CHL Central Hockey League

Shots From The Point

January 22, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


INTRUST Bank Arena Open for Hockey

On Saturday night, the Wichita Thunder will play their first game in their new home, the INTRUST Bank Arena (www.intrustbankarena.com), when they square off against the Tulsa Oilers. The Thunder will play their remaining 13 home games in the new state of the art facility that seats more than 13,000 people for hockey. The Thunder and Oilers will also meet on Friday night at the BOK Center making it a big rivalry weekend in the Midwest. Face-off on Saturday night is 7:05 PM (CST) and the action from the CHL's newest venue can be seen LIVE on CHL-TV.

Lone Star State Showdown

The IceRays and Brahmas will meet two times this weekend with both games slated for the NTEX Sports Centre. The two teams have played once this season in what was a classic defensive battle on December 4 (a 2-1 Texas win). The teams will play on Friday and Saturday and both are winning teams over the last month. Corpus Christi is 7-4-1 since December 18 while Texas is 6-4-2 over that same stretch. Two hot goaltenders will go at it with Joe Palmer of the Brahmas posting a 4-1-2 mark in his last seven decisions with two shutouts in that time frame, while Corpus Christi's Kevin Nastiuk is 6-2-1 over his last nine decisions with two shutouts.

Bucks to be Tested

The Laredo Bucks are in a very difficult part of their schedule trying to weather the storm as they play game two of their back-to-back games in Colorado versus the Eagles on Friday and then travel to Rapid City to play the Rush on Saturday. It has been hit or miss for Laredo over the last handful of games going 2-2 in their last four contests with both losses seeing them get shutout. On Wednesday, the Bucks played very well in beating the Eagles 4-2 thanks to two first period goals from Darryl Smith and a lift from the newly signed former team Captain Brent Cullaton. The Bucks have been a very good special teams club this season sitting second in the power play (21.7%) and third on the penalty kill (86.2%). Laredo scored five power play goals on nine opportunities back on January 8 in a shootout win over Colorado but in the four games since have scored just two PP goals on 17 chances (12%).

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BY THE NUMBERS

377- The total number of wins that Bossier-Shreveport Head Coach Scott Muscutt has accumulated over his 9+ seasons with the Mudbugs. Muscutt's win on Wednesday night over RGV moved him past Chris Stewart for second on the league's all-time wins list. Muscutt's.661 win percentage ranks him in the league's top five. His team beat Wichita last night for his 377th win.

22- The league leading number of goals that Corpus Christi's Chad Woollard has scored this season reaching that 20-goal plateau on Tuesday with a hat trick. Only two other CHL players have hit 20 goals with Jesse Bennefield (RGV) sitting second with 21 goals and Jeff Christian (Missouri) sitting third with 20 goals.

+7- The plus/minus rating of Rapid City's Les Reaney over his last five games. The all-star has scored five goals with five assists over that stretch and became the fourth CHL player to reach the 50-point mark on Wednesday when he scored a goal with three helpers. On the season, Reaney has 19 goals with 31 assists and is a +13.

132- The number of saves that Amarillo goaltender Mike Brown has made in his last three games versus Rapid City. Brown has seen a miraculous 145 shots in those three contests versus the Rush (48.3 per game) and although his team has been on the losing side of the decisions Brown has been busy to a tune of a.910 save percentage. The first-year Gorilla is 9-14-4 this season.

6- The total number of goals the Wichita Thunder have scored for goaltender Ian Keserich who despite boasting one of the top save percentages in the league (.925) is 0-6. The newly acquired goalie has allowed three goals or fewer in each start but has had just one goal of support four times, two goals one time and his team was shutout once.

SLAP SHOTS

-Prior to Wednesday's win over Colorado, the Laredo Bucks brought back forward and former team Captain Brent Cullaton who scored a goal in the Bucks 4-2 victory. Cullaton was the Bucks Captain during their 2004 and 2006 CHL Championships and scored more than 800 points in his pro career. It is expected that Cullaton was signed by Laredo for just the two games in Colorado and Saturday in Rapid City. Cullaton is currently coaching youth hockey in the Boulder, Colorado area.

-Odessa Head Coach Paul Gillis earned his 100th win with the Jacks on Wednesday in his team's 4-2 victory in Arizona. The Jacks leader has 497 wins in his professional coaching career. Odessa will play the Sundogs again on Friday and Saturday.

-Tulsa goaltender Trevor Cann is 4-2-0 with a.915 save percentage since joining the team. The rookie had his personal three-game win streak snapped last Friday in Texas in a 4-3 loss.

-Bossier-Shreveport's Ken Carroll made 32 saves in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the RGV Killer Bees marking his 31st career CHL shutout further extending his record. Of active players, Missouri's Mike Gorman (17 shutouts), Bossier-Shreveport's John DeCaro (13 shutouts) and Rapid City's Miguel Beaudry (13 shutouts) are next on the list.

-Wichita's loss to the Mudbugs on Thursday night moved the team into the history books in a not so flattering light as they now hold the CHL's single season record for consecutive losses at 22.

-Rapid City's rookie goaltender Danny Battochio's personal win streak appeared to be in jeopardy on Wednesday when he was pulled with his team trailing after allowing three goals on 11 shots but Miguel Beaudry and the Rush held in there eventually winning 6-4. Battochio's win streak stays in tack at 12 straight games. The first-year pro has not lost a game since November 20 versus Colorado.



Central Hockey League Stories from January 22, 2010


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