AHL Game 2's, Hershey and Hamilton contuine to march towards Final

Tey were a pair of Calder Cup Semifinal Game 2's over the weekend as the Hamilton Bulldogs and Hershey Bears are strolling towards a matchup in the AHL Calder Cup Final. The League's top 2 teams have used tight games so far in their first 2 wins as the Bulldogs used 2nd period goals from Ryan Russell and Alex Henry to counter a goal scored by Warren Peters to go up 2-1 at the 2nd intermission.

Then a 3rd goal by Mike Glumac put the game away for the Bulldogs. For the league's best defensive team during the regular season as they gave up just 182 goals in 80 games. So far in 2 games against Texas, the Bulldogs have given up just 3 goals on 43 shots which included an OT Winner in Game 1 just 14 seconds into Game 2. Texas is looking to use some home cooking and some desperation to comeback in this series as Game 3 will be on Wednesday Night.

In the East Final between Hershey and Manchester, the Bears have a 7 game winning streak going after a 3-2 OT Win where the Hershey duo of Chris Bourque and Alexander Giroux continue to lead the league in playoff scoring with 18 points each in 11 games played.

Unless something dramatically changes happen in this series, expect the top teams in both conference to faceoff for the AHL Calder Cup Title as both the Bears and Bulldogs are up 2-0 in their best-of-7 series as the series shift to Manchester, New Hampshire and Austin, Texas this week. Can either team make this series, or will see two quick series that will go by fast.


Texas Stars VS. Hamilton Bulldogs Game 2 on Sunday Afternoon: www.texasstarshockey.com

From Hamilton, Ontario: The Texas Stars were defeated by the Hamilton Bulldogs 3-1 on Sunday in front of 2897 fans at the Copps Coliseum in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. Hamilton forward Brock Trotter set up two goals, including the game winner goal by defensemen Alex Henry at 4:52 of the 2nd period.

Bulldogs Curtis Sanford stopped 22 Texas shots for his 4th straight win. Texas goalie Matt Climie made 27 saves in his 2nd straight defeat. Stars Center Warren Peters scored the only Texas goal of the night. Game 3 is at 7:30 PM at the Cedar Park Center on Wednesday Night.

After a scoreless first period, the Bulldogs opened the scoring with a power play goal 28 seconds into the middle frame. Brock Trotter sent a cross-ice pass to the right wing circle of a Ryan Russell one-timer. Russel shot zipped by Texas Goalie Matt Climie for the 1-0 Hamilton led and his fifth goal of the playoffs. Hamilton made it 2-0 at 4:52 as a Texas Power Play expired. Brock Trotter blocked a pass at center and worked the puck deep to the Texas Crease.

Trotter dropped a pass from defensemen Alex Henry, who scored his 2nd goal of the playoffs, giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead. Texas trimmed down Hamilton's lead to 2-1 prior to the end of the period. Center Warren Peters picked up behind the Hamilton net-minder and played the puck off the back of Bulldogs goalie Curtis Sanford for his third goal of the playoffs at 17:40. Defensemen Andrew Hutchinson and Dan Jancevski each picked up an assist on the one timer.

In the third period, the Bulldogs regained their two goal lead at 10:59. Grant Stevenson set up Mike Glumac for a one-timer from the top of the left wing circle. Glumac's ninth goal of the postseason finished off a two-on-one rush for Hamilton and extended the Bulldogs lead to 3-1.


Western Conference Final Update

Game 1: Texas Stars 2 Hamilton Bulldogs 3 (OT)
http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1007311

Game 2: Texas Stars 1 Hamilton Bulldogs 3

Game 3, 5/19: Hamilton Bulldogs VS. Texas Stars 7:30 PM

Game 4, 5/21: Hamilton Bulldogs VS. Texas Stars 7:30 PM

Game 5, 5/22: Hamilton Bulldogs VS. Texas Stars 7:00 PM*

Game 6, 5/24: Texas Stars VS. Hamilton Bulldogs 6:30 PM*

Game 7, 5/26: Texas Stars VS. Hamilton Bulldogs 6:30 PM*

*If Necessary


The Series shifts to Cedar Park, Texas for Games 3 through 5. Game 3 will be on Wednesday, May 19 at 7:30 PM, then Game 4 on Friday, May 21 at 7:30 PM. If possible, Game 5 will be on Saturday Night, May 22 at 7:00 PM at the Cedar Park Center. If, necessary Games 6 and 7 would be played back in Hamilton, Ontario, starting with Game 6 on Monday May 24 at 7:30 PM EDT/6:30 PM EDT. Game 7 would be slated for Wednesday May 26 at 7:30 PM EDT/6:30 PM CDT.


For Tickets

Cedar Park Boxoffice: 512-467-8277

By visiting any Ticketmaster Outlet or at www.ticketmaster.com or at 1-800-745-3000


Hamilton Bulldogs Lead Series 2-0


Game Boxscore

Hamilton Bulldogs 3 Texas Stars 1 (0-0, 2-1, 1-0)

1-0 HAM: Ryan Russell (PP) (Trotter, Desharnais) 0:28 2nd

2-0 HAM: Alex Henry (Trotter) 4:52 2nd

2-1 TEX: Warren Peters (Hutchinson, Jancevski) 17:40 2nd

3-1 HAM: Mike Glumac (Stevenson, Belle) 10:59 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: TEX 23 HAM 30

PP: TEX 0/4 HAM 1/2

PIM: TEX 36 Minutes on 6 Penalties HAM 38 Minutes on 7 Penalties

Goalies: TEX Matt Climie 27 SVS on 30 Shots HAM Curtis Sanford 22 SVS on 23 Shots

ATT: 2897

3rd Star: Warren Peters (TEX)

2nd Star: Curtis Sanford (HAM)

1st Star: Brock Trotter (HAM)




Hershey Bears VS. Manchester Monarchs Game 2 on Saturday Night. From the American Hockey League Website: http://theahl.com

From Hershey, Pennsylvania: Chris Bourque finished off a nifty two-on-one by firing a shot home short side from the right wing at 10:28 of overtime, lifting Hershey to a 3-2 come-from-behind from victory on Saturday before a standing room crowd of 10,726 fans at the Giant Center.

The defending Calder Cup Champions Bears improved to a perfect 5-0 in OT games this postseason and took a 2-0 series lead on the Monarchs in the Eastern Conference Finals, which will shift to Manchester for Game 3 on Monday Night.

Keith Aucoin picked up the primary assist on the game winning goal after being sent on the two-on-one by Boyd Kane, who earned the other helper. Bourque's shot went in as the net came off its moorings behind the Monarchs goalie Jonathan Bernier, but it was determined that the net had been pushed off by Manchester Defenders, allowing the goal to stand.

Hershey, which trailed 2-1 heading into the 3rd period, improved to an impressive 4-1 in the playoffs when trailing after the 2nd period. The only game the Bears have lost in the playoffs was Game 4 of the East Division Semifinal against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.

Bourque also scored in the first period to give the Bears a 1-0 lead, but the Monarchs grabbed a 2-1 advantage on a pair of strikes from Gabe Gauthier, one of which came on the power-play.

Gauthier now tallied a goal in five of the last six games, and he has registered at least a point in all six of those contest (6G 1A).

Manchester's lead lasted until 3:35 of the third period, when Bears forward Steve Pinizotto buired his fourth goal of the playoffs. Aucoin also earned an assist on that marker.

Hershey Goalie Michael Neuvirth earned that victory with 31 saves on 33 shots in net, while the Baz Bastien Award Winner made 37 saves in the losing efforts for the Monarchs.


The Hershey Bears lead the Series 2-0

Game Boxscore

Manchester Monarchs 2 Hershey Bears 3 (OT) (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)

0-1 HER: Chris Bourque (Beagle) 3:07 1st

1-1 MAN: Gabe Gauthier (PP) (Lewis, Clifford) 13:58 1st

2-1 MAN: Gabe Gauthier (Bagnall, Elkins) 1:07 2nd

2-2 HER: Steve Pinizzotto (Bouchard, Aucoin) 3:35 3rd

2-3 HER: Chris Bourque (Aucoin, Kane) 10:28 OT

Game Stats

SOG: MAN 33 HER 40

PP: MAN 1/4 HER 0/4

PIM: MAN 15 Minutes on 6 Penalties HER 15 Minutes on 6 Penalties

Goalies: MAN Jonathan Bernier 37 SVS on 40 Shots HER Michal Neuvirth 31 SVS on 33 Shots

ATT: 10,726

3rd Star: Jonathan Bernier (MAN)

2nd Star: Michal Neuvirth (HER)

1st Star: Chris Bourque (HER)



Series Schedule

Game 1: Manchester Monarchs 2 Hershey Bears 4 (0-2, 0-1, 2-1)
http://theahl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=1007304

Game 2: Manchester Monarchs 2 Hershey Bears 3 (OT) (1-1, 1-0, 0-1, 0-1)

Game 3, 5/17: @ Manchester 7:00 PM (EDT)

Game 4, 5/18: @ Manchester 7:00 PM (EDT)

Game 5, 5/20: @ Manchester 7:00 PM (EDT)*

Game 6, 5/22: @ Hershey 7:00 PM (EDT)*

Game 7, 5/23: @ Hershey 5:00 PM (EDT)*

*If Necessary

Poll Question and Your Predictions: Who will make the Stanley Cup Final?

I want to know your picks on who will advance to the Stanley Cup Finals with the Conference Finals getting underway today. In the west, it's a battle of the top 2 teams from basically the entire season as the San Jose Sharks who won the Pacific Division and finished 1st in the Western Conference.

The East has a battle of underdogs as the #7 and #8 seeds will play each other as both teams have had to make some specular ways to get their. Montreal behind the play of goalie Jarslov Halak have taken out both the top seeded Washington Capitals and the defending Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.

Philadelphia made history as only the 3rd team in League History to win a series after being down 0-3 to start a series.

Great Story lines, Great Players and some interesting teams. Who Win's the Conference and advances to the Cup Final?

Vote on my poll question and add your comments on who you think will advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

Stanley Cup Conference Finals Schedule and Preview

Here's a look at the Conference Finals Schedule which get underway today with both series get going. First it will be the Western Final as the top 2 seeds are left standing as the Sharks will host the Blackhawks at the HP Pavilion this afternoon. Then later tonight, it will be Philly hosting Montreal at 6:00 PM tonight as it's a Cinderella Conference Final as all the big dogs are gone.

All Start Times are CDT


Eastern Conference

#7 Philadelphia Flyers VS. #8 Montreal Canadians

Game 1, 5/16: @ Philadelphia 6:00 PM Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 2, 5/18: @ Philadelphia 6:00 PM Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 3, 5/20: @ Montreal 6:00 PM Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 4, 5/22: @ Montreal 3:00 PM NBC, CBC, RDS

Game 5, 5/24: @ Philadelphia 6:00 PM* Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 6, 5/26: @ Montreal 6:00 PM* Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 7, 5/28: @ Philadelphia 6:00 PM* Versus, CBC, RDS

*If Necessary


Philadelphia Flyers Scoring Leaders
Mike Richards 12 GP 17 PTS (5G 12A, +2)
Danny Birere 12 GP 15 PTS (7G 8A, +3)
Chris Pronger 12 GP 11 PTS (4G 7A, +3)

Philadelphia Flyers Goaltending
Brian Boucher 10 GP 6-4 2.33 GAA .915 SV%
Michael Leighton 3 GP 2-0 1.55 GAA .943 SV%

Philadelphia Flyers Full Stats: http://flyers.nhl.com/club/stats.htm


Montreal Canadains Scoring Leaders
Michael Cammalleri 14 GP 18 PTS (12G 6A,-1)
Brian Gionta 14 GP 12 PTS (7G 5A, -3)
Scott Gomez 14 GP 11 PTS (1G 10A, -3)

Montreal Canadians Goaltending
Jaroslav Halak 13 GP 8-5 2.42 GAA .933 SV%
Carey Price 3 GP 0-1 3.43 GAA .903 SV%

Montreal Canadians Full Stats: http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?gameType=3&season=20092010


Western Conference

#1 San Jose Sharks VS. #2 Chicago Blackhawks

Game 1, 5/16: @ San Jose 2:00 PM NBC, TSN, RDS

Game 2, 5/18: @ San Jose 9:00 PM Versus, TSN, RDS

Game 3, 5/21: @ Chicago 7:00 PM Versus, TSN, RDS

Game 4, 5/23: @ Chicago 2:00 PM NBC, CBC, RDS

Game 5, 5/25: @ San Jose 8:00 PM* Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 6, 5/27: @ Chicago 7:00 PM* Versus, CBC, RDS

Game 7, 5/29: @ San Jose 7:00 PM* Versus, CBC, RDS

*If Necessary


San Jose Sharks Scoring Leaders
Joe Pavelski 11 GP 15 PTS (9G 6A, +7)
Joe Thorton 11 GP 11 PTS (3G 8A, -6)
Dany Heatley 10 GP 11 PTS (2G 9A, -3)


San Jose Sharks Goaltending
Evgeni Nabokov 11 GP 8-3 2.43 GAA .907 SV%

Full San Jose Sharks Stats: http://sharks.nhl.com/club/stats.htm


Chicago Blackhawks Scoring Leaders
Jonathan Toews 12 GP 20 PTS (6G 14A, +4)
Patrick Kane 12 GP 15 PTS (7G 8A, +1)
Patrick Sharp 12 GP 14 PTS (5G 9A, +2)

Chicago Blackhawks Goaltending
Antti Nema 12 GP 8-4 2.57 GAA .909 SV%

Full Chicago Blackhawks Stats: http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/stats.htm?gameType=3&season=20092010

Full more info on the Stanley Cup Conference Finals:

National Hockey League: www.nhl.com


Eastern Conference

Philadelphia Flyers: http://flyers.nhl.com

Montreal Canadains: http://canadiens.nhl.com


Western Conference

Chicago Blackhawks: http://blackhawks.nhl.com

San Jose Sharks: http://sharks.nhl.com

Tonight's Schedule

With none of the major league playoffs all off last night, plus the start of the Memorial Cup Tonight. It means two things, first is that the season is almost over. Also we are starting to get ready for the Conference Finals in both the NHL & AHL plus the start of the Memorial Cup as the Brandon Wheat Kings will take on the Windsor Spitfires tonight from the Westman Place in Brandon, Manitoba.

This kicks off the Round Robin part of the tournament that will go to May 19 (only 1 Game per day in this Event). Then on Saturday will be the tournament debut of the two other teams as the Calgary Hitmen will play the Moncton Wildcats on Saturday Afternoon.

Also in the NHL, it's the final game of the 2nd Round as the Flyers will look to make some history as only the 3rd team in NHL History to comeback from a 3-0 series deficit as the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and the 1975 NY Islanders are the only other NHL Teams to do so. The winner of this game will host the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday Night. Regardless of the Matchup, it's officially going to be an underdog Conference Final as it's going to be a 6th or 7th seed against the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens.

The AHL will start their Western Conference Finals tonight in Hamilton, Ontario as the Hamilton Bulldogs take on the expansion Texas Stars in Game 1 tonight. Texas is the first expansion team since the 2003 Binghamton Senators to make the Conference Finals in their first year. If they were to win this series and make the Calder Cup Final against either the Hershey Bears or the Manchester Monarchs for the Calder Cup Championship this season.

Then Windsor taking on Brandon in the opening day of the Memorial Cup as it should be a battle of top 6 forwards. For the Spitfires, you know the names of Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler. However, another name that could be interesting to see is Adam Henrique who scored 20 goals in the post season, Scott Timmins (11 Goals), plus Dale Mitchell & Zach Kassian with 7 goals each in the playoffs will be others to watch as well.

Brandon may have one of the top forward groups in the entire major juniors (WHL, OHL, QMJHL). A great combo of size, speed and scoring ability will make them very dangerous. Especially when players like Matt Calvert, Scott Glennie and Brayden Schenn are on the ice.

Every game gets bigger and better as we get all the way to the Stanley Cup in Mid June as the season as hockey fans are getting close to the end of the season.


NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs

Conf. SF Game 7: Philadelphia Flyers VS. Boston Bruins 6:00 PM on Versus

Series Tied 3-3, the winner will host the Montreal Canadians in the Conference Finals.


Stories on tonight's Game.

BOS VS. PHI Ready set for Game 7: www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=529072

PHI Looks to Make History: www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=529083

Who has the Edge? www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=529141


AHL Calder Cup Playoffs

Conf. Finals Game 1: Texas Stars VS. Hamilton Bulldogs 6:30 PM CT/7:30 PM ET


Stories on tonight's Game.

Bulldogs, Stars ready for West Final: http://theahl.com/bulldogs-stars-ready-for-west-finals-p142640

Look for the Texas Stars VS. Hamilton Bulldogs Preview.

Bulldogs Palushaj productive: http://theahl.com/bulldogs-palushaj-productive-clairvoyant-p142650


2010 Memorial Cup

4/15, RR Game 1: Windsor Spitfires VS. Brandon Wheat Kings 7:00 PM

4/16, RR Game 2: Calgary Hitmen VS. Moncton Wildcats 2:00 PM


Stories from this Tournament

Brandon to wear Special Jerseys for opener: www.mastercardmemorialcup.com/news.php?id=1475&y=2010

Brandon ready to defend the Home Ice: www.mastercardmemorialcup.com/news.php?id=1480&y=2010

Rogers Sportsnet to have Internet Broadcast of Games: www.mastercardmemorialcup.com/news.php?id=1479&y=2010

Memorial Cup Notebook: www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2010/05/14/king_memorial_notebook/

Brandon Preview: www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2010/05/11/memorial_cup_preview_brandon/

Calgary Preview: www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2010/05/11/memorial_cup_preview_calgary

Windsor Preview: www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2010/05/11/memorial_cup_preview_windsor

Moncton Preview: www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/juniors/2010/05/11/memorial_cup_preview_moncton

Allen Americans win big Road Game to Advance to the CHL Championship

For the 2nd straight year in the CHL Southern Conference. It was D/FW VS. West Texas for a spot in the Ray Miron Presidents Cup Final.

Just like last year's Conference Final it's the D/FW Team that's going to advance as the Allen Americans took advantage of an Odessa Jackalopes Team that barely showed up to play as the Americans unknown stars such as Tobias Whelan and Erik Adams played key roles to knock out the Jackalopes at the Southern Conference Final for the 2nd straight year.

The Allen Americans will now face Northern Conference Champion Rapid City Rush as the Rush in only their 2nd season will be playing for the teams first League Championship. It's a battle of CHL New Comers for this year's Ray Miron Presidents Cup Championship.

From the Central Hockey League: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From Odessa, Texas: Capping off an incredible expansion season, the Allen Americans advanced to the Ray Miron Presidents Cup Finals with a Game 7 win over the Odessa Jackalopes by a 4-2 score. The win was the 2nd Game 7 win for the Americans in their brief history (won in deciding versus Laredo in the Conference Semifinals.)

The Americans will now face the Rapid City Rush in the league finals beginning on Friday Night in Rapid City, South Dakota.

Allen's Tobias Whelan gave his team an early lead with a late first period goal and it helped propel his team to the early lead. In the 2nd period, Colton Yellow Horn scored his first of his two goals on the night making it 2-0 Allen.

The Americans would see Collin Circelli cut the lead in half but would quickly respond with the fifth score of the series by Nino Musitelli which ultimately served as the game winner.

Justin Bowers finished his series with two assists in the game with 14 points in the series (5G 9A). Chris Whitley won his 8th game of the playoffs by stopping 26 shots in the game.

The loss for Odessa marked the 2nd straight year that the Jacks have fallen in Game 7 of the Southern Conference Final to a D/FW Team. Last year, the Jackalopes lost in brutal fashion as they lost 8-1 to the Texas Brahmas.


The Allen Americans Win the Series 4-3, Allen will face the Rapid City Rush for the 2010 CHL Ray Miron Presidents Cup Championship Series.


Game Boxscore

Allen Americans 4 Odessa Jackalopes 2 (1-0, 2-1, 1-1)

1-0 ALN: Tobias Whelan (Lukin, Bowers) 17:02 1st

2-0 ALN: Colton Yellow Horn (Fairbarn, Wooddisse) 5:04 2nd

2-1 ODE: Collin Circelli (PP) (Thinel, Ramsay) 15:22 2nd

3-1 ALN: Nino Musitelli (Bowers, Adams) 19:16 2nd

4-1 ALN: Colton Yellow Horn (PP) (Graham, Onabigon) 6:35 3rd

4-2 ODE: Jeff Pierce (EA) (Karlander, Thinel) 19:35 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: ALN 38 ODE 28

PP: ALN 1/4 ODE 1/4

PIM: ALN 10 Minutes on 5 Penalties ODE 8 Minutes on 4 Penalties

Goalies: ALN Chris Whitley 26 SVS on 28 Shots ODE Joel Martin 34 SVS on 38 Shots

ATT: 3914

3rd Star: Sebastien Thinel (ODE)

2nd Star: Justin Bowers (ALN)

1st Star: Chris Whitley (ALN)

Parker Van Buskirk's Shutout forces Game 7 in Rapid City

A strong 27 save performance by Mudbugs starter Parker Van Buskirk has put a 2nd Game 7 on the schedule for tonight to determine who will be playing for the Ray Miron Presidents Cup Championship this season.

In addition to the shutout, 2nd period goals by Tyrel Lucas and Brett Smith were more then enough as the Mudbugs defense was able to keep the Rush's explosive offense off the board and keeping them 27 shots in the Game as the Rush slightly out-shot the Mudbugs 27-24 in the game.

Now it comes down to the Game 7's tonight with the winners playing for the League Championship which should be starting up sometime this weekend.

Here's a look at where the Championship Matchups would start pending on the outcomes tonight.

Odessa VS. Rapid City: Series Starts in Odessa

Odessa VS. Bossier-Shreveport: Series Starts in Odessa

Allen VS. Rapid City: Series Starts in Rapid City

Allen VS. Bossier-Shreveport: Series Starts in Allen


From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From Rapid City, South Dakota: Parker Van Buskirk's first pro shutout helped the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs to a 2-0 victory over the Rapid City Rush in Game 6 of the Northern Conference Finals Tuesday Night at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. The wins ties the best-of-7 series at three for Bossier-Shreveport, forcing a deciding a Game 7 tomorrow night here in Rapid City.

Van Buskirk stopped all 27 shots he saw to improve to 3-2 and earned his first pro shutout, regular season or playoffs. Tyrel Lucas and Brett Smith both scored on odd-man rushes in the 2nd period and the Bugs killed off all six Rapid City Power-Play on their way to the win.

Both teams looked sharp during a spirited first period in which the Mudbugs out-shot the Rush 10-7. Neither team found the back of the net though as both goaltenders came up with big saves. The Bugs opened the the scoring on a 2-on-1 break at 5:07 of the 2nd period when Tyrel Lucas sent a pass across Adam Basford, who gave the puck right back to Lucas for a tap in goal and a 1-0 lead.

Bossier-Shreveport added to the advantage midway through the 2nd period on another 2-on-1 break. Brett Smith and David Rutherford executed a nice give and go play that ended with Smith beating Danny Battochio high to the glove side at 9:45 of the 2nd period to make it 2-0 after 40 minutes.

The Rush out-shot the Bugs 9-3 in the third period and had three power play chances, but couldn't solve the Mudbugs Defense on their young goaltender to get on the scoreboard. Van Buskirk stopped numerous screened shots and rebounds in front to preserve the goose-egg as Rapid City failed to mount a late comeback.

With the 27 save effort, Van Buskirk earned the tenth shutout in Mudbugs playoff history and first since David Cacciola had one in the 2006 Conference Semifinals. Danny Battochio stopped 22 shots in goal for the Rush, who out-shot the Bugs 27-24. Neither team converted on the power play with Bossier-Shreveport finishing 0/3 and Rapid City finishing 0/6.

The Mudbugs will now play a Game 7 for the 4th time in team history tomorrow night in Rapid City as they try to advance to the Presidents Cup Finals for the 6th Time. The winner of tomorrow night's game will face the winner of Game 7 in the Southern Conference Final between Allen & Odessa, which is also being played Wednesday Night.


Series Tied 3-3


Game Boxscore

Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 2 Rapid City Rush 0 (0-0, 2-0, 0-0)

1-0 BOS: Tyrel Lucas (Basford) 5:07 1st

2-0 BOS: Brett Smith (Rutherford, Ori) 9:54 2nd


Game Stats

SOG: BOS 24 RPC 27

PP: BOS 0/3 RPC 0/6

PIM: BOS 14 Minutes on 7 Penalties RPC Danny Battochio 22 SVS on 24 Shots

Goalies: BOS Parker Van Buskirk 27 SVS on 27 Shots RPC Danny Battochio 22 SVS on 24 Shots

ATT: 4520

3rd Star: Brett Smith (BOS)

2nd Star: Tyrel Lucas (BOS)

1st Star: Parker Van Buskirk (BOS)

Garrett Gruenke's goal in OT sends Allen VS. Odessa Series to Game 7

It took OT and in the end of last night's game saw that a game 7 is needed in the CHL Southern Conference Final as a back and Fourth game that saw it tied at both 2-2 and 3-3 at the 2nd & 3rd intermission's probably meant that it would be a close game.

Despite getting out-shot 13-7 in the 3rd period and in the OT Period, the Jackalopes made their shots count with a critical goal with just 3 minutes left to force OT and to keep the Americans from celebrating a Southern Conference Title on their home ice.

Game 7 is on Wednesday Night where the Southern Conference Champion will be crowned at the Ector County Civic Center Arena. Odessa is looking to advance after getting eliminated in last year's Southern Conference Final by the Texas Brahmas.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From Odessa, Texas: Garrett Gruenke's one-timer in the left circle gave the Odessa Jackalopes a 4-3 overtime winner over the Allen Americans on Monday Night at the Ector County Coliseum to tie the Southern Conference Final and force a deciding game 7 in Odessa on Wednesday Night.

The Overtime winner was Odessa's 2nd of the series, and Gruenke's 2nd goal of the playoffs. Sebastien Thinel put a pass from behind the net onto Gruenke's stick, who placed it inside the right post.

After skating to a scoreless first period, both teams traded a pair of goals in the 2nd period. Dominic Leveille opened up the scoring at 3:41 wristing a power play goal past Chris Whitley from the top of the right circle. Jeff Pierce picked up an assist on the goal to extend his point streak to 11 games. Allen took a 2-1 lead on a pair of goals from Matt Radslovich and Bruce Graham. Sebastien Thinel knotted the game at 2-2 on a breakaway from a David Van Drunen assist.

Allen took a 3-2 lead in period three when Nino Musitelli tapped a rebound out of the air and in the net at 15:02. Odessa Phil Plante tied the game back up at 17:04 on a feed from Dominic Leveille from behind the net.


Series Tied at 3-3


Game Boxscore

Allen Americans 3 Odessa Jackalopes 4 (OT) (0-0, 2-2, 1-1, 0-1)

0-1 ODE: Dominic Leveille (PP) (Pierce, Ramsay) 3:41 2nd

1-1 ALN: Matt Radoslovich (Huclak, Lukin) 6:31 2nd

2-1 ALN: Bruce Graham (Bowers, Salekin) 9:21 2nd

2-2 ODE: Sebastien Thinel (Van Drunen) 15:20 2nd

3-2 ALN: Nino Musitelli (Gaudet, Salekin) 15:02 3rd

3-3 ODE: Philippe Plante (Leveille, Bernard) 17:04 3rd

3-4 ODE: Garrett Gruenke (Thinel, Circelli) 6:53 OT


Game Stats

PP: ALN 0/2 ODE 1/4

SOG: ALN 34 ODE 33

PIM: ALN 28 Minutes on 6 Penalties ODE 4 Minutes on 2 Penalties

Goalies: ALN Chris Whitley 29 SVS on 33 Shots ODE Joel Martin 31 SVS on 34 Shots

ATT: 2939

3rd Star: Dominic Leveille (ODE)

2nd Star: Sebastien Thinel (ODE)

1st Star: Garrett Gruenke (ODE)

Rapid City Responds with huge 3rd period, Rush take 3-2 Lead

A huge 3rd period by Rush forwards Brendon Hodge, Colt King & Blaine Jarvis helped turn what was a 1-1 game into a 4-1 lead where the Rush were able to explode the game wide open to put the Rush within 1 win of making the team's first ever Ray Miron Presidents Cup Final.

This would be just a year after finishing 6th in the Northern and 17 points out of the final playoff spot. All 3 forwards that scored last night were part of the secondary scoring as their top players like Scott Wray were held by the Mudbugs for most of the night. However, Wray did contribute 2 assists in the game including the Empty Netter which clinched the win in the Final Minute.

Bossier-Shreveport was looking to knockout both of the top seeds while losing just 1 game in the entire playoffs up to last night. Rapid City is in great position where a win either tomorrow or Wednesday Night will put them through to their first league Final.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From Bossier City, Louisiana: Accomplishing what they wanted to, the Rapid City Rush took two of 3 games in Bossier-Shreveport thinks to a 4-1 game 5 win putting the 2nd year franchise on the brink of playing for Ray Miron President's Cup. The Rush will take their 3-2 series lead lead back to South Dakota with two chances of winning the series (Tuesday & Wednesday Night).

All the offense in the 1st period came within a 1:09 stretch with Brendan Cook scoring the game's first goal giving the Rush the 1-0 lead. He was matched by Justin Aikins goal tying the game at one goal apiece.

There would be no further scoring until the third period when Brendon Hodge, Colt King and Blane Jarvis all found the back of the net making a tight game through 40 minutes a bit one-sided.

Danny Battochio made 32 saves improving the side to 7-1 in the playoffs. Game six is scheduled for Tuesday Night at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Arena.


Rapid City Rush Lead Series 3-2


Game Boxscore

Rapid City Rush 4 Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 1 (1-1, 0-0, 3-0)

1-0 RPC: Brendan Cook (Wray, Reaney) 4:34 1st

1-1 BOS: Justin Aikins (Rutherford, Lucas) 5:43 1st

2-1 RPC: Brendon Hodge (King, Leblanc) 4:06 3rd

3-1 RPC: Colt King (Weselowski) 13:03 3rd

4-1 RPC: Blaine Jarvis (EN) (Wray) 19:08 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: RPC 31 BOS 33

PP: RPC 0/1 BOS 0/3

PIM: RPC 6 Minutes on 3 Penalties BOS 2 Minutes on 1 Penalty

Goalies: RPC Danny Battochio 32 SVS on 33 Shots BOS Parker Van Buskirk 27 SVS on 30 Shots

ATT: 3088

3rd Star: Brendon Hodge (RPC)

2nd Star: Danny Battochio (RPC)

1st Star: Colt King (RPC)

Huge 3rd Period keeps Odessa Alive for Game 6

Another very wild and crazy game ended up positive for the Odessa Jackalopes as the Jackalopes helping them stay alive in the Southern Conference Final. And forcing Games 6 & 7 in West Texas, that will give them an improved chance of coming back from 3-1 down to win the series and advance to the CHL Presidents Cup Championship.

In Game 4, it was the 2nd period that had the wild action, it was the first period in this game as 4 goals were scored in less then 5 minutes to go from a 1-0 to a 3-2 Odessa Lead late in the 1st period.

Both teams had a a lot of SOG as both teams had double digit SOG in all 3 periods as the shots ended 41-36 in favor of Allen.

Offensively for Odessa was Sebasiten Thinel who had a 4 point night (1G 3A). But his only goal came in the final seconds to put the game away with just 28 seconds left. He was dangerous in all aspects of the game as his 3rd assist came on Mike Lesperance's goal that made it 5-3 Jackalopes with 6 minutes left in the game.

Despite the loss, Justin Bowers still had a big night as he was involved on all 3 goals that the Americans scored. This takes his total to 20 points during the playoffs (8G 12A). Fellow Americans teammate Bruce Graham scored the other goal in the game taking him to 5 goals for this year's playoffs.

The scene now shifts for Odessa for Games 6 & 7 as the Jackalopes will look to defend Home Ice coming up tonight and Wednesday where the Southern Conference Champion will be crowned.

Can the Jackalopes avoid going out in the Conference Final for the 2nd straight year?

Or can the Americans get to the Championship Series in their first season. And represent the D/FW Area in the Ray Miron Presidents Cup Championship Series for the 2nd straight year after the Texas Brahmas won it last year?

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From Allen, Texas: Joel Martin stopped 38 saves as the Odessa Jackalopes kept their playoff run alive with a 6-3 win, game five over the Allen Americans on Saturday Night at the Allen Event Center. Odessa now trails the Southern Conference Final best-of-7 series 3-2.

It was an offensive first period as the two teams combined for five goals. Dave Van Druen, Kory Karlander, and Mike Ramsay each scored for Odessa while Allen received goals from Justin Bowers and Bruce Graham.

Odessa took a 4-2 lead on Ramsay's 2nd power play goal of the game at 9:45 of the 2nd period. Ramsay tapped in a rebound from Paul Bradley's shot from the top of the circles. The Americans closed the gap back to one as Bowers deflected a Jordie Benn shot from the point past Joel Martin just 35 seconds left in the frame. Odessa held a 4-3 lead after two periods.

The Jackalopes added a pair of third period goals from Mike Lesperance and Sebastien Thinel to seal the game. Thinel's was an empty netter.


Allen Americans Lead Series 3-2

Game Boxscore


Odessa Jackalopes 6 Allen Americans 3 (3-2, 1-1, 2-0)

1-0 ODE: Dave Van Drunen (Circelli, Thinel) 3:23 1st

1-1 ALN: Bruce Graham (Straub, Bowers) 10:59 1st

1-2 ALN: Justin Bowers (Fairbarn) 12:31 1st

2-2 ODE: Kory Karlander (Bourbeau, Dunn) 14:54 1st

3-2 ODE: Mike Ramsay (PP) (Thinel, Plante) 15:14 1st

4-2 ODE: Mike Ramsay (PP) (Bradley, Leveille) 9:45 2nd

4-3 ALN: Justin Bowers (Benn, Musitelli) 19:25 2nd

5-3 ODE: Mike Lesperance (Thinel, Pierce) 13:42 3rd

6-3 ODE: Sebastien Thinel (EN) (Unassisted) 19:32 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: ODE 36 ALN 41

PP: ODE 2/6 ALN 0/5

PIM: ODE 14 Minutes on 7 Penalties ALN 36 Minutes on 10 Penalties

Goalies: ODE Joel Martin 38 SVS on 41 Shots ALN Chris Whitley 30 SVS on 36 Shots

ATT: 4919

3rd Star: Joel Martin (ODE)

2nd Star: Justin Bowers (ALN)

1st Star: Mike Ramsay (ODE)

The Mudbugs blast away the Rush for 6, Ties series at 2-2

This game was all Bossier-Shreveport as a late first period goal by Shawn Limpright lit up the Rush as everything went the Mudbugs way with a strong 6-1 win where this game was never in doubt as Limpright had a 3 point night (1G 2A).

While Jamie Milam had 2 assists while other players like Travis Clayton who had a goal and assist in the game to help bury the Rush and show the series that they are not out of this series, not even close.

This will give the Mudbugs huge momentum as they look to take a 3-2 series lead this weekend and to come within 1 win of getting back to the CHL Presidents Cup Championship Series.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs entered game 4 with their back against the wall and boy did the Mudbugs respond. The Mudbugs pounded the Rapid City Rush 6-1 evening the best-of-7 Northern Conference Finals series at two wins apiece assuring a game six in Rapid City on Tuesday.

Jamie Milam continued his strong play with a pair of goals giving him 6 points (3G 3A) in eight post-season games. The Mudbugs built a 2-0 lead after one period thanks to late goals from Shawn Limpright and Milam.

The 2nd period belonged to the Bugs as well as they lit the lamp three straight times with Milam and Brett Smith scoring on the power play and David Rutherford striking even strength. The Mudbugs went 3/8 with the man advantage giving them 11 PP Goals in their last five games.

Parker Van Buskirk made 30 saves earning his second win in the series.

Riley Weselowski scored the only goal of the game for the Rush. The critical game 5 is scheduled for Saturday Night at the Century Tel Center. The winner will go up 3-2 and will be one win from the Ray Miron President's Cup Championship.


Series Tied 2-2

Rapid City Rush 1 Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 6 (0-2, 0-3, 1-1)

0-1 BOS: Shawn Limpright (Clayton, St. Croix) 15:07 1st

0-2 BOS: Jamie Milam (PP) (Blaznek, Kyrzakos) 19:44 1st

0-3 BOS: David Rutherford (Aikins) 2:10 2nd

0-4 BOS: Jamie Milam (PP) (Limpright, St. Croix) 4:36 2nd

0-5 BOS: Brett Smith (PP) (Blaznek, Ori) 14:10 2nd

0-6 BOS: Travis Clayton (Limpright) 0:20 3rd

1-6 RPC: Riley Weselowski (Hansen, Pelle) 14:02 3rd


Game Stats

PP: RPC 0/6 BOS 3/8

SOG: RPC 31 BOS 26

PIM: RPC 45 Minutes on 17 Penalties BOS 54 Minutes on 16 Penalties

Goalies: RPC Miguel Beaudry 20 SVS on 26 Shots BOS Parker Van Buskirk 30 SVS on 31 Shots

ATT: 3108

3rd Star: Jamie Milam (BOS)

2nd Star: Shawn Limpright (BOS)

1st Star: Parker Van Buskirk (BOS)

Rapid City holds off the Mudbugs in OT to take 2-1 Series Lead

A back & fourth game that saw the Rapid City Rush & Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs saw a 2-2 game going into the OT saw another unlikely hero for the Rush as Corey Laurysen who barely saw any playing time in the CHL This season scores his first goal of the playoffs to give the Rush a 3-2 win and a 2-1 series lead in the Northern Conference Final last night in Shreveport, Louisiana.



From the Central Hockey League Website: http://www.centralhockeyleague.com/



The Rapid City Rush outlasted the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs in Game 3 of their best of 7 Conference Final series prevailing in OT 3-2. All three games in the series have been decided by one goal and both Rush wins have come in overtime.

The Rush twice built one goal leads in regulation taking a 1-0 lead at the 6:20 mark of the 2nd period with defensemen Luke Fritshaw scoring his 2nd of the post-season. In the third period, Derek Leblanc scored his fifth playoff goal at the 9:20 mark regaining the lead 2-1 for Rapid City.

Both Mudbugs answers came on the power play with Jeff Kyrzakos scoring in the 2nd period evening the score at one and then in the 3rd period Chris St. Croix scored with the man advantage tying the game and ultimately sending the game to overtime.

The winning goal came from newcomer Corey Laurysen who joined the Rush for the post-season as he recorded his first playoff point in his fifth playoff game.

Danny Battochio improved to 6-1 in the playoff stopping 37 shots and his counterpart, Parker Van Buskirk had his second solid outing in place of Ken Carroll (injured) making 39 saves but it wasn't enough.

The Mudbugs went 2 for 6 on the power play and the Rush were stopped on all four chances they had. Game four is scheduled for Friday Night in Bossier-Shreveport.

Rapid City Rush Lead Series 2-1


Game Boxscore

Rapid City Rush 3 Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 2 (OT) (0-0, 1-1, 1-1, 1-0)

1-0 RPC: Luke Fritshaw (Pelle) 6:20 2nd

1-1 BOS: Jeff Kyrzakos (PP) (Limpright, Clayton) 7:48 2nd

2-1 RPC: Derek Leblanc (Reaney, Hodge) 9:20 3rd

2-2 BOS: Chirs St. Croix (PP) (Lucas, Aikins) 13:01 3rd

3-2 RPC: Corey Laurysen (Unassisted) 15:35 OT


Game Stats

SOG: RPC 42 BOS 39

PP: RPC 0/4 BOS 2/6

PIM: RPC 14 Minutes on 7 Penalties BOS 10 Minutes on 5 Penalties

Goalies: RPC Danny Battochio 37 SVS on 39 Shots BOS Parker Van Buskirk 39 SVS on 42 Shots

ATT: 2538

3rd Star: Parker Van Buskirk (BOS)

2nd Star: Danny Battochio (RPC)

1st Star: Corey Laurysen (RPC)

Western HOckey League Conference Finals Schedule & Preview

The top 4 seeds in the Western Hockey League playoffs are going to fight it out for the WHL Championship and the Memorial Cup as the 4 division Champions are the only left standings. The Calgary Hitmen (Central Division), The Brandon Wheat Kings (East Division), Vancouver Giants (BC Division), and the Tri-City Americans (U.S.A. Division) all have quality teams that have the ability to win the championship.

However, will the amount of talent and long series take a toll on the WHL Champion's ability to compete for the Memorial Cup next month in Brandon, Manitoba.

Note: If the Brandon Wheat Kings advance to the WHL Championship Series, the Western Conference Champions will automatically advance to the Memorial Cup due to the Wheat Kings hosting the tournament.

The Brandon Wheat Kings have one thing on their mind, REVENGE! After falling in a series sweep in last year's Eastern Conference Final, the Wheat Kings will have a bounty on the Hitmen as they look to knockout the Hitmen with players like Matt Calvert and Scott Glennie among a huge cast that has the speed, scoring ability and the size that can eventually ware down the Hitmen.

Brandon's scoring ability is massive, after a regular season where 8 players scored 20 or more goals. The Wheat Kings have been able to continue to spread the scoring threats as Brayden Schenn with 15 points (7G 8A), also Brent Raedeke, Matt Calvert, and Aaron Lewadniuk who has 5 or more goals so far in the playoffs. In Net, both Jacob De Serres is an impressive 7-1 in the playoffs with a 2.79 GAA in the playoffs as he looks to improve as the games start to get bigger and bigger as the road to the Memorial Cup continues.

Calgary will respond with players like Brandon Kozoun who's leading the league in assists with 13. If the Hitmen are going to need improve their special teams as the Wheat Kings have been very strong on the special teams and have the among the best in the entire major junior playoffs.

Can the Hitmen pull off another big series win over the Wheat Kings or will the Wheat Kings get their revenge.

The Western Conference will have the Tri-City Americans breathing easier as the Americans have avoided a possible big time showdown against the US Division Rival Portland Winterhawks. Many thought that with the U.S. Division being the strongest in the league, that we would have an all US Matchup for the Western Conference Final between the Americans & Winterhawks.

Now it's the Vancouver Giants lead by leading scorers Craig Cunningham and Brendan Gallagher who among the scoring leaders with 19 & 18 points. Including Cunningham who leads all players with 19 points (11G 8A). You also have Lance Bouma who's among the top assists getter's with 11 in 10 games played. For the Giants concerns, it may be in net as Mark Segan hasn't found a way to up his game after his 2.66 GAA during the regular season with a 3.59 GAA so far in 10 playoff games in the post-season against the Chilliwack Bruins & the Portland Winterhawks so far in the post-season.

Tri-City will be looking to Dergei Drozd & Brooks Macek who's speed and overall game has taken them to the Conference Final. The Americans are starting to get better as the playoffs go on. Despite playing the 8th seeded Chilliwack Bruins and 6th seeded Kelowna Rockets, this team is playoff updates as the have had some very tough matchups. The Experience of the Kelowna Rockets with players like Mark Guggenberger who have been able to challenge the Americans championship hopes.

Perhaps the Americans secrets weapon is goaltender Drew Owsley has improved his game throughout his junior career since he started last year with the Americans. During the regular season, the Americans goalie has improved his GAA from 2.94 last year where he played just 17 games (Mostly late in the Season), to a great 2.23 this year in the playoffs. After a few struggles against Chilliwack, he's starting to get into his grove as he hasn't been able to give up more then 3 goals and had a shutout against Kelowna in Game 3 of the Conference Semifinals.


Here's a look WHL Conference Finals Schedules. The Winners will compete for the WHL Championship.

Eastern Conference Final


#1 Calgary Hitmen VS. #2 Brandon Wheat Kings

Calgary Hitmen Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 52-17-3 107 PTS, 269 GF 177 GA

East QFS VS. Moose Jaw: Game 1 2-4 L, Game 2 1-4 L, Game 3 7-3 W, Game 4 3-4 L, Game 5 5-2 W, Game 6 7-3 W, Game 7 6-2 W

East SFS VS. Medicine Hat: Game 1 5-2 W, Game 2 4-0 W, Game 3 3-4 OTL, Game 4 4-1 W, Game 5 2-5 L, Game 6 3-2 OTW


Calgary Scoring Leaders
Brandon Kozun 13 GP 18 PTS (5G 13A, +3)
Tyler Shattock 13 GP 15 PTS (5G 10A, +7)
Joel Broda 13 GP 10 PTS (8G 2A, +2)


Calgary Goaltending
Martin Jones 13 GP 8-5 2.69 GAA .897 SV%


Brandon Wheat Kings Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 50-18-4 104 PTS, 321 GF 204 GA

East QFS VS. Swift Current: Game 1 5-2 W, Game 2 5-3 W, Game 3 5-2 W, Game 4 3-2 OTW

East SFS VS. Saskatoon: Game 1 6-2 W, Game 2 4-1 W, Game 3 4-5 L, Game 4 3-4 L, Game 5 3-2 W, Game 6 5-4 W


Brandon Scoring Leaders
Brayden Schenn 10 GP 15 PTS (7G 8A, +1)
Colby Robak 10 GP 12 PTS (3G 9A, +4)
Aaron Lewadniuk 10 GP 11 PTS (6G 5A, +3)

Brandon Goaltending
Jacob De Serres 8 GP 7-1 2.79 GAA .909 SV%
Andrew Hayes 2 GP 1-1 3.03 GAA .898 SV%


All Calgary Hitmen Home Games are @ Pengrowth Saddledome

All Brandon Wheat Kings Home Games are @ Westman Place

Game 1, 4/16: @ Calgary 8:00 PM

Game 2, 4/17: @ Calgary 8:00 PM

Game 3, 4/20: @ Brandon 7:00 PM

Game 4, 4/21: @ Brandon 7:00 PM

Game 5, 4/23: @ Calgary 8:00 PM*

Game 6, 4/25: @ Brandon 6:00 PM*

Game 7, 4/27: @ Calgary 8:00 PM*

*If Necessary


Western Conference Finals


#1 Tri-City Americans VS. #2 Vancouver Giants

Tri-City Americans Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 47-22-3 97 PTS, 272 GF 193 GA

West QFS VS. Chilliwack: Game 1 4-2 W, Game 2 8-1 W, Game 3 1-5 L, Game 4 4-3 OTW, Game 5 3-4 OTL, Game 6 4-1 W

West SFS VS. Kelowna: Game 1 5-3 W, Game 2 2-3 L, Game 3 2-0 W, Game 4 3-2 W, Game 5 4-3 W


Tri-City Scoring Leaders
Brendan Shinnimin 11 GP 13 PTS (6G 7A, +3)
Brooks Macek 11 GP 13 PTS (4G 9A, +12)
Sergei Drozd 11 GP 12 PTS (7G 5A, +10)

Tri-City Goaltending
Drew Owsley 11 GP 8-3 2.23 GAA .930 SV%
Alexander Pechurskiy 2 GP 0-0 2.93 GAA .920 SV%


Vancouver Giants Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 41-25-6 88 PTS, 267 GF 211 GA

West QFS VS. Kamloops: Game 1 4-3 OTW, Game 2 6-3 W, Game 3 5-4 OTW, Game 4 5-4 W

West SFS VS. Portland: Game 1 9-6 W, Game 2 7-4 W, Game 2 7-4 W, Game 3 2-3 L, Game 4 5-3 W, Game 5 4-5 L, Game 6 3-1 W


Vancouver Scoring Leaders
Craig Cunningham 10 GP 19 PTS (11G 8A, +10)
Brendan Gallagher 10 GP 18 PTS (9G 9A, +13)
Lance Bouma 10 GP 14 PTS (3G 11A, +6)

Vancouver Goaltending
Mark Segal 10 GP 8-2 3.59 GAA .891 SV%


All Tri-City Americans Home Games are @ Toyota Center

All Vancouver Giants Home Games are @ Pacific Coliseum

Game 1, 4/16: @ Tri-City 9:05 PM

Game 2, 4/17: @ Tri-City 9:35 PM

Game 3, 4/20: @ Vancouver 9:00 PM

Game 4, 4/22: @ Vancouver 9:00 PM

Game 5, 4/24: @ Tri-City 3:00 PM*

Game 6, 4/26: @ Vancouver 9:00 PM*

Game 7, 4/27: @ Tri-City 9:05 PM*

*If Necessary

Ontario Hockey League Conference Finals

The last 4 teams in the Ontario Hockey League Semifinals will be in a sense of David of Goliath as the top seeds as the Barrie Colts & Windsor Spitfires who have been unbeaten through the first 2 rounds of the playoffs. For Windsor, their superstar Taylor Hall just silenced Tyler Seguin and the Plymouth Whalers as the Whalers couldn't get anything going in the series as Tyler Seguin was held completely off the scoresheet in the 4 games.

Despite the sour end of the season, Seguin has done more then enough to be in the battle with Taylor Hall for the #1 overall draft pick, we will get a better idea who has the advantage tonight with the NHL Draft Lottery taking place in Toronto tonight.

Kitchener has been in 2 bruising rounds as the Rangers have knocked out the Saginaw Spirit in the Conference Quarterfinals and the London Knights in the 2nd Round. For London, many of them picked the Knights as the one team that could have knocked out either the Windsor Spitfires and/or Barrie Colts for the league championship.

For the Rangers to have a shot, Jeff Skinner will need to continue his great run as he leads the OHL Playoffs in goals with 12 while players like Gabriel Landeskog and Jeremy Morin will need to be strong secondary scorers to keep up with the Spitfires high scoring offense.

Many people thought that Mississauga were still a year or so away from having a shot to win a title with this current group. But the Majors who have one of the youngest teams in the league have shown that they can play with the best of them. Mississauga will need to contuine their strong team game with players like Devante Smith-Pelly and Curtis Cizikas are tied for the team lead with 6 goals.

However, the goaltending is going to need to improve as Chris Carrozzi & JP Anderson will need to up their game to handle Barrie Forwards like Bryan Cameron with 8 goals in the 8 playoff games he's had as the Colts have been unbeaten through the first 2 rounds.

For Barrie & Windsor, the 2 sweeps have the team in confidence and are looking for a head-to-head matchup for the OHL Championship & Memorial Cup Championship Spot.


Eastern Conference Final


#1 Barrie Colts VS. #3 Mississauga St. Michael's Majors

Barrie Colts Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 57-9-2 116 PTS, 327 GF 186 GA

East QFS VS. Sudbury: Game 1 11-4 W, Game 2 2-1 W, Game 3 6-2 W, Game 4 6-3 W

East SFS VS. Brampton: Game 1 5-3 W, Game 2 3-2 OTW, Game 3 5-1 W, Game 4 5-2 W

Barrie Scoring Leaders
Bryan Cameroon 8 GP 13 PTS (8G 5A, +4)
Alexander Burmistov 8 GP 13 PTS (7G 6A, +10)
Luke Pither 8 GP 13 PTS (5G 8A, +5)

Barrie Goaltending
Peter Di Savo 5 GP 5-0 2.57 GAA .911 SV%
Marvic Parks 3 GP 3-0 1.67 GAA .951 SV%


Mississauga St. Micheal's Majors Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 42-20-6 90 PTS, 222 GF 175 GA

East QFS VS. Peterborough: Game 1 4-2 W, Game 2 2-1 W, Game 3 5-3 W, Game 4 3-0 W

East SFS VS. Ottawa: Game 1 4-1 W, Game 2 2-7 L, Game 3 1-2 OTL, Game 4 2-0 W, Game 5 3-6 L, Game 6 3-1 W, Game 7 5-3 W

Mississauga Scoring Leaders
Devante Smith-Pelly 11 GP 12 PTS (6G 6A, +4)
Casey Cizikas 11 GP 11 PTS (6G 5A, +4)
Cameron Gaunce 11 GP 10 PTS (0G 10A, +8)

Mississauga Goaltending
Chris Carrozzi 7 GP 5-1-1 2.21 GAA .925 SV%
JP Anderson 5 GP 3-1 2.54 GAA .917 SV%


All Barrie Colts Home Games are @ Molson Center

All Mississauga St. Micheal's Majors Home Games are @ Hershey Center

Game 1, 4/14: @ Barrie 6:30 PM

Game 2, 4/16: @ Mississauga 6:30 PM

Game 3, 4/17: @ Barrie 6:30 PM

Game 4, 4/19: @ Mississauga 6:00 PM

Game 5, 4/21: @ Barrie 6:30 PM*

Game 6, 4/23: @ Mississauga 6:30 PM*

Game 7, 4/24: @ Barrie 6:30 PM*

*If Necessary


Western Conference Final


#1 Windsor Spitfires VS. #3 Kitchener Rangers

Windsor Spitfires Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 50-12-6 106 PTS, 331 GF 203 GA

West QFS VS. Erie: Game 1 6-2 W, Game 2 3-1 W, Game 3 7-6 W, Game 4 5-1 W

West SFS VS. Plymouth: Game 1 5-1 W, Game 2 5-3 W, Game 3 5-0 W, Game 4 3-2 OTW

Windsor Scoring Leaders
Taylor Hall 8 GP 16 PTS (9G 7A, +12)
Ryan Ellis 8 GP 16 PTS (2G 14A, +8)
Adam Henrique 8 GP 10 PTS (6G 4A, +7)

Windsor Goaltending
Phillip Grubauer 8 GP 8-0 1.99 GAA .914 SV%


Kitchener Rangers Road to the Memorial Cup

Regular Season Record: 42-19-7 91 PTS, 286 GF 236 GA

West QFS VS. Saginaw: Game 1 3-2 OTW, Game 2 1-3 L, Game 3 2-1 W, Game 4 4-1 W, Game 5 2-4 L, Game 6 4-2 W

West SFS VS. London: Game 1 8-5 W, Game 2 5-2 W, Game 3 3-6 L, Game 4 8-7 OTW, Game 5 8-4 W, Game 6 5-3 W, Game 7 8-3 W

Kitchener Scoring Leaders
Jeff Skinner 13 GP 20 PTS (12G 8A, +8)
Chris Mackinnon 13 GP 20 PTS (4G 16A, 0)
Gabriel Landeskog 13 GP 16 PTS (7G 9A, +10)

Kitchener Goaltending
Brandon Maxwell 13 GP 8-5 3.60 GAA .892 SV%


All Windsor Spitfires Home Games are @ WFCU Center

All Kitchener Rangers Home Games are @ Kitchener Memorial Auditorium

Game 1, 4/15: @ Windsor 6:05 PM

Game 2, 4/17: @ Kitchener 6:00 PM

Game 3, 4/18: @ Windsor 6:05 PM

Game 4, 4/20: @ Kitchener 6:00 PM

Game 5, 4/22: @ Windsor 6:05 PM*

Game 6, 4/23: @ Kitchener 6:30 PM*

Game 7, 4/25: @ Windsor 1:05 PM*

*If Necessary

Bossier-Shreveport wins with Scoring Spread, Mudbugs Tie Series at 1-1

A great scoring spread took place that was led by Joe Blaznek with 3 assists with the 4 goals coming from 4 different players which includes a couple of unlikely scorers in Jamie Milam who had just 6 points all year and Simon Mangos who's stock is rising who raised his scoring totals as a defensemen from 8 to 12 goals over the course of this season and scored his 3rd point of the playoffs where the Mudbugs went up 4-1 late in the 2nd period.

Despite 3rd period goals by Rapid City Superstars Les Reaney and Blaine Jarvis couldn't get the game to OT for the 2nd straight time in this series and Mudbugs goalie Parker Van Buskirk who hardly played at all this season and was brought in to help relieve Mudbugs goalie Ken Carroll who's out with an injury was stout by stopping 26 of 29 shots including some important ones late with the Rush out-shooting the Mudbugs 10-6 in the 3rd period.

Both Conference Final Series are now tied at 1-1 and all 4 of the games being one goal games and two of those went to OT as we expecting some very long series' in this Conference Finals which should set the stage for a championship series that looks like it will be more & more exciting by the day.

The Northern Conference Final will now head to Shreveport for games 3,4 & 5 on April 14, 16 & 17 this week. If Bossier-Shreveport continue their strong home form from the 1st round against Colorado, the Mudbugs have a great shot of taking the advantage in this series as the Mudbugs will look to get back to the League Championship Series this season.

From the Central Hockey League: www.centralhockeyleague.com

The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs built a 4-1 lead on their way to an eventual 4-3 victory over the Rapid City Rush in Game 2 of the Northern Conference Finals Sunday at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. With the victory, the Mudbugs even the best-of-7 series at one game apiece with the next 3 games to be played at the Century Tel Center.

Performing under the playoff microscope, goaltender Parker Van Buskirk made 26 saves to earn the win in his Mudbugs debut. The offense was paced by Joe Blaznek's three assists, while Jamie Milam scored the game-winner goal and assisted on another. Bossier-Shreveport also scored two more powerplay goals in the victory.

The Bugs skated to a 6-0 shot edge in the early going before Rapid City got nearly two full minutes of 5-on-3 powerplay time. Scott Wray opened the scoring during the two-man advantage to put the Rush on top 1-0 at 8:03. Bossier-Shreveport then seized the momentum and the lead late in the period when two powerplay goals in a 31 second-span. Justin Aikins started it off for the Mudbugs, shooting home the rebound of a Joe Blaznek shot in front to tie the game at one at 16:46. Simon Mangos then beat Danny Battochio with a long wrist shot through traffic to give the Mudbugs a 2-1 edge after 20 minutes.

The Bugs added to the lead with a pair of even-strength in the 2nd period. Blaznek sent a pass to the side of the net for David Rutherford, who backhanded the puck from Battochio's arm and into the net at 9:24 to make it 3-1. The lead became 4-1 for Bossier-Shreveport when Jamie Milam powered a slapshot into the net during a 3-on-2 break at 15:03. That goal chased Danny Battochio from the net as he was replaced by Miguel Beaudry.

The Rush came on strong in the 3rd period, starting with an unassisted goal by Les Reaney off a faceoff at 5:50. That turned the momentum into Rapid City's favor, and Blaine Jarvis got the home team back within one with just 3 minutes left in regulation. The Bugs were able to hold on in the final minutes, however to finish the 4-3 win and tie the series.

Van Buskirk is now 1-0 in his Mudbugs career, earning the win as the Mudbugs were out-shot 29-25 in the contest. Danny Battochio suffered his first playoff loss for the Rush after making 11 saves, while Miguel Beaudry stopped 10 saves in relief. Bossier-Shreveport scored twice on the powerplay chances and Rapid City finished 1 for 5.

The Mudbugs will now look to the lead in the best-of-seven series as its shifts to Bossier-Shreveport for the next 3 games. Game 3 is set for Wednesday night at 7:05 PM at the Century Tel Center.


Series is Tied 1-1


Game Boxscore

Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 4 Rapid City Rush 3 (2-1, 2-0, 0-2)

0-1 RPC: Scott Wray (PP) (Vanderveeken, Hodge) 8:03 1st

1-1 BOS: Justin Aikins (PP) (Blaznek, Milam) 16:46 1st

1-2 BOS: Simon Mangos (PP) (Blaznek, Ori) 17:17 1st

1-3 BOS: David Rutherford (Blaznek, Kalinchuk) 9:24 2nd

1-4 BOS: Jamie Milam (Limpright) 15:03 2nd

2-4 RPC: Les Reaney (Unassisted) 5:50 3rd

3-4 RPC: Blaine Jarvis (Wray, Bostock) 17:25 3rd


Game Stats

PP: BOS 2/7 RPC 1/5

SOG: BOS 25 RPC 29

PIM: BOS 17 Minutes on 7 Penalties RPC 21 Minutes on 9 Penalties

Goalies: BOS Parker Van Buskirk 26 SVS on 29 Shots RPC Danny Battochio 11 SVS on 15 Shots Miguel Beaudry 10 SVS on 10 Shots

ATT: 4150

3rd Star: Scott Wray (RPC)

2nd Star: Joe Blaznek (BOS)

1st Star: Jamie Milam (BOS)

Scott Wray and Les Reaney lead Rapid City to OT Win in Game 1

Like Saturday's game in West Texas, the opening game of the Northern Conference Final saw OT and just like the Southern Conference Final as well, it's a great back and fourth where the teams All-Stars took over the game.

The third period saw a wild affair which started with Clay Plume scored just 2 minutes into the 3rd period to tie the game at 2-2. However, Rapid City's Scott Wray scored his 4th of the post-season to put the Rush up 3-2. He would later force OT with a goal with just 3 and a half minutes left in the third period to make it a 4-4 game.

Then Wray played the role of set up man to help Brendan Cook set up Les Reaney's game winner 5 minutes into the extra period to help the Rush take the opening game of the series against the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs.

Game 2 will be taking place tonight in Rapid City, S.D. as the Rush will look to go up 2-0 and have a huge advantage in looking to make the team's first ever Presidents Cup Final.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From Rapid City, South Dakota: In Game one of the Northern Conference Final, the Rapid City Rush came-from-behind to tie the game and eventually triumph in OT taking a 1-0 series lead over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. Les Reaney scored three points in the game including the game winner in overtime lifting his team to the 5-4 win.

Scott Wray scored a pair of goals and had an assist and it was his second goal with three and a half minutes left in regulation that sent the game to overtime. Derek Campbell had a goal and an assist for the Rush aiding the offense.

Former Rapid City Defensemen Clay Plume lead the offense for the Bugs with a pair of goals, both in the third period.

The Mudbugs scored three times in the third period holding a 4-3 lead before Wray's heroics.

Danny Battochio had 20 saves in the game improving to 5-0 in the playoffs. Ken Carroll took his first loss of the playoffs despite making 39 saves. Game two is scheduled for Sunday Night in Rapid City.


Rapid City Rush Lead Series 1-0

Game Boxscore

Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 4 Rapid City Rush 5 (OT) (1-1, 0-1, 3-2, 0-1)

0-1 RPC: Derek Leblanc (Pelle, VanderVeeken) 0:28 1st

1-1 BOS: Joe Ori (PP) (St. Croix, Carroll) 8:35 1st

1-2 RPC: Derek Campbell (Flamminio) 6:57 2nd

2-2 BOS: Clay Plume (Kyrzakos, Clayton) 2:50 3rd

2-3 RPC: Scott Wray (Campbell, Reaney) 3:08 3rd

3-3 BOS: Simon Mangos (PP) (Smith, Blaznek) 8:44 3rd

4-3 BOS: Clay Plume (Rutherford, Lucas) 13:14 3rd

4-4 RPC: Scott Wray (Reaney) 16:23 3rd

4-5 RPC: Les Reaney (Cook, Wray) 5:06 OT


Game Stats

SOG: BOS 24 RPC 44

PP: BOS 2/4 RPC 0/5

PIM: BOS 10 Minutes on 5 Penalties RPC 8 Minutes on 4 Penalties

Goalies: BOS Ken Carroll 39 SVS on 44 Shots RPC Danny Battochio 20 SVS on 24 Shots

ATT: 5078

3rd Star: Clay Plume (BOS)

2nd Star: Scott Wray (RPC)

1st Star: Les Reaney (RPC)

Jeff Pierce's OT Winner Ties Southern Conference Final at 1-1

Getting out-shot 19-5 in the first period was almost no problem for the Allen Americans as the Americans were looking to make it a 2-0 series advantage going into the 3 games in Allen which start later this week.

After a 2-1 lead for Odessa, both teams were able to get in trouble on the special teams as a combined 25 penalties in the game was resulted in 15 power plays. However, just 2 power play goals were scored as strong goaltender and defense's that were afraid at times to attack that much as the game continued to be 2-1 Jackalopes heading into the 3rd period.

An early 3rd period goal by Liam Huculak put the game tied at 2-2 giving the Americans some hope and the momentum going into the rest of the 3rd period. After that, neither side was able to gain an advantage that could have ended the game in regulation time.

Then midway through the OT came a dagger for Allen as Americans defensemen Mike Salekin committed a 10 minute Unsportsmanlike conduct penalty where Odessa's Jeff Pierce scored the game winner with 3:17 left in the OT Period to tie the series at 1-1 with Game 3 coming up coming up on Wednesday Night at the Allen Event Center.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

Jeff Pierce's wrist shot from the top of the left circle beat Chris Whitley and tied the Southern Conference Finals at 1-1 as the Odessa Jackalopes beat the Allen Americans, 3-2, in OT on Saturday Night at the Ector County Coliseum.

Sebastien Thinel had the assist on Pierce's game-winner with a cross-ice pass from the right wing side. The goal was Pierce's 5th of the post-season.

Whitley did everything possible in net for the Americans to try and win the game as he made 42 saves in the game. Odessa's Joel Martin was 29 of 31.

After a scoreless 2nd period, Liam Huclak tied the game for Allen at 2-2 with just under 3 minutes into the third period to force OT.

Whitley kept it a close first period as he stopped 17 of Odessa's 19 shots in the opening frame. The Jackalopes started the game's scoring at 7:40 when Jean Bourbeau put a wrist shot in the top corner after an American's turnover in their own zone. Justin Bowers tied the game on the power play three minutes later deflecting a shot from the point. Odessa then regained the lead on a power play from Kenny Benard at 15:58.

The Overtime was Odessa's 2nd of the playoffs. The other coming in the series clincher against the Texas Brahmas. The Series now shifts to the Allen Event Center where Games 3, 4, and 5 will be played.


Series Tied 1-1


Game Boxscore

@ Ector County Coliseum

Allen Americans 2 Odessa Jackalopes 3 (OT) (1-2, 0-0, 1-0, 0-1)

0-1 ODE: Jean Bourbeau (Unassisted) 7:40 1st

1-1 ALN: Justin Bowers (PP) (Woddisse, Fairbarn) 10:46 1st

1-2 ODE: Kenny Bernard (PP) (Leveille, Karlander) 15:58 1st

2-2 ALN: Liam Huculak (Unassisted) 2:54 3rd

2-3 ODE: Jeff Pierce (Thinel, Van Drunen) 16:43 OT


Game Stats

PP: ALN 1/8 ODE 1/7

SOG: ALN 31 ODE 45

PIM: ALN 39 Minutes on 14 Penalties ODE 25 Minutes on 11 Penalties

Goalies: ALN Chris Whitley 42 SVS on 45 Shots ODE Joel Martin 29 SVS on 31 Shots

ATT: 3000

3rd Star: Chris Whitley (ALN)

2nd Star: Kenny Bernard (ODE)

1st Star: Jeff Pierce (ODE)

Jarrett Lukin leads Allen in back and fourth game to win Game 1

Jarret Lukin had a huge night as the Americans had to fight both fatigue from the short turnaround after the Laredo Series and the league's best team in the Jackalopes to steal the Conference Finals opener to stun the Jackalopes and to grab an early series lead.

They looking to prove that the Americans strong defense can keep the Jackalopes strong offense under control in what should be a great series for the Southern Conference Championship.

Other players that are looking to explode like Cotton Yellow Horn adn Nino Musitelli also had huge nights in the victory. Odessa is going to feel the pressure as for the 2nd time in these playoffs, they will go into game 2 with a 1-0 deficit. They did it against the Brahmas, can they do it against the Americans as well in a strong start to this series.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

The Allen Americans grabbed home ice and the series advantage versus the Odessa Jackalopes on Friday Night with a 4-3 victory at the Ector County Coliseum in Game one of the Southern Conference Final.

Jarrett Lukin had 2 goals and an assist and Mike Sellan's third period shorthanded goal proved to be the game winner.

The Jacks seemed to be carrying over the momentum they built by winning 4 straight games over the Texas Brahmas in the Conference Semifinals by grabbing the early series lead with a Sebastien Thinel power play goal at the 2:40 mark, his sixth goal of the post-season.

The teams exchanged goals before the end of the period with Lukin scoring his first of two on the night at the 15:44 mark tying the game at 1-1 but Odessa would once again grab momentum with Phillippe Plante scoring another power play goal with just 8 seconds remaining in the period.

The 2nd period belonged to the Americans who scored twice taking a 3-2 lead after 40 minutes. Nino Musitelli tied the game at the 12:32 mark scoring for the third straight game and his fifth goal of the playoffs. Lukin would give his team the lead for good about three minutes later with Musitelli earning his 2nd point of the night on the assist.

In the third period, Salekin grabbed the only two goal lead of the net for either team with his shorthanded goal at 7:22; assisted by Lukin.

Mike Ramsay scored on a 3rd period power play goal just over 30 seconds later making the two-goal cushion short-lived and gave his club a chance but Allen goaltender Chris Whitley put on a show by stopping 17 of 18 and finished the game with 34 saves, good for his fifth win of the playoffs.

Odessa's Joel Martin made 26 saves but took the loss falling to 3-1 in the playoffs. Odessa finished 3/7 on the power play while Allen went scoreless in five chances.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday Night in Odessa.


Allen Leads Series 1-0


Game Boxscore


@ Ector County Coliseum

Allen Americans 4 Odessa Jackalopes 3 (1-2, 2-0, 1-1)

0-1 ODE: Sebastien Thinel (PP) (Pierce, Circelli) 2:40 1st

1-1 ALN: Jarrett Lukin (Yellow Horn, Adams) 15:44 1st

1-2 ODE: Philippe Plante (PP) (Leveille, Karlander) 19:52 1st

2-2 ALN: Nino Musitelli (Adams, Benn) 12:32 2nd

3-2 ALN: Jarrett Lukin (Musitelli) 15:15 2nd

4-2 ALN: Mike Salekin (SH) (Lukin) 7:22 3rd

4-3 ODE: Mike Ramsay (PP) (Leveille, Karlander) 7:56 3rd


Game Stats

SOG: ALN 30 ODE 38

PP: ALN 0/5 ODE 3/7

PIM: ALN 16 Minutes on 8 Penalties ODE 12 Minutes on 6 Penalties

Goalies: ALN Chris Whitley 35 SVS on 38 Shots ODE Joel Martin 26 SVS on 30 Shots

ATT: 3217

3rd Star: Dominic Leveille (ODE)

2nd Star: Nino Musitelli (ALN)

1st Star: Jarrett Lukin (ALN)

Central Hockey League: Conference Finals Schedule & Preview

With Game 7 of the Allen Americans and Laredo Bucks wrapping up last night. It's finally time for the CHL Conference Finals to get underway as the Rapid City Rush & Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs have been on long layoffs as the teams finished off sweeps back on April 1 and 2.

As both teams are fresh and have had a chance to take a look at their foes as the 1st round sweeps could be a factor when the Presidents Cup Championship starts up that could give the Northern Conference Champions at least an advantage in being fresh and not being as banged up.

The Southern Conference has the best offense against the best record as the Jackalopes finished the Regular Season in the last several years as Odessa had 101 points. But had a slow start against the Texas Brahmas where they lost the first 2, only to comeback to win 4 straight to win the series in 6.

Allen will have to battle lack of rest of prep time for the Americans as they will only get one travel day to get ready for the Jackalopes as the Americans will be playing their 3rd game in 4 days in these playoffs.


Northern Conference Final

#1 Rapid City Rush VS. #3 Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs

Rapid City Road to the Ray Morin Presidents Cup

Regular Season Record: 43-14-7 93 PTS, 253 GF 197 GA

Northern Semifinals VS. Missouri: Game 1 5-1 W, Game 2 2-1 W, Game 3 4-1 W, 7-6 OTW

Rapid City Scoring Leaders
Les Reaney 4 GP 9 PTS (3G 6A, +5)
Rich Hansen 4 GP 7 PTS (2G 5A, +4)
Jon Pelle 4 GP 6 PTS (3G 3A, +3)


Rapid City Goaltending
Danny Battochio 4 GP 4-0 2.23 GAA .936 SV%


Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Road to the Presidents Cup

Regular Season Record: 38-22-4 80 PTS, 213 GF 180 GA

Northern Semifinals VS. Colorado: Game 1 4-3 OTW, Game 2 4-3 W, Game 3 3-1 W, Game 4 4-2 W

Bossier-Shreveport Scoring Leaders
Shawn Limpright 4 GP 5 PTS (3G 2A, +2)
David Pszenyczny 4 GP 4 PTS (3G 1A, +4)
Travis Clayton 4 GP 4 PTS (3G 1A, +2)


Bossier-Shreveport Goaltending
Ken Carroll 3 GP 3-0 2.17 GAA .935 SV%
John Decarlo 2 GP 1-0 2.42 GAA .927 SV%


This Series will be using the 2-3-2 Format

All Rapid City Rush Home Games are @ Rushmore Plaza Civic Center

All Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs Home Games are @ Century Tel Center


Game 1, 4/10: @ Rapid City 8:05 PM

Game 2, 4/11: @ Rapid City 6:05 PM

Game 3, 4/14: @ Bossier-Shreveport 7:05 PM

Game 4, 4/16: @ Bossier-Shreveport 7:05 PM

Game 5, 4/17: @ Bossier-Shreveport 7:05 PM*

Game 6, 4/20: @ Rapid City 7:35 PM*

Game 7, 4/21: @ Rapid City 7:35 PM*

*If Necessary


Southern Conference Final

#1 Odessa Jackalopes VS. #2 Allen Americans

Odessa Jackalopes Road to the Presidents Cup

Regular Season Record: 48-11-5 101 PTS, 269 GF 187 GA

Southern Semifinals VS. Texas: Game 1 2-5 L, Game 2 2-3 OTL, Game 3 6-3 W, Game 4 5-1 W, Game 5 2-1 W, Game 6 5-4 OTW


Odessa Scoring Leaders
Sebastien Thinel 6 GP 12 PTS (5G 7A, +7)
Jeff Pierce 6 GP 10 PTS (4G 6A, +6)
Collin Circelli 6 GP 7 PTS (2G 5A, +5)

Odessa Goaltending
Juha Toivonen 4 GP 3-0 2.46 GAA .921 SV%
Joel Martin 3 GP 1-2 2.97 GAA .882 SV%


Allen Americans Road to the Presidents Cup

Regular Season Record: 42-17-5 89 PTS, 210 GF 183 GA

Southern Semifinals VS. Laredo: Game 1 3-4 L, Game 2 3-2 W, Game 3 4-1 W, Game 4 3-4 L, Game 5 1-5 L, Game 6 3-2 W, Game 7 4-1 W


Allen Scoring Leaders
Nino Musitelli 7 GP 9 PTS (4G 5A, +1)
Bruce Graham 7 GP 9 PTS (3G 6A, +3)
Justin Bowers 7 GP 9 PTS (3G 6A, -2)

Allen Goaltending
Chris Whitley 7 GP 4-3 2.53 GAA .909 SV%
David Mckee 1 GP 0-0 3.25 GAA .857 SV%


This Series will be a 2-3-2 format for this series.

All Odessa Jackalopes Home Games are @ Ector County Coliseum

All Allen Americans Home Games are @ Allen Event Center

Game 1, 4/9: @ Odessa 7:05 PM

Game 2, 4/10: @ Odessa 7:05 PM

Game 3, 4/14: @ Allen 7:30 PM

Game 4, 4/16: @ Allen 7:30 PM

Game 5, 4/17: @ Allen 7:30 PM*

Game 6, 4/19: @ Odessa 7:05 PM*

Game 7, 4/21: @ Odessa 7:05 PM*

*If Necessary

A Strong Allen Defense with big 3rd period knocks out Laredo

The Allen Americans can now add another impressive mark in their inaugural season as the Allen Americans have won their first Game 7 to advance to the Southern Conference Final against the Odessa which will get underway sometime this weekend. The Americans did with a strong power play to make it 2-0 midway through the game then the Bruce Graham goal with 4 minutes to officially put the game away. In all, the Americans gave up just 21 shots including just 5 in the 2nd period.

With the Americans defense, the Odessa Jackalopes strong offense will have their hands full as the Southern Conference Final will get underway tomorrow night. The Series will be a 2-3-2 format with Odessa hosting Games 1 & 2, then Allen will get a chance to shine in the middle of the series for games 3,4, & 5.

The series would get back to Odessa for Games 6 & 7 to crown the Southern Conference Champions and to determine who will advance to the Ray Morin Presidents Cup Final either against Rapid City or Bossier-Shreveport.


From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

The Allen Americans defeated the Laredo Bucks 4-1 in Game 7 of the Southern Conference Semifinals series advancing to the South Finals to meet the Odessa Jackalopes. Game one of the Americans/Jackalopes Series is schedule for Friday Night at the Ector County Coliseum.

The Americans had a tremendous defensive effort taking a 2-0 lead after two periods with a first period goal from Nino Musitelli and a second period power play goal from Tobias Whelan.

Musitelli finished with a goal and two assists aided by a goal and an assist from All-Star Bruce Graham and two assists from fellow All-Star Justin Bowers.

Chris Whitley made 21 saves earning the win improving to 4-3 in the series so far.

Todd Griffith scored his 5th goal of the series in the loss for Laredo who dropped each of the last two games in Allen to surrender the series.


Allen Wins Series 4-3. The Americans will next play the Odessa Jackalopes in the Southern Conference Final.

Game Boxscore

Laredo Bucks 1 Allen Americans 4 (0-1, 0-1, 1-2)

0-1 ALN: Nino Musitelli (Bowers, Graham) 16:41 1st

0-2 ALN: Tobias Whelan (PP) (Musitelli) 10:33 2nd

1-2 LAR: Todd Griffith (Lehr) 4:30 3rd

1-3 ALN: Jordie Benn (Gaudet, ONabigon) 11:12 3rd

1-4 ALN: Bruce Graham (PP) (Musitelli, Bowers) 15:58


Game Stats

SOG: LAR 22 ALN 34

PP: LAR 0/5 ALN 2/7

PIM: LAR 14 Minutes on 7 Penalties ALN 10 Minutes on 5 Penalties

Goalies: LAR Pier-Olivier Pelletier 30 SVS on 34 Shots ALN Chris Whitley 21 SVS on 22 Shots

ATT: 2988

3rd Star: Todd Griffith (LAR)

2nd Star: Chris Whitley (ALN)

1st Star: Nino Musitelli (ALN)

Odessa has huge 3rd period comeback to win in OT, knocks out defending champions

What started out as a great series and a chance to knockout the Jackalopes for the 2nd straight year turned into a nightmare as the Jackalopes turned up the jets to take control of the series to win in 6. It's said that successfully defending a championship is one of the toughest things to do in sports, and the Brahmas learned that the hard way.

Texas had another great season after winning 32 games during the regular season. Texas made quick work of Corpus Christi in the Play In Round. The Brahmas have proven once again that playing in the Play In Round is no hurdle for the Brahmas. Since the inclusion of the Play In Round in 2008, the Brahmas have pretty much been the only team to have any success after playing in the Play In Round. Here's a list of teams how they have done since Play In Round was introduced.

2008

Southern Conference: Play in Round: Odessa beats Austin 2-1, Conference Semifinals Laredo beats Odessa 4-0

Northern Conference: Play In Round, Texas Beats Mississippi 2-1, Conference Semifinals Texas beats Bossier-Shreveport 4-0, Conference Final, Colorado Beats Texas 4-3


2009

Southern Conference: Play In Round, RG Valley beats Corpus Christi 2-1, Conference Semifinals Texas beats RG Valley 4-0

Northern Conference: Play In Round, Bossier-Shreveport beats Rocky Mountain 2-1, Conference Semifinals Colorado Beats Bossier-Shreveport 4-0


2010

Southern Conference: Play In Round, Texas beats Corpus Christi 2-0, Conference Semifinals Odessa beats Texas 4-2

Northern Conference: Play In Round, Missouri Beats Mississippi 2-1, Conference Semifinals Rapid City Beats Missouri 4-0


If you look at the short history of the Play In Round. The Brahmas are the only team to even win a game, much less a series when they started in the Conference Play In Round. Everybody else has gotten Sweeped in the Conference Semifinals. This shows you how the Brahmas want to make sure they can be a force to be dealt with regardless of how they start in the playoffs either in the Conference Play In Round or in the Conference Semifinals when they won the Championship in 2009.

From the Central Hockey League Website: www.centralhockeyleague.com

From North Richland Hills, Texas: Collin Circelli's overtime winner sent the Odessa Jackalopes to the Southern Conference Finals as the team beat the Texas Brahmas, 5-4, on Monday Night at the NYTEX Sports Center. The finish gave the Odessa Jackalopes a 4-2 win in the best-of-seven series.

Jeff Pierce and Garrett Gruenke tallied the assists on Circelli's game-winner at 2:04 of the first overtime period. Circelli drove the net after Texas turned the puck at the blue line. It marks the second straight season that Odessa has lost the first two games of a Conference Semifinal series at home, only to win four straight and advance.

The Jackalopes forced overtime after scoring a pair of third period goals to eliminate a 4-2 deficit. Kory Karlander netted a power play goal from the front of the net at 5:04. Sebastien Thinel tied the game at 7:38 when he lifted a backhanded shot into the top corner.

Both teams traded goals in the first period as Kenny Benard and Jeff Pierce each scored for Odessa. Jason Deitsch and Lee Jubinville both scored for Texas.

The Brahmas picked up the play in the 2nd period two as Deitsch scored his second of the game at 3:01 to make it 3-2, Texas. Jordan Cameron made it 4-2 at 15:57 when he took the puck from the left-wing corner, around the boards, then through the right circle before depositing a backhanded shot past Juha Toivonen. Texas held the two goal lead entering the break to set up Odessa's late heroics.

Joel Martin replaced Toivonen in the third period and finished the game with just four saves, but recorded the win. Toivonen stopped 16 of 20 in net.

The series win for Odessa marks just the third time in CHL History that a team won the first two games of a series on the road only to lose the series. Odessa defeated Laredo in 2009. New Mexico topped Arizona in 2007. Texas won the first two games of the series in Odessa to take a 2-0 series lead before Odessa's comeback with four straight wins.

The Jackalopes will await the winner of the Laredo VS. Allen series for their next round opponent.


Odessa Jackalopes win Series 4-2. Odessa will play either the Allen Americans or the Laredo Bucks in the Conference Finals.


Game Boxscore

Odessa Jackalopes 5 Texas Brahmas 4 (OT) (2-2, 0-2, 2-0, 1-0)

1-0 ODE: Kenny Bernard (PP) (Ramsay, Karlander) 3:43 1st

1-1 TEX: Jason Deitsch (Hiebert, Jubinville) 6:22 1st

1-2 TEX: Lee Jubinville (PP) (Sellars, Kinnunen) 8:56 1st

2-2 ODE: Jeff Pierce (Circelli, Thinel) 13:40 1st

2-3 TEX: Jason Deitsch (Hiebert, Jubinville) 3:01 2nd

2-4 TEX: Jordan Cameron (Gale, Rouleau) 15:57 2nd

3-4 ODE: Kory Karlander (PP) (Dunn, Leveille) 5:04 3rd

4-4 ODE: Sebastien Thinel (Bourbeau, Pierce) 7:38 3rd

5-4 ODE: Collin Circelli (Pierce, Gruenke) 2:04 OT


Game Stats

SOG: ODE 44 TEX 24

PP: ODE 2/4 TEX 1/5

PIM: ODE 12 Minutes on 6 Penalties TEX 23 Minutes on 6 Penalties

Goalies: ODE Juha Toivonen 16 SVS on 20 Shots Joel Martin 4 SVS on 4 Shots TEX Brett Jeager 39 SVS on 44 Shots

ATT: 2200

3rd Star: Lee Jubinville (TEX)

2nd Star: Jason Deitsch (TEX)

1st Star: Collin Circelli (ODE)