Ice Bats Put Road Record to Test

February 9, 2005 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are 22-18-3 on the 2004-05 CHL season, in second place in the league's Southeast Division. The Ice Bats trail first-place Corpus Christi by just two points, while holding a three-point lead over third-place Laredo in the division standings.

The Ice Bats are 8-4-1 since the All-Star break, and a league-best 11 games over .500 at home. However, the Bats will be looking to improve on a 5-12-1 road record as they make their first trip ever to Wichita, followed by a visit to Oklahoma City this weekend. The Bats then return for one of just five remaining regular season home games, Sunday against New Mexico. That game will be the first for Ice Bats captain Chris Richards against his old team, led by former Bats Shawn Legault and Daniel Tetrault.

A look back: The Ice Bats dropped consecutive games against Northern Conference foes last week, then stormed back to blank division rival Rio Grande Valley.

In their first game after Christmas, the Ice Bats came back from a 3-1 first period deficit for a 4-3 home win over Bossier-Shreveport. Last Thursday, the Mudbugs returned the favor, scoring three times in the third period for a 4-3 come-from-behind win at the CenturyTel Center. Bossier agitator Dan Wildfong led the way with two goals and an assist in the pivotal final period.

The Ice Bats opened scoring at 14:37 of the first period, as Dallas Anderson and Kris Knoblauch shoved in a rebound lost in the crease by Bossier goalie Jeff Blair. Despite failing to score on four first period power play attempts, the Ice Bats led 1-0 after one.

The Mudbugs tied the game midway through the second on a Ryan Manitowich score, but the Bats countered three minutes later with second effort on the penalty kill. Austin winger John McNabb beat Blair on a shorthanded breakaway chance, only to have Mudbugs forward Chris Brassard clear the puck from the goal line. Seconds later though, McNabb was back down the ice leading a two-on-one rush, and watching as Chris Richards flipped the puck over Blair's left shoulder.

The Bats opened a 3-1 lead with 3:27 left in the second period. Locked up with a defender below the left circle, defenseman Mike Mohr kicked the puck into the slot for a Jeff Neufeld score. It was the second score on just four Austin shots in the period.

The Mudbugs got even on Wildfong's rebound goal at 5:35 and a Jason Basile score at 11:27 of the third. Blair then made big saves to deny the Ice Bats on a five-on-three power play, and the Mudbugs took the lead with 3:56 remaining in regulation. Wildfong skated from the right corner, to the point and back down the slot before burying the game-winner. With his three-point third period, Wildfong became Bossier-Shreveport's all-time leading career scorer, and gave the Mudbugs their 11th straight home win.

Last Friday night, the Ice Bats lost at home to Memphis, 6-4. The RiverKings scored twice in the first, with Don Parsons finding a snippet of daylight over Peter-Emmanuel Brady's glove for the opening score at 15:13. 32 seconds later, Brady stopped Memphis' Tim Plett on a penalty shot, but just three seconds after that, RiverKings defenseman Ted Crowley snaked in a shot through traffic from the point.

The Bats crashed the net for a couple of multiple-rebound scores in the second. Jared Dumba put the Bats on the board midway through the period with a rebound goal. Then after a power play goal by Memphis forward Allan Carr, Austin's Tom Kotsopoulos dug out a rebound for a score. Bats captain Chris Richards tied the game, tipping in a five-on-three power play score with just 42 seconds left in the second period. The Bats outshot Memphis 23-9 in the period.

The game turned for good midway through the third, as the Ice Bats failed to stay out of the penalty box. The Bats' Kelly Smart hit the post on a shorthanded breakaway, and seconds later, Memphis d-man Derek Landmesser scored a power play goal. Then a shot by RiverKings rookie Phil Aucoin deflected off a stick near the boards and found the back of the net at 13:01. Smart scored off a Jeff Neufeld centering pass with five minutes left, but the ‘Kings got an empty net goal to salt it away.

Memphis scored twice on nine power play chances, and was led by Parsons, Aucoin and Landmesser, each with a goal and two assists. The Ice Bats scored once on seven power plays, and recorded 44 shots in the loss.

The Ice Bats capped the week with a 3-0 win over Rio Grande Valley on Saturday, snapping a three-game overall winless streak. Ice Bats goalie Matt Barnes stopped all 36 shots faced for his third shutout.

All the scoring took place in the second period, beginning with a John McNabb goal 1:56 into the period. The Bats then scored twice in the period's final 41 seconds. Jared Dumba made it 2-0 on a great individual move, weaving from the right wing into the slot and fighting off a defender before burying the puck by Killer Bees goalie Jacque Vezina. A Gerald Tallaire score with seven seconds left in the period was plenty for Barnes.

Killer Bees enforcer Ryan Shmyr took on Austin's Dallas Anderson two seconds into the third, but failed to spark anything resembling comeback momentum, as the Bees dropped their 11th straight game.

Wounded Wings: Ice Bats defenseman Brian Pasko has missed the last eight games to injury, but is expected to return off the injured reserve list this week.

Roster Flights:

Departures: Ice Bats forward Tom Kotsopoulos returns to the lineup this Saturday after sitting out a two-game league suspension, the result of accrued game misconduct penalties.

Iron Man: Last Saturday, center Kelly Smart became the Ice Bats' career leader in games played. Smart passed Ryan Anderson, who played 389 games over six seasons in an Ice Bats sweater. Smart also needs just 11 goals to overtake Dan Price as the Ice Bats' top career goal-scorer.

Player Plaudits: Ice Bats winger John McNabb ranks among the top six in league scoring, with 29 goals and 30 assists. Center Chris Richards is also in the top 20, with 14 goals and 39 assists. Jeff Alcombrack is among the top seven defensemen with 6 goals, 22 assists, while Kris Knoblauch is among the top ten rookies, with 12 goals and 15 helpers. Forward Dallas Anderson ranks second in the CHL with 267 penalty minutes. And goalie Matt Barnes ranks in the top ten at 18-10-2 with a 2.71 GAA and .920 save percentage.

Potential Bite Victims: Wichita has been in a horse race with Colorado for the league's top spot throughout the season. At 30-10-2, the Thunder has won five straight games to get within two points of the Eagles for the Northern Conference lead. The Thunder excels in all areas... ranking 2nd offensively (3.69 goals per game), 3rd on defense (2.57 average goals allowed), leading the league on the power play (21.8%), and 4th on the penalty kill (85.2%). The league's most dynamic scoring duo, Jason Duda and Travis Clayton rank one-two in CHL scoring. Duda has 23 goals and 54 assists, and has scored in 18 straight games. Clayton has 27 goals and 43 helpers, and earlier this year, had a 20-game point streak. Reigning January Player of the Month Joe Blaznek has added 26 goals and 27 assists. Clayton, Blaznek, and d-man Paul Esdale each have 11 power play goals. Esdale ranks 2nd among defensemen with 16 total goals and 25 assists. Thanks to rookie Derek Parker, who leads the league with 300 penalty minutes, the Thunder are 4th in team minutes, pleasing Wichita fans hungry for the rough stuff. But Wichita has also gotten excellent goaltending from Jason Flick (4th in the CHL at 15-4-1, with a 2.22 GAA) and Jamie Vandespyker (15-6-1, 2.78 GAA). Wichita is 14-4-2 at home, and when you play them, you better be ready to go-- they've outscored opponents 58-27 in first period play this year.

Winning seven of their last nine games, even stopping Colorado's league record-tying win streak, Oklahoma City is starting to put it together. The Blazers, 17-18-8, are tied for 4th in the Northeast Division. All-Star Michel Beausoleil ranks 2nd in the league in goals, with 31 to go along with 18 assists. Center Garrett Prosofsky has 33 points. Former Memphis veteran Kahlil Thomas has added 28 points, as has longtime Blazer Hardy Sauter, who ranks 7th among d-men this time around. In net, Sean Connors is 12-7-5 with a 2.63 GAA, while Boyd Ballard is 5-10-2 despite a respectable 2.93 GAA. An even 10-10-2 at home, Oklahoma City hosts Memphis before welcoming the Ice Bats in.

Staring up at Colorado and Wichita in the Northwest, New Mexico's best hope is a wild card berth. But at 19-17-6, with only two wins in their last ten games, the Scorpions have some work to do. While possessing a potent power play (2nd in the league at 21-1/2%), New Mexico is suspect defensively, ranking 16th with 3.67 goals allowed per outing. Speedy vet Randy Murphy ranks 7th in league scoring with 28 goals and 28 assists. Center Mike Oliveira has 21 goals and 25 assists, and Konrad McKay 12 goals and 23 helpers. Veteran Scorp Peter Ambroziak has 16 goals and 18 assists, as does former Bat Shawn Legault, who's putting up career offensive numbers to go along with his 236 penalty minutes (4th in the CHL). New Mexico will continue to lean heavily on goalie Miguel Beaudry (16-15-5, 3.26 GAA). Beaudry ranks 2nd in minutes played and total saves. 8-8-2 as a road team, New Mexico makes a swing through Bossier-Shreveport and Fort Worth before visiting Austin.

The Series: The Ice Bats will face each of their opponents this week for the first time this year. The Ice Bats are 3-0 lifetime against Wichita, heading into their first-ever visit to the Kansas Coliseum.

The Bats have likewise never lost to Oklahoma City, carrying an 8-0 lifetime record in three years of play against the Blazers.

Austin is 10-12-4 lifetime against New Mexico in regular season play.

Comments From the Coach:

On Last Week: "Last week was a bit of a mixed bag. We probably didn't deserve to be in the game in Bossier, but once we had a 3-1 lead, should've won it. That's one where you hope to get lucky and steal two points, but it didn't happen. Against Memphis, we probably deserved a better fate. But we dug ourselves a little bit of a hole early, and we knew they had a good power play. It was good to win the last game. We always want to beat the teams below us."

"The Dumba-Neufeld-Smart line has been our best line recently. Dumba's got an 11-game point streak, and Neufeld had nine points in five games going into Saturday. If we can get consistent scoring from our top two lines and have the third line at least chip in, it'll really help us. The third line with Knoblauch and Anderson has been able to do that, and that's the result of hard work."

On This Week: "We have two tough road tests, playing in Wichita for the first time, and then Oklahoma City. Wichita has been in a battle all year long with Colorado as the league's best team, and Oklahoma City's battling for their playoff lives. New Mexico's in the same situation. Playing three games in three nights with travel involved is always a tough test, so it'll be good to see how our team measures up."

Cave, Sweet Cave: Sunday's game is one of just five remaining regular season home games for the Ice Bats. A free post-game skate with the players follows the contest.

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.

A Great Cause: On Saturday, February 19th, Freescale Semiconductor presents Komen Foundation Night, benefiting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Austin Affiliate. The Ice Bats will make a donation to the Komen Foundation, and fans attending the game can gather information and make donations of their own to help fight breast cancer. In addition, trading card sets go to 3,000 fans, and the University of Texas hockey team faces Georgia Tech beginning at 4:45pm.

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.



Central Hockey League Stories from February 9, 2005


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