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Shots From The Point

March 12, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


Ulanski Looks to Become Century Man

Colorado forward Kevin Ulanski is on the verge of becoming the first CHL player to reach the 100-point mark since Alex Leavitt (Arizona) did so in the 2007-08 season and at the same time trying to earn the Joe Burton Scoring Championship. Ulanksi leads the league with 98 points (31-67=98) which is nine more than the player in second place, Odessa's Sebastien Thinel, and is the most in the storied history of the Eagles in a single season. Ulanski and Thinel are two of the five finalists for the CHL Most Valuable Player joining Rapid City's Les Reaney, Allen's Bruce Graham and Corpus Christi's Chad Woollard. Ulanski's teammate Ed McGrane (37 goals) has seven goals in his last five games and is making a late season charge trying to catch Woollard (39 goals) as the league's goal scoring leader.

Rush Try to Hold on in the North

Rapid City returns home for their final four regular season home games beginning this weekend with a pair of games versus the Allen Americans. The Rush's recently completed three-game road trip ended in disaster as they were beaten 7-3 in Texas and then shutout 3-0 in Odessa. Rapid City has only lost back-to-back regulation games one other time this season (in late October) and has not lost three straight in regulation. Les Reaney's two goals lead Rapid City over Allen in the only previous meeting back on January 15, 6-1. The Rush will finish their home schedule on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week versus the Texas Brahmas. Rapid City is five points behind Odessa for the highest point total in the CHL and lead Colorado by two points in the North.

Oilers Head West

The Tulsa Oilers are in the midst of their season-ending six-game road trip winning game one on Wednesday in Amarillo. The next stop is in Colorado for a pair of games versus the Eagles. Colorado is 3-0 this season versus the Oilers and the four points on the line is critical to Tulsa who is one point behind Missouri for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Northern Conference. For the Eagles, their three game win streak has them in contention once again for the Northern crown as they trail conference-leading Rapid City by two points. Tulsa's road trip concludes next week with a game at Bossier-Shreveport and a pair of games at Mississippi.

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BY THE NUMBERS

2- The difference in wins between Allen rookie goaltender Chris Whitley and Rapid City rookie goaltender Danny Battochio for the league's highest win total. Whitley leads the league with 28 wins with Battochio trailing with 26 wins. The duo is battling it out for the league's wins champion.

47- The number of power play goals that Odessa's Mike Ramsay (16), Collin Circelli (16) and Jeff Pierce (15) have combined to score this season. The total is more than three teams have scored (Amarillo, Tulsa and Wichita) and is just two fewer than the entire roster of Bossier-Shreveport and Texas have scored this season. The Jacks lead the league with a 28.4% success rate on the PP which is on pace to be the most prolific in CHL history (current record is 27.5% set by Columbus in 1996-97). Odessa has scored a man advantage goal in 19 straight games.

8-0- The record of Arizona goaltender Doug Groenestege in shootouts this season (combined between Missouri and Arizona). The backstop has started 14 straight games for Arizona going 8-5-1 over that stretch. Arizona is 7-3-1 in their last 11 road games and play their final road game of the season at Laredo on Saturday night.

1- The number of points the Texas Brahmas need to clinch a playoff spot and earn the chance to defend their 2008-09 CHL Championship. The Brahmas have their work cut out for them down the stretch with tough match-ups in their final five games. Texas plays at Mississippi on Friday, home versus Laredo on Sunday, travel to Rapid City for a pair of games next week and then finish at home versus Bossier-Shreveport.

37-0- The Colorado Eagles record over the last two seasons when scoring six goals or more. The Eagles offense has outscored the Wichita Thunder 17-6 over their last three games (Mar. 6, 7, 10) and have outshot Wichita 144-70 over this three games. The Eagles are second in the league averaging 4.20 goals/game and second with 36.08 shots/game.

SLAP SHOTS

-The RGV Killer Bees and Corpus Christi IceRays play the first of three critical head-to-head games on Saturday at the American Bank Center. The Rays currently lead the Bees by three points but with those six points on the line versus each other, the Bees can still pass Corpus Christi and make their way into the post-season. The teams play again in Corpus Christi on Tuesday and then finish the regular season on Saturday in RGV.

-Odessa visits Missouri for a pair of games this weekend in games that could define the playoff hopes for the Mavs. Odessa won the only previous meeting way back at the start of the season but the Mavs have been tremendous in the second half of the season and currently sit in the fifth and final playoff spot in the North. Odessa is closing in on their franchises' second Governors' Cup.

-Corpus Christi's Ryan Garbutt, Rio Grande Valley's Sean Muncy and Missouir's Nick Sirota are all battling for the rookie scoring lead with Garbutt currently leading with 47 points and Muncy following with 44 points and Sirota sitting with 42 points. Garbutt leads Sirota by four goals for the rookie goal scoring lead and Muncy has the most assists for first-year players with 32 helpers.

-The two teams sitting at the bottom of each conference play for pride in a home and home series on Friday and Saturday when Amarillo (19-31-9) and Wichita (8-46-5) tangle. The Gorillas have equaled last year's win total (19) and will look to top that and finish the season on a high-note. For the Thunder, they are trying to avoid the fewest wins in CHL history set by Memphis in 1999-2000 who won nine games in a 70-game season.

-Laredo faces Rio Grande Valley on Friday night with a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win. The Bucks are in a battle with Texas for the third spot in the Southern Conference trailing Texas by two points. The teams clash on Sunday, for the final time during the regular season, at the NYTEX Sports Centre.

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 12, 2010


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