SteelHounds Weekly Report

Published on February 26, 2007 under Central Hockey League (CHL)
Youngstown SteelHounds News Release


Three Road Games vs. Playoff Teams, No Problem

The Youngstown SteelHounds went on a three game road trip, played past regulation in all three games and came out with nothing but victories as Wednesday night they defeated the Wichita Thunder 3-2 in a shootout, Friday night they won in overtime 5-4 over the Memphis RiverKings and Saturday night it was another 3-2 shootout win this time against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. Wednesday night the Hounds finished a four game series with the Wichita Thunder by going to Kansas Coliseum after playing three in a row with Wichita here at home and going 2-0-1 losing the last game in a shootout. Wednesday night the score ended up the same and the visitors did win but this time the visitors were the SteelHounds as Tab Lardner and Mark Johnson brought Y-Town back from a 1-0 deficit to give the Hounds a 2-1 lead after two periods. Wichita tied the game in the third period to force overtime and eventually a shootout. In the shootout the Hounds scored three goals with Chris Richards getting the game winner as the Hounds won the shootout 3-1 to gain the victory. Friday night the Hounds looked to accomplish something that no team had done since December 9, 2006 and that was beat the Memphis RiverKings at the DeSoto Civic Center and that is exactly what Youngstown did as they defeated their division rivals 5-4 in a thrilling overtime game. Chris Richards led the way for the Hounds with two power play goals including the game winner in overtime to give Youngstown their first victory over the Kings since October 21st. Saturday night was all about Brad Roberts as the rookie goaltender looked like a season veteran making 25 saves on 27 shots as well as stopping four of five skaters in the shootout as the Hounds defeated the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 3-2 at the CenturyTel Center.

What's on Tap - Bring on the Kings

This week the Hounds begin a five game home stand as they host Memphis for three in a row starting on Thursday night at 7:05. The Hounds have won five of their last six with a victory over the RiverKings during this stretch. Memphis has lost two straight and are now tied with Bossier-Shreveport for first place in the Northeast division. Youngstown comes into this series in third place in the Northeast division with a record of 26-16-9 (61pts) while Memphis who lost full control of first place in the Northeast division has a record of 34-13-4 (72pts). These two teams have played each other seven times this season with the Hounds going 3-2-1 against the Kings this season, they will play a total of 12 times this season.

Call Him "The FINISHER!"

After last week you can call SteelHounds forward Chris Richards many new nicknames such as, "the finisher," "the clincher," "the deal breaker" and "the heart breaker," but the one that best describes him is "the game winner" as he netted the game winning goal in all three road games last week. Wednesday night Richards scored the game winning goal in the shootout to give the Hounds the edge over the Wichita Thunder. Friday night he had two power play goals with one coming at just 1:05 of overtime to give Youngstown an impressive 5-4 win over the Memphis RiverKings. Saturday night Richards again scored twice as he scored the first goal of the game, again on the power play and then he scored the game winner in the shootout to give the Hounds a 3-2 win over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. For the season the former Ohio State Buckeye has a team leading 34 goals with 20 of them being on the power play for number one in the Central Hockey League in that department and with his three straight game winning goals that gives him six game winners on the year, good for fourth in the league.

Hey Everybody We're Going Streaking

One of the biggest reasons for the Hounds recent success is the consistent contributions of many players on the team as several SteelHounds are either in a current point streak or just came off a lengthy stretch of production. Tab Lardner currently has the CHL's longest active point streak at eight games coming from two goals and seven assists, the seven assists have came in the last seven games which also has the league's longest active assists streak. Chris Richards is on a three game goal scoring streak and a four game point streak overall, not to mention the game winning goal streak that he currently has as well. Jeff Christian just came off of a 10 game point streak where he had eight goals and 20 assists during the run. Jeff Alcombrack had his eight game point streak come to an end on Saturday night, a streak that has helped propel Alcombrack into one of the league's best set up men at 32 assists on the year. Other Hounds who just came off a scoring streak include Shaun Landolt at five and Mark Johnson who had a three game streak.

Cool as the Other Side of the Pillow

SteelHound goaltender Brad Roberts continues to impress people in his rookie campaign as he played like a veteran handling four straight overtime games (dating to last Sunday vs. Wichita) with three of those going to a shootout and guiding the Hounds to three victories. During the last road trip the graduate of West Point went into enemy territory quietly and un-noticed only to leave a big impact and a look of bewilderment on the faces of many opposing players as he stopped 67 of 75 shots he saw during the trip as well as thwarting six of eight shots during two shootouts to help the Hounds get even closer to clinching a Northern Conference Playoff spot. Roberts has been calm under pressure as he has played to at least overtime eight times and winning five of them on his way to tying the franchise record for most wins in a row with three. Overall this season he now has a 17-9-4 record with a 2.65 GAA and a .893 save percentage.

Best Month Ever!

February, 2007 will go down as the best month in the brief history of the Youngstown SteelHounds as they went an impressive 8-2-1 during the shortest month of the year and that sets the record for most wins in a month breaking the old mark set earlier this season in December when the team went 6-4-2 for the last month of 2006. The Hounds finish the month as one of the league's hottest teams by winning five of their last six are now on a six game point streak as well as winning their last five road games which also sets new franchise records.

By The Numbers

Team

61 Points-7th in CHL

186 Goals-3rd in CHL

32 Road Points-Tied for 4th in CHL

18 Overtime Games-1st in CHL

3.65 Goals For Per Game- 3rd in CHL

3.16 Goals Against Per Game- 6th in CHL

32.73 Shots For Per Game- 10th in CHL

25.78 Shots Against Per Game- 1st in CHL

20-6-2 when Scoring First

18-1-2 when Leading after one period

21-0-3 when Leading after two periods

6-3-3 when Tied after one period

5-6-1 when Tied after two periods

2-12-4 when Trailing after one period

0-10-5 when Trailing after two periods

Individual

Jeff Christian first in assists (65), points (96), and +/- (+38)

Chris Richards second in assists (56), points (90), and +/- (+33) Third in league for goals (34)

Jeff Alcombrack seventh amongst defensemen in assists (32) and tied for ninth amongst defensemen in points (39)

Kelly Sickavish tied for ninth in league for +/- and fifth for defensemen at +22

Brad Roberts 17 Wins tied for 5th, 2.65 GAA is tied for eighth in CHL

*Don't forget that Thursday night is ladies night and after the game we will have our last date auction of the year featuring four SteelHounds including Shaun Landolt and Matt Hanson! Friday night the famous Hanson Brothers from the movie "Slap Shot" will be in the Chevy Centre taking part on all kinds of great activities including dropping the first puck, signing autographs and a whole lot more and Saturday night we have a post game autograph session with all of the SteelHounds and head coach Kevin Kaminski. Call (330) 747-PUCK for tickets today.*

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Central Hockey League Stories from February 26, 2007


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