53, and Jason Duda a rebound goal with less than five minutes to go. But even with an extra Wichita attacker over the final two minutes, the Bats kept the Thunder at bay the rest of the way. Beaudry stopped 45 of 48 shots faced, and the Bats penalty killers snuffed five of six Wichita power plays. McNabb, Davis and Dougherty each had a goal and an assist to lead Ice Bats scoring.

On Sunday, center Julian Smith scored two goals including the shootout winner, and forward Aaron Davis scored twice as the Ice Bats slipped by Bossier-Shreveport, 4-3 at the CenturyTel Center. Combined with Saturday's win at Wichita, the victories in two of the toughest Central Hockey League rinks pushed the Bats eight points ahead of Amarillo in the Southern Conference playoff race.

Mudbugs star forward Scott Sheppard scored the opening goal on a power play 4:31 into the contest, but from that point, the Bats controlled play in the first. Davis tied the score at 8:31, threading in a shot along the goal line from below the right circle.

Davis then gave the Bats their first lead, flipping in a shot near the side of the net 4:43 into the second, but Sheppard scored his second goal from the slot less than three minutes later. Tied at two, the Mudbugs regained the lead just 16 seconds into the third period. Skating into the left circle, Sheppard whipped a slap shot into the upper left corner of the net to complete a hat trick.

But the Bats never let the Mudbugs get out of reach, and after Bossier goalie David Cacciola denied two close tying attempts, the Bats finally evened the game with 4:46 remaining. Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth threw the puck to Jonathan Jolette on the left circle, and he quickly zipped it into the slot for Smith's tying power play goal.

In overtime, the Bats experienced anxious moments, but with help from goaltender Matt Barnes, scrambled to keep the game tied. Sheppard scored in the second round of the shootout, but Austin winger John McNabb tied it in Round Three. Smith's game-winner rode off the shoulder and back of Cacciola into the net in Round Four, and Schneekloth provided an insurance goal in Round Five.

Roster Flights:

Departures: Part of a domino effect due to trades made at the NHL level by the parent Minnesota Wild, goaltender Miroslav Kopriva was recalled to the Houston Aeros of the AHL last Thursday. Kopriva, 12-3 with a 2.33 goals-against average in the CHL this season, is expected to remain with Houston for the remainder of the season.

Wounded Wings: Goaltender Matt Barnes returned from the 14-day injured reserve list to record Sunday's victory at Bossier-Shreveport.

Player Plaudits: Winger John McNabb ranks just outside the top 20 in league scoring with 30 goals and 34 assists. Forward Aaron Davis (50 points) is second on the team in scoring. And Mike Tucciarone is fourth among all rookie scorers with 44 points, ranking second among first-year players in goals (25). Aaron Schneekloth ranks among the top ten defensemen with 16 goals and 24 assists. Tucciarone is nominated for CHL Outstanding Rookie honors and Schneekloth for the CHL Outstanding Defenseman award. Goalie Miguel Beaudry is 10-7-1 with a 2.80 GAA since joining the Ice Bats.

Potential Bite Victims: Ten points back of a playoff spot, Tulsa may be watching its post-season dreams slip away. After winning six of seven, the Oilers are just 2-5-1 in their last eight games and enter this week at 28-25-5. Top rookie Jim Dahl ranks seventh in overall scoring with 34 goals and 45 assists. Winger Jaroslav Cesky has 33 goals and 37 assists, and veteran Henry Kuster has rebounded from knee problems to post 33 goals and 35 assists. All-Star Mario Joly (53 points) ranks fourth among d-men. Scoring hasn't been a problem, but the Oilers rank in the bottom four defensively, allowing an average 3.47 goals per game, and 14th on the penalty kill (82.2%). Experienced goalie Marco Emond is 20-16-1 with a 3.35 GAA. Tulsa is 14-13-1 on the road this season.

In addition to the Southeast Division title, Laredo has earned the Southern Conference's top seed for the third year in a row. At 38-14-6, the Bucks seem to be peaking at the right time, winning six of their last seven games. Laredo averages over a goal per game more than its opponents, leading the league on defense (2.45 average goals allowed) while ranking third offensively (3.64 goals per game). Tops in the league are goalies David Lemanowicz (16-4-3, 2.00 GAA, .930 save percentage) and Dov Grumet-Morris (15-5-2, 2.09 GAA, .925 save percentage). Each has three shutouts, and while Lemanowicz has been nominated for Outstanding Goalie, Grumet-Morris is up for CHL Outstanding Rookie honors. Their lineup always fluid due to call-ups and assignments, the Bucks are led by Jeff Bes (22 goals, 51 assists) and James Hiebert (22 goals, 46 assists). Serge Dube (51 points) ranks fifth among defensemen, and veteran Chris Grenville leads the team with 26 goals. Fine rookie d-man Adam Rivet is +35, leading four Bucks +28 or better. 14-10-5 as a road team, Laredo hosts Memphis Friday before coming up to Central Texas.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 4-3-2 lifetime against Tulsa, after Friday's loss in Tulsa. The Bats won the season's only other meeting, 3-0 November 5th in Austin.

The Bats are 14-23-1 lifetime against Laredo, just 1-6 this season. The Bats lost all four games in Laredo this year, but were 1-2 against the Bucks at the Travis County Expo Center. The teams last met February 19th, resulting in a 5-3 Laredo win at the Bat Cave.

Comments From the Coach:

On Last Week: "It was disappointing to have the lead in Tulsa, and let it slip through our fingers defensively. But our two wins came in two of the toughest rinks in which to win. We showed some character in Wichita. We were under siege for awhile, but Beaudry played great and I thought we played well in the third to come away with the win. And I thought the game at Bossier was one of our better games this year. It obviously was a big boost to us."

On This Week: "We've got just four games left, while Amarillo has seven and Rio Grande has five. Nothing is set in stone. We still have work to do. We just need to stay away from watching the scoreboard and get some wins in our remaining games. We saw that Tulsa will battle until the end. And if we're lucky enough to make the playoffs, we could play Laredo in the first round. They'll want to set a tone. No matter where you play them, you better have your ‘A' game."

"Certainly we're happy to take a break from travelling this week, but that's no guarantee. We've been a bit of a vagabond team lately. But whether we're playing at Travis County, Chaparral Ice, Belton or the American Airlines Center, we have to show up and win games."

Cave, Sweet Cave: With seating for about 6,300 fans, the Bell County Expo Center will host professional hockey this weekend for the first time since the departure of the Central Texas Stampede of the Western Professional Hockey League in 2001.

Tickets for Ice Bats home games are on sale now through the Ice Bats office at 927-PUCK, or at any Texas Box Office location, including all Austin-area HEB stores. In Bell County, fans may visit the Bell County Expo Center box office, Renaissance Records in Killeen, the Temple HEB store or the ITR Building at Fort Hood. For on-line orders, fans may visit www.TexasBoxOffice.com. To charge by phone, fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at 927-PUCK, or Texas Box Office at (512) 477-6060.

Individual game tickets range in price from $11 to $35, depending on section, with discounted rates for groups of 15 or more. 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.

Including this season's 19-10-1 mark, the Ice Bats finished 209-97-22 in ten years of play at the Travis County Expo Center. In February, the Ice Bats announced they will vacate the Expo Center and move to Chaparral Ice Center, located on I-35 South between Howard Lane and Wells Branch Parkway. The Ice Bats will begin play at Chaparral Ice during the 2006 President's Cup Playoffs, should the team qualify for post-season play.

Because of the unavailability of the Expo Center, the Ice Bats played four playoff games at Chaparral Ice in 2003, hosting New Mexico and Laredo en route to the President's Cup Finals. After the conclusion of this season, permanent seating will be installed to bring the building's capacity to close to 2,000 fans, with other improvements to include a renovated club area upstairs overlooking the ice and an expanded concession area downstairs. In addition to a raucous, energetic environment for fans, Chaparral Ice will give the Ice Bats greater scheduling flexibility, a superior location, and the ability to provide corporate partners the year-round display of their message. Chaparral Ice will remain the team's home arena until construction is complete on a new facility, currently under study.

In the Air: Once again, all Ice Bats away games will be broadcast on ESPN Radio, 1530 on the AM dial. The station will broadcast all road games during the 2005-06 regular season and CHL Playoffs. The games will also be available on-line, through the station website at www.espnaustin.com. The Bud Light Warm-up Show begins 20 minutes prior to game time. Ice Bats VP of Broadcasting, Media/PR Glen Norman will handle play-by-play duties for an eighth straight season.

Bats in Cyberspace: Bats fans can learn the latest about their team by logging on to www.icebats.com. Home or away, Bats fans can also follow the action with real-time scoring on the website, courtesy of Pointstreak.com. Fans will be able to access a game box score in real-time, as well as those of all other CHL games being played.

THIS WEEK:

Fri., Mar. 17th, 7:30pm, vs. Tulsa Oilers, at Bell County Expo Center, Belton, Texas

Sat., Mar. 18th, 7:30pm, vs. Laredo Bucks, at Bell County Expo Center, Belton, Texas

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