Friday, November 18, 2011

Top Three

1.)  Battle at the Top- Two of the top teams in the Turner Conference will square off this weekend when the Evansville IceMen (6-1-1) and the Missouri Mavericks (7-2-1) meet in a home-and-home series beginning Friday night in Evansville and continuing Saturday night in Missouri.  The two clubs represent the first (EVA) and third (MIZ) highest win percentages in the league and both sport great offenses combining to score close to eight goals per game.  Defensively, the two clubs rank in the top three as well with the IceMen allowing just 2.13 goals per game and the Mavericks sitting third allowing 2.60 goals per game.  The IceMen suffered their first loss in regulation on Thursday night at home when they fell to the Fort Wayne Komets (5-4-0) by a score of 5-2.  
         
2.)  2010 Finals Relived- The Allen Americans (6-2-3) will host the Rapid City Rush (6-3-1) this weekend on Friday and Saturday nights in a rematch of the 2010 CHL Finals.  The Rush won that battle in six games taking the Cup in double overtime of the deciding game.  The Finals match-up has created a strong rivalry despite the not so close geography with the Rush owning a 5-1-1 record all-time against the Americans.  Allen will be playing at home for the first time since November 5 and are coming off a near-perfect 4-0-1 road trip.  The lone loss came in overtime on Wednesday night in Rio Grande Valley.

3.)  Thursday Night Rewind- The Texas Brahmas (6-4-0) won their fifth straight games and the first of three straight contests against the Arizona Sundogs (2-6-3), 2-1.  Texas rookie goalie, Mark Guggenberger, made 30 saves remaining undefeated in his first pro season (3-0-0).  In Dayton, the Gems (3-4-3) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Bloomington Blaze (1-6-2).  Another rookie goaltender, Bryan Hogan, stopped 21 shots improving to 3-3-2 on the season.  Finally, the Evansville IceMen (6-1-1) fell in regulation for the first time this season and tasted defeat in their new building for the first time in three outings as they dropped a 5-2 decision to the Fort Wayne Komets (5-4-0).     

Inside the Numbers
216: The number of head-to-head meetings all-time between the Wichita Thunder (8-2-0) and the Tulsa Oilers (6-4-1).  The two clubs have split two games this season and will meet each other in a home-and-home series this weekend playing at Tulsa on Friday and at Wichita on Saturday.  Tulsa leads the all-time series with a 106-87-23 record against the Thunder.  Defenseman have stood out in the season series this year with Andrew Martens and Daniel Tetrault leading Wichita against the Oilers with four points apiece and Sean Erickson setting the pace for the Oilers with three points.     

On the Fly
-Allen’s Jason Deitsch is currently riding an 11-game point streak, the longest in the CHL this season.  Over his streak, the veteran has amassed two goals and 13 assists nothing a point in each Allen game this season.
-Missouri’s Sebastien Thinel (2009 and 2011 Joe Burton Trophy Winner for league scoring leader) is leading the way in the CHL this season with 21 points (6-15=21).  Thinel has five more points than Rapid City’s Jesse Schultz (6-10=16) who ranks second in the league.  Thinel is just one point away from tying Hardy Sauter with 669 career CHL points (7th on the league’s all-time list).
-The Bloomington Blaze have lost seven straight games (0-5-2) and have not won since opening night.  Friday, the Blaze will look to snap that streak and their three-game losing streak against the Quad City Mallards in Moline, IL.
-Fort Wayne forward Bobby Chaumont has been the hottest Komet with a goal and eight assists in his last four games (he is a +6 over that stretch as well).  Chaumont has 14 points (2-12=14) on the season pacing the way for the Komets who host the Dayton Gems on Friday night.
-The Rapid City Rush lead the CHL with 13 PP goals on the season with forward Jeff Kyrzakos leading all skaters with four man advantage strikes.  The Rush are third in the CHL with a 26.5% success rate on the power play this season.
-Dayton is coming off a 3-1 win on Thursday night ending their four-game losing streak and once again the third period was their strongest frame outscoring the opponent 2-1 in the final period.  On the season Dayton has a +2 advantage in the third period, they are -9 in the first two periods combined.
-Trailing after 40 minutes is no trouble for the Wichita Thunder who have won three times in the four games they trailed after two periods.  Other strong closers are Tulsa (2-3 when trailing after two) and Rapid City (2-2 when trailing after two).  
-After an 0-3 start, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees have been one of the best teams in the CHL going 6-2 over their last eight games.  The Bees meet their rivals, the Laredo Bucks, this weekend in a pair of games.  The two clubs split a pair of games during the second weekend of the season.  Dan Gendur has five points for the Bees against the Bucks and forwards Todd Griffith and Neil Trimm lead the way for Laredo with four points apiece in the head-to-head meetings with RGV.