Just five games into the 2003-2004 Central hockey League season, crowds have yet to witness a victory by the home club. Beginning with New Mexicos 5-4 shootout win in Corpus Christi on Thursday, followed by road wins by Tulsa, Bossier-Shreveport, San Angelo and Memphis Friday, visiting teams are a perfect 5-0 on the young season. Expect that to change tonight, with a full slate of eight CHL games this evening.
Friday evening in Colorado, the Eagles welcomed a capacity crowd to the new Budweiser Events Center for their first ever CHL game, and everything went as planned except for the final score, as the Tulsa Oilers played spoiler and snuck out of town with a 3-2 win, despite being outshot by a 44-23 margin. Anthony DArpino, R.J. Gates and Mark Scott handled the scoring for the Oilers, but the real star was CHL All-Star netminder Rod Branch, who thwarted numerous outstanding Colorado chances throughout the game. Only Eagles forward Riley Nelson, with both Colorado goals, managed to beat Branch.
In Wichita, the new-look Thunder suffered a 5-2 setback to the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, with David Oliver (3 assists), Trevor Buchanan (2 goals, 1 assist) and Jason Campbell (1 goal, 2 assists) all enjoying three-point outings. Jerry Cunningham and Chad Mazurak replied for the Thunder.
In Odessa, the San Angelo Saints scored four unanswered goals to post a 4-1 victory over the Jackalopes, with Ryan Finnerty notching the game winning goal. The much-improved Saints appear to be early contenders in the tough Southwest Division.
Finally Friday, in a rematch of last seasons Northern Conference Semi-Finals, the Memphis RiverKings edged the Oklahoma City Blazers 4-3 on the strength of 2-time CHL MVP Don Parsons 2 goals and 1 assist. CHL 02-03 assist king Blair Manning (3 assists) clicked well with new linemate Bryan Forslund (2 goals, 1 assist) in their first game together as Blazers.
Saturday, 16 clubs return to the ice, with the Colorado Eagles the lone team enjoying a rare Saturday evening off the ice.
CHL Live Game Scoreboard