Pre-season Games Underway

The Central Hockey League pre-season officially began Thursday evening with two contests, as newcomers to clubs tried to make a favorable impression on their coaches, and veterans fine tuned their game in preparation for the regular season.

In Wichita, the Thunder and the Oklahoma City Blazers skated to a 3-3 tie at the Thunder’s practice facility, while the New Mexico Scorpions posted a 5-4 shootout win over the Laredo Bucks in Corpus Christi, going 3 for 9 with the man advantage.

  • CHL Preseason Results (txt)

    In Wichita, the Thunder and Blazers exchanged first period goals, first by veteran Oklahoma City defenseman Tim Lauria on the power play, then by Tye Korbl, a rookie Thunder forward from Brown University. Wichita then took their first lead of the season on a goal from University of Massachusetts rookie Anders Strome, matched by Oklahoma City center Bryan Forslund, a first year Blazer who played last season with Jackson of the East Coast Hockey League. Both clubs again traded goals in the third and final frame, first by Blazers rookie Dustin Hunter out of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, then by veteran Thunder sniper Travis Clayton with just 29 seconds left to end the scoring. The hotly contested game featured four fights between the two clubs, who have been fierce rivals since the 1992-1993 season.

    The New Mexico Scorpions are in Corpus Christi for training camp, and faced the Laredo Bucks in both club’s exhibition opener. The Bucks scored first in period number one as forward Jason Bone stuffed in a rebound at 16:14 of the frame to make it 1-0 Laredo. The Scorpions answered just 23 seconds later as Brad Patterson scored on a wrist shot to tie the game. In the second period New Mexico capitalized on a Laredo penalty, with Mike Possin sliding home a rebound of a shot from the point to give the Scorpions a 2-1.

    In the third period the teams really opened things up. The Bucks quickly
    tied the game when forward Bill Zalba scored on a power play at 5:28.
    Then at 6:56 Brent Cullaton was awarded a penalty shot when he was pulled
    down on a breakaway. Cullaton faked to his forehand then backhanded the
    puck into the net to give the Bucks the lead 3-2. The Scorpions came back
    to tie it when Walker McDonald scored on a power play at 10:09. Once
    again the Bucks had the answer as rookie forward Bobby Chad Mitchell
    deflected in a pass from Zalba at 10:45 to give the Bucks a 4-3
    advantage. The Scorpions tied it again when Ben Gorewich cut down the
    right wing side and went top shelf at 12:00. The teams remained tied and
    the game went to overtime.

    In over time neither team was able to score. New Mexico scored on three
    of four shots in the shootout while the Bucks could only score on one of
    four, giving the Scorpions the win. Brad Patterson was credited with the game winning goal, giving him two for the night.

    In Friday exhibition action, Odessa visits San Angelo, Wichita plays in Tulsa, Amarillo heads to Lubbock, Rio Grande Valley suits up in Corpus Christi, and Oklahoma City journeys to Colorado.

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