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CHL Central Hockey League

Shots from the Point for December 13, 2010

December 13, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Tulsa Turning the Tides

In a remarkable turn, the Tulsa Oilers (11-12-1) have battled their way out of the basement of the Berry Conference and now finds themselves tied for fourth in the conference thanks to their current six-game win streak and 8-1-0 mark over their last nine games, this after going 1-11-1 between Oct. 19 and Nov. 20. The offense has been the catalyst of their recent surge scoring 31 goals in their six wins and seeing their overall goals per game average increase to 3.25/game (sixth in the CHL). Gary Steffes, Jack Combs, Derek Hulak, Michel Beausoleil, Chad Costello, Harrison Reed and Sean Erickson are all averaging a point a game or more over their last five contests and goaltender Ian Keserich is 7-1-0 in his last eight decisions. The Oilers will look for #7 on Tuesday night when the host the Wichita Thunder (10-9-2).

Comeback Claws

The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (18-7-0) came back for a victory after trailing by two goals on Friday night versus Mississippi making the fourth time this season they have accomplished this feat. The Mudbugs scored five times in a 22 second span en route to their 5-3 victory. The ‚¬ËœBugs are an amazing 7-1-0 when trailing after 20 minutes and have won three of the six games they have trailed after two periods. This week, the Mudbugs host Rio Grande Valley on Thursday and Friday pitting the Berry Conference leaders (Mudbugs have 36 points) against the conference's lowest point producers (RGV has 19 points). Bossier-Shreveport is 5-1-0 in their last six game at the CenturyTel Center and the Bees' only win during their current slide (1-7-1 in their last nine games) came on the road in Bloomington, a 5-0 win on Nov. 28.

Kings at Home

The Mississippi RiverKings (11-11-1) continue their four-game home stand Friday when they host Evansville and then continue versus Bossier-Shreveport on Saturday and Bloomington next Tuesday. Mississippi has been solid on home ice with an overall record of 7-5-0 and four straight wins in the friendly confines. The ‚¬ËœKings are in a three-way tie for fourth place in the Berry Conference with Arizona and Tulsa sitting just two points behind Texas. Forward Patrik Levesque has been a monster since joining the RiverKings in a trade with Quad City scoring seven goals with five assists and a +7 plus/minus rating in seven games. Chris Richards has also been strong offensively with three goals and 11 assists in his last 10 games. The veteran's six PP goals are tied for the most in the CHL.

Numbers Game

67- The number of all-time wins the Laredo Bucks (9-10-3) have against their South Texas rivals, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (8-12-3). The 67 wins is tied for the most by the Bucks against any one franchise (Corpus Christi) and Laredo leads the all-time series versus RGV 67-22-9. The teams play for 99th time on Tuesday and the 100th time on Saturday.

3-7-2- The record of the Evansville IceMen (9-11-3) in their last 12 games with all three victories coming against the Dayton Gems (11-9-1). Evansville begins a stretch of six straight road games on Friday night in Mississippi and 10 of the IceMen's next 11 will be away from home where they are 3-5-1 this season.

900- The number of regular season games that Fort Wayne defenseman Guy Dupuis has played in a Komets uniform (the franchise's leader) after Sunday's contest in Quad City. Including playoffs, Dupuis has played in 987 career games with Fort Wayne.

19- The number of points that the Arizona Sundogs (10-10-3) have earned away from home this season boasting a 8-5-3 road mark. The ‚¬ËœDogs are 7-1-3 in their last 11 road contests and their 19 road points are third behind only Allen (24 points) and Bossier-Shreveport (20 points). At home, the Sundogs are just 2-5-0 playing the fewest home games thus far of any CHL team. This week, they will host the Rapid City Rush in a trio of games (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday).

73- The number of wins the Colorado Eagles have on Saturday nights over the past five seasons posting a 73-21-12 record never losing more than five games in a single season. The Eagles have struggled a bit this year on Saturdays going 3-4-1 thus far.

2.06- The league-leading goals against average of Missouri goaltender Rob Nolan who is 6-2-0 in his last eight decisions and 6-3-2 overall. Nolan has allowed just nine goals in his six wins.

Slap Shots

-With their 3-2 OT victory at the Budweiser Events Center on Saturday night, the Odessa Jackalopes (10-13-1) finally get the monkey off their back winning for the first time at the BEC. The Jacks had lost the previous 10 games versus the Eagles in Colorado.

-Tulsa forward Gary Steffes has two goals and eight assists over the Oilers current six-game win streak moving him to the top of the rookie scoring list in the CHL. He is tied for the rookie lead with eight goals and first with 11 assists. Dayton's Erik Boisvert (8-8=16) and Colorado's Dylan Stanley (6-10=16) are tied for second with 16 points apiece.

-After starting the year 1-6-0, Odessa goaltender Joel Martin has rebounded going 5-2-0 in his last seven decisions allowing just nine goals in the five victories. The 2010 CHL Most Outstanding Goaltender is 6-8-0 on the season.

-Bloomington's Bill Bagron's strong week helped propel his team to a 2-0 record and earned him the Oakley CHL Player of the Week award (three goals and one assist on the week). Bagron leads the PrairieThunder with a +10 plus/minus rating and his two-way play has pushed Bloomington to a four-game win streak.

-Allen goaltender Scott Campbell earned his first CHL victory since March 12 last season when he was a member of the Wichita Thunder. Campbell was signed and pressed into duty when Chris Whitley was injured and Adrien LeMay was re-called by Texas (AHL). Campbell made 36 saves in the Americans 4-2 win at Rio Grande Valley on Friday. He was 7-23-2 last season with the Thunder.

-Voting for the 2011 CHL All-Star Game's starting line-up is currently ongoing with each team represented on the ballot by two forwards, one defenseman and one goaltender. This year's game will feature the host Rapid City Rush taking on a team of CHL All-Stars from the remaining 17 teams. The reserves will be selected by the all-star coaches in conjunction with the CHL's hockey operation's department. The coaches for the CHL team will be comprised of the Turner and Berry Conference coaches whose team's have the highest win percentage on December 24. Should the Rush's Joe Ferras have the highest win percentage in the Turner Conference, than the second coach would be from the CHL team (from either the Turner of Berry Conference) with the next highest win percentage. If the coaches were determined today, Colorado's Chris Stewart (.667 win percentage) and Allen's Dwight Mullins (.795 win percentage) would work the bench for the CHL team.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 13, 2010


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