Sundogs Notes

October 27, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Arizona Sundogs News Release


The Arizona Sundogs grabbed their first win of the season, topping Southwest Division rival the New Mexico Scorpions 5-3 last Wednesday, Oct. 22. The Club then dropped their first two road games of the season against the Colorado Eagles (7-5) and the Rocky Mountain Rage (4-1) to fall to 1-4-0 on the young season. The Sundogs will stay on the road for three-in-three beginning on Friday, Oct. 31 against division opponents the Amarillo Gorillas and Odessa Jackalopes.

Sundogs Storylines:

- Sundogs forwards Joel Irving (3-3-6) and Martin Gascon (2-4-6) lead the way in scoring for Arizona with six points each. Irving had a four-game point streak snapped in Saturday night's 4-1 loss the Rocky Mountain.

- The Sundogs had the best power play unit in the league last season at 26.82%, just .70 percentage points shy of the CHL record (27.5% - Columbus 1996-97). Early on this season however, the Sundogs have struggled with the man advantage, converting on just 8-of-54 opportunities (14.81%).

- The Arizona Sundogs had the league's most potent offense last season, scoring an average of 4.59 goals per game. No other team eclipsed the four goal average, with Colorado's 3.97 average being the second highest in the league. Arizona's offense has been held in check so far this season, scoring just 14 goals in five games (2.8 goals per game average).

- Last year, Arizona was 5-2-1 (2-1-1 at Amarillo Civic Center) against the Amarillo Gorillas and 7-3-0 (3-2-0 at Ector County Coliseum) against the Odessa Jackalopes. Odessa has a 2-0-0 series lead against the Sundogs this season while Arizona has yet to play Amarillo.

- Four-time Stanley Cup Champion and former Conn Smythe trophy winner Claude Lemieux has joined the Sundogs for formal on-ice practices in an effort to make a comeback to the NHL. Lemieux will has been skating with Arizona for over a week and will continue to do so.

Upcoming Games:

- Friday, Oct. 31 (5:05pm) at Amarillo Gorillas

- Tape-delayed until 7:00pm (Arizona time) on 96.7 FM The Wolf

- Saturday, Nov. 1 (5:05pm) at Odessa Jackalopes

- Broadcast live at 5:05pm (Arizona time) on 96.7 FM The Wolf

- Sunday, Nov. 2 (3:05pm) at Amarillo Gorillas

- Broadcast live at 3:05pm (Arizona time) on 96.7 FM The Wolf

Upcoming Player Appearances/Photo Opportunities:

- Wednesday, Nov. 5: Miller Lite/Liquor Barn player appearance at Liquor Barn in Prescott Valley (7655 E. Florentine Road) from 12:00-2:00pm

- Saturday, Nov. 15: Tim's Toyota player appearance at Tim's Toyota in Prescott (1006 Commerce Drive) from 12:00-2:00pm



Central Hockey League Stories from October 27, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central