CHL Central Hockey League

Preparations Continue for 2006 Obra Home CHL All-Star Game

Published on December 20, 2005 under Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Preparations for the 2006 Obra Homes Central Hockey League All-Star Game, slated for Wednesday, January 18th in Hidalgo, Texas (home of the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees), are well underway. Balloting among all CHL coaches, communications departments and selected media members is currently ongoing to determine the starting lineups for each conference all-star team. Nine forwards, six defenseman and three goaltenders from each conference will participate, with each CHL club represented by a minimum of one player.

The All-Star Coach, Trainer and Equipment Manager will be determined based on highest conference winning percentage following completion of all games on Friday, December 23rd. In the Northern Conference, a single point earned by the Colorado Eagles will send Chris Stewart and his crew to the All-Star Game for the second consecutive year. Mark French, Wichita's first year coach, remains in contention but would need two victories and two regulation losses by Colorado to earn the nod. In the Southern Conference, Laredo's Terry Ruskowski can make his second All-Star appearance with a win in their home game against Austin on the 23rd, while Odessa's Don McKee would need a Laredo loss to remain in contention. The All-Star Coaches, in conjunction with the CHL's Hockey Operations Department, will select the non-starters for the event.

The annual CHL All-Star Media Luncheon is scheduled for the afternoon of January 17th at the Tower Club, with the CHL All-Star Banquet later that evening on the Dodge Arena floor, preceding a concert by international pop music superstar Ricky Martin that sold out in 90 minutes. Wednesday will feature morning All-Star practices and a photo session, followed by an Autograph Session and Skills Competition directly before the All-Star Game itself. Ticket, hotel and additional event information is available online by visiting www.centralhockeyleague.com/allstar, and media credentials for all events can be obtained through the Steve Cherwonak at CHL office via email at cherwonak@centralhockeyleague.com .

Central Hockey League Standings - Through 12-29-05

Northwest Division GP W L OTL PTS Northeast Division GP W L OTL PTS

Colorado 25 18 6 1 37 Bossier-Shreveport 22 11 9 2 24

Wichita 23 14 6 3 31 Youngstown 24 10 13 1 21

Oklahoma City 24 14 10 0 28 Fort Worth 24 8 13 3 19

Tulsa 22 11 9 2 24 Memphis 21 7 13 1 15

Southwest Division GP W L OTL PTS Southeast Division GP W L OTL PTS

Odessa 24 13 8 3 29 Laredo 26 15 8 3 33

Lubbock 24 12 11 1 25 Rio Grande Valley 24 13 10 1 27

Amarillo 21 9 10 2 20 Corpus Christi 23 11 11 1 23

Austin 23 9 12 2 20

CHL Team By Team Notes

AMARILLO GORILLAS

Season Record: 9-10-2, 20 points

This Week: Tue. vs CRP, Thu. @ YNG, Fri. @ YNG

Gorillas' netminder Shawn Degagne was named the Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week, allowing just three goals on 75 shots. Degagne and the Gorillas topped division-rival Odessa for the second straight game in exciting comeback fashion, winning 3-2 Friday on a late Derek Hahn penalty shot, and edged out the defending CHL champion Eagles 2-1 Saturday. Amarillo has now won five games in a row while scoring 22 goals.

AUSTIN ICE BATS Season Record: 9-12-2, 20 points

This Week: Tue. @ MEM, Wed. @ FTW, Fri. @ LAR

The Ice Bats dropped all three games last weekend, including a pair of shootout losses in which they were outscored 6-2 on the breakaway opportunities. Rookie Michael Tucciarone netted three goals in the three contests to give him eight on the season and place him third on the team in goal scoring; half of his goals (4/8) have been game winners. Standout goaltender Miroslav Kopriva was recalled by Houston (AHL).

BOSSIER-SHREVEPORT MUDBUGS

Season Record: 11-9-2, 24 points

This Week: Thu. vs WIC, Fri. @ MEM

With his team's victory on Saturday night at the CenturyTel Center, Mudbugs Head Coach Scott Muscutt earned the 200th win of his professional coaching career becoming the eighth head coach in CHL/WPHL history to do so. Bossier-Shreveport scored a season-high four power play goals on Saturday night and is now 9-2-0 when scoring first. Dan Wildfong leads the team with 29 points after scoring the overtime winner in Friday.

COLORADO EAGLES

Season Record: 18-6-1, 37 points

This Week: Wed. vs TUL, Fri. vs TUL

The Eagles were only able to score three goals last week, but still managed to secure three points only allowing three regulation goals themselves to go 1-1-1. The 2-1 loss in Amarillo on Saturday snapped their eight-game road winning streak, two shy of the CHL record. Injuries have hit Colorado hard as they were twice forced to play with 14 players on the bench and only had 13 available in their loss to the Gorillas.

CORPUS CHRISTI RAYZ

Season Record: 11-11-1, 23 points

This Week: Tue. @ AMA, Fri. vs RGV

Corpus Christi won a pair of shootout games against Austin surrounding a road loss to Rio Grande Valley. Derrick McIver scored a goal in each of the first two periods and the shootout winner for the hat trick in the 4-3 win on Thursday. Goaltender Brent Zelenewich has stepped into the spotlight after Scott Reid was called up to Milwaukee (AHL) and recorded both wins, making 73 saves and six shootout stops in the two games.

FORT WORTH BRAHMAS

Season Record: 8-13-3, 19 points

This Week: Wed. vs AUS, Fri. @ WIC

The Brahmas have been on a slide recently, losing six straight and ten of their last eleven games, leading to the dismissal of their head coach. After starting the season 8-13-3, the Fort Worth fired head coach Al Sims and replaced him with former NHL and AHL veteran and first time coach Guy Larose. Bret Dececco continues to lead the League in shots with 138 and Larry Sterling leads all goaltenders in saves with 601.

LAREDO BUCKS

Season Record: 15-8-3, 33 points

This Week: Fri. vs AUS

The Bucks downed Austin 5-2 before losing both ends of a home-and-home with Rio Grande Valley and valuable points in the standings. Laredo has now lost three in a row to the Killer Bees, dropping their record to 3-5-0 against the club on the year. Chris Grenville scored three times in three games and newcomer Frantisek Lukes had four assists in the 5-2 win. The Bucks boast a +14 goal differential in third periods this season.

LUBBOCK COTTON KINGS

Season Record: 12-11-1, 25 points

This Week: Wed. @ ODE, Fri. vs ODE

Lubbock's 5-4 loss to Odessa on Saturday was just the second regulation loss of the season on home ice, dropping their home record to 6-2-1. Cotton Kings rookie Mike Brolsma has five of his seven points and four of his five goals this season against the Jackalopes, but the team is 1-3-0 this season and 9-24-2 all-time against Odessa. Jan Melichercik, the Kings all-time leading scorer, is one point away from 300 for his career.

MEMPHIS RIVERKINGS

Season Record: 7-13-1, 15 points

This Week: Tue. vs AUS, Fri. vs BOS

Memphis is in the midst of a six-game winless streak, going 0-3-0 over the weekend. With goals on Saturday night, Ryan Campbell and Dorian Anneck have tied Travis Banga for the team goal scoring lead with nine. RiverKings' all-time points and goal-scoring leader Don Parsons has gone nine games without a goal, the second longest such stretch of his Memphis career. The RiverKings play 10 of their next 12 games at home.

ODESSA JACKALOPES

Season Record: 13-8-3, 29 points

This Week: Wed. vs LUB, Fri. @ LUB

Odessa lost 3-2 on a penalty shot in the last 20 seconds against Amarillo, but went into Lubbock the next night and came away with a 5-4 win. Sebastien Thinel scored the game winner against the Cotton Kings putting him in a tie for seventh in the CHL and Mike Rutter scored twice in his second game back from the IR list. Dominic Leveille continues to lead all CHL rookies with 22 assists and 28 points total.

OKLAHOMA CITY BLAZERS

Season Record: 14-10-0, 28 points

This Week: Sun. vs TUL

Oklahoma City outscored the Thunder (6-1) and RiverKings (4-2) a surprising 10-3 over two big weekend victories. After starting 1-6-0, the Blazers have won 13 of their last 17 and now sit third in the Northwest Division, trailing Wichita by just a few points. Oklahoma City leads the CHL averaging nearly 34 penalty minutes per game and has 51 major penalties. The Blazers have the second best road power play (21.7%).

RIO GRANDE VALLEY KILLER BEES

Season Record: 13-10-1, 27 points

This Week: Fri. @ CRP

Rio Grande Valley has now won five in a row, all against Southeast Division opponents, after three victories last weekend capped by a 5-4 overtime thriller against Laredo; the Killer Bees have outscored the opposition 20-10 during those five games. Daymen Bencharski has scored at least a point in all five consecutive wins (5g,5a) and Trevor Weisgerber has a five-game assist streak with eight assists during that span.

TULSA OILERS

Season Record: 11-9-2, 24 points

This Week: Wed. @ COL, Fri. @ COL, Sun. @ OKC

The Oilers scored seven goals in two wins over Memphis and Wichita, and all seven were scored on special teams (3 shorthanded, 4 power play goals). Jaroslav Cesky was named the Oakley CHL Player of the Week after five points (3g,2a) in two games. Tulsa plays a tough holiday schedule as they travel to Colorado for a pair on Wed. and Fri. before heading to Oklahoma City for the Blazers' annual game on Christmas night.

WICHITA THUNDER

Season Record: 14-6-3, 31 points

This Week: Thu. @ BOS, Fri. vs FTW

With Colorado skating to 1-1-1 last weekend, the Thunder had a chance to make a move in the Northwest, but dropped a pair of games after topping Memphis early in the week. For the first time in CHL history, a single team can boast it has the top three scorers in the League (Blaznek, Duda, and Clayton). Daniel Tetrault has played solid all season and ranks second among CHL defensemen for both points (27) and goals (8).

YOUNGSTOWN STEELHOUNDS

Season Record: 10-13-1, 21 points

This Week: Thu. vs AMA, Fri. vs AMA

The SteelHounds only allowed one goal against in two games, but could only manage two points in trouncing Fort Worth 5-0 and falling 1-0 to Colorado. Goalie David St. Germain made 21 saves in the win for his first shutout and followed that with a 41 save outing without any offensive support. Five different players scored in the win over the Brahmas; Jeff Christian had three points and his fifth game winner of the year.

CHL Results - 12-13-05 through 12-18-05

Tuesday, December 13

Memphis 1 vs Wichita 4

Youngstown 5 vs Fort Worth 0

Wednesday, December 14

Oklahoma City 2 vs Colorado 1 SO

Thursday, December 15

Austin 3 vs Corpus Christi 4 SO

Friday, December 16

Odessa 2 vs Amarillo 3

Fort Worth 5 vs Bossier-Shreveport 6 OT

Youngstown 0 vs Colorado 1

Austin 2 vs Laredo 5

Wichita 1 vs Oklahoma City 6

Memphis 1 vs Tulsa 2

Corpus Christi 1 vs Rio Grande Valley 4

Saturday, December 17

Colorado 1 vs Amarillo 2

Odessa 5 vs Lubbock 4

Fort Worth 0 vs Bossier-Shreveport 5

Rio Grande Valley 2 vs Laredo 1

Corpus Christi 2 vs Austin 1 SO

Memphis 2 vs Oklahoma City 4

Wichita 4 vs Tulsa 5

Sunday, December 18

Laredo 4 vs Rio Grande Valley 5 OT

CHL Schedule - 12-20-05 through 12-25-05

Tuesday, December 20

Corpus Christi vs Amarillo

Austin vs Memphis

Wednesday, December 21

Lubbock vs Odessa

Tulsa vs Colorado

Austin vs Fort Worth

Thursday, December 22

Wichita vs Bossier-Shreveport

Amarillo vs Youngstown

Friday, December 23

Tulsa vs Colorado

Odessa vs Lubbock

Bossier-Shreveport vs Memphis

Fort Worth vs Wichita

Amarillo vs Youngstown

Austin vs Laredo

Rio Grande Valley vs Corpus Christi

Sunday, December 25

Tulsa vs Oklahoma City

Central Hockey League Leaders - Through 12-19-05

Points Team GP PTS

Blaznek, Joe WIC 23 40

Duda, Jason WIC 23 39

Clayton, Travis WIC 23 39

Christian, Jeff YNG 24 38

Hahn, Derek AMA 21 37

Goals Team GP G Blaznek, Joe WIC 23 24

Christian, Jeff YNG 24 22

Sheppard, Scott BOS 15 18

Hahn, Derek AMA 21 17

Multiple Tied At 15

Assists Team GP A

Duda, Jason WIC 23 28

Clayton, Travis WIC 23 28

Richards, Chris YNG 24 26

Dube, Serge LAR 26 24

Multiple Players Tied At 23

Plus / Minus Team GP +/-

Lizotte, David WIC 23 +15

Dube, Serge LAR 26 +14

Kouba, Ladislav LAR 25 +13

Elliott, Paul LAR 26 +11

Stefishen, Adam LAR 26 +11

Penalty Minutes Team GP PIM

Borsheim, Les COL 25 148

Pankewicz, Greg COL 25 140

Legault, Shawn CRP 18 128

Benson, Hans LAR 26 121

Multiple Players Tied At 116

Rookie Scoring Team GP PTS

Leveille, Dominic ODE 24 28

Dahl, Jim TUL 22 24

Hansen, Rich AMA 16 17

Nosan, Kyle LUB 24 16

Multiple Players Tied At 15

PP Goals Team GP PPG

Blaznek, Joe WIC 23 14

Christian, Jeff YNG 24 10

Sheppard, Scott BOS 15 10

Bencharski, Daymen RGV 24 8

Carter, Ryan CRP 23 8

GW Goals Team GP GWG

Blaznek, Joe WIC 23 6

Christian, Jeff YNG 24 5

Prosofsky, Garrett OKC 24 5

Multiple Players Tied At 4

Wins Team GP W

Colaiacovo, Paulo COL 17 13

Gorman, Mike ODE 18 11

Laplante, Sebastien WIC 19 10

Lindsay, Evan RGV 17 10

Connors, Sean OKC 14 9

Shutouts Team GP SO

Gorman, Mike ODE 18 2

Carroll, Ken BOS 12 2

Lemanowicz, David LAR 6 2

Barnes, Matt AUS 14 2

Multiple Players Tied At 1

Goals Against Team GP GAA

Koscielny, Brett LUB 8 2.13

Gorman, Mike ODE 18 2.32

Carroll, Ken BOS 12 2.43

Colaiacovo, Paulo COL 17 2.48

Connors, Sean OKC 14 2.78

Save % Team GP %

Gorman, Mike ODE 18 .931

Reid, Scott CRP 16 .928

Koscielny, Brett LUB 8 .927

Connors, Sean OKC 14 .921

Colaiacovo, Paulo COL 17 .919

CHL Attendance Total # AVG

Oklahoma City 93,129 12 7,760

Bossier-Shreveport 56,223 10 5,622

Laredo 65,083 12 5,423

Colorado 63,468 12 5,289

Rio Grande Valley 67,520 14 4,822

Wichita 66,905 14 4,778

Lubbock 41,858 9 4,650

Tulsa 43,484 10 4,348

Corpus Christi 43,893 11 3,990

Youngstown 43,319 12 3,609

Fort Worth 48,785 14 3,484

Austin 48,218 14 3,444

Memphis 28,384 9 3,153

Odessa 32,998 11 2,999

Amarillo 32,082 11 2,916

CHL Total: 775,349

Total Games: 175

CHL Average: 4,430

All player and team statistics, as well as true real time scoring, are available on the CHL website: www.centralhockeyleague.com/statistics

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 20, 2005


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