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Shots from the Point for March 18, 2013

March 18, 2013 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Three Things You Need to Know

1.) Battle at the Top- The first place Allen Americans (37-16-9, 83 points) take on the second place Wichita Thunder (36-18-8, 80 points) on Tuesday in the first of two meetings remaining in the regular season series. The two rivals meet one last time on Friday in Wichita. So far this season, the Americans have won four times and the Thunder have won three times with the home team winning each tilt. Both teams have four games remaining with three points separating them. Allen is just 3-3 in their last six games overall, while the Thunder are 6-1-1 in their last eight games.

2.) Log Jam for 6th, 7th and 8th- There is quite a cluster of teams fighting for the bottom half of the playoff brackets with Arizona, Quad City and Denver all separated by just three points and Missouri sitting ahead of them in fifth place with 70 points. The bottom three clubs are all just a point or two away from clinching an official post-season berth taking it away from Bloomington who is in ninth place with 58 points. Arizona starts a big three-game series to close the season with Fort Worth on Wednesday while Quad City hosts Denver on Tuesday in a crucial battle for positioning. Bloomington hosts Missouri and with a regulation loss, the Blaze would be officially eliminated from post-season contention. Quad City and Denver's magic number is just one point and Arizona's is two points.

3.) All-CHL and All-Rookie Teams- The CHL announced its All-CHL and All-Rookie squads on Monday. The top team features A.J. Gale (DEN), Mickey Lang (QDC) and Sebastien Thinel (MIZ) at forwards, Tyler Ludwig (ALN) and Kevin Young (WIC) on defense and Aaron Dell (ALN) in goal. The first-year team features Greger Hanson (WIC), Mike Hellyer (QDC) and Sy Nutkevicth (FTW) up front with Matt McCready (ARZ) and Dan Spivak (FTW) on defense and Dell in goal.

By the Numbers

8: The number of points that Tulsa forward Ryan Menei has in his last four games getting him into a tie for second place in the league's scoring race with 80 points. Menei has five goals in his last three games, two of those games against his former team, Rapid City. Menei is nine points behind Missouri's Sebastien Thinel (89 points) and tied with Bloomington's Jon Booras (80 points).

One-Timers

-On Sunday, Allen signed one of the most prolific scorers in minor pro history in forward Todd Robinson. The veteran scored 191 points over the past two seasons in the CHL playing in Evansville and Odessa. This season, Robinson had played the entire season in Evansville with the ECHL before leaving to join the Americans.

-Denver's A.J. Gale and Quad City's Mickey Lang continue to battle it out for the goal scoring title in the CHL with Gale sitting with 41 goals and Lang sitting with 38 goals. Gale has struck 10 times in his last nine games and Lang has goals in seven of his eight games (nine total strikes). Denver has three games left on the season and Quad City has four contests remaining.

-Wichita defenseman Kevin Young leads all CHL defensemen with 20 goals this season, two shy of the Thunder's team record for a blue-liner set by Paul Esdale in the 2004-05 season. Young is a nominee for the CHL Most Outstanding Defenseman Award.

-The Rapid City Rush have three more home games on their season-ending five-game home stand. So far the Rush have split two games with Tulsa and in their last five home games are just 2-2-1. Rapid City will host the Oilers for a third straight game on Tuesday before finishing the year with back-to-back games against Denver this weekend. Rush forward Rusty Masters has gotten hot for his team scoring goals in five straight games (one game shy of the season long goal scoring streak).

-Quad City goalie John Murray has won three straight decisions allowing just four total goals in those games. On the season, Murray is 14-11-6 with a 2.73 GAA and a .914 save percentage.

-Tulsa's rookie goalie Shane Madolora has made at least 30 saves in seven of his last eight games and has seen his save percentage climb to .915 on the season ranking him fourth in the CHL. Madolora is 14-15-3 on the season.

-The Wichita Thunder are the best finishers in the league this season outscoring the opposition 72-54 in the third period of play. Quad City is second with a +14 (74-60). The Thunder have lost just once in regulation when leading after 40 minutes (26-1-2), while the Mallards are a perfect 19-0 when leading after two periods.

-Be sure to catch all of the action on CHL-TV all season long.

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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