Rio Grande Valley right winger Joe Guenther and Lubbock netminder Lance Leslie have been honored respectively as the recipients of the Oakley CHL Player and Goaltender of the Week for week seven of the Central Hockey League season. Guenther tied for the scoring lead during the week, scoring three goals and adding four assists for the Killer Bees, while Leslie performed admirably for the Cotton Kings in posting wins over Laredo, New Mexico and Colorado on consecutive nights.
Guenther, 60 215-pound Buffalo, New York native registered multiple points in each of three games played by Rio Grande Valley during the last week. On Friday, December 3rd he scored his fourth goal of the year and added a pair of assists in a 4-3 shootout win at Corpus Christi, then scored and added an assist the following night in a 5-2 loss at Fort Worth. He capped off his impressive week by assisting on a goal by Bill Newson during regulation play and then potting the shootout game winner in Sundays 2-1 win over the Brahmas. Guenther has collected either a goal or an assist in the last eight consecutive Killer Bee regulation goals, and has a franchise high four-game goal scoring streak.
Leslie and the Cotton Kings have won three straight games for the third time this season, with the Dawson Creek, British Columbia native accounting for all three victories on consecutive nights. He improved his season record to 8-4-0 with a home win over Laredo followed by road victories at New Mexico and Colorado, allowing a total of just four goals against. Behind the play of Leslie and teammate Shawn Conschafter, the Cotton Kings boast the top goals against average (2.41) in the CHL this year after ranking last (3.66) in the 2003-2004 season. It took until February 5th last season for Lubbock to reach 11 wins, a mark they have equaled through just 17 games played this season under new head coach Chris Dashney.