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Scorpions battle front-running Cotton Kings

December 27, 2004 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
New Mexico Scorpions News Release


SCORPIONS RECAP –

COLORADO 5, SCORPIONS 2 – Riley Nelson scored four goals to lead the Eagles to their third straight win at Tingley Coliseum with a 5-2 victory in the Scorpions' only game last week on Wednesday. The Eagles now lead the season series 3-2 entering Friday's game at Colorado, where the Scorpions won back-to-back contests in November. Peter Ambroziak and Andrew Katzberg each scored for the Scorpions. Miguel Beaudry tied a season-high with 40 saves in goal for the Scorpions.

SCORPIONS MATCH-UPS –

LUBBOCK – First-year Cotton Kings coach Chris Dashney will lead the Southern Conference All-Stars at the CHL All-Star Game on Jan. 12 in Laredo after presiding over Lubbock's turnaround in 2004-05. Lubbock beat the Scorpions 2-1 at Tingley Coliseum back on Dec. 3. Matt Turek (7g-13a-20pts) and Anders Strome (13g-6a-19pts) lead the Cotton Kings offensively. Where this team has made its mark is defensively, as Lubbock is second in the CHL behind Colorado averaging 2.26 goals against per game. Goalie Lance Leslie (12-4-2 record) is third in the league with 2.10 GAA and second with a .932 save percentage. Lubbock is 7-0-2 in their last nine games, with Leslie having started all nine of those games.

COLORADO – The road team has won all five meetings this season, as the Eagles added to their total at Tingley Coliseum with last Wednesday's 5-2 win. The Eagles face a busy week, traveling to Odessa tomorrow and Amarillo on Wednesday before returning home to face the Scorpions on New Year's Eve. Colorado then faces a Saturday game at division-leading Wichita. Greg Pankewicz leads the Eagles with 33 points (12g-21a), followed by Riley Nelson with 30 points (17g-13a) after Wednesday's four-goal outburst against the Scorps. Rookie goalie Tyler Weiman leads the CHL with a 1.74 GAA and four shutouts on the season. Both Pankewicz and Weiman will be starting for the Northern Conference squad at the All-Star Game. Eagles coach Chris Stewart will be behind the bench.

AMARILLO – The Scorpions and Gorillas have split two meetings so far this season, with each team winning at home. The Scorpions held on for a 4-3 victory at Tingley Coliseum on Nov. 24 while the Gorillas rallied for a 3-2 shootout win in Amarillo on Dec. 7, which was part of the team's season-best five-game winning streak. Another All-Star starter, center Derek Hahn, leads the Gorillas in scoring with 30 points (12g-18a). Brent Hughes is next with 19 points (8g-11a). Goalie Shawn Degagne (9-5-1, 2.87 GAA) has had the better results for Amarillo this season, but Steve Briere (2-6-1, 3.41 GAA) has started the last two games.

SCHEDULE FOR THE WEEK –

Tuesday, Dec. 28 – Practice 10-11 a.m. Tingley Coliseum

Game vs. Lubbock – 7:05 p.m. Tingley Coliseum

Wednesday, Dec. 29 – Practice TBA Blades, Rio Rancho

Thursday, Dec. 30 – Practice TBA Blades, Rio Rancho

DEPART FOR COLORADO

Friday, Dec. 31 – Practice 11 a.m.-12 noon Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo.

Game at Colorado – 7:05 p.m. Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo.

Saturday, Jan. 1 – HAPPY NEW YEAR

Game at Amarillo – 6:11 p.m. MST Amarillo Civic Center, Amarillo, Tex.

Sunday, Jan. 2 – OFF

As always, please contact Mike Sheehan (881-7825 (office), 480-7915 (cell) or email msheehan@scorpionshockey.com) to confirm time and site of practice.

STINGERS – The Scorpions' opponents through their first nine games in the month of December have a combined winning percentage of .623... Throw in this week's games and that number rises to .625... Randy Murphy now has a point in eight of the last nine games for the Scorpions and 14 points (7g-7a) in nine December games... He is now seventh in the CHL with 34 points (15g-19a)... Peter Ambroziak has at least a point in four of his last five games and nine points in his last ten games (4g-5a)... Konrad McKay has registered a point in three of his last four contests... Shawn Legault has eight points in his last ten outings (3g-5a)... The Scorpions are fifth in the CHL averaging 25.2 penalty minutes per game.

SCORPIONS RESULTS –

13-9-3 record, 26 pts., 3rd place, Northwest Division (7-5-1 home, 6-4-2 away)

Wednesday, Dec. 22 Colorado 5, SCORPIONS 2 – Peter Ambroziak, Andrew Katzberg – 1 goal each

Home team in CAPS

SCORPS IN ACTION –

Tuesday, Dec. 28 Scorpions vs. Lubbock Cotton Kings (15-6-2, 32 pts., 1st place, Southwest Div.) – 7:05 p.m.

Friday, Dec. 31 Scorpions at Colorado Eagles (14-5-4, 32 pts., 2nd place, Northwest Div.) – 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, Jan. 1 Scorpions at Amarillo Gorillas (11-11-2, 24 pts., 3rd place, Southwest Div.) – 6:11 p.m. MST

SCORPIONS ON THE RADIO – The Scorpions are teaming up for the third straight season with SportsRadio 610 The Sports Animal to bring you all of the Scorpions action on the radio. Mike Sheehan returns for his third season as the Voice of the Scorpions. Tuesday and Friday's games will air on SportsRadio 610 The Sports Animal while Saturday's game is scheduled to air on 1050 KTBL-AM. The games are also available on the Internet at the Scorpions' website, www.scorpionshockey.com via Internet broadcast partner www.broadcastmonsters.com. Archived broadcasts for the past month are also available through BCM's website.

SCORPIONS HOCKEY TALK – Scorpions Hockey Talk returns to the airwaves on Tuesday, Jan. 4 from 6-6:40 p.m. at Boston's The Gourmet Pizza, located on Jefferson just west of I-25. Join Mike Sheehan, Scorpions coach Bill McDonald and special guests each and every week. Next week's guest will be Scorpions defenseman Vladimir Hartinger. Don't miss food and drink specials, and plenty of free prizes to be given away.

SCORPIONS TICKETS AND EVENTS –

SPECIAL KIDS DISCOUNT FOR TOMORROW'S GAME – Children 15 and under can get $6 tickets for tomorrow's game against Lubbock. The specially priced tickets can be purchased at the Scorpions Team Store, 6300 San Mateo NE in the Far North Shopping Center, or at the Tingley Coliseum box office beginning two hours prior to game time.

TICKET AND TEAM STORE INFO – Tickets for all Scorpions home games start at $11 and can be purchased at the Scorpions Team Store, 6300 San Mateo NE in the Far North Shopping Center, at the Tingley Coliseum box office beginning two hours prior to game time, or at any TicketMaster outlet. The Scorpions Team Store will be open tomorrow from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Regular non game-day hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. On Tuesday through Friday game days it is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday game days from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 27, 2004


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