Killer Bees Game Notes

Published on February 18, 2006 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


The Killer Bees (21-20-5, 47 pts) battle the expansion Youngstown Steelhounds for the third and final time this season. Youngstown took both games in Ohio when the Killer Bees traveled there in December. Last night, the Killer Bees earned a point in a 3-2 shootout loss to Corpus Christi and jumped to within two points of both Austin and Amarillo for the final playoff spot in the Southern Conference. Dwayne Hay and Aaron Phillips scored for the Bees while Evan Lindsay made31 saves. Randy Murphy had both the tying and winning goals for the Rayz, who are now seven points behind the Bees in the standings. Youngstown defeated Fort Worth 4-2 last night, then hopped on the bus for the ride to the Valley. Matt Hanson had a hat trick for the Hounds while David St. Germain made 19 saves.

RADIO/TV

Radio: ESPN 1240; Live Audio at killerbeehockey.com; audio/video stream at chltv.com; TV: Televisa XERV-9, Cable 19

SEASON SERIES

Third and final meeting...Youngstown took back-to-back games on Dec. 6 (4-3) and 7 (5-1) at the Chevy Center in Youngstown...Aaron Phillips and Trevor Weisgerber have a pair of goals for the Bees...Jeff Christian (2-3-5) and Chris Richards (1-4-5) lead the Hounds in the series...The Bees are 2-for-17 (11.8%) on the power play, while Youngstown is 3-for-11 (27.3%).

ALL TIME SERIES

The Killer Bees are 0-2-0 all time vs. Youngstown.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE Saturday, February 18 vs. Youngstown, 7:35 p.m. (Radio: ESPN 1240; TV; Televisa XERV-9, cable 19) presented by Obra Homes, first 2,500 fans receive Thunderstix.

Tuesday, February 21 at Odessa, 7:00 p.m. (Radio: ESPN 1240)

Friday, February 24 vs. Austin, 7:35 p.m. (Radio: ESPN 1240) presented by Rio Grande Regional Hospital

Saturday, February 25 vs. Memphis, 7:35 p.m. (Radio: ESPN 1240) NASCAR night presented by HEB, hand clappers to the first 2500 fans; Bees wear special NASCAR jerseys to be auctioned after the game (benefits Killer Bee Foundation); Fans who wear NASCAR attire can buy $11 tickets to the game.

Sunday, February 26 at Corpus Christi, 5:05 p.m. (Radio: ESPN 1240)

Wednesday, March 1 at Laredo, 11:00 a.m. (Radio: ESPN 1240)

TONIGHT'S OPPONENT

SteelHounds Captain Jeff Christian is on quite a stretch notching points in each of the last eight games and multiple point games in six straight contests. Over that stretch, he has scored eight goals with 11 assists. Over his last three games, Christian has scored five goals with five assists. The veteran has 44 goals (first in the CHL) and 78 points (second in the CHL) and leads the league with nine game winning goals, second with 17 power play goals and is tied for fifth with three shorthanded goals. Christian is the reigning CHL Oakley Player of the Week after his nine points (5-4=9) in four games last week, the Hounds went 3-1 over the four games...Chris Richards in currently on an eight-game point streak amassing a goal with 10 assists over that span. His eight-game assist streak is the longest current helper streak in the CHL. Richards is tied for fifth in points with 65 and second in assists with 50. His assist total is just four helpers shy of his career high set twice (2000-01, 2004-05). On Tuesday, Richards netted his 500th career point with an assist... The SteelHounds have caught fire on their road trip with the play of their power play which has scored in five of the six games thus far. The only time the Hounds did not score a power play goal over their last eight games was when Austin was not whistled for a single infraction on Feb. 12 in the Hounds 4-3 victory. Over their last six games, Youngstown has gone 11 for 28 (39.2%).

TEAM NOTES

SKATE WITH THE BEES

This Sunday, you can skate with the Killer Bees at RGV Ice Center on Business 83 and 23rd in McAllen from 1-3 p.m. Skating admission is $7 and skate rental is $2.

DOWN THE STRETCH

Including tonight, the Killer Bees have 18 games left in the season. Of their remaining games, nine are away from the Dodge Arena. They have two games in hand on Corpus Christi, Austin and Laredo. Amarillo has one game in hand on the Bees while Lubbock has two.

TEAM GOALS AGAINST IN TOP FIVE

The Killer Bees are fifth in the CHL with a 3.04 team GAA. They are third overall in shots against allowing an average of 31.9 per game, while they are fourth in shots for at 35.7.

JUST SHY OF SHOTS RECORD

The Killer Bees put 54 shots on Corpus Christi's Scott Reid on Feb 12 in a 5-0 win. They fell one shot short of tying a franchise record for shots on goal in one goal (55, set Dec. 31, 2005 vs. Fort Worth).

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD

Rio Grande Valley's playoff picture is tied in part to how the team performs on the road in the final 20 games. The Killer Bees play 10 of their final 20 games away from Dodge Arena. The Killer Bees are winless in their last nine road outings (0-7-2). They have not collected a solid two points on the road in 11 games, dating back to a 4-1 win at Fort Worth on Dec. 30 (The only road win in since Dec. 30 was a 3-2 shootout victory at Corpus Christi).

TRADE WINDS

The Killer Bees acquired All Star winger Bret DeCecco from Fort Worth for center Bobby Davis and future considerations on Wednesday, Feb 8, 2006. DeCecco played in San Angelo last season, where he was a teammate of Killer Bees Trevor Weisgerber, Nathan Rosychuk and Matt Medley.

SHORT BENCH

The Killer Bees played with just 14 skaters in the 3-2 overtime loss at Laredo on February 8. Daymen Bencharski missed the game with a groin injury, while the team was short to begin with due to the Davis/DeCecco trade.

TOUGH TIMES

The Killer Bees went 2-6-2 in games 31-40, their worst 10-game stretch of the season. They were outscored 27-17 and managed just five power play goals on 65 chances. They set a season-high with a six-game road winless skid from Jan. 14-Feb.3 (0-5-1). By comparison, the team went 9-1-0 in games 21-30.

MIDWEEK BLAHS

Midweek games have not been fun for the Killer Bees this season. They are 1-7-1 in weekday games and have been outscored 31-19. The lone win was a 6-3 victory on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at Corpus Christi. The Bees are 20-13-4 in weekend games, outscoring opponents 121-109.

CONFERENCE CALL

The Killer Bees are 17-12-4 vs. Southern Conference teams and 4-8-1 vs. Northern Conference clubs.

ONE GOAL GAMES

The Killer Bees are 9-5-5 in one-goal games.

FIRST GOAL IS THE GOAL

The Killer Bees are 15-4-2 when scoring first and 6-18-3 when allowing the first goal.

COMEBACK NOW?

With a record of 0-17-0, the Bees have yet to come back from trailing after the second period. They are only marginally better (1-11-1) when trailing after the first, earning a point in an overtime loss to Colorado. Rio's 4-1 win over Corpus Christi on Dec. 16 marked the first time the team came back from trailing after the first period to win.

ONE, TWO THREE.....WE WANT FOUR! The Killer Bees are a perfect 17-0-0 when scoring four or more goals and 4-0 when scoring six or more. When scoring three or fewer goals, the record is just 4-19-5.

HIVE, SWEET HIVE

The Bees have earned points in six of their last eight home games dating back to Dec. 31. They had a four-game home winning streak was snapped Dec. 27 vs. Laredo in a 3-1 final.

MONTH BY MONTH

The Bees got off to the best start in franchise history, going 4-1-0 in October. After a tough November (3-7-1), the Killer Bees went 9-3-0 in December and went 4-5-2 in January. They are 1-4-2 in February so far.

BEES STRONG AT HOLDING LEADS

At 17-2-2 when leading after two periods, the Bees have been strong with the lead. The Bees led 3-2 at Oklahoma City entering the third period but fell 5-3. They had not given up a third period lead since a 6-3 loss vs. Austin on Nov. 12.

NEW FRANCHISE ROAD-WINNING STREAK

The Killer Bees set a new franchise record with their fourth consecutive road win Dec. 30 at Fort Worth. The previous mark of three in a row last occurred Feb. 15-21, 2004.

BEES SET FRANCHISE WINNING STREAK

With a 5-4 win in overtime on Dec. 18, the Bees set a new franchise streak with five wins in a row. They extended the streak to six games overall with a 5-1 win at Corpus Christi on Dec. 23 The team had two previous win streaks of four wins in a row, most recently Feb. 15-21, 2004.

ALL TIME SHOTS RECORD SET

The Killer Bees broke another franchise record Dec. 31 by firing 55 shots at Fort Worth's Larry Sterling. The previous mark of 54 happened Jan. 6, 2005 vs. Odessa. The teams combined for 93 shots (a Bees record) and fell eight shots short of the CHL season high of 102 set by Colorado and Odessa on Oct. 22.

BEES AND RAYZ COMBINE FOR PIM HIGH

The Bees and Corpus Christi Rayz combined for 112 PIM on Dec. 23, the most this season between the Bees and an opponent. Ryan Shmyr set a team high with 26 PIM, while the Rayz' Shawn Legault racked up 29 PIM.

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY (16.4%)

The Killer Bees are tied for sixth in the CHL with 57 power play goals...The Bees are 8-for-36 (22.2%) over the last six games, and had a three-game scoring streak snapped at Oklahoma City on Feb. 14...They broke an 0-for-21 slide over four games with a pair of power play goals at Laredo on Wednesday, Feb. 3...The team went 5-for-65 (7.69%) in games 31-40 after going 16-for-87 (18.39%) in games 21-30...The Killer Bees set a franchise record with four power play goals Dec. 10 at Austin and matched that performance Dec. 31 vs. Fort Worth...Daymen Bencharski (8) and Trevor Weisgerber (7) lead the team in power play goals.

PENALTY KILLING (85.8%)

The Killer Bees have allowed the fewest power play goals in the CHL (43) while they are tied for third with 11 shorthanded goals...The Bees had killed off 22 of their last 23 shorthanded situations over the last five games prior to allowing two goals vs. Corpus Christi on Feb. 17...Oklahoma City's power play goal on Feb. 14 snapped a streak of 17 straight kills over four games...The team has been shorthanded just 292 times, second least in the CHL...The penalty kill went 8-for-53 (84.9%) in games 31-40 after going 6-for-67 (91.04%) in games 21-30... They broke a franchise record Dec. 31 vs. Fort Worth with their ninth SHG...Trevor Weisgerber (3), Dwayne Hay and Daymen Bencharski (2) lead the team in SHG.

NEW POWER PLAY OPPORTUNITES HIGH SET

The Killer Bees went 3-for-14 on the power play Dec. 23 at Corpus Christi and tied a franchise high set Feb. 14, 2004 vs. Laredo when the Bees went 2-for-14 on the man advantage. It eclipses the season-high of 12 power play chances, set Dec. 17 at Laredo when the Bees went 2-for-12.

FRANCHISE POWER PLAY GOALS RECORD SET, AGAIN

A four-goal night (4-for-11) on the power play set a franchise record Dec. 10 at Austin. The Bees matched that output Dec. 31 vs. Fort Worth, going 4-for-13. The Bees have scored three power play goals numerous times, including a three-goal performance on Dec. 3 at home vs. the Ice Bats, a 3-for-14 night Dec. 30 at Fort Worth, and a 3-for-7 night vs. Corpus Christi Feb 12.

GOALIE NOTES

LINDSAY AMONG GOALIE WINS LEADERS, EARNS SECOND SHUTOUT

Evan Lindsay's 17 wins are just out of the top five in the CHL. He picked up his 17th win and his second shutout of the season with a 34-save performance Feb. 12 vs. Corpus Christi. He earned his first shutout of the season Jan. 7 vs. Corpus Christi with 24 saves. His closest shutout bid prior to that was ended with Derrick McIver's goal with only 19 seconds in regulation at Corpus Christi on Dec. 23.

LINDSAY EARNS GOALIE OF THE WEEK NOD, AGAIN

Evan Lindsay earned his second nod as the Oakley CHL Goalie of the Week for Week 17. Lindsay began his week with a 42-save performance Feb. 8 in a 3-2 overtime loss in Laredo, and then made another 34 saves Sunday, Feb 12 to blank visiting Corpus Christi 5-0. He went 1-0-1 on the week, his 1.45 GAA and .962 save percentage leading the team out of an eight-game winless slide. Lindsay was also named the Oakley CHL Goalie of the Week after earning two wins the weekend of Jan. 6 and 7. The Bees edged Austin 4-3 in OT on Lindsay's 29 saves and Kurtis Dulle's OT winner. Lindsay made 24 saves in a 1-0 win over Corpus Christi the following night.

DUNBAR GETS EARLY BIRTHDAY GIFT

Terry Dunbar (DOB 12/31/79) earned his fourth win of the season and second in a row with 23 saves just hours before turning 26 at Forth Worth on Dec. 30.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES

BENCHARSKI MISSES FIFTH STRAIGHT GAME; ROSYCHUK NEARING RETURN

Daymen Bencharski missed his fifth consecutive game Friday, Feb. 17 vs. Corpus Christi with a groin injury. Nathan Rosychuk's term on the 45-day injured reserve list ends Feb 20, but his exact return date remains day-to-day. Rosychuk has been out since Jan. 8, a span of 16 games. Overall, he has missed 20 games due to injury this season after being placed on 14-day injured reserve back in late October.

PHILLIPS HEATING UP

Aaron Phillips has goals in two of his last four games and points in four of five (2-2-4). He had goals on consecutive Friday's (Feb 10 and 17) after going 14 games without lighting the lamp.

DECECCO SCORES IN BEES DEBUT

Bret DeCecco bagged his 19th goal of the season in the third period of Rio Grande Valley's 5-3 loss to Amarillo on Feb. 10 in his Killer Bees debut.

DULLE DYNAMIC

Kurtis Dulle has five points (4-1-5) in his last eight games after posting six (3-3-6) in his previous 38 outings. He had a personal season-high nine shots on goal vs. Corpus Christi on Feb. 12. He is the third player to reach nine shots in a game (Dwayne Hay and Aaron Phillips are the others). Bill Newson holds the season-high for shots in a game with 10.

EGELAND WINS AS HE REACHES 200 PRO GAMES AS HEAD COACH

Tracy Egeland earned a win in his 200th pro game as a head coach on Friday, Jan. 13, 2006. The Bees edged Corpus Christi in a shootout 3-2 at American Bank Center.

KUCZMANSKI IN, ROSYCHUK OUT

Jason Kuczmanski has been activated from the Injured Reserve list and Nathan Rosychuk has been placed on the 45-day Injured Reserve list retroactive to Saturday, January 7. Kuczmanski had been on the shelf since Nov. 15 with a shoulder injury. In 10 games prior to his injury, the rookie out of SUNY-Geneseo had two goals. Rosychuk will be eligible for assignment on Monday, February 20. In 26 games this season, he has 18 points (2-16-18) including a power play tally.

BENCHARSKI BAGS A PAIR IN ALL-STAR GAME; LINDSAY SAW A SHOT PER MINUTE

Center Daymen Bencharski, a starter in the Obra Homes CHL 2006 All Star Game at Dodge Arena, bagged two goals in the South's 10-9 shootout loss to the North. Evan Lindsay saw nearly a shot per minute (26 saves, 31 shots in 35:29).

SMITH REACHES 250 PRO GAMES

Darcy Smith appeared in his 250th pro game Sunday, Jan. 8 at Austin. Already this season, he has surpassed career highs with three goals and 13 points (previous highs 2-10-12).

KRALJ HAS KNACK FOR BIG GOALS

Matic Kralj's game-winner in the shootout Jan. 13 at Corpus Christi was his third of the season. He has been involved in four overtime/shootout-winners, scoring vs. Laredo (Nov. 19), setting up an Aaron Phillips overtime goal with a clean faceoff win on Dec. 18, and scoring in the above mentioned shootout. He scored the game-tying goal Jan. 6 vs. Austin.

MUSHALUK AMONG ROOKIE LEADERS

Jeff Mushaluk is among CHL rookie scoring leaders with 21 points (4-17-21).

WEISGERBER SETS FRANCHISE ASSIST STREAK

Trevor Weisgerber's assist on Daymen Bencharski's goal Dec. 23 at Corpus Christi set a new franchise-high for consecutive games with an assist. The streak was broken Dec. 27 vs. Laredo in a 3-1 loss. Weisgerber's six-game streak eclipsed the five-game mark set by Joe Guenther in 2004.

BENCHARSKI NAMED OAKLEY CHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR WEEK 8

Daymen Bencharski has been selected as the Week Eight recipient of the Oakley Central Hockey League Player of the Week award. Bencharski registered eight points (4-4-8), including three multiple-point outings in four games, and his second natural hat-trick of the season.

SCORING STREAKS

- Bret DeCecco has points (1-3-4) in four straight games and assists in three straight.

- Dwayne Hay has goals in two straight games, points in three straight (2-3-5) and in four of five (2-4-6).

- Bill Newson has points (5-3-8) in seven of his last nine, but is also minus-9 over that span.

- Matt Medley has points (2-1-3) in two of his last three games.

TRANSACTIONS

02/08/06 , ADD DeCecco, Bret (RW) acquired in trade from Fort Worth

02/08/06 , DEL Davis, Bobby (C) traded to Fort Worth

01/22/06 , DEL Gajda, Tyson (G) waived

01/22/06 , ADD Dunbar, Terry (G) activated from leave by league

01/18/06 , DEL Dunbar, Terry (G) granted leave by league

01/18/06 , ADD Gajda, Tyson (G) signed contract

01/10/06 , ADD Kuczmanski, Jason (F) activated from IR

01/08/06 , ADD Shmyr, Ryan (RW) activated from suspension

01/07/06 , DEL Rosychuk, Nathan (LW) placed on 45 day IR

12/28/05 , DEL Shmyr, Ryan (RW) placed on league suspension for 5 games

12/16/05 , ADD Kralj, Matic (C) activated from IR

11/20/05 , DEL Kralj, Matic (C) placed on 14 day IR

11/16/05 , ADD Cherneski, Phil (LW) signed contract

11/15/05 , DEL Kuczmanski, Jason (F) placed on 45 day IR

11/11/05 , ADD Rosychuk, Nathan (LW) activated from IR

11/05/05 , ADD Phillips, Aaron (RW) activated from suspension

11/02/05 , DEL Phillips, Aaron (RW) placed on league suspension for 1 games

10/28/05 , DEL Rosychuk, Nathan (LW) placed on 14 day IR

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Central Hockey League Stories from February 18, 2006


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