SteelHounds Weekly Hockey Report

Published on March 27, 2007 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Youngstown SteelHounds News Release


End of the Regular Season

The Youngstown SteelHounds finished the regular season with a three-game road trip last weekend that's saw the team finish 2-1 and end the year with an impressive 16-11-5 road record. The trip began with a dramatic 4-3 comeback win in Memphis led by Jeff Christian's game winning goal and two assists. Stephen Margeson, Shaun Landolt and Dallas Anderson also scored goals for the SteelHounds. On Saturday night, it took overtime but the Hounds handled the Tulsa Oilers 3-2 thanks to two power play goals by Tab Lardner including the game winner in the extra session. The season finale was on Sunday and it held a lot of meaning for both Youngstown (a point earned the Hounds the fourth seed in the playoffs) and Bossier-Shreveport (a win captured the Governors' Cup as the best regular season team). The Mudbugs jumped out early as the Hounds yielded a franchise record five first period goals. With the large deficit and the end of a three-game-in-three nights stretch, Youngstown ran out of gas and could only close the score to 6-4. The Hounds finish their second season of Central Hockey League competition at 34-20-10 (78pts) and are in the Ray Miron President's Cup Playoffs.

Road Warriors

The Youngstown SteelHounds 2-1 finish on the season's final road trip finished the year with a 16-11-5 mark. Last season, Youngstown could only muster a 12-17-3 road record. The 37 road points this season were the sixth most in the CHL. The Hounds finished the season outscoring the opposition 111-98 away from the Chevy Centre and finished exceptionally strong going 7-2-1 in the team's final 10 road games. Jeff Christian led the way with 59 points (19-40=59) on the road and Chris Richards paced the club with 20 goals.

What's on Tap - Bring on the Eagles

The Youngstown SteelHounds will begin their playoff push and quest for the cup this Friday night when they take on the Colorado Eagles in game one of a best of seven series. Start time is 9:05PM from Loveland, Colorado and is available on ESPN Radio 1240 - The Fan and SteelHounds.com. Game two is slated for the following night (Saturday, March 31st) and can be heard on ESPN Radio 1240 - The Fan or seen on Altitude Sports and Entertainment located on channel 644 on DirecTV and channel 410 DISH Network.

First Round Schedule (best-of-seven series)

Game #1 - Friday, March 30th - Youngstown @ Colorado, 9:05 PM

Game #2 - Saturday, March 31st - Youngstown @ Colorado, 9:05 PM

Game #3 - Wednesday, April 4th - Colorado @ Youngstown, 7:05 PM

Game #4 - Friday, April 6th - Colorado @ Youngstown, 7:05 PM

Game #5* - Saturday, April 7th - Colorado @ Youngstown, 7:05 PM

Game #6* - Tuesday, April 10th - Youngstown @ Colorado, 9:05 PM

Game #7* - Wednesday, April 11th - Youngstown @ Colorado, 9:05 PM

*if necessary

**all times listed are Eastern Standard Time

Christian Named CHL's MVP

Congratulations are in order for SteelHounds captain Jeff Christian as he was named the CHL's Most Valuable Player for the 2006-2007 regular season. The Canfield, Ohio resident also took home the Joe Burton Scoring Title with his league leading 116 points. The captain had a banner year as his 116 points are a personal best as is his league leading 78 assists and +/- rating of +45. Christian and teammate Chris Richards were also named members of the All CHL First Team.

Richards Banged Up and Doubtful for Round One

Friday night's game saw Youngstown forward Chris Richards go down to an upper body injury that landed him on the 14-day injured reserve to finish the season. Head Coach Kevin Kaminski was left with a difficult decision but in the end decided to place Richards on the playoff roster with the hopes he could return in the later rounds. The veteran was on the heels of Jeff Christian for the Joe Burton Scoring Title with 39 goals (second in league) and 67 assists for 106 points. Richards and Christian were the only two players in the Central Hockey League who accumulated more then 100 points during the regular season.

Who Shot J.R.?

One thing is for certain, it wasn't Dallas Anderson who was busy this past weekend scoring goals for the Hounds. Anderson joined the team at the end of December and in 35 games made an impression scoring four goals and accumulating a team-high 205 penalty minutes. Anderson ended the year with a bang scoring goals in games on Friday and Saturday.

You Look Familiar

The Hounds will have the luxury of getting some insider information about their opponents as two current SteelHounds are former Eagles, Brad Patterson and Garrett Larson. Patterson was signed by the Hounds in the off-season and has strung together a career season scoring 41 points (13-28=41). During the 2003-04 season, Patterson played in 60 games with the Eagles scoring 15 goals with 23 assists. Larson was acquired by the Hounds in a mid-season trade with Colorado this year. When he joined the Hounds he had just 10 points in 32 games with the Eagles but wearing the 'Y' on his sweater brought him new life scoring 12 goals with nine assists in 21 games with Youngstown.

In Case You Were Wondering

- The Hounds are 12 for their last 50 with the power play in road games (24%)

- Youngstown has outshot their opponents in eight straight games, including all three games versus Colorado (March 16, 17 and 18)

- Stephen Margeson finished third among defenseman scoring 17 goals

- Brad Patterson is a +6 in his last seven games

- Mark Odut has a goal, six assists and is a +6 in his last seven games

- Jeff Alcombrack has two goals and three helpers in his last four games

- Tab Lardner has two goals and four assists in his last three games

- Jeff Christian is one a five-game point streak totaling three goals and six assists

- Brad Roberts is 15-5-1 in his last 21 decisions

- David Currie won two of his last three decisions

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Central Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2007


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