A wild night in the CHL saw a little bit of everything – three shutouts, two shootouts, and one 9-4 blowout by the Austin Ice Bats. John McNabb (2g,4a) and Michael Tucciarone (3g,2a) came up big for Austin, while the goalies from Amarillo, Wichita, and Bossier-Shreveport stopped a combined 106 saves to preserve the shutouts. Other winners tonight were the Killer Bees and Tulsa, both in shootouts, as well as Memphis 5-4 over Oklahoma City.

Colorado 0 @ Amarillo 3
The Gorillas won their second game in a row over the Colorado Eagles in a 3-0 shutout victory. Goalie Shawn Degagne stopped 35 shots for his first shutout of the season and Brent Hughes scored two goals, including the game winner less than a minute into the second period. Scott Wray notched the other goal in the middle of the second for the Gorillas, who have picked up seven out of a possible eight points the last four games.

Laredo 0 @ Bossier-Shreveport 3
Bossier-Shreveport played host to rival Laredo and came up with an impressive defensive performance and a 3-0 triumph. All-Star goaltender Ken Carroll made 37 saves and three different players scored in the second period for the Mudbugs including Chad Spurr, who netted the game winner. The ‘Bugs scored one even-strength goal, one power play goal and one shorthanded goal all in the second twenty minutes after peppering the Bucks’ net with 20 shots in the first period.

Oklahoma City 4 @ Memphis 5
The RiverKings got a much needed win over the Blazers, 5-4 on home ice. Travis Banga tallied two goals, including the game winner, and an assist and Michel Beausoleil recorded two goals and two assist in a losing cause for Oklahoma City. Michael Dilorenzo started in net for Memphis, but was replaced by Guy St. Vincent after giving up three goals on eight shots. St Vincent stopped 21 of 22 shots to secure the win for the RiverKings, the second straight over the Blazers.

Wichita 2 @ Youngstown 0
The SteelHounds were unable to mount any type of offense and fell to the Thunder 2-0 behind 32 saves from goaltender Jon Volp. Volp stopped every shot he faced, but didn’t get credit for the shutout because he was replaced by Sebastien Laplante for 51 seconds early in the second period. Tab Lardner got credit for the game winner scored less than three minutes into the first period and Kris Wiebe provided some insurance with a goal early in the second.

Fort Worth 4 @ Austin 9
It’s been a rough season for the Ice Bats so far and they took their frustrations out on the Brahmas in a 9-4 rout at home. There were many Austin players who broke out offensively, namely All-Star John McNabb (2g,4a), Michael Tucciarone (3g,2a), and Dave MacIntyre (2g,1a). Fort Worth tied the game at 1-1 early in the first, but the Bats reeled off four goals later in the period including two goals in 23 seconds midway through. The victory was Austin’s third in their last four games.

Rio Grande Valley 3 @ Corpus Christi 2 (SO)
The Killer Bees were on their way to 19th win of the year, but had to take a small detour when the Rayz’ Tim Laurila scored to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:30 remaining in regulation. Rio Grande Valley rebounded and won the game 3-2 on Matic Kralj’s shootout goal and goalie Evan Lindsay’s four shootout saves. All-Star Lindsay picked up his 15th victory and halted a short two game losing streak for the Bees.

Odessa 3 @ Tulsa 4 (SO)
The Oilers and the Jackalopes traded off every other goal through the second and third periods and ended the first 60 minutes knotted at 3-3, headed for a shootout. Dan Hodge for Tulsa and Mike Rutter for Odessa each had two goals apiece for their respective clubs, but it was Jaroslav Cesky’s shootout goal that gave Tulsa the win, also stopping a brief two-game losing skid. The goal for Cesky was his team leading 16th and second game winner of the season.


CHL Games for Saturday, 1-14-06 (All times local)
Odessa @ Amarillo Sat, Jan 14 7:00 pm
Fort Worth @ Bossier-Shreveport Sat, Jan 14 7:05 pm
Colorado @ Lubbock Sat, Jan 14 7:05 pm
Laredo @ Memphis Sat, Jan 14 7:05 pm
Wichita @ Youngstown Sat, Jan 14 7:05 pm
Rio Grande Valley @ Austin Sat, Jan 14 7:30 pm
Oklahoma City @ Tulsa Sat, Jan 14 7:35 pm