President\'s Cup Playoffs Roll Along
Published on April 2, 2003 under Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release
The 2002/2003 Central Hockey League Ray Miron President's Cup Playoffs are in full swing, with three of four Conference Finals clubs determined. The Austin Ice Bats and Laredo Bucks have advanced to the Southern Conference Finals and will begin their best of seven game series Thursday in Austin, while the Indianapolis Ice are awaiting the winner of this evening's Game 5 between the defending champion Memphis RiverKings and the Oklahoma City Blazers in Oklahoma City.
Game 5: Memphis @ Oklahoma City
Tonight in Oklahoma City, the Blazers will host Memphis in deciding Game 5 to determine who will advance to face the Indianapolis Ice in the Northern Conference Finals. Memphis forced Game 5 with a 5-3 home win yesterday evening, led by a three point outing from defenseman Anthony DiPalma. The Ice dispatched the Amarillo Gorillas 3 games to 1, ending the series with a decisive 8-4 win in Amarillo last Saturday. Oklahoma City and Memphis have each held serve at home thus far in the playoffs, with each club winning twice on home ice. Historically, Oklahoma City is 3-3 in deciding games of playoff series that have gone the distance, while Memphis is 2-1.
A Memphis win will give the RiverKings an opportunity to continue their quest for back-to-back Ray Miron President's Cup Championships, while an Oklahoma City victory will extend the career of Joe Burton, who holds or shares 19 significant CHL records and is retiring following the playoffs after this, his eleventh season. The RiverKings have yet to beat the Blazers in a post-season series, losing to Oklahoma City in the opening round of both the 1992/1993 (4 games to 2) and 1997/1998 (3 games to 1) playoffs. The series winner will have the benefit of beginning the Northern Conference Finals at home with two games, due to building availability in Indianapolis. Indianapolis will host Games 3 and 4, as well as 5 and 7 if necessary.
In the Southern Conference Semi-Finals, the Austin Ice Bats posted two overtime wins last weekend in Albuquerque to claim a 3 games to 1 series win over the New Mexico Scorpions, while the Laredo Bucks needed a narrow 3-2 win in Game 5 yesterday to advance past the Odessa Jackalopes. Austin and Laredo met 10 times during the regular season, with the Governor's Cup (regular season) Champion Ice Bats winning seven of the contests and handing the Bucks three of only four regulation home losses this year. The Bucks finished the regular season as the CHL's highest scoring team (averaging 3.95 goals for per game), while Austin was the stingiest team defensively this year, allowing an average of just 2.17 goals against per contest.
Central Hockey League Stories from April 2, 2003
- President's Cup Playoffs Roll Along - CHL
- Bucks Advance to Conference Finals - Laredo Bucks
- Ice Waiting on Northern Conference Finals Opponent - Indianapolis Ice
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
