Monday, December 8th, 2008
CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE HEADLINES
1) Bucks Burning Up the Southeast
2) Lucky Seven
3) Road Trip Over
1- The Laredo Bucks (15-5-0, 30 points) have picked things up in dramatic fashion after a bit of a slow start sitting with a 4-3 record after seven games. Since that time, the Bucks have gone 11-2 including winning each of their last five games and nine of their last 10. The catalyst to the Bucks success is the line of Jeff Bes-Rick Kozak-Darryl Smith who have combined to score 56 points (19-37=56) with an astounding +30 plus/minus rating in their last 10 games. Laredo has outscored their opponents 38-23 over their last 10 games. The Bucks host New Mexico on Wednesday, play at Corpus Christi on Thursday and at Odessa on Saturday.
2- The Odessa Jackalopes (14-5-2, 30 points) have been unstoppable lately winning seven straight games and spreading their lead in the Southwest Division to 11 points over the Arizona Sundogs. Odessa has tied Laredo for the most points in the Southern Conference and have a showdown looming with the Bucks scheduled for Saturday night in Odessa. The Jacks received bad news at the beginning of last week when Juha Toivonen was placed on the injured reserve with a lower body injury but Alexandre Vincent responded allowing just three goals in his three decisions last week. Odessa has allowed just 11 goals in their last seven games.
3- The Mississippi RiverKings (12-9-0, 24 points) are back home after their eight-game road trip that saw them post a 5-3-0 record and close in on the leaders in the Northeast Division (Oklahoma City and Bossier-Shreveport). Mississippi have not been home since November 18th. On their trip, the ‘Kings allowed three goals or fewer on six of their eight games. This week, the RiverKings will be tested playing a pair of huge home games hosting the Texas Brahmas on Friday and Saturday.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
13 The number of shots allowed by the Odessa Jackalopes in their 2-1 win versus Corpus Christi on Saturday night…the fewest shots allowed in a CHL game this season
+4 The magic number for five Laredo players who all were a +4 in the team’s 6-4 win versus Rio Grande Valley on December 4th…the players were Jeff Bes, Darryl Smith, Rick Kozak, Devin Featherstone and Steve Weidlich
5 The number of consecutive wins the Texas Brahmas have had against their rivals, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs…Dating back to last year’s playoffs, the Brahmas are 9-1 in their last 10 games against the Mudbugs
20 The number of points that Arizona’s Adam Perry has had in just 10 games this season (nine goals, 11 assists)…he was assigned to the Sundogs from the Phoenix Coyotes on November 18th
9 The number of points that Texas’ Jason Deitsch has scored in 12 games with the AHL’s Houston Aeros this season…This past weekend, Deitsch scored a goal, had an assist and was a +3…With the Brahmas, he has 11 points (4-7=11) in eight games
14 The number of points that New Mexico’s Seth Leonard has scored in the last seven games…He has notched seven goals with seven assists over that stretch
TIDBITS
-OKC defenseman Tyler Fleck became the third Blazers player to play in 500 games with the team joining Hardy Sauter and Joe Burton…Fleck reached the milestone on Saturday night in Tulsa
-Chris Richards (CRP) has four goals, two assists and is a +4 in his last three games
-Tulsa’s Michel Beausoleil extended his point streak on Saturday night to 17 games tying Jeff Bes (Laredo) for the longest streak this season…Beausoleil has eight goals and 21 assists during his streak
-Texas’ goaltending tandem of Brett Jaeger and David Cacciola have allowed just eight goals in the team’s last six games
-Colorado goaltender Andrew Penner has won six straight decisions and is 9-1-0 with a 2.48 goals against average on the season
-New Mexico has given up a league-leading 36 goals in the first periods of games this season
-Wichita placed Chris Shudo, Luke Hunter and Jonathan Bernier all on the 14-day injured reserve
