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Killer Bees Weekly Notes

March 15, 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 MAR 14th - MAR 20th

BEES HEAD INTO FINAL WEEK

The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees may not be entering the playoffs, but they could have a lot of input as to who makes the playoffs and/or which teams clinch home ice advantage. The Bees begin the week with a meaningless trip to Corpus Christi for their final match-up of the season against the Corpus Christi Rayz before returning to the Dodge Arena for important match-ups for both the opponents (Austin on Friday and San Angelo on Saturday) to close out the season. Entering the week, Austin sits two standing-points behind Lubbock, who holds the final playoff spot. Austin has three games remaining on the week while Lubbock has four. Odessa is also in the picture, as they also sit two standing-points behind Lubbock for the final spot. As for San Angelo, the Saints have clinched a spot but they can still claim the Southwest Division, which would give them home ice advantage for the first round (and possibly the second round). The Saints enter the week sitting one standing-point behind division leading Amarillo and each team plays three games this week.

SO WHO IS RETURNING?

There is a lot that goes into the equation as to who returns next season… Does the player want to return? Does coach want the player back? Can the player fit within the salary and roster guidelines? No matter what is decided, one thing is for certain and that is the fact that the Bees will face a major overhaul during the offseason so the Bees may comply with league guidelines. Each team can have no more than four veteran players (players that have played 260 or more pro regular season games) and must have at least five developmental/rookie players (players that have played 148 games or less) on their roster. Here is a breakdown of classifications for next season under the current Bees roster (assuming roster eligibility rules remain the same):

Veterans (games played): Sean Gillam (566), Bill Newson (321), Blaz Emersic (445), Troy Linna (300), Josh Mizerek (305), Ryan Shmyr (412), Jason Tessier (314), Jeff Levy (286)

Developmental/Rookies (games played): Jacque Vezina (36), Daymen Bencharski (58), Justin Dziama (40), Jason Hawes (117)

END OF THE YEAR BANQUET AND YOUTH HOCKEY AWARDS BANQUET

The final event conducted by this season’s Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees squad will be the End of the Year Banquet, which will be in conjunction with the Outback Steakhouse Jr. Bees Hockey League Awards Banquet. The event will be conducted Monday night at 7PM at the McAllen Civic Center and it is only open to season ticket holders and members of the youth hockey program. To find out additional info about the event, please contact the Bees offices at 956-843-7825.

THIS WEEK’S “INSIDE THE NUMBERS”

40 - Shots- The Bees have produced over 40 shots on goal in four of their last six games, but the Bees have lost 6 of their last 7 games when doing so.

274 - Penalty Minutes - Bees forward Ryan Shmyr currently holds the Bees single-season record for penalty minutes with 274. He is 19 minutes away from 2000 penalty minutes, which would make him the 103rd player ever in minor pro hockey to eclipse the 2000 minute mark.

119 - Consecutive Games - Defenseman Darcy Smith had never missed a Bees practice or a Bees game, until suffering an injury that ended his Bees streak of 119 consecutive games played. Bill Newson, Matic Kralj and Troy Linna stand as the only players that have never missed a Bees game, as they have each played in 121 consecutive games.

BEE OF THE WEEK

This week’s Killer Bees “Bee of the Week,” for their performance in last week’s games is awarded to goaltender Jeff Levy. The second-year Bee went 1-1-0 on the week and stopped 53 of 55 shots in two games for a 96.3% save percentage on the week. He stopped 28 of 30 shots last Tuesday in a 3-1 loss to Odessa and then collected his tenth career shutout (sixth as a Bee and second of the season) by stopping all 25 shots fired by Austin last Friday. The Salt Lake City, Utah native tallied the shutout against Austin on his son’s (Hank) birthday. Levy will carry a season high shutout sequence of 106:49 into this week, which ranks third all-time on the squad. He has only allowed three goals in the last three games combined and is 2-2-0 during the month of March, with a 2.26 GAA and a 90.1% save percentage.

HIGH NOTES

With the regular season coming to a close on March 19th, we take a look at some of the individual accomplishments that some of the Bees have strived towards and are currently aiming towards: Joe Guenther has notched a career high in goals (21)… Darcy Smith has a career high in points (11)… Jason Hawes is having a career best season with 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points… Bill Newson is one point away from a second consecutive 50-point season… Ryan Shmyr currently holds 274 penalty minutes, which is a Bees single-season high.

WEEK IN REVIEW

Tue. Mar. 8 1-3 L vs. Odessa Jackalopes Top Star: ODE-Derek Dolson(stopped 42 of 43 shots)

Fri. Mar. 11 4-0 W vs. Austin Ice Bats Top Star: RGV-Jeff Levy (SO, stopping all 25 shots)

Sat. Mar. 12 3-6 L vs. Corpus Christi Rayz Top Star: CRP-Dave Gilmore (hat trick)

PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Tue - Wed: 10 - 11 AM Thurs - Sat: 10 - 10:30 AM (tentative)

WEEK AHEAD

Thu. Mar. 17 7:05 pm @ Corpus Christi Rayz Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 AM TV: CHLTV.COM

Notes: The Bees close out the season series with the Corpus Christi Rayz by making their final visit to the AmericanBank Center. It will be the 11th meeting this season and the 25th meeting all-time between the two teams. Both teams have winning records in the all-time series, with the Killer Bees holding a 10-9-5 record and the Rayz grasping a 14-8-2 series record. Most of the games in the season series have been close, as four of the ten meetings have been decided in overtime and six of the ten games have resulted in a one goal differential. Bill Newson leads the season series for the Bees with 11 points (5g,6a) and is the all-time series leader with 29 points (15g,14a). Corpus Christi has Greg Bullock with 17 points (5g,12a) leading the season series against the Bees and serving as the Rayz all-time leader against the Bees with the same stats. Both teams have winning records at the opposition’s home, as Corpus Christi is 8-4-1 all-time at the Dodge Arena, while the Bees are 5-4-2 in Corpus Christi.

Fri. Mar. 18 7:30 pm vs. Austin Ice Bats Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 AM TV: CHLTV.COM

Notes: Rio Grande Valley will host the Austin Ice Bats for the fifth time this season (Bees are 3-1-0 this season against Austin at the Dodge Arena). The contest will be the 22nd meeting all-time between the two teams and the tenth and final meeting this season. The Bees (11-10-0) hold a slight advantage over Austin (10-10-1) in the all-time series, but Austin holds the season series lead (6-3-0) despite consecutive losses to the Bees (Bees outscored the Bats 11-2 in the consecutive wins). The Bees are led by Bill Newson in the all-time series with 19 points (7g,12a), while Jason Hawes leads the season series for the Bees with 10 points (3g,7a). Austin’s all-time leaders against the Bees is John McNabb (7g,6a,13pts), who also leads the season series with those same numbers.

Sat. Mar. 19 7:30 pm vs. San Angelo Saints Radio: ESPN Radio 1240 AM TV: Televisa (Ch.9/19)

Notes: The Bees play their final game of the season hosting the San Angelo Saints, who make their second visit to the Dodge Arena this season. The Saints lead the season series 3-0-0 and just edge the Bees (5-4-1) in the all-time series with a 5-3-2. Rio Grande Valley is 3-0-1 against the Saints at the Dodge Arena. Nathan Rosychuk of San Angelo leads the season series in scoring with 5 points (3g,2a), while the Bees are led in the series by Bill Newson (2a), who has two points. Former Saints forward Ryan Finnerty leads the all-time series with 8 points (4g,4a) and Bill Newson leads the Bees in the all-time series in scoring with 8 points (1g,7a). It will be Battle of the Banks at the Dodge Arena, as eight area banks will have competitions throughout the night to determine which bank is the best.

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