The Central Hockey League today announced the weekly recipients of the Bauer/Nike CHL Player of the Week and the Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week awards for Week 17 of the Central Hockey League season. Indianapolis left winger Jason Baird earns Bauer/Nike Player of the Week honors after scoring seven points in three games, while Tulsa netminder Rod Branch posted a 3-0-0 record and a 96.9 save percentage while being named Vaughn CHL Goaltender of the Week.
Indianapolis Baird, selected as the All-Star Game M.V.P. after recording a hat-trick and an assist in the 2003 Dodge CHL All-Star Game, continued his torrid play this week. In three contests, Baird recorded three goals and added four assists. His top performance came February 6th in a 5-4 overtime win over visiting Fort Worth. Baird figured in on all five goals, scoring twice and assisting on three other markers, including Bernie Johns game winning goal 2:38 into overtime. Bairds fine week moved him into a tie for 6th place in the CHL scoring race with 62 points on the season.
Tulsas Rod Branch faced 130 shots in three games last week, and emerged victorious in all three to win his 13th, 14th and 15th games of the year. He established a CHL season high by turning aside 58 of 59 shots in a 2-1 win over visiting Indianapolis February 3rd, then made 37 saves three nights later in a 2-1 overtime victory over San Angelo. He finished the week with a 41 save outing in a 6-2 win at Oklahoma City in front of a CHL record crowd of 16,929. Branch shares the CHL record for shutouts in a single season (8), and sports the 7th best save percentage in the CHL this year at .924.