Ice Bats Over .500 After SeventhStraight Win

January 31, 2006 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are 19-18-3 on their 10th-Anniversary 2005-06 season. Posting a torrid 9-1-1 record in January, the Ice Bats have overtaken Corpus Christi, Lubbock and Amarillo in the Southern Conference, and now have sole possession of the Conference's final playoff position. And they begin play this week just two points behind second-place Rio Grande Valley in the Southeast Division race.

This week, the Ice Bats will play a home and home series against Fort Worth, hosting the Brahmas on Friday. Thursday's game in Fort Worth was rescheduled from December 7th, a game postponed due to inclement weather. The Ice Bats will then wrap up the weekend at Odessa on Saturday.

A look back: The Ice Bats piled up three more victories last week in three nights. Thursday night, Ice Bats goalie Miguel Beaudry turned away 34 shots as the Bats won their fifth straight game, 1-0 in regulation in Corpus Christi. Both goalies turned in sterling efforts in a wide-open but scoreless first period. Midway through the period, Corpus Christi's Brent Zelenewich made a diving save to his left, only to be outdone moments later by Beaudry. Twisting on his side, Beaudry got his stick along the goal line to rob a point blank rebound by the Rayz' Chris Robertson.

The Ice Bats took the lead just 34 seconds into the second period, with forward Mike Tucciarone jumping on a rebound off a Jason Kenyon shot for a power play goal. After that, Bats defenders clamped down on the Corpus offensive attack, blocking shots and passing lanes, and limiting Rayz scoring chances in the third period. Beaudry became the third Ice Bats goalie to earn a shutout this season. Zelenewich stopped 32 of 33 shots in a losing effort.

They might not have had their "A Game" last Friday, but the Ice Bats picked up their sixth straight victory nonetheless, a 3-2 home win over Fort Worth. Reaching the .500 mark for the first time since the start of the season, the Ice Bats moved into sole possession of the fourth and final Southern Conference playoff position.

Bats winger Gerald Tallaire scored the only goal of the first period six minutes into the contest. The Brahmas tied the score 1:35 into the second on a Matt Reynolds goal. Moments after that, Tallaire rang the post with a shot, but Ice Bats center Jason Kenyon scored twice in the third to help take control. Kenyon followed up his own shot for a rebound goal at 4:10, and ripped home the eventual winner from the slot midway through the final period. Fort Worth's Cory Stillman scored with 3:42 remaining to set the final score.

Austin goalie Matt Barnes stopped 34 of 36 shots faced to earn his second straight win.

On Saturday, forward Julian Smith scored two goals and an assist, including the shootout winner, to give the Ice Bats their seventh straight win, 3-2 over Oklahoma City. The victory propelled the Bats above the .500 mark for the first time this season.

The Blazers wasted little time getting on the board, Michel Beausoleil opening scoring just 17 seconds into the contest. The Ice Bats tied the game at 13:34 of the second, with Smith winning a face-off, then pumping in a goal from the left circle. Oklahoma City goalie Sean Connors stopped Austin's John McNabb on a shorthanded breakaway in the final half-minute to keep the score tied after two.

Midway through the final period, a shot by Ice Bats defenseman Jonathan Jolette bounced off the post, and then the Blazers crashed the net for a Gio Flamminio power play goal with 4:28 remaining in regulation. But exactly two minutes later, another Jolette shot skipped off an Oklahoma City player for a power play score, and the teams were tied again.

With 21 seconds left in regulation, Beausoleil clipped Jolette with a stick and received a high-sticking double minor. The Ice Bats were unable to cash in however, and the teams skated through overtime scoreless.

In the shootout, Blazers defenseman Joe Dustin scored in Round One, but Ice Bats center Aaron Davis tied it in Round Two. Bats goalie Miguel Beaudry then stopped the final four shooters faced, and Smith scored the game-winner in Round Four. Beaudry stopped 28 of 30 shots faced for the game. The win provided a fitting send-off for Ice Bats winger Dave MacIntyre, who closed out an eight-year professional career with his retirement.

Roster Flights:

Arrivals: Ice Bats defenseman Aaron Schneekloth returned on Monday from a ten-day call-up to Houston of the American League. Schneekloth appeared in six games for the Aeros, contributing one assist.

Departures: Ice Bats captain Dave MacIntyre has retired to pursue a career in law enforcement as a Court Officer with the Toronto Police Service. The 32-year-old MacIntyre hangs up the skates after eight professional seasons as one of the league's top two-way forwards. The veteran winger leaves as the team's third-leading scorer, with 13 goals and 14 assists.

Wounded Wings: Ice Bats forward Shawn Roed, injured December 17th and placed on 45-day injured reserve, has been cleared to play and should be activated this week.

Aye, Cap'n: Ice Bats defenseman Darryl McArthur has been given the Captain's "C" with the departure of Dave MacIntyre. Defenseman Aaron Schneekloth and winger John McNabb are Assistant Captains.

Player Plaudits: With two victories last week, including a shutout at Corpus Christi, Ice Bats goalie Miguel Beaudry was this week named Oakley CHL Goalie of the Week. Beaudry has now won his last five starts, upping his record to 6-3-1 with a 2.45 GAA in ten Ice Bats appearances.

Winger John McNabb ranks among the top 20 league scorers with 22 goals and 23 assists. Forward Aaron Davis (29 points) is second on the team in scoring. And Mike Tucciarone is fifth among all rookie scorers with 26 points, ranking third among first-year players in goals (17). Among the hottest Ice Bats is center Jeff Neufeld, with 15 points over his last dozen games. Darryl McArthur ranks among the top 15 defensemen with 23 points.

Czech-ing In: Czech-born goaltender Miroslav Kopriva continues to excel since his January 13th call-up to AHL Houston. Kopriva, who was 7-2 with a 2.00 GAA with the Ice Bats earlier this season, has allowed just one goal in each of his first two starts since recalled. Kopriva stopped 26 of 27 shots last Friday at Peoria, upping his Houston record to 3-1, with a 2.79 GAA.

Potential Bite Victims: Fort Worth continues to struggle at 13-22-5, 4th in the Northeast, and 5-9-2 since Guy Larose took over coaching duties just before Christmas. While the Brahmas are playing harder, Larose still has plenty of work to do for a team that ranks 14th on offense (2.65 goals per game), and last on defense (3.68 average goals allowed) and in both specialty teams categories. Center Cory Stillman leads the club with 18 goals and 20 assists. Wes Mason (15 goals, 19 assists) enters this week with a ten-game point streak, and winger Bret DeCecco has 18 goals and 14 helpers. Goalie Larry Sterling leads the league in minutes and is second in total saves, with a 12-17-3 record and 3.36 GAA. Fort Worth has just finished a seven-game road trip. 6-10-3 at home, the Brahmas are 7-12-2 as a road team.

Though they've stumbled just a touch lately, Odessa is 21-13-5 and still holds an 8-point lead in the Southwest. The Jackalopes rank in the top five offensively, scoring nearly 3-1/2 goals per game despite a power play that only ranks 13th (13.3%). And once again, Odessa is among the league's top teams defensively, allowing just over three goals per game and killing 87.1% of opposing power plays. Top six scorer Sebastien Thinel has 25 goals and 30 assists. Dominic Leveille is second among rookies with 18 goals and 31 assists, including 11 power play goals. Forwards John Kozoriz and Matt Cressman each have 16 goals and 15 assists. All-Star goalie Mike Gorman ranks 3rd in the league at 17-9-2 with a 2.46 GAA, and his .928 save percentage is the league's best. A glaring statistic: watch out for the second period, where Odessa has outscored opponents 64-39. 12-3-1 at the Jack Shack, Odessa hosts Amarillo, Tulsa and Austin this week.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 47-23-2 lifetime against Fort Worth, 3-1 this year. The Bats have won the last three games in the series, including a 2-1 win on December 21st, in their only prior appearance in Fort Worth.

The Bats are 14-5-3 lifetime against Odessa, but have lost both meetings this year. The Bats fell 3-1 to Odessa November 13th in Austin, then were blasted 7-2 on December 30th in Odessa.

Comments From the Coach:

On Last Week: "It was another good team effort last week. Our guys worked hard and found ways to win. I thought our goaltending was real good. Both goalies made the right saves at the right time. There were times we could have played better. I give credit to Fort Worth-- they came in and played us very hard. But I think our guys realize it wasn't our best performance either. That's the good thing-- the guys recognize now when they haven't played their best game. It's all about work ethic, physical presence and consistency."

On This Week: "Losing MacIntyre will have an impact on us, but we get Schneekloth and Roed back and we're moving forward. Fort Worth is playing much better, and we'll have our work cut out for us, make no mistake. Maybe with the exception of Laredo and Colorado, everyone else is pretty even, and you better show up no matter who you play. Saturday's game at Odessa will be interesting. We got thumped pretty good there last time, and I think we're anxious to prove we're a different team."

Cave, Sweet Cave: 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. For on-line orders, fans may visit www.TexasBoxOffice.com or www.GetTix.Net. To charge by phone, fans may call the Ice Bats ticket office at 927-PUCK, Texas Box Office at (512) 477-6060, or Get Tix at 1-866-4-Get Tix.

Individual game tickets range in price from $11 to $35, depending on section, with discounted rates for groups of 15 or more. In addition to individual game tickets and group outings, season tickets and corporate partnerships are currently available for the upcoming season, with full-season, half-season and 10-game ticket packages on sale now. 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.

Road Shifting: The Ice Bats' game originally scheduled for March 25th at Bossier-Shreveport has been rescheduled due to a building conflict at the CenturyTel Center. The game will now be played at 7:05pm on Sunday, March 12th.

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.

NOTE: This Saturday's game at Odessa will be carried live on 1530's sister station, 1260 KWNX-AM.

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., Feb. 2nd, 7:30pm, vs. Fort Worth Brahmas, at Fort Worth Convention Center, Fort Worth, Texas Fri., Feb. 3rd, 7:30pm, vs. Fort Worth Brahmas, at Travis County Expo Center, Austin, Texas

Sat., Feb. 4th, 7:00pm, vs. Odessa Jackalopes, at Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, Texas



Central Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2006


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