CHL Central Hockey League

Shots from the Point for December 12, 2011

December 12, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Top Three

1.) Road Success- The Allen Americans (13-4-4) find themselves in a familiar spot, the top of the Berry Conference. A large part of their success this season can be attributed to their play away from home. Allen has played on home ice just three times in their last 15 games winning all three of those contests but with the bulk of their recent game on the road, it would be understandable to find the club not out leading the pack. The Americans are an impressive 9-2-4 on the road and have earned at least a point in three straight road contests. Allen will play seven of their next nine games at home including three straight this weekend. Colton Yellow Horn has had the hot hand in recent games recording his fourth pro hat trick on Dec. 10.

2.) Beating the Best - The Bloomington Blaze (5-12-2) got off to a rough start this season losing 12 straight games after an opening night win. The Blaze have turned things around recently winning four of their last seven games with wins against some of the top teams in the CHL. On their resume, the Blaze have a 4-3 win over the Berry Conference leading Allen Americans, a 6-2 win over the Turner Conference leading Evansville IceMen and a 3-1 win over Fort Wayne and a 4-2 win over Tulsa. One of their newest signings, Vladimir Nikiforov, has been a big help for the cause scoring seven goals in seven games. Forward Jon Booras has also been hot scoring three goals with four assists in his last five games. Bloomington will have a three-game set against the Dayton Gems this weekend with Friday's and Saturday's games at home.

3.) Topping Their Rivals- The Laredo Bucks put an emphatic end to their four-game losing streak this past weekend beating their conference rivals, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees, on both Friday and Saturday nights. The Bucks had lost three straight to RGV but have now tied the season series, three wins apiece. Torrie Jung was outstanding in net allowing just three goals on 59 shots. Jung has five of the Bucks seven wins on the season. This week, Laredo hosts Rapid City on Wednesday and Friday before heading north to Allen for a showdown with the Americans on Saturday.

Inside the Numbers

11-3-2: The Tulsa Oilers record when they score three goals or more this season (0-5-0 when failing to score three times or more). The Oilers lead the league in offense averaging 3,71 goals scored per game (78 goals on the season).

On the Fly

-Fort Wayne forward Chris Auger scored a CHL season-high four times in the Komets 5-0 win over Evansville on Saturday night, the first time in seven years a Komet player has scored four goals. Auger factored in on all of Fort Wayne's scoring with the four goals and an assist. He finished the night as a +5 and his fourth goal was scored on a penalty shot.

-After their 1-4-0 start, the Texas Brahmas have caught fire and become one of the elite clubs in the CHL with a 10-3-3 mark since. All six of their losses since Nov. 4 have come by just one goal with three of those coming in overtime. Texas is in third place in the Berry Conference just one point behind Wichita.

-Rapid City forward Jesse Schultz has taken over the league-lead with 32 points (11-21=32). Last week, he scored three goals with four assists (along with a +6) in three games earning him the Oakley CHL Player of the Week honors.

-The Missouri Mavericks are just 1-5-0 at home since November 12 but have done significant damage on the road boasting an 8-3-1 record away from home. Missouri (10-8-2) is currently in third place in the Turner Conference just one point ahead of both Quad City and Rapid City.

-After an extended road trip, the Evansville IceMen (13-5-1) returned home successfully with two home wins over the weekend. Evansville has won four straight home contests and are 6-1-0 on the season at their new home, the Ford Center. The IceMen are on ice next Friday when they begin a home-and-home series with the team chasing them, the Fort Wayne Komets (13-6-0).

-The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees will look to snap a season-long five-game losing streak on Tuesday against the Allen Americans. The Bees have gone to shootouts in three of those five losses.

-Quad City forward John Snowden has given a big boost to his team scoring power play goals in each of the three games he has played since returning from injury. The Flock are 4-0-1 in their last five games and travel to Arizona for their first ever visit to Prescott Valley to face the Sundogs on Tuesday and Wednesday. The veteran Snowden has seven goals and six assists in 11 games this season.

-After racking up a total of 87 penalty minutes in their two losses in Rapid City this past weekend, the Arizona Sundogs now lead the CHL with 23-plus PIM's per game. On the season, the Sundogs have a league-high 513 minutes with Adam Smyth ranking third in the league with 65 minutes and Jean-Philipp Chabot ranking fourth with 64 minutes.

-Missouri goaltender Charlie Effinger, the Sher-Wood CHL Goaltender of the Month for October, was called-up to the Chicago Wolves (AHL) on Monday. The goalie is 7-5-1 with the Mavs sporting a 2.90 GAA and a .923 save percentage.

-Following a stretch that saw them go 6-1-1, the Dayton Gems have now fallen in four straight games scoring just five goals over that span. The Gems had scored 31 goals in their eight-game span prior to the slide.



Central Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2011


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