Three Rush Players Nominated For Year-End Awards
March 6, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rapid City Rush News Release
(Rapid City, SD) - The Central Hockey League announced today the five finalists for each of the four significant CHL awards, selected by the CHL front office following nominations from member clubs. Balloting will take place among CHL Head Coaches, team Communications Departments and selected media members in CHL markets to determine the recipients of the CHL's Most Valuable Player, Most Outstanding Goaltender, Most Outstanding Defenseman and Rookie of the Year awards.
Rapid City's Les Reaney is up for 2009-2010 CHL Most Valuable Player. The other four candidates include the defending CHL Most Valuable Player, Odessa's Sebastien Thinel, along with Allen's Bruce Graham, Colorado's Kevin Ulanski, Corpus Christi's Chad Woollard.
Reaney currently leads the Rush and is ranked 4th in the league with 78 points through 56 games. The Ceylon, Saskatchewan native scored the first Rush hat trick at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center earlier this season and was selected to the 2010 CHL All-Star team.
Danny Battochio is up for two awards, Most Outstanding Goaltender and Rookie of the Year. The other four finalists for the Most Outstanding Goaltender are Chris Whitley of Allen, Charlie Effinger of Missouri, Joel Martin of Odessa and Brett Jaeger of Texas.
Rookie of the Year honors will be determined amongst Battochio, Allen's Chris Whitley, Corpus Christi's Ryan Garbutt, Missouri's Nick Sirota, and Texas' Joe Palmer.
Battochio is 26-4-2 with two shutouts this season and has posted a 2.53 GAA and.919 sv%. Among the league's goaltending leaders, Battochio is 2nd in both wins and goals-against average and ranks 4th in save percentage. Battochio had a very impressive stretch where he won twelve straight decisions from November 25th through January 19th. The rookie was also a member of the 2010 CHL All-Star Team.
Finally, Rush defenseman Jamie VanderVeeken is one of the five finalists for Most Outstanding Defenseman. The four other finalists include the reigning winner of the award in Aaron Schneekloth of Colorado, Bossier-Shreveport's Simon Mangos, Odessa's Alex Dunn and Tulsa's Derek Eastman.
VanderVeeken currently leads Rush defenseman and has set a career high with 35 points through 55 games. Among the league leaders, VanderVeeken ranks 3rd with 8 powerplay goals and 5th with a +18 rating.
Additional awards to be determined include Coach of the Year, Equipment Manager of the Year and Athletic Trainer of the Year, as determined by their CHL peers, along with six member All-CHL and All-Rookie teams (voted on by CHL Head Coaches). The CHL's regular season point leader will receive the Joe Burton Scoring Champion award, while the CHL front office will determine the recipients of both the Man of the Year Award (for outstanding leadership and contributions to the community) and Rick Kozuback Award (perseverance, determination and commitment to hockey) based on nominations and supporting material from CHL member teams.
Other Rush News:
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Stay informed on Rush happenings through the official Rapid City Rush team website, www.RapidCityRush.com.
Central Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2010
- Greg Pankewicz and Mike Mastovich featured on this week's Puska on Pucks - OSC Original by Denis Puska
- Americans clinch home ice for Conference Semi-Finals in 2-1 SO loss to RiverKings - Allen Americans
- Mavs Lose Tight Game to Oilers in Shootout, 3-2 - Kansas City Mavericks
- Sundogs Fall to Gorillas, 7-5, in Offensive Battle - Arizona Sundogs
- Five-Goal Second Period Dooms Rush in 7-3 Loss to Brahmas - Rapid City Rush
- Eagles Gain Ground With 4-2 Win - Colorado Eagles
- RiverKings Claim Shootout Win In Allen - Mississippi RiverKings
- Morissette's hat-trick leads Amarillo to victory - Amarillo Gorillas
- Eagles Edge Thunder - Wichita Thunder
- Mudbugs Drop Third Straight - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- Jacks Top Laredo in Marathon Shootout, 5-4 - Odessa Jackalopes
- Bucks Let One Slip in Shootout, Fall To Fourth - Laredo Bucks
- Goals Come A Plenty; Brahmas Beat Rush 7-3 - Fort Worth Brahmas
- Mavericks Sign D Blake Forsyth, Place Bochek On Suspension - Kansas City Mavericks
- Mangos Named CHL Award Finalist - Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
- RiverKings Continue Weekend Series In Allen Tonight - Mississippi RiverKings
- Three Rush Players Nominated For Year-End Awards - Rapid City Rush
- Oilers Preview - Tulsa Oilers
- Bucks On Playoff Door Step Tonight - Laredo Bucks
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