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Ice Bats Try to Snap Five-game skid

January 26, 2007 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Austin Ice Bats News Release


Setting the Stage: The Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League are 14-16-7 on the 2006-2007 CHL season, tied for third in the Southeast Division. The Ice Bats have begun play at all-new Chaparral Ice Arena, located on I-35 between Howard Lane and Wells Branch Parkway.

The Ice Bats try to snap a five-game winless skid with games at Odessa and Bossier-Shreveport this weekend, then return to host the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in the second half of a home-and-home series Sunday.

A look back: Coming out of the All-Star break, the Ice Bats have dropped three games in a row. Last Friday, the Bats continued to be stymied on the power play, dropping a close 3-1 decision to Laredo. The Bats failed to score on 11 power play attempts.

The teams' goalies were the show, as the Bats and Bucks skated to a scoreless first period tie. With six minutes left in the second period, Austin goalie Tony Quesada stoned Laredo's Ladislav Kouba on a shorthanded breakaway chance. But the Bucks would gain the first lead on a Jeff Bes power play goal with two minutes left in the period.

Winger John McNabb brought the Ice Bats even with a goal from low in the right circle 6:25 into the third period. But Laredo rookie Chris Korchinski scored the eventual winner, when he gained a step on the defense, deked and flipped a breakaway goal to the shelf at the 13-minute mark. Bes added an empty net goal in the final seconds.

Laredo goalie Kevin Reiter stopped 37 of 38 shots for the victory, while Quesada settled for 27 saves in the loss.

Last Saturday, Corpus Christi forward Nick Lindberg scored twice and Rayz goalie Brent Zelenewich stopped 41 of 42 shots faced, leading the Rayz to a 4-1 win at Chaparral Ice Arena.

The Ice Bats opened scoring on a Julian Smith goal four minutes into the game, but Lindberg tied the game on a one-timer from the right circle late in the second.

The Rayz then scored three times in the third to sprint away. Adam Powell scored the eventual winner 4:27 into the final period. Lindberg's shorthanded goal midway through the period was the back-breaker, and Jason Baird scored on Kevin Watters' pretty pass across the slot with 3:13 left.

This past Tuesday, the Ice Bats dropped their fifth straight game, 5-4 in a matinee contest at Corpus Christi. The Rayz built a 4-0 lead and held off the Ice Bats' comeback charge over the final two periods.

The Ice Bats' alarm clocks were slow to go off, the Rayz running circles around the slumbering Bats in the first period. Winger Adam Powell slammed in Chris Mei's centering pass from behind the net six minutes into the contest. Two minutes later, Derrick McIver's power play shot from the slot hit the right post and bounded away, but the Rayz made it 2-0 on Nick Lindberg's rebound goal late in the first.

Powell scored his second goal in the second period on an extended shift in the Austin zone, and Jason Baird scored midway through the period. But the Bats scratched their way back into the game with a pair of scores late in the period. Winger Mike Tucciarone scored 1:23 after Baird's goal, and the Ice Bats broke a four-game drought on the power play with Henry Kuster's score at 16:47. It was just the Ice Bats' second power play goal in 62 chances over the 11 games since Christmas.

Despite playing the contest without defenseman Adam Holmgren and the final two periods without top scorer John McNabb, the Bats twice forged back within one in the final period. Forward Mike Possin threw a body check in the corner, received a pass from John Ronan in the slot, and slipped the puck onto the left circle for a Julian Smith goal 1:44 into the final period.

Then just 49 seconds after Corpus Christi's Todd Paul scored a power play goal, Tucciarone scored his second to make it 5-4. But the Ice Bats couldn't get over the hump after that, and the Rayz put away their fifth straight victory. Powell's two goals led the Rayz, while Tucciarone and Kuster each scored three points for the Bats.

Roster Flights:

Arrivals: Ice Bats center Aaron Davis returned from the 45-day injured reserve list last Saturday. Davis had been out since Thanksgiving week due to injury.

On Monday, the Ice Bats were assigned defenseman Chris Ovington by the team's AHL affiliate in Houston. A sixth-round NHL draft pick of the Florida Panthers in 1998, Ovington played five junior seasons in the Western Hockey League and five years at the University of Alberta. Ovington appeared in 25 games with the Aeros this season.

Departures: To make room for Davis on the roster, the Ice Bats traded forward Tim Earl to Wichita in exchange for future considerations. Earl had 13 points in 35 games for the Ice Bats. To make room for Ovington, the Bats then on Monday activated defenseman Doug MacIver from injured reserve and traded him as future considerations to the Memphis RiverKings. MacIver had 21 penalty minutes in six games, but had been out of the lineup since November 18th to injury.

With goalie Tony Quesada signed to a standard player contract, the Ice Bats traded goaltender Kevin Couture to Arizona in exchange for winger Marty Doyle and future considerations. Couture was 5-7 with a 2.80 goals-against average. A tough-minded forward, Doyle had five points and 133 penalty minutes in 27 games with the Sundogs.

Wounded Wings: Ice Bats top scorer John McNabb did not play the final two periods Tuesday at Corpus Christi due to injury, and will not play in the two road games this weekend.

Player Plaudits: Winger John McNabb leads the Ice Bats in scoring, with 18 goals and 17 assists. Forward Henry Kuster is next with 16 goals and 13 assists. Center Julian Smith (13 goals and 13 helpers) has come on strong, and defenseman Terry Virtue has 23 points. Goalie Miguel Beaudry is 9-5-7 with a 2.83 GAA in net, and ranks among the league's top ten goalies.

Potential Bite Victims: Both this weekend's opponents again make their mark with defense. At 16-16-4, Odessa is one of four teams within two points of the lead in the jumbled Southwest Division. The Jackalopes have lost three straight, but feature the league's 6th-rated defense (3.08 goals allowed per game) and are in the top seven in both specialty teams categories. Center Mike Rutter leads the team with 11 goals and 26 assists. Forward Steve Shrum has 15 goals and 14 assists, and Blaine Bablitz 27 points. Perennial All-Star defenseman Scott Hillman has 25 points. At 6-8, massive Jeff Ewasko leads the league with 183 penalty minutes. Goalie Mike Gorman is 12-10-3 with a 3.07 GAA, and his .921 save percentage ranks fourth. Odessa is 8-7 at home.

Bossier-Shreveport is 20-11-5 and in second place in the Northeast, albeit 12 points behind red-hot Memphis. Despite ranking 16th on offense, scoring 2.7 goals per game, the Mudbugs win with stingy defense. They lead the league in total defense (2.39 goals allowed per contest) and on the penalty kill (90%). And because of that, the Mudbugs are 9-2-5 in one-goal games. Rookie Daniel Pegoraro leads the team in scoring with 13 goals and 18 assists. Second in team scoring (11 goals, 18 assists), Dan Wildfong is second in the league with 173 penalty minutes, including 69 minor penalties. Karlis Zirnis (10 goals, 18 assists) and Chris Brassard (14 goals, 13 assists) round out the scoring leaders. Bossier's goalies are the league's two best: Ken Carroll (7-4-1, 1.82 GAA, .943 save percentage) and John DeCaro (10-6-3, 2.43 GAA, .928 save percentage). The 'Bugs are 13-4 at home, 7-7-5 on the road. They'll finish a home-and-home series against Memphis before entertaining Austin.

The Series: The Ice Bats are 15-7-4 lifetime against Odessa, but 0-1-1 this year in two meetings in Austin.

The Bats are 16-20-8 lifetime against Bossier-Shreveport, 1-2 this season. The Bats won in a shootout Opening Night in Austin, but lost the last two meetings against the Mudbugs, including a 2-1 decision November 17th in Bossier City.

Comments From the Coach:

On Last Week: "We seem to be finding ways to lose games instead of winning them. When we play well, we can't score, and when we do get goals, we do things to cost us goals. We haven't played with enough energy and enough grit, and we have to start showing up for sixty minutes."

On Recent Additions: "I feel bad for Quesada because I think he's a pretty good goalie and has played pretty well. He'll be a valuable asset, and as a prospect, he'll get the playing time Houston wants him to. Ovington, I think will be pretty good too. He's not going to add a lot of offense from the blue line, which we still need, but he's capable of playing a lot of minutes at this level. Doyle is a tough kid and a legitimate heavyweight who will take on all comers. He'll give us some toughness, which we need."

On This Week: "We've got some tough travel this weekend, but it will give us a chance to refocus. We have to look it in the eye and go out and play. No one likes to lose, and trust me, our guys are tired of it. We're without McNabb, but that's hockey and you deal with injuries. I just want to see us show more competitiveness, more grit and more emotion."

The "New" Bat Cave: This season, the Ice Bats begin a new era at Chaparral Ice Arena, located on I-35 between Howard Lane and Wells Branch Parkway.

Sunday is "Faith and Family Day," with a free post-game skate with the Ice Bats players following the contest. Free cheer stix go to all fans, and Miss Teen Austin will sign autographs, presented by CATZ Sports.

In addition to providing tickets through the Ice Bats office at 927-PUCK, the Bats are for the first time utilizing Front Gate Tickets as the team's ticket outlet. Fans may conveniently purchase tickets at any Front Gate Tickets location, including Stubbs BBQ, Waterloo Records and Encore Video & CD.

Fans may order on-line through the Ice Bats website at www.icebats.com. Phone orders may be placed by calling (512) 927-PUCK, or 1-888-512-SHOW. Individual game tickets range in price from $15 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.

"Chalk Talk": Ice Bats fans can get the lowdown before every Friday and Saturday home game, with Ice Bats "Chalk Talk," beginning at 6:30pm in Moorsy's Bar at Chaparral Ice Arena. Forward Britt Dougherty will provide a scouting report of that night's opponent, and Coach Bill McDonald will also be available to greet fans.

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 2006-07 regular season and CHL Playoffs. The games will also be available on-line, through the station website at www.espnaustin.com. Ice Bats VP of Broadcasting, Media/PR Glen Norman will handle play-by-play duties for a ninth 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.

In addition, the CHL has partnered with industry leader ONEsite to launch 'myCHLteam.com', a new digital community designed to increase and enhance fan, player, team and league interaction. ONEsite is a leading provider of private labeled social networks and communities, and provides individual websites, blogs, photo galleries and much more to fans at no cost. Fans may log onto www.MyIceBats.com to sign up or for more details.

THIS WEEK:

Fri., Jan 26th, 7pm, vs. Odessa Jackalopes, at Ector County Coliseum, Odessa, Texas

Sat., Jan. 27th, 7:05pm, vs. Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, at CenturyTel Center, Bossier City, Louisiana

Sun., Jan. 28th, 4pm, vs. Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, at Chaparral Ice Arena, Austin, Texas

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