Scorps Win at Home, Fall on the Road

Published on January 27, 2003 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
New Mexico Scorpions News Release


SCORPIONS ON THE RADIO – The Scorpions are teaming up this season with SportsRadio 610 The Sports Animal to bring you all of the Scorpions action on the radio. Mike Sheehan is in his first season as the Voice of the Scorpions. Friday's game is scheduled to air on SportsRadio 610 The Sports Animal while Thursday's and Saturday's games will air on 1050 AM KTBL.

SCORPIONS HOCKEY TALK THIS WEEK – The Scorpions' weekly radio talk show moves back to Wednesday this week, airing from 6 to 7 p.m. on SportsRadio 610 The Sports Animal, live on location at the Corner Pocket, 9603 Lomas NE just west of Eubank. Scorpions Hockey Talk features Scorpions coach Bill McDonald and the "Voice of the Scorpions" Mike Sheehan, along with special guests each week.

COMING EVENTS AT TINGLEY – Friday night at Tingley Coliseum the Scorpions host El Paso on Albuquerque Journal Trading Card Night. The first 1,000 fans receive a FREE set of Scorpions trading cards courtesy of the Albuquerque Journal. Bobblehead madness hits Tingley Coliseum on Saturday, Feb. 1 when the Scorps host Lubbock again. The first 1,000 fans receive a FREE Craig Stahl Bobblehead courtesy of Comcast.

SCORPIONS RECAP

SCORPIONS 4, LUBBOCK 3 – Ben Gorewich's second goal of the game 6:14 into the third period broke a 3-3 tie and propelled the Scorpions to a 4-3 win over the Cotton Kings. Fred Mattersdorfer had a goal and two assists as the Scorpions wiped out a 3-1 deficit for the comeback win. Peter Ambroziak had two assists to become the team's all-time leading scorer. Arturs Kupaks also scored as the Scorpions held the Cotton Kings to just 19 shots, the fewest shots allowed since El Paso recorded 17 shots on Nov. 22.

ODESSA 4, SCORPIONS 0 – The streak of one-goal games between the Scorpions and Jackalopes ended on Saturday in Odessa as the hosts skated to a 4-0 win. Luciano Caravaggio stopped a season-high 42 shots in goal for New Mexico.

SCORPIONS MATCH-UPS

AMARILLO – The Scorpions are 2-3 against the Gorillas heading into Thursday's encounter. The teams have four meetings left, but three of them are at Tingley Coliseum, including two in six days beginning Thursday. The teams haven't met since New Mexico won 3-1 in Amarillo on Jan. 10. Henry Kuster leads the Gorillas in scoring with 39 points (22g-17a), but Dorian Anneck (13g-25a-38pts) is right behind. Defenseman Brandon Carper is tied for second among CHL defensemen with 12 goals. Goalies Steve Debus (15-6-1) and Shawn Degagne (10-7-0) split the goaltending duties, and each has an identical 2.649 GAA. The Gorillas are a perfect 8-0 in shootouts this season.

EL PASO – The Buzzards are struggling having gone winless in their last eight games at 0-6-2, and now they're in the middle of an eight-game road trip. That hasn't been due to a lack of production from their lone All-Star, Jeff Scharf. Scharf leads the Buzzards and is tied for ninth in the CHL with 51 points (21g-30a). He has 18 points (6g-12a) in his last ten games. Derrell Upton is next with 39 points (15g-24a). The Scorpions are 3-3 against the Buzzards this season, but won the last meeting by a 3-2 score in El Paso on Dec. 30. Goalie Blaine Russell (5-6-4, 3.63 GAA) has shouldered most of the load between the pipes since joining the team in early December. The Scorps still have five games remaining against the Buzzards (including three at Tingley Coliseum), by far the most of any team.

LUBBOCK – The home team has won all seven games this season entering Saturday's rematch at Tingley Coliseum. The Scorpions are now 3-3-1 against the Cotton Kings this season. Lubbock rebounded from Friday's loss to the Scorpions with an 8-3 pounding of El Paso on Saturday. Injuries have haunted the Kings lately, as center Derek Gauthier is out for the year while center Jan Melichercik and defenseman Barry McKinlay are among several players who have missed games recently. Blaz Emersic remains hot and leads the Cotton Kings with 51 points (21g-30a), including 14 points in seven games against the Scorpions. Paul Fioroni had five points in two games last week and is second on the team with 35 points (12g-23a). Goalie Mike Brusseau is 17-12-4 with a 2.75 GAA and .914 save percentage. The teams play once more after Saturday, and that's Feb. 13 in Lubbock.

AMBROZIAK BECOMES THE MAN – With two assists on Friday, Peter Ambroziak passed Sylvain Naud to become the team's all-time leading scorer. Ambroziak now has 242 points (115g-127a) in 191 games since joining the club prior to the 1999-2000 season. Naud compiled 241 points (134g-107a) in 162 games from the club's inception in 1996 until 1999. Ambroziak is currently second on the team's goal-scoring chart behind Naud and third in assists, needing just eight to pass George Dupont for the team's all-time assists record of 134. He is also fourth in games played, needing 42 more to break Darcy Pengelly's mark of 232.

ROBBINS ROCKS INTO ALBUQUERQUE – The Scorpions signed center Adam Robbins prior to Friday's game against Lubbock and he made his debut that night against the team he was with for the past two seasons. The 25 year-old native of Bancroft, Ontario recorded 27 points (13g-14a) in 54 games with the Cotton Kings last year. He has played for Scorpions coach Bill McDonald in four of his prior six pro seasons. Before joining the Scorps, he was assistant coach for a Midget AAA youth hockey team in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

STINGERS – Ben Gorewich celebrated his 28th birthday last Thursday, then partied at Lubbock's expense on Friday... The Thornhill, Ontario native recorded his first two-goal game and his first game-winning goal since joining the Scorpions in a trade with Memphis... Arturs Kupaks scored a goal in his 500th regular season game as a professional on Friday... The Scorpions are 6-2-0 against the Southwest Division at home entering Friday and Saturday's games vs. El Paso and Lubbock.

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Central Hockey League Stories from January 27, 2003


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