Lynx set for country and western weekend

January 6, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Augusta Lynx News Release


It will be a heel-stompin' good time this weekend as the Augusta Lynx play three in a row at home on Country and Western Weekend at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center, starting tonight with the Charlotte Checkers at 7:05 pm.

Augusta will get a boost from forward Joel Perrault, who has been assigned by the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League. Perrault, who suffered a season-ending injury last year with Cincinnati in the AHL, has not played since April. He will be on a conditioning assignment with the Lynx this weekend and is scheduled to appear in all three games. In 116 games with Cincinnati, Perrault scored 23 goals and registered 56 points for the club.

"We know how important this weekend is, not only for the team's confidence, but also for our playoff outlook," said Lynx head coach Bob Ferguson. "This weekend will go a long way towards determining if we're up near the top fighting it out, or scrapping for a berth at the end of the season."

The reuniting of the line of Joel Stepp, Nicolas Corbeil, and Dan Sullivan certainly helps the team. All three players were on extended scoring streaks prior to being shut out by Florida 1-0 on December 27 at home. Corbeil put up what was at the time an ECHL season-high 13 game point-scoring streak, while Stepp was right behind with 11 games and Sullivan sitting at seven contests. Stepp was recalled to the Pirates for a brief stint and returned in time for last Monday's game against Charlotte, a 3-2 shootout loss.

Charlotte, meanwhile, enters tonight's game during a stretch in which they play 11 games in 20 days, ending this weekend. After a difficult start to the stretch, the Checkers have won their last four in a row heading into tonight's game. Goaltender Jeff Glass has earned three of those four wins, stopping a total of 130 shots for a .970 save percentage and carrying a 1.30 GAA including a 51 save shutout win over Pensacola on New Year's Eve.

The Checkers have seven players with over 20 points on the year heading into today's game, led by Dusty Jamieson's 13 goals and 27 points. Defenseman Rory Rawlyk sits behind him with nine goals and 26 points. On the plus/minus side of the coin, however, Charlotte sits -54 despite a 114-108 goal differential. Part of that can be attributed to Charlotte's sixth-ranked power play, which has scored 41 goals on 197 chances this year for a 20.8% success rate. Augusta's power play has continued to climb the standings, and currently resides in 11th in the ECHL at 82.7% (33-191).

"We've played much better hockey lately, but there's always room for improvement," said Ferguson. "What we need to do is continue to build off our momentum and learn to play with the lead. Especially at home, being in front first is huge."

Augusta will play their next five straight games at home, and reach the halfway point of the home schedule and the season this weekend. Charlotte visits Friday night at 7:05 pm, followed by South Carolina at 7:05 pm on Saturday and the Gwinnett Gladiators at 4:05 pm on Sunday in matinee action.

Tickets are available now through the Lynx office at (706) 724-4ICE, through all TicketMaster locations, and on line at www.TicketMaster.com. Seats are $15, $14, and $11, with Comcast Cable Subscribers getting discount seats! Call for more information or to book your seats today.



ECHL Stories from January 6, 2006


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