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Ice Bats Play Final Homestand

February 22, 2005 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are 25-20-4 on the 2004-05 CHL season, in second place in the league's Southeast Division. After three wins last week, the Ice Bats trail first-place Corpus Christi by just a single point for the division lead and for the final Southern Conference playoff berth, while holding a six-point lead over third-place Laredo in the division standings.

After a Wednesday game at Laredo, the Ice Bats wrap up the home portion of their regular season schedule with games against Rio Grande Valley and Amarillo this weekend. The team will hold a charity auction of their game-worn military camouflage jerseys following Saturday's home finale. The Bats will then play their final eight regular season games on the road.

A look back: The Ice Bats swept three wild offensive games in three nights last week, starting with a 6-4 home win over Rio Grande Valley Friday. The Bats scored four times in the third period, including two empty-net goals to secure the win. Austin forward Gerald Tallaire opened scoring with a late first period redirect, before Rio Grande Valley scored three unanswered goals in the second.

The Killer Bees' Derek Holland tied the game on a power play goal, then right after another power play shift, the Bees took advantage of Austin confusion on a line change for a Daymen Bencharski score. 22 seconds after that, Jason Hawes scored, and the shell-shocked Bats trailed 3-1. The Bats got back within one late in the period, on a Tom Kotsopoulos centering pass into the slot for a Jeff Neufeld goal.

A minute into the third, a spectacular save by Austin goalie Peter-Emmanuel Brady sprung John McNabb the other way for a breakaway, but he likewise was denied by Bees goalie Jeff Levy. The Bats then tied the game at 4:08 on a sick goal by Jeff Alcombrack, who wove coast to coast before backhanding the puck by Levy.

45 seconds later, McNabb gloved a clearing attempt, and shot it in from the right wing for the lead. Austin's Jared Dumba added an empty net score with 1:15 left, but after a Joe Guenther goal closed the lead to one, the Ice Bats needed another empty-netter from McNabb to put it away. McNabb had two goals and an assist to lead scoring.

Saturday night, the Ice Bats won a 5-4 donnybrook over Wichita. The chippy affair featured 126 minutes in penalties, two-thirds of that whistled against the Thunder.

The Thunder opened up with a 10-1 shot advantage for a 2-0 lead through the first 11 minutes, but the Bats came back for goals 2:39 apart late in the period. Mike Mohr scored from the slot with four minutes left in the first, and John McNabb tied the score soon after.

The Bats took their first lead on Jeff Neufeld's power play goal late in the second, only to have Wichita's Joe Blaznek tie the score on a wicked power play blast 47 seconds into the third. But the Bats took the lead for good with goals 1:52 apart early in the period. Mohr scored a power play goal through a Dallas Anderson screen from the right point, and Kris Knoblauch followed up with a rebound goal from his knees, the eventual game-winner. A shorthanded goal from Wichita's Jason Duda brought the Thunder within one with six minutes left, but the Bats held them off down the stretch.

Mohr scored two goals and an assist, and Chris Richards four assists to lead Austin scoring before 5,416 fans at the Bat Cave.

On Sunday, the Ice Bats scored four goals in the third period to pull away for a 5-3 win at Rio Grande Valley. The Bats failed to put together a 60-minute effort, but 40 minutes was enough.

Rio Grande Valley forward Ryan Shmyr put the Bats on the power play twice with penalties in the first four minutes, and the Bats used that momentum to open scoring. Austin center Jeff Neufeld redirected a centering pass into the net from the slot at 9:07. Holding Rio Grande Valley to just two shots on goal in the first 15 minutes, the Bats outshot the Bees, 13-5 in the period.

But the Killer Bees turned the tables in the second, thanks to four consecutive power play chances. The Bees nearly tied the game early in the period on a shot from the point that hit the post and stayed behind Austin goalie Matt Barnes, but was cleared from the crease by defenseman Mike Mohr. The Bees eventually did tie the game on Troy Linna's power play goal at 5:29. The Ice Bats, who didn't get their first shot until three minutes remained in the period, were outshot 15-3 in the second.

Tied at one, the contest turned into a wild one in the third. A Jason Hawes rebound goal gave Rio Grande Valley the lead 4:43 into the period, but the Bats then exploded for three goals in 1:36. Jared Dumba poked in a centering pass in the crease at the seven-minute mark, and Neufeld scored 15 seconds later. 45 seconds after that, Ice Bats center Chris Richards had a would-be goal waved off, but defenseman Jeff Alcombrack blew around the defense for a breakaway backhander and a 4-2 lead at 8:36.

Killer Bees forward Bill Newson shut off the string with a goal at 9:28, but the Bats picked up a key insurance goal with four minutes remaining. Coming down the left wing, Neufeld fended off a defender for a shot on goal, and Dumba poked in the loose rebound for his second goal of the game. Neufeld had 2 goals and an assist, Dumba a pair of goals, and Tom Kotsopoulos three assists to lead Austin scoring.

Lights Back On: The Ice Bats scored twice on six power plays last Saturday against Wichita, snapping a five-game string of futility, during which the Bats failed to score on 27 power play chances. In fact, dating back to January 29th, the Ice Bats scored just twice on 47 power play chances in their nine games leading up to Saturday.

Wounded Wings: Ice Bats defenseman Ryan Leasa remains on 45-day injured reserve, and is expected to miss at least the rest of the regular season. But Bats defenseman Brian Pasko returned to the lineup last Friday after missing the previous 11 games. And defenseman Jonathan Jolette, who sat out Sunday, could also be back this week.

Roster Flights:

Arrivals: Last Thursday, the Ice Bats signed defenseman Ryan Edwards to help on their injury-plagued blue-line. Edwards played two seasons with Ice Bats Coach Greg Gatto in San Antonio, then 11 games with Odessa in 2002-03 before a season-ending leg injury. After taking last year off, Edwards appeared in one game earlier this season with Fort Worth, and in the two home games for the Bats last weekend. Working around his schedule as a firefighter in the Fort Worth area, Edwards could be available for duty for the Bats this week.

Player Plaudits: Ice Bats winger John McNabb ranks among the top five in league scoring, with 34 goals and 31 assists. Center Chris Richards is also in the top 13, with 14 goals and 44 assists. Jeff Alcombrack is among the top eight defensemen with 9 goals, 23 assists. Forward Kris Knoblauch is among the top ten rookies, with 13 goals and 17 helpers, and Jeff Neufeld is right behind him with 12 goals and 16 assists. Forward Dallas Anderson ranks second in the CHL with 304 penalty minutes.

Potential Bite Victims: At 23-22-2, defending champion Laredo is fighting to keep the season from slipping away. Winning twice in their last six games, the Bucks are six points behind the Bats, and seven points out of playoff position. Still the 4th-ranked team defensively (2.66 average goals allowed), the Bucks are still looking for consistent scoring. Last year's MVP, center Jeff Bes leads the team with 19 goals and 31 assists. Brent Cullaton has 19 goals and 25 helpers, but was recently recalled for the third time to Laredo's AHL affiliate in San Antonio. Rookie Adam Paiement (18 goals, 19 assists) has cooled a bit after a torrid start. Defenseman Dion Hyman is also up with San Antonio, but the Bucks got some help this week, with the Rampage's reassignment of center Scott Kelman. The Bucks remain strong in net with the rotation of David Guerrera (10-12-1, despite a 2.31 GAA) and Jeremy Symington (13-10-1, 2.60 GAA). Win or lose, the Bucks continue to play Coach Terry Ruskowski's hard-nosed style, leading the league in average penalty minutes. Laredo is still a formidable 16-6-2 at home.

Despite losing both games, Rio Grande Valley played the Bats tough last week. The Killer Bees are 13-32-3 and out of the playoff chase, having lost four in a row. Up and down the lineup, the Killer Bees just haven't gotten the anticipated scoring. Veteran Bill Newson leads the team with 17 goals and 25 assists. All-Star defenseman Jason Tessier has 28 points, and forward Matic Kralj 11 goals, 16 assists. In addition to ranking last on offense (2.19 goals per game), Rio Grande Valley is also in the basement defensively (3.77 average goals allowed) and on the penalty kill (77%). The goaltending the Bees relied upon for a playoff berth last year has struggled. It's hard to imagine goalie Jeff Levy (12-21-1, 3.22 GAA) ranking second in the league in losses. And goalie Jacque Vezina (1-11-2, 4.36 GAA) hasn't come along as hoped. Just 3-19-2 as a road team, the Killer Bees have dropped 13 straight road games. They'll bounce up to Odessa Wednesday before coming back to Austin.

Amarillo remains a key player in the Southern Conference playoff chase. At 24-15-8, the Gorillas are tied with Lubbock for 2nd in the Southwest, two points behind San Angelo. Even when the Gorillas lose, they win. Amarillo has earned standings points in 18 of its last 21 games, and is 3-0-2 in the last five. The extra points from overtime and shootout losses could help swing the Gorillas into the playoffs. Top 12 scorer Derek Hahn has 21 goals and 38 assists. Former Bat Brent Hughes has added 13 goals and 20 assists, and forward Scott Wray has 19 goals, along with 9 assists. Goalie Shawn Degagne (20-8-7, 2.56 GAA) ranks 4th in the league in minutes, and was in danger of getting overworked. So through an agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes, Coach Joe Ferras brought in Daniel Boisclair, who has allowed just a single goal in earning two victories. 10-9-3 on the road, Amarillo hosts Corpus Christi Tuesday, then makes a Southeast swing through Laredo, Austin and Rio Grande Valley.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 13-14-1 lifetime against Laredo, 4-4 this year. The Bats have dropped two of three in Laredo this year, including the last meeting, 6-5 on January 26th.

Last season, the Ice Bats' inability to beat Rio Grande Valley may have cost them a playoff berth. With the teams meeting five times over the final five weeks, the Bats' playoff future may again depend on their play against the Killer Bees. The Bats are now 10-8-1 lifetime against the Bees, after winning six of seven so far this year. The Ice Bats have outscored Rio 19-6 in their four wins at the Expo Center.

Austin is 15-8-3 lifetime against Amarillo, losing the only meeting this season, 4-2 just after Thanksgiving in Amarillo.

Comments From the Coach:

On Last Week: "Our best games have been our emotional games. When teams have challenged us physically, we've matched their intensity and played better. There've been times this year I've wanted to let the guys pound on each other with helmets and gloves on for about 30 seconds before the game, in an effort to wake us up. But with the intensity level ratcheting up a notch down the stretch, and everybody battling for a playoff spot, that shouldn't be necessary."

"We got some real leadership out of our veteran players last week. Richards came back and played huge. Mike Mohr stepped up and played well. Jeff Neufeld scored in all three games. And I can't say enough about Kelly Smart. He played defense the whole game Sunday at Rio Grande Valley and made plays. And you can say, ‘Oh well, it was Rio Grande,' but they've got some fast guys and that's a tough thing to do. When you've never played ‘D,' and you have Billy Newson flying down the wall on you, it's tough. But Smarty did a remarkable job."

On This Week: "All three games are huge. Laredo has been one of our biggest rivals, even though we haven't seen them in a month. They're fighting for their playoff lives, as are we, and they'll be ready to play, especially in their barn. Really, all 11 of our remaining games are ‘playoff' games. The only difference is, we only have two left at home. We need to win those games. Amarillo, along with Corpus Christi, are the closest teams we're chasing, so we need to take advantage of home ice against them."

Cave, Sweet Cave: The Ice Bats play their final two regular season home games this week. Saturday night, free team photos go to 5,000 fans from SBC. And after the game, the team's U.S. Army-sponsored camouflage jerseys will be auctioned off in the Crown Lounge, with proceeds to Ice Bats Children's Charities.

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.

Tee It Up: The Ice Bats' 2nd-Annual Charity Golf Classic benefiting Ice Bats Children's Charities takes place on Monday, March 7th at Forest Creek Golf Club. Players may register individually or in teams of four, with all groups also including an Ice Bats player, coach or other personality. To register or for more details, fans may call 927-PUCK or visit www.icebats.com.

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:

Wed., Feb. 23rd, 7:00pm, vs. Laredo Bucks, at Laredo Entertainment Center, Laredo, Texas

Fri., Feb. 25th, 7:35pm, vs. Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, at Travis Co. Expo Center, Austin, Texas

Sat., Feb. 26th, 7:35pm, vs. Amarillo Gorillas, at Travis County Expo Center, Austin, Texas



Central Hockey League Stories from February 22, 2005


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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