New and Old Buzzards Ready for Battle
November 27, 2002 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
El Paso Buzzards News Release
EL PASO, Texas â The San Angelo Saints, with a plethora of ex-Buzzards on their roster, arrive 7 p.m. Friday at the El Paso County Coliseum to battle the El Paso Buzzards in what should be a heated clash. Buzzards' head coach Craig Coxe and San Angelo Saints head coach Brent Scott are not afraid to let their players mix it up and play a physical brand of hockey. This match-up should be exciting. The teams have split the season series and have a mutual dislike for each other.
Both teams enter the game looking to gain ground in the standings. The Buzzards are 4-12-1 overall, 3-7-0 at home, and remain in fourth place in the Southwest Division with an eight-game losing streak. The Saints, prior to Wednesday night's game against the Austin Ice Bats, come in with an overall record of 8-11-0, 1-5-0 on the road, are tied for third place in the Southeast Division. Before a win against Laredo on Saturday, the Saints had endured their own eight-game losing streak. Some old Buzzards on San Angelo include Chris Peach, Corri Moffat, Kori Davidson, Jamie Thompson and Jamie Ronayne, as well as coach Scott.
In the Saints first visit to the Nest, the Buzzards won 5-2 in a game that provided fights, goals, arguing, great passing and big hits. Buzzards' right winger Josh Tymchak scored two goals, left winger Russ Guzior and center Jeff Scharf each had a goal and an assist and goaltender Matt Carmichael made 31 saves for the victory. There were 20 penalties called against both teams including two game misconduct penalties and numerous skirmishes.
BUZZARDS SIGN GOALTENDER
Coach Coxe didn't wait long to find a new netminder after releasing the team's backup goaltender. The Buzzards announced the signing of goaltender Blaine Russell to be the second goalie, replacing Josh Baier, who was released on Wednesday. Last season, Russell played for the Asheville Smoke in the United Hockey League. He went 21-22-1 with a 3.45 goals against average and a .893 save percentage. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks selected Russell in the sixth round of the 1996 entry draft.
"I'm happy to be in El Paso," Russell said. "I look at this as an opportunity to turn things around and I'm looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
Russell, from Wetaskiwin, Alberta, is one of the top goaltenders in North America and will work to be the No. 1 goalie for the Buzzards. He is a 5 feet 11 inches, 195 lbs., butterfly goaltender who will not venture out of the crease often and will try to keep the puck in front of him. Russell said he was offered a position to play for a team in Sweden this season. When the Central Hockey League season began, he was without a team and waiting for a player move to be made. Now, he is thankful for the opportunity to play hockey again.
"It's a great chance to play," Russell said. "I've heard a lot about Coach Coxe and some of the things he wants to do there. I have a great feeling things will be better.
More player moves are expected by Coxe. After releasing defensemen Pat Glenday and Derek McKinley, Coxe has two roster spots to fill.
WHERE THEY STAND
EL PASO BUZZARDS - Coming into Friday's action, the Buzzards (nine points) are in fourth place in the Southwest Division, but are just seven points behind third-place Lubbock. The Buzzards are 1-4-1 on the road and 3-6-0 at home. El Paso has 41 goals for and has allowed 63. The Buzzards' Scharf leads the team in scoring with 8 goals and 9 assists (17 points). However, the Buzzards will be without two key players. Left winger Russ Guzior, one of the Buzzard's leading scorers, has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 17 with a shoulder injury. Left winger Troy Linna also has been placed on the injured list, retroactive to Nov. 20, with a shoulder injury. The minimum amount of time a player can be on the injured list is 14 days. The Buzzards are eleventh in the league on the power play with a 12.5 percent success rate and thirteenth in the league on penalty kill opportunities with an 80.2 percent rate. Also, the Buzzards lead the league in major penalties with 38.
SAN ANGELO SAINTSâ The Saints (16 points) come into the game 8-11-0 overall, 1-5-0 on the road and tied with the Corpus Christi Ice Rays for third place in the Southwest Division. The Saints are fourth in the CHL on the power play with a 19.0 percent success rate, but eleventh in the league on penalty kill situations with an 82.6 percent success rate. San Angelo is led in scoring by Chris Peach, who has 7 goals and 18 assists in 19 games and is third in the league in scoring. Defenseman Corri Moffat is third among defenseman in scoring with 17 points (4-13-17). In team statistics, San Angelo also leads the league in penalty minutes (617), 10-minute misconduct penalties (8), short-handed goals allowed (10) and assists (102).
Central Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2002
- New and Old Buzzards Ready for Battle - El Paso Buzzards
- Improving Brahmas ready for holiday weekend of hockey - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Trade with Blazers Brings Goal-Scoring Dumba - Indianapolis Ice
- Luboock vs Odessa Preview - Lubbock Cotton Kings
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