Playoff picture taking shape

Published on March 20, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- The United Hockey League (UHL) season has four weeks remaining and the field for the Colonial Cup Playoffs will soon be set. The Rockford IceHogs have clinched a spot in the postseason as they have guaranteed at least a second place finish in the Western Division, which carries an automatic playoff berth. A win by both Muskegon and Kalamazoo, or a loss by Motor City, will guarantee those two teams the top spots in the Central Division. The Danbury Trashers are seven points away from clinching one of the top two spots in the Eastern Division.

As the top four seeds in the playoffs seem to be almost set, the remaining four spots are not as clear. The Adirondack Frostbite have a 13-point lead for second place in the Eastern Division standings over the Richmond RiverDogs and look to be on their way to at least hold on to that position. Richmond finds themselves three points out of the eighth and final playoff berth. Fort Wayne and Quad City continue their battle for second place in the Western Division. Fort Wayne currently has a three-point advantage over Quad City, however, Quad City sits in the eighth spot overall with a three-point lead over Richmond and a nine-point lead over Flint. Motor City has a three-point cushion for the seventh playoff spot entering the week and are looking to qualify for the UHL postseason for the first time in their brief team history.

Motor City - 72 points, 12 games remaining, currently hold the 7th playoff seed

Fort Wayne - 72 points, 15 game remaining, currently hold second place in Western Division

Quad City - 69 points, 12 games remaining, currently hold 8th playoff seed

Richmond - 66 points, 15 games remaining, currently sit 9th overall in the league

Flint - 60 points, 11 games remaining, currently sit 10th overall in the league

The top two teams in each division, based on points, will automatically qualify for the Colonial Cup Playoffs. The remaining two spots will go to the teams with the next highest point totals regardless of their division.

GREAT FAN SUPPORT - The Kalamazoo Wings welcomed their first sellout crowd of the season when 5,413 fans were on hand to watch the team play the Elmira Jackals on green ice in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

The Rockford IceHogs played in front of their home crowd during the weekend for the first time in nearly three weeks. A crowd of 4,351 saw the Rockford game when they hosted the Richmond RiverDogs on Friday. The IceHogs then hosted their largest crowd of the season on Saturday when 6,982 fans attended their contest with the Adirondack Frostbite to bring the weekend attendance total to 11,333 at the Rockford MetroCentre.

A total of 14,191 fans attended a pair of Fort Wayne Komets games during the weekend. Fort Wayne currently has an attendance average of 7,444 which is above their pace during the 2004-05 season.

MARQUEE MATCH-UPS AHEAD - Muskegon, Rockford, and Kalamazoo are all in a tight race for the overall lead in the UHL. With 14 games remaining on their schedule, Muskegon will play either Rockford (four times) or Kalamazoo (twice) in six of those contests. Rockford and Kalamazoo each has twelve games remaining, but will not face each other again during the regular season.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Adirondack Frostbite - (1-1-0) - Right wing Ryan Bennett is riding a nine-game point streak...Goaltender Derek Gustafson had his shutout streak of 137:59 minutes come to an end on Saturday...The Frostbite have held 12 straight opponents to 30 or fewer shots on goal...Forward David Moccia had the first penalty shot of the season for the Frostbite on Friday. His attempt was stopped by Motor City goaltender Rod Branch.

Danbury Trashers - (3-0-0) - During their recent four-game win streak, the Trashers have outscored their opponents 22-10...Danbury is averaging 4.63 goals per game in the month of March...Center Drew Omicioli is riding a six-game point streak and a four-game goal streak...Since being acquired in a trade, left wing David Beauregard has three points (2g, 1a) in three games. All three games were vs. his former club (Roanoke Valley).

Elmira Jackals - (1-2-0) - Left wing Sam Paolini scored with one second remaining in regulation on Friday to defeat the Kalamazoo Wings 3-2. The Jackals won despite being out-shot 40-20...Elmira has not won in their last seven home games...The Jackals rank last in the UHL in home penalty killing (78.2%), however rank fourth in road penalty killing (83.3%)...Defenseman Chris Mann leads the UHL in minor penalties (79).

Flint Generals - (1-1-1) - The Generals went 1-1-2 on a recent four-game road stretch...Forward Chad Cavanaugh registered five points (3g, 2a) in three games during the week...Right wing Mike Kinnie ranks third in the UHL in shooting percentage (.235)...Malcolm Hutt leads all UHL defensemen with four shootout goals...Eight different Generals had multi-point games during the week.

Fort Wayne Komets - (2-1-0) - Left wing Matt Hunter netted the first "hat trick" (3g) of his pro career on Friday... Fort Wayne's 4-3 win vs. Missouri on Friday was the 300th win for the Komets since they joined the UHL in 1999... The Komets out-shot their opponents 129-65 during the week. Over the last three weeks, the Komets have out-shot their opponents 347-194. Fort Wayne ranks second in the league with 35.89 shots on goal per game.

Kalamazoo Wings - (2-1-0) - Center Damian Surma is riding a five-game goal streak...Right wing Tyler Willis is on a seven-game assist streak...The 282 goals scored by Kalamazoo this season sets a new team single season record...The K-Wings have been out-shot just twice in their last 41 games...Center Jason Deitsch tied the team record for power play goals in a season (15)...Deitsch has a point in 22 of his last 23 games.

Missouri River Otters - (2-2-0) - Winger Scott Dobben has three goals in his first three games, plus a shootout goal, since being acquired in a trade...Goaltender Corey Wogtech made his debut with the team on Saturday and tied a team record when he made 52 saves vs. Kalamazoo...Goaltenders Kevin Reiter (4-2) and Brenden Cuthbert (3-1) have combined to go 7-4 in shootouts this season and have a league best .783 shootout save percentage.

Motor City Mechanics - (2-0-0) - Goaltender Rod Branch recorded his 32nd win of the season in Motor City's 4-1 victory vs. Elmira on Saturday. It breaks the team record of 31 he set last season...Saturday was the 100th UHL coaching win for Danton Cole...Defenseman Andrei Lupandin has two points (1g, 1a) in his first two games since being acquired in a trade...Center Brent Gretzky is one assist shy of tying the team season assist record (58).

Muskegon Fury - (3-0-0) - The Fury have the best road record in the UHL (21-5-4)...Goaltender Nick Boucher won his first two starts with the Fury since being acquired in a trade, posting a 1.50 GAA and a .936 SPCT...Left wing Ryan Keller set a new team record for goals in a season by a rookie (39). In his last 13 games, he has 24 points (13g, 11a)...Two of Muskegon's game-winning goals this week were shorthanded. They lead the UHL with 18 shorthanded goals.

Port Huron Flags - (0-2-0) - Forward Steve Dix is on a five-game point streak...The Flags have lost seven straight on home ice...All three goals scored by Port Huron on Friday were by defensemen (Jason Jaworski, Bryan Cummings, Ryan Gillis)...The Flags were outscored 13-4 during the week despite matching their opponents with 67 shots on goal...Goaltender Scott Hay ranks second in the UHL with 1,564 saves.

Quad City Mallards - (1-2-0) - Right wing Frank Littlejohn scored his first goal on Saturday since being acquired in a trade...Forward Matt Radoslovich registered his fourth multi-goal game of the season when he scored a pair vs. Muskegon on Saturday...Winger Chad Woollard is one goal shy of becoming the first Mallard since the 2003-04 season to net 40 goals...Radoslovich, Glenn Detulleo, and Rafal Martynowski all had four-game point streaks snapped on Sunday.

Richmond RiverDogs - (2-0-1) - Forward Evgeny Lazarev is currently riding an eight-game point streak. Since being acquired in January, he has 29 points (12g, 17a) in 29 games...Goaltender Mike D'Alessandro faced 50 shots on Saturday vs. Fort Wayne. It is the fourth time this season he has faced 50 or more shots on goal...Center Mike Oliveira is second in the UHL with 48 goals and defenseman Dan Vandermeer is second in the UHL with 62 assists.

Roanoke Valley Vipers - (0-3-0) - The Vipers are the least penalized team in the UHL with 1,112 total penalty minutes for a game average of 17.94...After losing three road games this week, the Vipers have not won a road contest in their last ten attempts...Right wing Carlyle Lewis has three points (1g, 2a) in three games since being acquired in a trade with Danbury. All three points were scored vs. his former team.

Rockford IceHogs - (1-1-1) - Winger Jason Notermann had his 11-game point streak snapped on Sunday. He had 16 points (8g, 8a) during the streak...Center Olivier Proulx is riding a nine-game point streak...Defenseman Tom Zabkowicz committed his first penalty in 23 games on Sunday...Rockford has out-shot their opponents in nine straight games...The IceHogs won their 25th home game of the season on Saturday, which equals their 25 home wins from last season.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 20, 2006


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