Sports stats



Weekend Preview-Gems Battle for First

November 5, 2010 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Dayton Gems News Release


THIS WEEKEND'S CONTEST:

For the first time ever the Dayton Gems will face the Colorado Eagles. There are a number of storylines that headline this matchup, the first and most evident is that the two teams are going to be battling for first place in the Turner Conference. The Eagles currently hold the position with an overall record of 5-1-0 good enough for 10 points, while the Gems are only one win away from tying the Eagles for the top spot with their 4-1-0 record and eight points on the season. Both teams are red hot as of late, the Eagles have won five in-a-row after dropping the opening game of the 2010-11 campaign, while the Gems have caught fire as of late and will be going for their fourth straight on Friday night and third straight at home.

SCOUTING REPORT ON COLORADO:

The Eagles are one of the top scoring teams in the CHL and know how to put the puck in the net in a number of different ways. Their offense is led by their Captain, Riley Nelson, who is currently tied for second in the league in points with 12 (7G, 5A) and leads his team in scoring. Nelson is also deadly on the power play, having scored four (2G, 2A) of his 12 points with the man-advantage and dating back to last season, Nelson is on an eight-game assist streak. Colorado is ranked 13th in the CHL in penalty killing overall, but as of late they have figured things out having killed off 11-of-11 in their two wins over the Tulsa Oilers last week. Good teams need solid if not stellar goaltending and sometimes it takes two to tango in that instance. The Eagles are set in that position with netminders Kyle Jones and former Dayton Bomber (ECHL) Andrew Penner who have combined for a 2.67 goals against average and .908 save percentage.

GEMS GAME NIGHT:

The Gems are coming off of their first and only road game of the young season with a 4-2 victory over the previously unbeaten Bloomington PrairieThunder this past Saturday (October 30th). Rookie defenseman Paul Ferraro recorded his first career professional multi-goal game with two bombs from the point, while Erik Boisvert and Tom Boudreau each had two assists in the win. The power play continued to sizzle going one for five and currently ranks second in the CHL at 28% on the season. Goaltender Jeff Jakaitis was the story stopping a season-high 46 shots of the season-high allowed 48 by Bloomington. Jakaitis earned the distinction of the league's second star that night and ranks second in the league with 178 saves on the season, his four wins have him tied for most wins in the CHL. Current Gem and former Eagle Brett Lutes will be one to watch in this series, he has five points in five games for the Gems and finished last season with the Eagles by recording 50 points in 54 games played.

SEASON SERIES (2 MEETINGS)

11-5-10 Colorado at Dayton 7:30 p.m.

11-6-10 Colorado at Dayton 7:30 p.m.

• Discuss this story on the Central Hockey League message board...

Central Hockey League Stories from November 5, 2010


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