Series Shifts to Lone Star State Friday
Published on March 24, 2003 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Indianapolis Ice News Release
SERIES REWIND: The first round best-of-five playoff series between the Northern Conference Champion Indianapolis Ice and Amarillo Gorillas shifts to Texas this weekend when the two teams meet at 8:11 p.m. Friday night from the Amarillo Civic Center. The Ice leads the series 2-0 after a pair of wins over the weekend at the Pepsi Coliseum. Indy was 1-0-2 against the Gorillas in the regular season and has never lost in regulation to Amarillo (5-0-2) in the two years of battles. Indianapolis is in the playoffs for the third time in four CHL years with the lone blemish being last year's disappointing 20-37-7 season. The Ice was the 2000 CHL Champions and has a three-year CHL playoff record of 12-8. The Gorillas are making Amarillo professional hockey history as the team is in the playoffs for the first time in seven years.
Game Two Recap: The Ice earned a 3-2 victory over Amarillo when Ryan Carter took advantage of a late Indianapolis power play by poking in his second goal of the game with just :25 seconds left on the clock. The game was a seesaw affair that saw the two teams exchange goals in the first two periods as Carter and Kevin St. Jacques netted scores for the Ice, while John Dean and Darren Curry answered for the Gorillas. Jamie Morris was solid between the pipes stopping 29 shots, while Amarillo's Shawn Degagne turned back 30 shots in defeat.
Game One Recap: The Ice erupted for three goals in a span of 3:18 in the third period to come away with a 4-2 victory over Amarillo. The line of Jared Dumba-Andrew Taylor-Randy Holmes led the Ice attack with six points (2G, 4A), while Bryce Classen and Jason Baird also tallied goals. Amarillo got a two-point effort from John Dean (G, A) and a goal from Brandon Carper in the loss. In goal, Shawn Silver stopped 19 shots for the win, while Shawn Degagne had 33 saves for the Gorillas. Indy outshot Amarillo 37-21 in the contest.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE: The Ice roster features four players who have experienced the taste of victory in the pro ranks in forwards Kevin St. Jacques and Jared Dumba, defenseman Bernie John and goaltender Jamie Morris. St. Jacques, who tops all players on both teams in playoff experience, was a member of three West Coast Hockey League Championship Teams (San Diego- 1996-98, Phoenix- 1999-00), while Dumba was a member of Oklahoma City's 2001 CHL Championship Team. John led all Ice defensemen with nine points during Indy's 2000 Championship run, while Morris was the Playoff MVP that year after going 8-3 with a 1.63 GAA and two shutouts. In addition, Ryan Aikia played for the 2000 CHL runner-up Columbus Cottonmouths, while Greg Olsen was a member of the United Hockey League runner-ups last season in the Elmira Jackals.
PLAYER NOTES: Game two hero Ryan Carter has points in five of his last six games dating back to the regular season (4G, 3A)....Kevin St. Jacques has points in nine of his last ten games (6G, 9A)...Jared Dumba leads the Ice with three points in the series and he now has seven points (1G, 6A) in just three games against the Gorillas this year....Ice goaltenders Shawn Silver and Jamie Morris sit atop the playoff leaderboard among CHL goaltenders with their 2.00 goals-against-averages...Morris tops all netminders in save percentage (.935)...Ryan Leasa made his pro debut in Saturday's win over Amarillo.
TEAM NOTES: The three goals in a span of 3:18 in Friday's win over Amarillo was the fastest three goals scored by the Ice all season....Indy has trailed 2-1 in both playoff games, before coming back to win....The Ice has never lost in Amarillo (2-0-0).
2002-2003 INDIANAPOLIS ICE PLAYOFF STATISTICS
Record: 2-0 Home 2-0 Road 0-0
Central Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2003
- Scorpions Split First Two Games with Ice Bats - New Mexico Scorpions
- Two Tough Losses Have Gorillas Trailing Series 2-0 in Indy - Amarillo Gorillas
- Series Shifts to Lone Star State Friday - Indianapolis Ice
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