Rocky Mountain Rage Weekly Update

January 26, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rocky Mountain Rage News Release


LAST WEEK'S RECORD: 2-2-0

OVERALL RECORD: 22-17-4, 48 pts.

2nd Place Northwest Division

Jan. 21 vs. Colorado Eagles, 3-2 Loss - After falling behind by two goals on two separate occasions, the Rage battled to within a single tally twice. Daymen Rycroft scored a power play goal at 1:29 of the third to make things tight throughout the final frame, but Rocky Mountain never managed to find the equalizer as the club remained winless (0-4-1) against the league's top team this season.

Jan. 23 vs. Corpus Christi IceRays, 2-1 Loss - For the first time since Nov. 1 and 7, the Rage lost back-to-back games in regulation. David Morelli scored the lone goal in the defeat.

Jan. 24 vs. Rapid City Rush, 4-0 Win - Two second-period power play goals from Morelli, a pair of third-period even strength markers from Colt King, and 29 saves from Marty Magers secured the team's second shutout of the season.

Jan. 25 vs. Rapid City Rush, 5-4 Win - Twice before in the season series the Rush came from behind after two periods to steal victories from the Rage. In this game, it was Rocky Mountain's turn to mount a third-period comeback. Down 4-2 through 40 minutes, the Rage got goals from Simon Watson, King, and Brent Cullaton, the latter's at 15:04 of the third, to sweep the two-game set from their Northwest Division rivals.

THIS WEEK'S UPCOMING GAMES

Wednesday, Jan. 28, @ Arizona Sundogs, Tim's Toyota Center, 7:05 p.m.

Radio: ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 6:55 p.m.

Live Audio & Video Webcast: CHL Network on www.rockymountainrage.com

Friday, Jan. 30, @ Arizona Sundogs, Tim's Toyota Center, 7:05 p.m.

Radio: ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 6:55 p.m.

Live Audio & Video Webcast: CHL Network on www.rockymountainrage.com

Saturday, Jan. 31, @ Arizona Sundogs, Tim's Toyota Center, 7:05 p.m.

Radio: ESPN Radio 1600, LIVE at 6:55 p.m.

Live Audio and Video Webcast: CHL Network on www.rockymountainrage.com

STANDINGS UPDATE The Rage begin the week on an island in second place in the Northwest Division, 17 points behind the first-place Eagles and 15 points ahead of the third-place Rush. They have more company in the Northern Conference standings, though, which determine playoff position at the end of the season. Rocky Mountain holds the fifth and final playoff spot but is only one point back of the fourth-place Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs and only three points behind the Oklahoma City Blazers and Mississippi RiverKings, who are both tied for first place in the Northeast Division and second place in the conference. No question the Rage are starting to put some heat on the Northeast Division's elite, but there's a catch - all three have four games in hand over the club.

HOMESTAND RE-CAP Sunday's victory over Rapid City concluded a franchise-record eight-game homestand during which Rocky Mountain went 5-3-0. The Rage also wrapped up a stretch of 12 of 13 at Broomfield Event Center, where they went 8-3-2 including the lone road game at Colorado on Jan. 10. The club is now 15-9-2 over its league-high 26 home games. But now, it's out...

...ON THE ROAD AGAIN Wednesday's tilt in Arizona begins a seven-game road trip for the Rage and a stretch of 12 of 13 away from home through the end of February. The seven games match the team's longest road trip ever, equaling the number of consecutive road games they played at this time last year. Rocky Mountain returns briefly to the BEC on Feb. 15 for a game against the RiverKings before closing out the month with five more road dates. The team only has six home games remaining this season and 15 out on the road.

BUSY SLATE BEGINS TO LIGHTEN UP Not only have the Rage played a CHL-high 26 home games, they have also played the most games overall with 43. Beginning the day after Christmas through Sunday, Rocky Mountain played three games in three days over five consecutive weekends. The schedule now begins to slow down, though. The club faces no three-in-three's and plays back-to-back games only three times until March.

MAGERS' GEMS Marty Magers also had the Rage's first shutout of the season, a 1-0 shootout win at Wichita on Dec. 13. Not only did Magers stop all 31 shots he faced in regulation and overtime during that game against the Thunder, he was also a perfect five-for-five in the tie-breaker. He would go on to set a new Rocky Mountain record for longest shutout streak, not allowing a goal for 135:42 over parts of three games from Dec. 10-16. Magers is one of five goalies that have a league-high two shutouts this year, which also ties him with former Rage netminder David Guerrera for the team's single-season record.

RAGE SNAPSHOTS Magers helped set-up Rocky Mountain's first goal (and eventual game-winner) on Saturday against the Rush. He now has four assists this year, breaking the old team record for Rage netminders of three assists set last season by Scott Reid. Magers is tied with the Eagles' Andrew Penner for the league lead...Daymen Rycroft had a goal and three assists on Sunday, recording the team's second four-point performance of the year. Jarred Mohr had a four-point night on Jan. 9 in a 6-3 win against New Mexico...David Morelli now leads the CHL with nine first goals this season...Brent Cullaton begins the week tied for fifth in the league in scoring with 54 points on the strength of 40 assists, third most in the league. On Wednesday against the Sundogs Cullaton will play his 800th career game as a pro...Rob Chappell is third in the CHL with 151 penalty minutes and ranked sixth with 13 fighting majors.



Central Hockey League Stories from January 26, 2009


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