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December 6, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release


CHL Headlines for Monday, December 6

No Place for Claustrophobics in the Turner- Things couldn't get much tighter in the Turner Conference as seven of the nine teams are over .500 and eight of the nine clubs are within seven points of each other. Despite a disappointing road trip, the Colorado Eagles (12-6-1) remain in first place with a two point lead over Dayton (11-6-1) and Missouri (10-6-3). With points in seven of their last 10 games (4-3-3), the Rapid City Rush are alone in fourth place and then the Bloomington PrairieThunder (10-6-1), carrying a two-game win streak, are tied in fifth place with the Evansville IceMen (9-9-3). Wichita (9-8-2) sits in the seventh spot with 20 points and in eighth place is Quad City (9-10-0). Fort Wayne is on the outside looking in currently with a 5-10-1 record and a two-game slide.

Tulsa Explodes Offensively for Three Straight Wins- After a tough stretch (Oct. 19-Nov. 20) where the Tulsa Oilers went 1-11-1, the club has rebounded nicely winning five of their last six games including each of their last three. The Oilers are still sitting in the basement of the Berry Conference but have made up considerable ground sitting tied for the eighth spot (with Odessa) and just two points out of fifth place. The recent Oilers win streak has seen the offense erupt for 16 goals with rookie forward Derek Hulak scoring his first pro goal on Friday and then following that up with a pair of goals on Saturday. Ian Keserich has been in goal for all three wins stopping 96 of 106 shots (.906 save percentage) and is 6-5-1 on the season.

It is Getting Hotter- Perhaps no team in the CHL is playing better hockey right now than the Arizona Sundogs who have posted points in nine of their last 11 games (6-2-3) with both regulation losses coming at the hands of the Allen Americans. Arizona is midway through their six-game road trip and have posted a 2-0-1 record thus far making them 5-0-3 in their last eight road games. Arizona will finish the trip this week with games in Odessa on Tuesday, Laredo on Friday and Rio Grande Valley on Saturday. The Sundogs strong play corresponds with two additions, the trade for Luke Erickson and goaltender Levente Szuper joining the team. Erickson has six goals and eight assists in the nine games he has played since joining the Sundogs and Szuper is 4-2-2 in net allowing just 17 goals carrying a league-best 2.07 goals against average. The netminder also leads the CHL with a .940 save percentage.

Numbers Game 3- The number of goals that Allen forward Tobias Whelan scored in his first game wearing the Captain ‚¬ËœC' for the Americans. Whelan was given the letter after Jarret Lukin was granted personal leave from the team. Whelan's hat trick in his first game as the Captain came in the Americans 5-4 win over Bossier-Shreveport on Friday night. Whelan has nine goals and 12 assists in 21 games. 5-1-1- The record of the Dayton Gems after a loss this season losing back-to-back games just twice. The bounce-back ability of the Gems has kept them amongst the Turner Conference leaders all season long. Forward Chris Lipsett has led the offensive charge lately scoring four goals with an assist in his last three games. 4-0- The regular season record of the Texas Brahmas over the Colorado Eagles at the NYTEX Sports Centre after Saturday's 4-1 victory for Texas. Including the playoffs, the Brahmas have won nine of 10 match-ups versus Colorado at NYTEX. 20- The number of PP goals scored by the RGV Killer Bees accounting for nearly a third of their offense. The Bees PP is third in the league connecting at just over 20% and defenseman Darcy Campbell's four PP scores are near the top among blue liners. Campbell leads all d-men with 21 points (8-13=21). 27- The total rounds that have been played in the two Mississippi RiverKings shootouts this season. The ‚¬ËœKings won a 15-round extra session versus Wichita on Nov. 24 and then dropped a 12-round decision to Tulsa last Friday. 400- The number of assists that Laredo Bucks forward and two-time CHL MVP Jeff Bes has recorded in his CHL career, all with the Bucks. Bes reached the 400-assist club on Saturday in Laredo's 5-4 win in Allen. This season, Bes has 23 points (9-14=23) and is a league-best +21. 9- The current point streak for the Wichita Thunder at the INTRUST Bank Arena, this after losing their first two home games of the season. Wichita is 9-2-2 overall at home and this week host Fort Wayne and Tulsa (Friday/Saturday) 13-6-1- The record of the defending CHL Champion Rapid City Rush through 20 games a year ago. This season, the Rush have had the bulls-eye on their back and are 9-7-4 with a 1-3-2 mark over their last six games. The Rush begin a seven-game road trip this week but that is not their longest as they have an eight-game journey later in the season.

Slap Shots -The Colorado Eagles welcome the Odessa Jackalopes for a pair of games this week (Friday/Saturday), an opponent that the Eagles are a perfect 9-0-0 against at the Budweiser Events Center outscoring the Jacks 37-18. -The Texas Brahmas and the Bloomington PrairieThunder own the league's top penalty kills each allowing just 12 PP goals on the season. Texas leads the league with a 86.7% PK and Bloomington is sitting second at 85.9%. -Three is the magic number for the Odessa Jackalopes who are 8-1-0 when allowing three goals or fewer with all of their wins accounted for in this category. When allowing four goals or more, the Jacks are 0-11-1. Odessa hosts Arizona on Tuesday night and are 19-11-1 all time versus the ‚¬ËœDogs. -Fort Wayne's Leo Thomas enters play this week with 199 career assists. The veteran forward has three goals and an assist in his oast three games and has five goals and six assists on the season. The Komets hit the road this week with games at Wichita, Missouri and Quad City on the slate. -The CHL leading Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs begin a four-game home stand this weekend in what they are dubbing ‚¬ËœRivalry Weekend'. The ‚¬ËœBugs host Mississippi for the third time on Friday night and then welcome the Texas Brahmas for the first time this season on Saturday. Bossier-Shreveport has a one-point lead on Allen in the Berry Conference and for the overall league lead but has played two more games than the Americans.

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Central Hockey League Stories from December 6, 2010


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