Killer Bees Weekly Notes

Published on November 29, 2004 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


THE STREAK IS FINALLY OVER

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees have not made many treks to Amarillo over their brief history, but the Killer Bees are starting to like the long ventures to the other end of the Lonestar State. Their first ever visit was on October 24, 2003, as the Bees registered their first victory in franchise history and their first shutout in team history with a 3-0 win over the Amarillo Gorillas. Saturday, the Bees made their second ever visit to the Cal Farley Coliseum and collected a 4-2 win for their first road win and non-divisional win to end a franchise high ten-game winless streak. Joe Guenther tied a career high with a three-point performance (1g,2a) and the Bees tied a single-game mark with three power play goals in the win. The streak was a harsh one for the Bees, as they were outscored 12-48, faced three shutouts, held to 5.7% (3/53) on the power play and allowed 14 power play goals over the ten game stretch.

THIS WEEK'S "INSIDE THE NUMBERS"

3 - Power Play Goals - For the fourth time in Killer Bees history, the Bees tallied three power play goals in a game, completing the task in Saturday's 4-2 win over Amarillo. The Bees had only combined for three power play goals over the entire ten-game winless streak.

9 - Power Play Opportunities - The Killer Bees surrendered 14 power play goals over their ten-game winless streak, but are 9-for-9 on the penalty kill over the previous three games.

10 - Penalty Minutes - Bees forward Blaz Emersic is on a career high pace in penalty minutes, reaching his tenth penalty minute of the season Friday night in San Angelo. The eighth year pro averages just 15 penalty minutes per season. He played 43 games during the 00/01 season and only registered six penalty minutes, and topped that during the 02/03 season by only serving four penalty minutes in 63 games.

NEFARIOUS NOVEMBER COMES TO AN END

The Killer Bees won the first game and the last game in the month of November, but lost the ten games in between to close out the month with a 2-9-1 record. It was a tough month, as the Bees had to battle a ten-game winless streak and a tough schedule that had the Bees playing 11 games in 19 days, with trips to Colorado, New Mexico and West Texas. The Bees have played the previous four games with a short bench and all excuses aside, the schedule continues and the Bees open up a 12-game month of December on Friday in Corpus Christi. The 12 games are split with six home and six road games and eight are against division opponents. Of the four games against non-division opponents, three are against the Fort Worth Brahmas and they all will be played consecutively from December 4 - 10th. The only other non-division game is on December 18th, as the Bees battle the Oklahoma City Blazers for the first time ever. The eight division contests in December will be split between the Corpus Christi Rayz and the Laredo Bucks. The Bees travel to Laredo for three of the four December meetings and make their first trip to Laredo for the season on December 14th.

BEE OF THE WEEK

Each week, a Killer Bee is recognized as a "Bee of the Week" for their performance over the prior week. This week's "Bee of the Week" honor goes to Bees forward Bill Newson. The Enfield, Connecticut native and second year Bee co-led the Bees in scoring during the three-game week with a goal and two assists for three points. Newson tallied his goal on Saturday and it was his 100th of his pro career. He scored the goal in Amarillo, which is the same place he registered his first professional goal. Newson leads the team in goals (5) and points (11) through 15 games.

DECEMBER SPECIALS

For the month of December, the Killer Bees will offer two monthly specials. The Bees are offering a "Christmas 6-Pack," which includes a game ticket for each of the six December home games. The packs start at $66 and includes a $25 gift certificate to Broadway Hardware. The Killer Bees Pro Shop is also offering a 15% discount on all Killer Bees merchandise, including jerseys, through December. Fans are encouraged to call the Bees offices at (956) 843-7825 for more info.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Wed. Nov. 24 0-3 L vs. Lubbock Cotton Kings Top Star: LUB-Lance Leslie (24/24 saves, shutout)

Fri. Nov. 26 1-4 L @ San Angelo Saints Top Star: SNG-Nathan Rosychuk (2g,1a, 3pts.)

Sat. Nov. 27 4-2 W @ Amarillo Gorillas Top Star: RGV-Joe Guenther (1g,2a, 3pts.)

WEEK AHEAD

Fri. Dec. 3 7:05 pm @ Corpus Christi Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 AM TV: CHLTV.COM

Notes: The Killer Bees will spend the entire weekend on the road for a second consecutive week, as they continue their five-game road trip by starting the weekend's three-in-three set in Corpus Christi against the Rayz. The Killer Bees are 4-3-1 all-time in Corpus Christi, but are winless 0-1-0 in their new arena (AmericanBank Center). The Bees lead the all-time series 9-3-3 and are 1-1-1 this season against the Rayz. Corpus Christi leads the season series with a 2-0-1 record and is led in the series by Jason Baird who has 6 points off of 2 goals and 4 assists. The Bees are led in the season series by a trio of three-point performers, which includes Bill Newson, who leads the all-time series offensively with 11 goals and 10 assists for 21 points.

Sat. Dec. 4 7:30 pm @ Fort Worth Brahmas Radio: Real Country 840 AM TV: None

Notes: The Bees make their only visit to Cowtown this season for a pair of games against the Fort Worth Brahmas. It is the first of three consecutive games against the Brahmas for the Bees, who are 1-1-0 in the series and in Fort Worth. The Brahmas have a revamped roster on the season, but still feature some names from last season, including Chad Woollard, who has 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points. Their "BMW Line" which consists of Bryan Lundbohm, Martin Paquet and Woollard makes up 84 points of the 145 points (57.9%) the Brahmas offense has produced. They have produced 66.7% of the team's goals, scoring 36 of the team's 54 goals. Bees forward Troy Linna had two goals last season against the Brahmas to include himself among four other Bees who lead the all-time series in scoring. Former Bee Jeremy Vanin (1g,1a, 2pts) is the Brahmas all-time series leader, but he is no longer with the Brahmas.

Sun. Dec. 5 3:00 pm @ Fort Worth Brahmas Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 AM TV: None

Notes: Rio Grande Valley will stay the night in Fort Worth and play a matinee contest Sunday afternoon against the Brahmas. It is only the third time the Bees have played consecutive road games in consecutive nights against the same opponent and the previous two have resulted in sweeps. The Bees swept the San Angelo Saints in consecutive games last season, but were swept this season on consecutive nights (Nov. 12-13th) in Colorado. This is the final scheduled regular season game for the Bees in Fort Worth.

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Central Hockey League Stories from November 29, 2004


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