Friday, October 30, 2009
CENTRAL HOCKEY LEAGUE HEADLINES
Trick or Treat
With Halloween on Saturday night, it is a light weekend in the CHL with just 13 games on the slate from Friday through Sunday including several rivalry games. Although the Rapid City Rush (3-2-0) have only been in the league for one year, they have built quite a rivalry with the Colorado Eagles (2-0-1) who they will play on Friday at the Budweiser Events Center. The Texas Brahmas (1-2-1) have a big weekend ahead of them playing longtime rival Bossier-Shreveport (2-2-0) on Friday night and hosting new rival Allen (4-0-0) on Saturday night. The Mudbugs will head to Mississippi on Saturday night for their first meeting of season with their rivals the RiverKings (3-3-0). Finally, the weekend will conclude with two South Texas rivals, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees (1-2-0) and the Laredo Bucks (2-1-1), going at it in the Laredo Entertainment Center on Sunday afternoon.
Just Call Me Clutch
The Odessa Jackalopes square off this weekend with the Corpus Christi Ice Rays (1-2-1) at American Bank Center. With his team sitting on a 4-1-1 record, Colin Circelli has proven to be the go to guy in desperate situations for the Jackalopes. Circelli recently won Performance of the Week for his game-tying and game winning goal with the winning goal coming in a shootout during an opening night win over the IceRays. His six goals on the season are just one behind Amarillo’s Joe Guenther for the CHL lead and his two game winning goals are tied for first.
Killer Milestone
When Mississippi hosts Bossier-Shreveport on Saturday night, RiverKings Head Coach Kevin “Killer” Kaminski will be coaching his 200th CHL game. The reigning CHL Coach of the Year is 120-60-18 in his CHL career coaching two seasons with Youngstown and last season with Mississippi. His .651 win percentage is fifth all-time in the CHL and ranks only behind Laredo’s Terry Ruskowski (.686) and Bossier-Shreveport’s Scott Muscutt (.664) among active coaches.
Future CHL Rivals Take the Ice
Just 207 miles apart the Wichita Thunder (2-3-0) and the Missouri Mavericks (0-5-0) will go head to head Friday and Saturday night at the Kansas Coliseum. As Missouri’s closest CHL opponent the Thunder will try to make a stand in their home barn as this future rivalry heats up, while the winless Mavericks look to get on the board with their franchise’s first ‘W’ of the season. The Thunder has won two of their last three games after starting the season 0-2.
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BY THE NUMBERS
394- The number of points that the newest Colorado Eagles, Jason Deleurme, has scored in his 512-game professional career. In his 12th professional season, the former WHL star has played most of his professional career overseas.
30.6%- The percentage of success on the Odessa league-leading power play so far this season. The pinnacle of their power play success came on October 20th when the Jackalopes power play combined for a total of five goals on the night. Although it is early in the season, the Jackalopes are on pace to shatter the league record for PP goals in a season (124 set by the 1994-95 Oklahoma City Blazers). At this rate, Odessa would score 160 PP goals.
175- The number of penalties in minutes the winless Missouri Mavericks have accrued on the season thus far (55 more than any other team). The Mavs lead the league with 11 fighting major penalties and three game misconducts.
228- The number of goals scored in the CHL so far this season through 68 games played. Last year through the same number of games there were 250 goals scored with a half-a-goal a game more scored on average.
1- The number of games the Amarillo Gorillas had won through six games last season. The Gorillas have done a complete 180 going 5-1-0 through six games as opposed to 1-5-0 last season. The Gorillas did not win their fifth game last year until November 29th.
SLAP SHOTS
-The Allen Americans 4-0 start is the best by an expansion team in the CHL since the merger of the CHL and WPHL in 2001. The Arizona Sundogs started 4-1-0 in their inaugural season (2006-07) and a year ago the Rapid City Rush earned a point in each of their first five games despite only winning one of them (1-0-4).
-Amarillo forward and 2008 CHL Rookie of the Year David Nimmo has been placed on the 14-day Injured Reserve. Nimmo was off to a hot start for the first place Gorillas with two goals and four assists in six games played.
-The Texas Brahmas (one PP goal) and Tulsa Oilers (two PP goals) are at the bottom of the league on the power play but are tied for first in the league with three shorthanded goals apiece.
-The RGV Killer Bees (1-2-0) are the only CHL team that is yet to score a goal in the first period. The Bees have been outscored 4-0 in the first 20 minutes of their three games thus far.
-Be sure to check out the new CHL-TV offering fans an interactive approach to watching their favorite CHL teams. Fans purchasing the CHL-TV Season Pass before October 30th will receive 300 points in the CHL Loyalty Rewards program. Watch CHL-TV at http://chltv.insinc.com.
