Saints Take Six Point Weekend; Lead Southern Conference

Published on January 24, 2005 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
San Angelo Saints News Release


San Angelo, TX – The San Angelo Saints of the Central Hockey League are pleased to announce they walked away with all six points from their three Central Hockey League games this past weekend, keeping them atop the Southwest Division as well as leading the entire Southern Conference.

The Saints started the weekend off in Rio Grand Valley as they Killer Bees opened the game up with 2 goals late in the first period to put the game 2-0 going into the second period, with goals from both Ryan Shmyr and Justin Dziama. The Saints were able to cut the lead in half with a score by Nathan Rosychuk, when he put the puck past Bees goalie, Jeff Levy. Levy would end up leaving the game at the end of the second period placing Bees backup goalie, Jacque Vezina in net for the third period. The Saints came out strong and dominated the entire third period placing 17 shots on goal and lighting the lamp two times on goals from Ryan Branham and Dan Carney to come from behind and win 3-2 in the valley.

The next couple of nights would be the Saints versus the Cotton Kings in a back to back home and home series, placing the Saints in a 3 games in 3 night situation. The Saints came out firing Saturday night as Saints defenseman Matt Frick received the lone goal of the first period. Sixteen seconds into the start of the second period the Saints were added another goal as Frick again placed a shot from the blue line over the shoulder of a stunned Lubbock goaltender, Shawn Conschafter. The Cotton Kings were able to get back on the board with a power play goal from Anders Strome to cut the lead in half. This momentum last only 5 minutes for the Cotton Kings as the Saints opened the flood gates and began to start putting the puck on net. Scoring three goals from Chris Robertson, Nathan Rosychuk and Bret DeCecco in 56 seconds put the Saints up 5-1 and gave them the cushion they needed. Lubbock would come back and score once more on a power play opportunity, as Lubbock Coach Chris Dashney pulled his goaltender to give the kings a 6 on 4 advantage. The stunt paid off as Jeremy Kyte put the puck past Reid with a 1:20 left in the period to make the score 5-2 at the end of the second period. The third period, the Cotton Kings started to dominate as Stacey Bauman scored unassisted to make the score 5-3. A couple of minutes later the Saints answered back with a power play goal from Bret DeCecco. Later on in the period the Cotton Kings again went 6-4 on for pulling their goalie on the power play and again it paid off as Matt Turek scored to put the Kings one closer to the Saints. Both teams battled it our for the remaining six minutes of play, but the Saints held on and walked away with the 6-4 victory and a two point gain over the Cotton Kings in the Southwest Division.

The next night the Saints would travel to Lubbock to face off against the Cotton Kings once more in a game that would give the Saints an even bigger lead in their division. Both teams came off strong, but the Saints were able to get on the board first with a rebound shot from Andrew Nahirniak to take the lead 1-0. The second period was much of the same as the Saints lit the lamp with a goal from Bryan Lachapelle to make it 2-0. The third period was all Saints, as it was apparent who dominated the game. A little over a minute into the game, the Saints scored again on a 2 on 1 breakaway and a great pass from Vandewaeter to Steenbergen who put it past Leslie to give the Saints a 3-0 lead. Not to be out done, Saints defenseman Konrad Brand took the puck from the Saints defensive end the length of the ice and put a shot on Leslie, where David Silverstone was waiting to knock in the rebound, giving the Saints the 4-0 win and a shutout for Saints goaltender Michael Dilorenzo, who was playing only his second game as a Saint.

The Saints continue playing this upcoming weekend as they host the Wichita Thunder, Friday night at the Sanctuary at 7 PM. They will then travel to New Mexico to face off against the Scorpions Saturday night at 8 PM CST. To get your tickets or for more information, please contact the Saints office at 325-653-9577.

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2005


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