Road wins hard to come by in UHL

Published on November 2, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2) News Release


LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- United Hockey League (UHL) teams have found that it is no easy task to pick up a road victory. Through the first three weeks of the season, the road team has won only 19 of 51 games (37.25%). Elmira, Danbury, and Rockford have not been friendly to opponents as the home team is a combined 13-4-1. A few UHL teams have found success as Muskegon has been victorious in their two road contests, and Fort Wayne and Kansas City each has three wins as the visiting squad.

Special Teams...The penalty kill unit has played a large role in adding standings points for the home team. Danbury, Adirondack, Fort Wayne, Missouri, and Quad City have each only allowed one power play goal on their home ice. Combined, these teams have turned away 68 of 73 (93.15%) opponents' power play opportunities.

The Turnstiles Keep Spinning...League attendance eclipsed the 154,000 mark during the past week. Fort Wayne is averaging over 8,000 fans in their first two home games. Quad City welcomed over 5,000 in Saturday's home opener. Kansas City and Richmond are both averaging more than 4,000 fans per contest.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Adirondack Frostbite - (2-1-0) - Center Bruce Gardiner recorded his 200th career point when he assisted on the Frostbite's first goal on Friday vs. Danbury...Defenseman Steve O'Rourke played his 200th professional game on Sunday...With the exception of opening night, the Frostbite have out-shot their opponent in every game this season...Adirondack has not lost a game in regulation when leading or tied after the first and second periods.

Danbury Trashers - (1-2-0) - Left wing Brad Wingfield leads the league in penalty minutes (107), while teammate Roman Ndur ranks second (68). As a team, the Trashers lead the league with 383 penalty minutes...Two of Bruce Richardson's four goals on the season have been game-winners...Penalty kill unit leads the league with 88.5%...Have only allowed one power play goal at home this season in 27 opportunities by their opponents.

Elmira Jackals - (1-1-0) - Right wing Jason Sessa (7g, 7a) and center Greg Koehler (7g, 7a) are in a three-way tie with Fort Wayne's P.C. Drouin for the league lead in scoring...Koehler leads the UHL with six power play assists...Goaltender Greg Hewitt leads the UHL in saves (245), tied for the league lead in wins (5) and shootout wins (2), and second in the league in minutes played (420).

Flint Generals - (1-1-0) - Center Rob Valicevic played in his 650th professional game on Saturday. He is nine assists shy of 200 for his career...Right wing Bobby Reynolds is 19 games shy of 700 for his career. He has amassed 829 points in 681 games played...Cam White is three penalty minutes away from the 1700 plateau, Kris Waltze is 20 away from 1600, and Chad Grills is 12 shy of 1300.

Fort Wayne Komets - (2-1-0) - Komets are tied for the league lead with eleven points in the standings... Lead the UHL with 32 goals...Winger Chris Grenville and defenseman Rob Guinn lead the league in plus/minus (+9)...Right wing Jeff Worlton leads the UHL with six major penalties...P.C. Drouin is riding a league-high seven-game assist scoring streak...Grenville has a seven-game point scoring streak and Colin Chaulk has a six-game point scoring streak.

Kalamazoo Wings - (1-1-0) - Right wing Tim Turner recorded his first professional hat trick in Friday's 3-1 win at Port Huron. He is also riding a three-game scoring streak...Goaltender Chad Alban recorded an assist on Friday...Alban is fourth in the UHL with a 2.22 GAA...Daniel Carriere is second among UHL defensemen with six assists and third with six points...K-Wings are allowing 24.17 shots per game which is the second fewest in the UHL.

Kansas City Outlaws - (1-1-0) - Center Steve Yetman (19) and Jason Ruff (34) are fifteen years apart in age but have combined for 15 assists in seven games this season... Right wing Joe Seroski leads the UHL with eight goals and ranks second with four power play goals...The Outlaws power play percentage at home (37.5%) leads the UHL.

Missouri River Otters - (0-2-0) - Center Jim Montgomery is tied for the league lead with two game-winning goals...Rookie goaltender Kevin Reiter made his professional debut on Saturday. He stopped 27 of 29 shots but suffered the loss vs. Fort Wayne...Goaltender Jason Tapp ranks third in the UHL with a 2.17 GAA.

Motor City Mechanics - (2-1-0) - Earned the first victory in team history with a 5-3 win vs. Flint. Recorded their second win (6-2) on Sunday vs. Port Huron...Forward Jeff Goldie notched a hat trick (3g) in Sunday's victory. Center Blair Manning added a goal and two assists, while newcomer Jason Norrie chipped in with one goal and one assist...Norrie tallied four points (3g, 1a) since being signed last week.

Muskegon Fury - (1-0-1) - Suffered their first setback of the season with a shootout loss to Fort Wayne on Friday, but have earned 11 of 12 possible points in the standings...An assist in Saturday's game vs. Kalamazoo by center Todd Robinson moved him into second place on the Fury all-time scoring list...Lead the UHL with 4.83 goals per game and 11 power play goals...The Fury have not been out-shot by their opponent in any game this season...Have out-scored opponents 15-4 in the second period.

Port Huron Beacons - (1-1-1) - With an assist on Sunday, center Aaron Brand moved into a tie for sixth on the Beacons all-time scoring list...Defenseman Chris Cloutier did not record a penalty on Sunday vs. Motor City snapping a six-game streak...Trevor Edwards is tied for third among UHL rookies with six points (2g, 4a)...Mark Lindsay is tied for fourth among UHL defensemen with five points (2g, 3a).

Quad City Mallards - (2-0-0) - A.J. MacLean notched a goal in his professional debut on Saturday. He is the son of former Mallards coach Paul MacLean...A 3-2 win over Missouri on Friday was the second time this season that Quad City has overcome a third period deficit to post a victory...The line of Jonathan Gagnon, Greg Barber, and Jason Deskins combined for 12 points (5g, 7a) in Saturday's 6-2 victory vs. Kansas City.

Richmond RiverDogs - (1-1-0) - The ‘Dogs became the first road team this season to win in Danbury and the first team to register a shorthanded goal vs. the Trashers...Had a string of 20 straight penalty kills end on Friday at Elmira...Goaltender Ryan McIntosh has won both of his starts this season...Have fired 30 or more shots on goal in six of their first seven games...Center Jonathan Gagnon tallied four assists in two games over the weekend.

Rockford IceHogs - (2-0-1) - Off to the best start in team history (5-1-1)...After starting the season 0-15 on the power play, the IceHogs are 8-30 (26.67%) in the past four games...Goaltender Jeff Harvey won his professional debut on Saturday vs. Motor City giving up one goal and making 31 saves...Rockford ranks second in the UHL scoring 4.43 goals per game, and ranks third giving up 2.71 goals per game... Defenseman Steve Pelletier leads all UHL rookies in plus/minus (+8).

GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK

Quad City Mallards goaltender Jeff Reynaert finished the week with a 2-0-0 record, a 2.00 GAA, and .911 save percentage. He made 17 saves on Friday vs. the River Otters and also assisted on the game-winning goal in the 3-2 victory. The 25-year-old native of Sterling Heights, Michigan made 24 saves on Saturday vs. Kansas City to earn his third win of the season.

Other players nominated for the Southern Sports Supply UHL Goaltender of the Week include: Adirondack's Derek Gustafson, Danbury's Scott Stirling, Elmira's Greg Hewitt, Flint's Marco Emond, Fort Wayne's Kevin St. Pierre, Kalamazoo's Chad Alban, Kansas City's Maxime Gingras, Missouri's Kevin Reiter, Motor City's Rod Branch, Muskegon's Clayton Pool, Port Huron's Daniel Berthiaume, Richmond's Ryan McIntosh, and Rockford's Michel Robinson.

GOALTENDER OF THE MONTH

Kansas City Outlaws goaltender Maxime Gingras finished the month with a 4-1-0 record, a 3.00 GAA, and .910 save percentage. He also turned away all 14 attempts he faced in the shootout during the month. The 26-year-old Lorretteville, Quebec native is currently tied for third in the league with four wins. Gingras is tied for the league lead with two shootout victories and his perfect shootout percentage (1.000) leads all UHL netminders.

Other players nominated for the Southern Sports Supply UHL Goaltender of the Month include: Adirondack's Derek Gustafson, Danbury's Scott Stirling, Elmira's Greg Hewitt, Flint's Marco Emond, Fort Wayne's Kevin St. Pierre, Kalamazoo's Chad Alban, Missouri's Jason Tapp, Motor City's Rod Branch, Muskegon's Brent Belecki, Port Huron's Daniel Berthiaume, Quad City's Jeff Reynaert, Richmond's Ryan McIntosh, and Rockford's Michel Robinson.

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from November 2, 2004


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