Killer Bees Weekly Notes

January 3, 2005 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


RIO GRANDE VALLEY KILLER BEES

2004-05 WEEKLY RELEASE

FOR THE WEEK OF Jan 3rd - Jan. 9th

WEEK FULL OF UPS AND DOWNS LEADS BEES INTO NEW YEAR

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees returned to the ice after their Christmas break in high style Tuesday, hosting the rival Laredo Bucks, but then fell in three consecutive games, closing out 2004 and opening the new year on a three game winless streak. The Bees registered a franchise tying high six goals in a 6-4 win Tuesday over Laredo, and the Bees also accomplished two individual single-game team records. Joe Guenther produced the first hat trick in Bees history and Derek Holland produced a four-assist performance. It was the Bees first weeknight win of the season, and unfortunately it remains as the only one so far. The Bees were hammered by the Corpus Christi Rayz 6-2 on Thursday and then hit their longest goal drought of the season after Joe Guenther's second period goal. Laredo's David Guerrera shutout the Bees 1-0 on Friday and the Bees finally ended their shutout sequence at 100:41 Saturday in San Angelo with a goal by Matic Kralj. San Angelo would eventually come back in the game and score three straight to give the Bees a New Year's Day loss. It marks the second straight season the Bees have opened up the calendar year with a loss to San Angelo. Rio Grande Valley closed the 2004 calendar year with a 27-29-5 regular season record.

ANALYZING JANUARY

January will be a 12-game month for the Killer Bees, with six home and six road games. Each of the middle three weekend sets, beginning with this weekend, are three-in-three weekends. Six of the contests are against division opponents, balanced out with two games against each of the opponents (Austin, Corpus Christi, Laredo). The Bees January 15th tilt with Austin will be the first time the two teams have faced off against each other since October 30th. Non division contests features first time visits by the Odessa Jackalopes (Thursday), Colorado Eagles (Jan. 14) and San Angelo (Jan. 21) for the season, and a month closing road trip to Tulsa (Jan. 28) and Bossier-Shreveport (Jan. 29). The Bees were led in the month last season by Bill Newson, who tallied 7 goals and 9 assists for 16 points.

THIS WEEK'S "INSIDE THE NUMBERS"

4:51 - Empty Net Time - In the previous three games in which the Bees have pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, the Bees have added up 4:51 of play with their goaltender off the ice and have not allowed an empty net goal.

4 - Shots Needed - By forward Bill Newson to notch 1,000 in his pro career.

7 - Consecutive Games With a Point - Bill Newson's consecutive point streak ended at 7 games (Dec. 11 - 30th) to set a franchise high.

14 - Consecutive Games With a Penalty - Ryan Shmyr collected a penalty in 14 consecutive games (11/12/04 - 12/30/04) for a franchise record and a league high for this season. The 14 games was the most since 15 by Dan Wildfong of Bossier-Shreveport and Josh Tymchak of El Paso during the 2002/2003 season. The most in documented history of the CHL is 22 games by Jason Clarke of Central Texas in the 1996/1997 season.

ALL-STAR PREPPING

Killer Bees defenseman Jason Tessier was honored last week, by earning a spot on the Southern Conference roster for the 2005 Dodge CHL All-Star Game in Laredo. Tessier will head to Laredo, to join the all-star festivities, on Monday, January 10th. Toronto Maple Leafs and 2002 Olympic Gold Medalist Team Canada Head Coach Pat Quinn will speak at the CHL All-Star Banquet to open the week's festivities on Monday night (Jan. 10th.) The CHL All-Star Media Luncheon and the Skills Competition will take place Tuesday, with the 2005 Dodge CHL All-Star game highlighting Wednesday's events. Hockey's Holy Grail, The Stanley Cup, will also be on hand for the week's events. Information regarding the 2005 Dodge CHL All-Star Game can be found by logging onto www.laredobucks.com or www.centralhockeyleague.com.

BEE OF THE WEEK

This week's Killer Bees "Bee of the Week," for their performance in last week's four games, is defenseman Derek Holland. The Bees rearguard from Brandon, Manitoba led the Bees in points for the week with 5 assists and collected 4 of the assists last Tuesday against the Laredo Bucks to set a Bees single-game high for assists and tied the franchise high for points in a game (4). Holland co-leads CHL defensemen in shorthanded goals (1) and is seventh amongst league defensemen in shots with 88.

ONE GOAL DECISIONS

The Killer Bees began the season 4-0-1 in games decided by one goal before they suffered their first one-goal deficit in regulation. Since then, the Bees are 1-3-0 in games decided by one goal (5-3-1 on the season).

WEEK IN REVIEW

Tue. Dec. 28 6-4 W vs. Laredo Bucks Top Star: RGV-Joe Guenther (Hat trick)

Thur. Dec. 30 2-6 L vs. Corpus Christi Rayz Top Star: CRP-Ken McKay (2g,1a, 3pts.)

Fri. Dec. 31 0-1 L @ Laredo Bucks Top Star: LAR-Brent Cullaton (1 Goal)

Sat. Jan. 1 0-1 L @ San Angelo Saints Top Star: SNG-Scott Reid (34 saves)

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Tue - Thur.: 10 am - 11 am Fri: 10 - 10:30 am

WEEK AHEAD

Thur. Jan. 6 7:30 pm vs. Odessa Jackalopes Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 AM TV: CHLTV.COM

Notes: The Killer Bees and the Jackalopes meet for the first time this season and the fifth time all-time. The teams meet three times this season and twice at the Dodge Arena. The all-time series is tied (2-2-0), with each team with a perfect 2-0-0 series home record. Bill Newson is the series all-time leader in scoring for the Bees with 5 assists, and Odessa's Sebastien Thinel leads the Jacks in the series with 9 points off of 3 goals and 6 assists. The first 1,000 fans will receive pucks courtesy of Time Warner Cable.

Fri. Jan. 7 7:00 pm @ Corpus Christi Rayz Radio: ESPN Radio 1240AM TV: CHLTV.COM

Notes: The Killer Bees probably do not mind being on the road in Corpus Christi after losing three straight to the Rayz at the Dodge Arena. It is the eighth of 11 meetings this season and the 22nd meeting all-time between the two teams. Both teams have winning records in the series, with the Killer Bees holding a 10-7-4 record and the Rayz grasping a 11-8-2 series record. Most of the games in the season series have been close, as three of the seven meetings have been decided in overtime and five of the seven games have resulted in a one goal differential. Bill Newson leads the season series for the Bees with 9 points (5g,4a) and is the all-time series leader with 27 points (15g,12a). Corpus Christi has several players with 11 points to co-lead the season series against the Bees and their all-time leader is recently released Matt Noga, who had 3 goals and 10 assists for 13 points. Both teams have winning records at the oppositions home, as Corpus Christi is 7-4-1 all-time at the Dodge Arena, while the Bees are 5-3-1 in Corpus Christi.

Sat. Jan. 8 7:30 pm vs. Laredo Bucks Radio: Real Country 840 AM TV: Televisa Ch. 9/19

Notes: The Killer Bees and the Bucks meet again at the Dodge Arena for the Bucks third of six visits to the Dodge Arena this season. Laredo leads the all-time series with a 12-4-2 record, with Jeff Bes leading the all-time series with 34 points (11g,23a). The Killer Bees, who are led by Bill Newson (6g,8a,14pts) against the Bucks all-time, are 6-11-1 all-time against the Bucks and are 2-3-0 this season in the series. All series games this season have been won by the home team. Rio Grande Valley is 4-5-0 all-time over the regular season at the Dodge Arena and have won for of the last five meetings at the Dodge. The Bees are led in the season series by several five-point scorers, while Jeff Bes leads the way for the Bucks in the season series, leading all scorers with 9 points (3g,6a). The US Border Patrol will sponsor the contest and the first 1,000 fans will receive ThunderSticks. The Bees will wear special commemorative Border Patrol jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the game.



Central Hockey League Stories from January 3, 2005


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