The Youngstown SteelHounds and their veteran captain made it a memorable night in the franchise home opener. Jeff Christian provided all of the offense for the 'Hounds scoring all four goals and leading his team back from a 3-1 deficit. The capatin notched a natural hat trick in the third period and scored the game winner with just over a minute remaining to complete the dramatic comeback and send the fans home happy. In other action, the Wichita Thunder got out to an early start and held off Amarillo 4-2, while Fort Worth took care of rival Austin 4-1. The Laredo Bucks picked up an important win over the Killer Bees 4-2 and Tulsa knocked off Lubbock 3-2. In a rematch from Wednesday night, the Colorado Eagles earned the series split with Bossier-Shreveport in an inspired 5-3 victory.

Oklahoma City 3 @ Youngstown 4
Now that's an opener! Jeff Christian and the rest of the SteelHounds made sure the fans got their money's worth during the first game in the Youngstown Covocation Center. The 'Hounds captain provided all of the offense scoring four goals, including a hat trick in the third period, to complete the comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Christian scored the game winner with just over a minute remaining in the game to send the fans home happy with a 4-3 victory over the Oklahoma City Blazers. Youngstown's Chris Richards provided Christian with three assist as the SteelHounds improve to 3-2-1.

Amarillo 2 @ Wichita 4
The Thunder jumped out to a 3-0 lead just over two periods through the game before the Gorillas made it interesting with two third period tallies. Wichita forwards Travis Clayton and Jason Duda each had a goal and an assist to start the team out strong and Amarillo’s Derek Hahn provided the same for the Gorillas. The first four goals of the game were all scored on the power play and Wichita rattled off 39 shots on Amarillo goaltender Jamie Vandespyker, who spent last season with the Thunder.

Fort Worth 4 @ Austin 1
The Ice Bats’ rough road continues as they fall to the Fort Worth Brahmas 4-1 at the Travis County Expo Center. The Brahmas’ Konrad Brand had a pair of assists and sniper Bret Decceco chipped in with a goal. Austin’s lone goal came from Aaron Davis whose team falls to 1-5-0 on the year.

Laredo 4 @ Rio Grande Valley 2
The Bucks got a much needed road victory topping the Killer Bees 4-2 in a battle between South Texas division rivals. Laredo lit the lamp first, but gave up two to the Bees later in the first period. On the heels of Bucks’ forward James Hiebert’s tying and game-winning goal, Adam Rivet added insurance at the midpoint in the second period, the third consecutive Laredo goal. Rio Grande Valley’s Matic Kralj continued his strong season with a goal and an assist.

Lubbock 2 @ Tulsa 3
The Oilers continued their positive start to the season with a home win against a persistent Cotton Kings team. Tulsa got help in the form of two Henry Kuster goals, both assisted by Mario Joly, and a game winner from standout Klage Kaebel. The Oilers improved to 3-1-0 on the year, while Lubbock fell to 2-4-0 as they head to Amarillo tomorrow evening.

Bossier-Shreveport 3 @ Colorado 5
Colorado’s Garrett Larson scored bookend goals for the first two professional tallies of his career. The Eagles’ big three - Greg Pankewicz, Riley Nelson, and Ryan Tobler - each scored a goal for the home team who once again won the backend of a two game set. Bossier-Shreveport’s Brett Smith gave his best effort for the ‘Bugs scoring the hat trick with three goals to tie the game early in the third, but Colorado answered twice in three minutes midway through the period for their fourth win of the season.

CHL Games for Sat. 11/5/05

Lubbock @ Amarillo Sat, Nov 05 7:00 pm
Bossier-Shreveport @ Wichita Sat, Nov 05 7:05 pm
Oklahoma City @ Youngstown Sat, Nov 05 6:05 pm
Tulsa @ Austin Sat, Nov 05 7:30 pm
Memphis @ Laredo Sat, Nov 05 7:30 pm
Fort Worth @ Corpus Christi Sat, Nov 05 7:35 pm
Odessa @ Rio Grande Valley Sat, Nov 05 7:35 pm