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Shots from the Point for March 4, 2011

March 4, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release

CHL Headlines for Friday, March 4

Nolan, Mavs Ready for Big Weekend

The Missouri Mavericks are the next CHL team braced to earn their spot in the 2011 Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Playoffs as their magic number sits at just one point (any combination of the Mavs earning a point or the Evansville Ice Men failing to earn a point). Missouri is 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and for the most part have let their defense do the talking allowing just one goal over their last two games and sitting as the league's top defensive unit allowing just 2.62 goals per game. Goaltender Robby Nolan has been a big reason for this leading the league with a 2.17 GAA and sitting with a 20-11-5 record. In his last 10 decisions, Nolan's record is 6-2-2 which is a bit deceiving considering he has allowed just 14 scores over that stretch, good for a 1.44 GAA. This weekend, the Mavs will host the second best defensive team in the league, the Quad City Mallards (2.67 goals per game), on Friday night and then travel to Mo line for the re-match on Saturday. The Mavs wrap up their three-in-three weekend with a road game at Dayton on Sunday. The Mallards David Brown is second to Nolan with a 2.28 GAA.

Logjam at the Top of the Turner

The Turner Conference is quite a bit congested at the top with the Colorado Eagles (33-18-4) and the Rapid City Rush (33-20-4) each boasting 70 points and sitting tied for first place. The Bloomington PrairieThunder (31-16-5) are within shouting distance sitting just three points behind the Rush and Eagles. The PThunder have earned points in 10 straight games (7-0-3) and hold the highest win percentage in the conference (.644). Colorado hosts Rio Grande Valley (22-27-6) in a pair of games this weekend, while the Rush welcome the Wichita Thunder (27-20-6) on Friday and Saturday and Bloomington host Fort Wayne (26-22-5) on Friday night and Quad City (30-24-1) on Sunday.

Last Night

For the second time in their last three games, the Dayton Gems hung an eight-spot on their opponent and in the process they put an end to the Tulsa Oilers five-game win streak. Mike Vaskivuo and Matt Miller each scored a pair of goals and all-star goaltender Jeff Jakaitis (the Sher-Wood CHL Goalie of the Month for February) made 43 saves earning his 21st win. Dayton left little doubt in the outcome scoring the game's first four goals. The win pulls the Gems to within a point of the seventh place Fort Wayne Komets in the Turner Conference.

By the Numbers

620- The current number of CHL points that Odessa's Sebastien Thinel has entering play this weekend. The long-time Jackalopes forward is 12th on the league's all-time list needing three points to tie Brian Shantz for 11th place and four points to tie Brett Seguin for 10th place on the CHL's All-Time points list. The 2009 CHL MVP is just one assist away from becoming the 13th player to reach 400 career CHL assists. Thinel currently has 221 goals and 399 assists, good for 620 CHL points. This season, the all-star is leading the league with 83 points (21-62=83).

20- The number of road wins the Allen Americans have this season leading all CHL teams with a 20-6-1 road record. The Berry Conference leaders have six road games left and have the CHL record of 24 road wins in sight. The Americans are at Texas on Friday night and at Bossier Shreveport on Saturday night. Allen is 7-1-0 versus Texas this season and 7-1-1 versus the Mudbugs. Overall, the Americans are 39-12-2 and are just three wins away from matching their win total from a year ago (42), a year that saw them advance to the Ray Miron Presidents' Cup Finals.

1/23/08- The last time the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees visited the Colorado Eagles at the Budweiser Events Center. The teams came into the CHL during the same season (2003/04) and have played 10 times overall with the Eagles winning the first nine meetings and the Killer Bees enjoying their first taste of success over Colorado last season with a 3-2 win on Jan. 9, 2010.

1- The number of all-time meetings between the Arizona Sundogs and the Mississippi RiverKings after Wednesday's 4-1 victory by the Sundogs over the ‘Kings. The teams will meet again on Friday and Saturday with Arizona riding high after ending their five-game losing streak on Wednesday (0-4-1) and the RiverKings looking to put an end to their current season-long five-game slide (0-4-1).

One-Timers

-After winning just once in their 11 previous games (1-9-1), the Odessa Jackalopes (23-24-6) have rattled off three straight wins and are now just one point behind Mississippi for fifth place in the Berry Conference. Mike Ramsay has paced the offense lately scoring two goals with seven assists in his last five games. Odessa hosts the red-hot Tulsa Oilers (30-23-2) on Friday and Saturday and then travel to Allen to play the Americans (39-12-2) on Sunday.

-The Laredo Bucks hit the road on a high for games in Texas (Friday) and Bossier-Shreveport (Saturday). The Bucks are coming off back-to-back wins for just the third time in past three months thanks to an OT win over Arizona and a convincing 5-2 drubbing of the Berry Conference leading Allen Americans on Tuesday. Laredo is two points behind Arizona for the eighth and final Berry Conference playoff slot. Brian Matte has found the scorers touch netting four goals in his last three games. Veteran defenseman Serge Dube is scheduled to return to the back end after missing the last 21 games with an injury.

-The Sher-Wood/CHL Player/Goaltender of the Month for February were announced this week with Texas' Greg Hogeboom winning the player award and Dayton's Jeff Jakaitis winning the goaltender award. Hogeboom scored a league-best 14 goals and 27 points in the month and Jakaitis was 4-1-0 with a 1.96 GAA in February.

-After allowing eight goals to the Missouri Mavericks in an 8-0 shutout loss on Feb. 20, Evansville goaltender Matt Lundin has rebounded stopping 76 of the last 82 shots (.927 save percentage) he has faced despite earning just one point over that time (0-1-1). Lundin is 0-3-2 in his last five decisions and this weekend the IceMen host Dayton and then play a home-and-home versus Fort Wayne on Saturday/Sunday.

-The Arizona Sundogs will be making a major announcement prior to their game on Friday versus the Mississippi RiverKings. Check back to www.centralhockeyleague.com and www.arizonasundogs.com for more information.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 4, 2011


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