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Ice Bats Open December with Jacks, Rayz

November 30, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are off to a 7-8-1 start on the 2004-05 CHL season, and are in second place in the Southeast Division. The Ice Bats trail Corpus Christi by five points, but lead Laredo by two points and Rio Grande Valley by six points in the division race.

This week, the Ice Bats will play a home-and-home series against Odessa, pitting Austin Coach Greg Gatto against his mentor, Odessa Coach Don McKee. Gatto served as an assistant under McKee last year. The Ice Bats will play the home portion of that series on Friday night at the Expo Center, then finish the week at Corpus Christi on Sunday.

A look back: The Ice Bats split a pair of games last weekend, dropping a 4-2 decision Friday night in Amarillo. The Gorillas scored three first period goals en route to victory.

The Ice Bats got out to a 7-0 shot advantage over the first seven minutes, but the Gorillas made quick work of a power play to open scoring at 7:32. Amarillo's Darren Curry scored just seven seconds into the advantage on the first Amarillo shot on net.

The Ice Bats tied the game shorthanded four minutes later, when Amarillo veteran Mark Desantis coughed up the puck at his blue line, and Austin's Chris Richards skated in for a breakaway goal. But the goal never gave the Ice Bats the needed momentum. And former Ice Bat Brent Hughes and Gorillas defenseman Tyler Butler scored goals 2:34 apart to put Amarillo up 3-1 after one. Hughes' go-ahead goal came off a three-on-one rush, with Austin defenseman Brian Pasko slipping at the same time Butler came out of the penalty box to create the odd-man opportunity.

Amarillo forward Patrick Levesque scored midway through the second period on another odd-man rush to build the lead to 4-1. Ice Bats winger Kris Knoblauch cut the lead to 4-2 with a backhanded rebound off the end boards with 6:17 remaining. But that was it for the comeback bid, as the Ice Bats managed only three third period shots.

A look back, continued: The Ice Bats finished last week with their second consecutive Sunday shutout. Austin goalie Matt Barnes again stopped all 27 shots faced, as the Bats blanked Lubbock, 3-0.

The teams skated through two scoreless periods, with Barnes stopping 23 Lubbock shots and Cotton Kings goalie Shawn Conschafter all 15 shots faced through two. Opportunities were scarce, but the Ice Bats had a couple good ones early in the second-- winger John McNabb ripped a shot off the post, and Conschafter stopped a Mike Mohr attempt off a Dallas Anderson pass.

But the Bats did get to Conschafter, a former Ice Bat, midway through the third. Anderson took a pass on the left wing and popped it to the shelf at 10:08. Three minutes later, Austin's Vinnie Jonasson took a neutral ice turnover and skated in for a breakaway backhander. An empty net goal from Benoit Genesse wrapped up scoring.

Wounded Wings: The Ice Bats will once again be without winger Jared Dumba this week. Dumba has missed eight games to injury this season, including the last five.

Player Plaudits: Center Chris Richards ranks among the league's top 15 in scoring, with 5 goals and 15 assists. Veteran John McNabb (6 goals, 12 assists) is second on the team, and Benoit Genesse third with 10 goals and 7 helpers. Arturs Kupaks, third among CHL defensemen, has 7 goals and 6 assists. Forward Dallas Anderson ranks third in the CHL with 106 penalty minutes. And after his second shutout performance last Sunday, goalie Matt Barnes is 7-4 with a 2.79 GAA and .918 save percentage.

Potential Bite Victims: This week, the Ice Bats will face teams with contrasting strengths heading in different directions. Winless in their last five games, Odessa has slipped into a second place tie in the Southwest at 7-4-2. But if the Jackalopes can get going offensively, they're extremely well coached. Odessa ranks in the top four in both specialty teams categories, and allows opponents just 2.85 goals per game, fifth best in the league defensively. Young winger Sebastien Thinel leads the team with 9 goals and 8 assists. Chipping in have been center Mike Rutter (14 points), feisty Don Margettie and d-man B.J. Adams (10 points each). Like the Ice Bats, the Jacks depend heavily on a goalie who returns after a one-year hiatus. Mike Gorman is 6-4-2 with a 2.79 GAA. Odessa is 5-0-1 at home this year, just 2-4-1 on the road.

In large part due to a 6-2-2 mark in the division, 9-5-2 Corpus Christi has built a five-point lead over the Bats in the Southeast. Corpus is the league's top scoring team, averaging 3.75 goals per game, and they have nine players with ten points or more. Greg Bullock is third in league scoring with 10 goals and 16 assists, and Jason Baird is right behind him with 12 goals and 12 helpers. Bernie John leads all defensemen with 19 points. Forward Ryan Carter has 7 goals and 11 assists, and the Rayz have gotten good performances from rookies like Derrick McIver, who has put up 9 goals. Corpus' goaltending hasn't been too shabby either, as reigning Goalie of the Week Brent Zelenewich has improved to 5-3-2, with a 2.52 GAA and .929 save percentage. 5-1 in the new AmericanBank Center, the Rayz host Rio Grande Valley Friday, play at San Angelo Saturday, and return home to face the Bats.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 13-2-3 lifetime against Odessa. Last season, the Bats lost in an 11am game in Odessa, but beat the Jackalopes twice in Austin.

The Bats are 45-23-4 lifetime against Corpus Christi. The Ice Bats stormed back to beat the Rayz in overtime in the season opener, but have dropped the last two in the series, including a 5-1 loss in their only visit to Corpus on November 11th.

Comments from the Coach:

On Last Week: "I thought we played better in our loss at Amarillo than we did in our win at home. We played a really strong first period anyway, then pressed a little too much once we got down. I thought we were flat against Lubbock and were lucky that they were a ‘four-games-in-five-nights' hockey club. I think the Saturday off hurt us a little bit. We got back from Amarillo at 8am, and didn't practice that day. It's definitely nice to have a day off, but sometimes you want to get in a good groove and just keep playing. Playing at home this Friday, we'll at least be able to practice Saturday and hopefully stay sharp for our Sunday game."

On This Week: "Obviously, Odessa's a big matchup for our team as well as from a personal standpoint. I suppose there'll be some added incentive, and I'm sure they're thinking the same thing. They don't want to get beat by a former coach. It's the same as last year, when Derek Laxdal brought his Wichita team in there and it was a good rivalry."

"There's a lot to respect about Odessa. Rutter and Thinel have been consistent, and Hillman shores up the back end. They've got their sparkplug back in Margettie, and Gorman is the key to their team. He's back, and will win them a lot of hockey games. We've got them back to back, and then the huge divisional game at Corpus. With them, we have to find a way to slow down their big three-- Bullock, Baird and Bernie John."

Cave, Sweet Cave: Friday beginning at 4:45pm, the Texas A&M hockey club will face off against Middle Tennessee State, prior to the Ice Bats' game against Odessa. Free "cheer sticks" go to 5,000 fans that night, courtesy of Guaranty Bank. And the Ridgeview Middle School Band will perform, part of the Austin Community College "Marching Band Series."

Then after the game, the Bud True Music Concert Series continues, with a performance from country rebel Kevin Fowler. Raised in Amarillo, Fowler calls Austin home, and the city has shown its appreciation. With songs like "Beer, Bait and Ammo" and "Lord Loves the Drinking Man," (both recently re-recorded by country star Mark Chesnutt), Fowler swept the 2002-03 Austin Music Awards with eight honors, including "Album" and "Musician of the Year." The first act signed by country star Clint Black's new Nashville label, Equity Records, Fowler in August released "Loose, Loud and Crazy," his first national release.

Individual game tickets are available now through the Ice Bats office at 927-PUCK, on-line at www.GetTix.Net, or at any of a dozen Pinky's Wireless locations in the Austin area, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Killeen and San Marcos. Tickets are also available at all Texas Box Office locations, including all Austin-area HEB stores, or on-line at www.TexasBoxOffice.com.

To charge by phone, fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at 927-PUCK, Get Tix at 1-866-4-Get Tix, or Texas Box Office at (512) 477-6060.

Individual game tickets range in price from $10 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.

Shuffle Up and Deal: The Ice Bats will host their inaugural Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament benefiting Ice Bats Children's Charities, beginning at 3pm on Sunday, December 19th at Carlos ‘N Charlie's on Lake Travis. The tournament buy-in is set at $100, with a fajita dinner included, and Ice Bats players either dealing or playing at each table. Prizes include a luxury suite at the American Airlines Center, three-night cruise for two, rounds of golf with Ice Bats players and more. Beginning at 6:30pm, there will be an auction of the special Texas Hold ‘Em "playing card" jerseys worn by the team the preceding night. To register for the tournament or for more details, fans may call (512) 927-PUCK, ext. 113.

Schedule Change: Because of a building conflict, the Ice Bats' scheduled game February 5th at Bossier-Shreveport has been moved. The game at the CenturyTel Center will now be played at 7:05pm on Thursday, February 3rd.

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 2004-05 regular season and CHL Playoffs. The games will also be available on-line, through the station website at www.espnaustin.com. The Texas Dodge Dealers Warm-up Show begins 20 minutes prior to game time. Ice Bats Director of Broadcasting, Media/PR Glen Norman will handle play-by-play duties for a seventh 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:

Thur., Dec. 2nd, 7:00pm, vs. Odessa Jackalopes, at Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, Texas

Fri., Dec. 3rd, 7:35pm, vs. Odessa Jackalopes, at Travis County Expo Center, Austin, Texas

Sun., Dec. 5th, 5:05pm, vs. Corpus Christi Rayz, at AmericanBank Center, Corpus Christi, Texas



Central Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2004


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.

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