This weekend's Junior Schedule 2/24-26

With the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament now behind the North American Hockey League (NAHL). The league is back to the regular season as the final month of the NAHL Regular season is getting into high gear as the fight for 1st Round Home Ice between the Topeka Roadrunners & Texas Tornado will be getting into high gear as both teams have tough road series' this weekend as the Tornado will travel to Amarillo to face the Bulls; while the Roadrunners head to the Northwest to play the Wenatchee Wild as they are looking to overtake the Alaska Avalanche for 2nd Place in the West Coast Division with both teams having 14 & 15 games left this season.

Texas is in a part of the schedule where they are playing the Bulls 3 out of 4 weekend series as the Bulls were able to win a pair of 1 goal games where the Bulls won 5-4 & 3-2 in OT last weekend going into the Top Prospects Tournament which allowed Topeka to get a series split against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs who are leading the West Coast Division with 13 games left in the regular season. And are looking to defend the NAHL Robertson Cup Championship this year in Frisco coming up in May.

The only break from the Bulls will be on March 2nd & 3rd when the team heads to Kansas to play the Roadrunners for the final time of the regular season and possible 1st Round Playoff Preview which could be the decider to determine home ice advantage in a possible playoff series in Early April.

After this long road trip wraps up, the Tornado will finish the regular season with 4 of their final 6 at home with home series against the New Mexico Mustangs (3/16-17) & the Corpus Christi Icerays (3/30-31) to bring an end to the regular season. The Final Road of the regular season trip after this will be back in Corpus Christi on March 23rd & 24th.

Other important series in the region this weekend includes another #4 VS. #5 Series with the Corpus Christi Icerays & Odessa Jackalopes in a home-and-home this weekend where the IceRays are looking to get out of a bit of a tail spin they have been in recently after having a bit of a let down weekend against the New Mexico Mustangs where despite getting 3 out of 4 points, it didn't look that convincing as the Mustangs were able to control huge portions of both games last weekend.

New Mexico was able to have a rare strong series, it's not only the points back but the number of teams they have to jump over both Wichita Falls & Odessa to have a shot of taking down Corpus Christi for the 4th & Final Playoff spot in the South Division.

Also working against them is how the Mustangs have the fewest games remaining of the chasing pack. While Odessa (14 GR) & Wichita Falls (12 GR) still have chances to get ahead. New Mexico only has 11 games left in the regular season

The IceRays can put themselves in a position where they could be as many as 13 points up on Odessa and looking to put a knockout punch on the chasing pack of Odessa, Wichita Falls & New Mexico to end their playoff hopes as all 3 teams are looking to find a way to stay in the chase.

The WSHL has the Mid-West Division Leading El Paso Rhinos entreating the Dallas Ice Jets this weekend. With El Paso already clinching the Mid-West Division top seed, the Ice Jets are looking to use this as an opportunity to create some distance between themselves and the Texas Jr. Brahmas who are sitting in 3rd Place, just 5 points back of the Ice Jets as the Jr. Brahmas will be playing a home-and-home against the lowly Dallas Snipers who are just going through the motions of wrapping up the season as they have been out of playoff contention for weeks now.

There is also a lot of motivation for the Ice Jets after they got swept by the Rhinos just after New Years, and it wasn't just a bad weekend for the Ice Jets but a series that turned the tide in the Mid-West Division Race where the Rhinos took the Division Lead and haven't looked back ever since. Since then, the Rhinos have won 13 of their last 15 in which most of it has taken down some weak competition like scoring 14 & 10 goals in back-to-back games against the Phoenix Knights for example.

The Ice Jets on the other hand have had some issues since New Years where they are currently on a 5 game losing streak where they got swept by the Idaho Jr. Steelheads.

With the Ice Jets & Rhinos currently #1 & #2 in the Mid-West Division, this could be a possible preview for the Mid-West Division Final & a Round Robin Game in the WSHL Throne Cup as El Paso will be hosting and having an automatic spot in this year's Championship Tournament.

This weeks Junior Schedule

North American Hockey League

2/24

Texas Tornado VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats  7:05 PM

2/25

Texas Tornado VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats  7:25 PM

Odessa Jackalopes VS. Corpus Christi Icerays  7:35 PM

Western States Hockey League

2/24

New Mexico Renegades VS. Boulder Bison  8:15 PM

Dallas Ice Jets VS. El Paso Rhinos  8:30 PM

Dallas Snipers VS. Texas Jr. Brahmas  9:00 PM

2/25

Texas Jr. Brahmas VS. Dallas Snipers  7:30 AM

New Mexico Renegades VS. Boulder Bison  8:15 PM

Dallas Ice Jets VS. El Paso Rhinos  8:30 PM

2/26

New Mexico Renegades VS. Boulder Bison  1:00 PM

Dallas Ice Jets VS. El Paso Rhinos  5:30 PM



Tyler Hope scores twice in 3-2 upset of the South Division Leading Bulls

Wichita Falls was able to hand the Bulls only their 5th regulation loss of the season with a surprise 3-2 win over the Bulls at the Kay Yeager Coliseum back on Tuesday Night. Tyler Hope (McKinney, Texas) was able to score twice in the game as well as Patrick Yudez being able to assist on all three of the Wildcats goals as they were able to climb within a point of 5th Place Odessa and look to continue to be in close distance of the Corpus Christi IceRays as they sit just 7 points back.

However, Corpus Christi has the advantage as the IceRays have 3 games in hand (17 GMS left for Corpus Christi, 14 GMS left for Wichita Falls, 17 GMS left for Odessa) for the battle for teh 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the NAHL's South Division heating up.

A critical weekend series is on the horizon as the IceRays will host the Wichita Falls Wildcats for a weekend series at the American Bank Center this weekend where the IceRays can continue their lead for the final Playoff spot. While a Wichita Falls Domination could be as close as 3 points with a month and a half left in the regular season.

Amarillo on the other hand will travel to Frisco to play the Texas Tornado on Friday & Saturday this upcoming weekend (Both games are at 7:30 PM).

Upcoming Wichita Falls Wildcats Schedule

2/10: @ Corpus Christi Icerays  7:05 PM

2/11: @ Corpus Christi Icerays  7:35 PM

2/24: VS. New Mexico Mustangs  7:05 PM

2/25: VS. New Mexico Mustangs  7:05 PM

2/27: VS. New Mexico Mustangs  7:05 PM

Upcoming Corpus Christi Icerays Schedule

2/10: @ Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/11: @ Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/24: VS. Texas Tornado  7:00 PM

2/25: VS. Texas Tornado  7:00 PM

3/1: @ Corpus Christi Icerays  7:05 PM

Amarillo Bulls 2  Wichita Falls Wildcats 3  (0-1, 1-1, 1-1)

Game Report by Zach Duncan of the Wichita Falls Times Record News

In Wichita Falls, Texas: By recently trading away a couple of veterans for 2012-13 tenders, first year coach Paul Baxter's plan is to build the Wildcats into a Division contender for next year.

But nights like Tuesday are a reminder that the Wildcats haven't given up on this season, and they can play with anybody at the Kay Yeager Coliseum.

Tyler Hope scored twice and linemate George Pagonis added another goal in a 3-2 victory over league leading Amarillo, which has now lost five times in regulation.

With the win, the Wildcats (16-24-4) moved to within seven points of idle Corpus Christi for the NAHL South's Final Playoff spot. All victories are worth the same two points, but beating the Bulls (34-5-7) definitely provided a boost.

"I just feel like we're a team that we really need all 20 guys going to be successful, and we've been doing that lately," said Patrick Yudez, who finished with three assists. "Hopefully we can keep that up the rest of the season and make a run at the playoffs."

The hard working Hope-Yudez-Pagonis line has accounted for six of the Wildcats 10 goals' over the past three games.

Pagonis was picked up over the Christmas Break and has meshed with Yudez, a fellow Colorado Native.

"We played together growing up, and when he got picked up, I was pretty stoked about playing together with him again," Yudez said. "We just kind of grind away at the opposition, and it seems to work."

The Bulls were without NAHL Leading scorer Brooks Behling, who was serving a one game suspension for a hit last week. But Amarillo still has six other forwards who have scored more then any Wildcat this season and wasn't an easy out.

Amarillo entered with a 24-0-3 record when scoring first, but the Bulls weren't able to add to that impressive streak Tuesday.

In an evenly matched opening period, it was Hope who slammed home a rebound after Matt Purmal's high slap shot seemed to surprise Amarillo Goalie Mike Taffe.

After surviving Amarillo's surge early in the second period, the Wildcats increased their lead to 2-0 at the 12:42 mark when Hope scored his 10th goal after a scramble in front of the Bulls net.

"We played with some urgency and we won some loose puck battles," Baxter said. "I thought that we had a high compete level, and that's what you need at this time of year. That's what you need to compete. "The Bulls converted on the power play with 5:49 left in the second when Mike Erickson scored from the side of the goal."

Nothing came easy for the Wildcats, but Pagonis' third goal in as many games gave the team a 3-1 advantage with 14:07 to play.

Matt Leon was solid in net throughout, stoning Greg Gibson twice in the second period from close range as part of his 28 saves.

Amarillo's Omar Mullen did beat the Wichita Falls held its ground in the waning minutes to secure its second win in seven games against the Bulls.

The Wildcats now head to Corpus Christi with momentum for their last two games this season against the IceRays.

"Those are two big games," Yudez said. "If we can sweep Corpus Christi this weekend, we'll be right back in the race."

Notes: The Wildcats played without forward Tyler Bruneteau who suffered a concussion last Friday. But forward Jacob Batcha returned for the first time since when he suffered a concussion on December 16 after 29 games without a penalty, Yudez has now received a two minute minor in the past three Wichita Falls was 0/6 against the league's top penalty kill and only managed one shot. The Wildcats are 0-for-28 over the last eight games with the man advantage.

Topeka & Texas both win blowouts

It didn't take long for both the Texas Tornado & Topeka Roadrunners as both teams were able to get off to quick starts and were able to run away in both their games last night. Also included in the Big Victories was hat tricks by Jack Prince (Texas Tornado) & Ryan White (Topeka Roadrunners) in the big wins last night.

As for the rest of the weekend, the IceRays are done for the week and won't hit the ice again till February 10th when they start a stretch with 6 of their next 7 games at home starting with a weekend series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. While the Texas Tornado continue a 3 game series against the Wichita Falls Wildcats where they will play at the Dr. Pepper Arena again tonight, then will head to Wichita Falls to play the Wildcats on Saturday Night.

Here's the Weekend schedule for the Southwest Region NAHL Teams.

2/3

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Fresno Monsters VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Texas Tornado  7:30 PM

2/4

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Amarillo Bulls  7:00 PM

Fresno Monsters VS. Odessa Jackalopes  7:05 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats  7:05 PM



Here's the NAHL Press Release for all of last night's Game

Wichita Falls Wildcats 0  Texas Tornado 6  (0-4, 0-2, 0-0)

In Frisco, Texas: The Texas Tornado scored three power play goals - all of which came in the first period - as they coasted to a 6-0 victory over the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thursday Night. Jack Prince added a goal and three assists. Hunter Leisner earned his first shutout as a member of the Tornado, stopped all 16 shots that came his way. The first marker of the period came on a snap shot from the left-wing circle by Marc Biggs. Two and half a minutes later, Prince took a shot that was stopped. Drew Allen was right on the doorstep to slam it home, though, to score his second goal in as many games and give Texas a 2-0 lead, Prince took a shot that was stopped. The first of Prince's three goals also came on the power-play, coming at 8:34 of the opening period. Then in the final minutes of the first, Prince scored again, but this time it was shorthanded.

Texas picked up right where it left off in the second period, continuing to dominate play in all three zones. Jordan Greenberg gave the Tornado a 5-0 lead as he skated into the zone on the left wing, waited as long as he could for Allen to join the rush, and snapped a wrist shot over the glove of Matt Leon, who started the second period in goal for Wichita Falls. In the later stages of the second period, Prince struck again, giving him his 29th goal and fourth hat trick of the season. Prince recorded a power play, shorthanded and even strength goal in the win.

Corpus Christi Icerays 2  Topeka Roadrunners 8  (1-3, 0-1, 1-4)

Games Notes from Greg Rajan

In Topeka, Kansas: Ryan White recorded his first hat trick and 13th multi-point game of the season as Topeka cruised to an 8-2 victory at home to sweep. Corpus Christi and remain in 2nd Place in the South Division. White and the Roadrunners scored early and often taking a 4-1 lead after two periods with two goals from White and others from Brian Christi and Cory Ramsey. Four more goals in the 3rd period sealed the IceRays fate, who got goals from Beau Walker and Eric Purcell. Anders Schultz, Andrew O'Leary and Sean Gaffney also scored for Topeka.

Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings 2  Jamestown Ironmen 3  (1-3, 1-0, 0-0)

In Jamestown, N.Y.: Joe Gladnick made 32 saves and Bryan Whitt's power play goal late in the 1st period proved to be the game winner as Jamestown helped their playoff chances with a 3-2 home win over the visiting K-Wings. Blake Kelly got the scoring going just 1:29 into the game for the Ironmen, but that was quickly answered by a goal from Kalamazoo's Jacob McDowell. After two more Ironmen Goals from Steve Frangione and Watt, the Ironmen led 3-1 after the 1st period. Alex Brooks scored in the 2nd period for the K-Wings, but that is as close as they would get as Gladnick the door the rest of the way.

Kenai River Brown Bears 5  Dawson Creek Rage 2  (0-0, 3-2, 2-0)

In Dawson Creek, B.C.: The Rage jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but the Brown Bears stormed back to score five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win on the road in Dawson Creek. The win moved Kenai River into the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. After opening goals from Scott Fellnermayr and Shawn Mueller, the Rage were looking good. However, Kenai River came back with three goals from Brett Lubanski, Vincent Stefan and Bobby Murphy in the period to take a 3-2 lead into the locker room. Two more goals from Chris Nuth in the 3rd period put the game away for the Brown Bears.

Corpus Christi fires back at Wichita Falls

After getting sweeped last weekend against the Wichita Falls Wildcats in a pair of losses (4-2 last on Friday & 2-1 (OT) on Saturday) to continue to show the rest of the South Division that they are the favorites to finish 4th and get into the Playoffs for the 1st time in the NAHL Era as the Ice Rays are now 8 points up on the Jackalopes right now. Both teams will be playing again tonight at 7:05 PM at the American Bank Center.

Else where in the South Division Coming up tonight, the Amarillo Bulls visit Odessa while the Texas Tornado play their only game of the weekend as they entertain the Fresno Monsters while Topeka welcomes the New Mexico Mustangs this weekend.

Wichita Falls Wildcats 2  Corpus Christi Icerays 5  (1-1, 0-4, 1-0)

By Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

Game Photos from Michael Zamora

Even More thoughts from Greg Rajan



From Corpus Christi, Texas: Ice Rays Head Coach Justin Quenneville said his team really didn't play any differently against the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thrusday then on eight previous occasion's.

There was one notable difference, though: the goal light behind Matt Leon's net finally got some use.

Corpus Christi ended Leon's run of dominance in a big way, rolling to a 5-2 victory over Wichita Falls at the American Bank Center.

The IceRays (19-17-3, 41 Points) moved eight points up on Odessa (14-19-5, 33 Points) and 10 on Wichita Falls (14-23-3, 31 PTS) for the final playoff spot in the North American Hockey League South Division. Corpus Christi also matched it's win total from last year, it's first in the NAHL.

"We had more pose tonight," Quenneville said. "I haven't even watched the game film, but I can tell you that we didn't play any different then we did the nights before. We kept things simple, made the plays and were effective at both ends of the ice," he added. "The goals just went in tonight. The guys buried (chances) and I'm proud of them. We had a ton of chances. I'm glad they started going in for them."

The story entering the game was Leon. the Wichita Falls Goalie who was 6-0 against Corpus Christi and had allowed just seven total goals. But by the end of the second period, the IceRays had pumped five pucks past him to turn a close game into a rout.

"Honestly, I can't tell you exactly (what we did differently)," said Forward Joe Smereck who had a goal and played a strong two way game. "Hockey is a funny sport, and sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn't. But I guarantee tonight we worked a lot harder then we have any other night."

"Tonight we just found our niche. Sometimes, you just can't find it," he added.

The Icerays trailed 1-0 late in the first period before a strong individual effort by Perry D'Arrisso gave them a spark.

The forward beat the Wichita Falls Wildcats Defensemen Tucker Poolman to a loose puck, skated in Leon and faked the goalie to the ice before slipping in the equalizer at 15:22.

"That's a goal scorers goal right there," Quenneville said. "He recognized had a bead on the defensemen. We had been preaching a long time to the guys to make that move to the outside, gain speed and then the power to move to the net.

"Yeah, you take a licking, but you'll get a great (chance) out of it," he added. "That was a great play by him and a big (confidence) builder for us."

The IceRays then got to Leon for four goals in 14 minutes during the second, giving goalie Anthony Stolarz - who made 41 saves - plenty of offensive support.

First, Beau Walker's left circle shot went off Leon's right shoulder under the crossbar at 4:14, then at 9:22, A.J. Jarosz snapped a wirst shot from the high slot off the left post and in on the power play.

At 14:33, Smereck tailed after a strong rush down left wing and around the defense. Erik Purcell then capped the second period scoring from the low slot at 18:04 and Captain Frank Misuraca pinched in from the right point and found Purcell alone in front.

"On the Bench, were going wild," Jarosz said. "It just felt good to finally put five up against him."

"With Leon, he stays in the net, and you've got to be patient with him and wait for him to go down. I think we played pretty well tonight against him."

Lose Pucks

IceRays defensemen Ladislav Hruska left the game with 10:35 left in the first period with an ankle injury after a collision along the left wing boards with Wildcats Forward Renato Engler. Hruska was down on the ice for several minutes before being helped off and didn't return.



Texas Rubber Magazine Feature on the NAHL in Texas

Here's a recent magazine article that was featured in Texas Rubber Magazine by John Tranchina about the North American Hockey League's Growth in Texas with 5 teams and a growing number of youth players it's effected as well.

Here's the Texas Rubber Magazine Article by John Tranchina

With no less then 5 of it's 28 franchises based in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), the United States only Tier 2 Junior A League, is the nations largest state is a testament how far the sport has progressed.

That Texas host more NAHL Clubs then any other state marks a dramatic increase from a low of one (Wichita Falls Wildcats) just four seasons ago in 2008-2009, when the four time Robertson Cup Champion Texas Tornado suspended operations to allow for the renovation of the Dr. Pepper Star Center in Frisco. Since then, the Tornado returned, switched ownership and gained new rivals with expansion teams in Amarillo (Bulls), Corpus Christi (Icerays) & Odessa (Jackalopes).

Each of the three newest Texas squads resides in cities that previously housed in the Central Hockey League (CHL) clubs that were forced to ceased operations. Now, showcasing in the NAHL's exciting brand of junior hockey, they are all thriving, with each of the five Texas clubs among the league's top nine in attendance.

"In all of those cases, they were basically markets that became available and they are interested in the North American Hockey League model and it seems to be paying off for them." noted NAHL Commissioner Mark Frankenfeld, whose league headquarters are based in Frisco. "Our strategy, in general, is you want to have good partners and close divisional rivalries. That's our strategy in Michigan or whereever you're considering expanding, but in Texas, there was no strategy there, just the change of the times with the economy and ownership changes. It's really more of a natural progression of a model and a benefit to our league. Had we not existing partners in Texas & Wichita Falls, that probably would not have evolved."

Having built in rivalries with the other Texas Teams has been a major factor in each of the new teams successes, both as far as keeping travel costs down and in having familiar opponents for their fans to root against.

"Most definitely it's good for us because if it wasn't for those teams, we couldn't be in this league," acknowledged Patt Dunn, general manager of the second year Icerays. "Already, we have to go to New Mexico & Topeka and we have 14, 15 hour bus rides. That's far enough, I'd hate to see if our closest rivals, so definitely it's a plus. And there are other teams that were in the Central Hockey League at one point, so for the fans, that's there familiarity."

The transition from Professional Hockey to high-level juniors has progressed smoothly for each of the three newcomers, both at the ticket window and within the community. "We're in our second year, but we had been in pro hockey for 13 years and it was rough," remarked Dunn, we also spent several years working for the CHL incarnation of the IceRays. "We enjoyed it and really enjoyed the product, but it was just time to move on. We went to the NAHL and have been very happy and our fans have embraced it. We had to educate our fans on what the product was, but after they got to witness it themselves, they're really excited about it and enjoying the quality of play."

One other positive each of the three newcomer NAHL Cities have experienced is more of a commitment by the clubs to serve the community. With teenage players between the ages of 16 and 20, they are more eager participants to giving back to the communities, and that higher visibility in turn helps more kids to the local youth hockey programs.

"They're a big reason we're doing so well as we are this year." stated Amarillo Hockey Association, Inc. (AHAI) president Kenneth Creamer, whose organization maintains a strong connection with the NAHL's Bulls. "They are in the community and they're promoting youth hockey a lot more then we used to get with the pro team. These guys are not getting paid, it's not their job, so they doing everything they can to be involved in the community and to grow hockey in our area."

With the tremendous escalation of the game at the grassroots level in Texas over the last decade plus, more and more locally produced players are ending up on NAHL Rosters and that serves as further inspiration for the kids in those youth programs.

"Any time you read a program and you see half the team is from Plano or Flower Mound or Dallas, it just excites everybody and makes them think, 'Hey we could be that guy,'" Dunn said. "So the younger kids believe it and they're thinking they could be the next guy playing here, that you don't have to have ice in your backyard to become a hockey player. Kids down here in the South are really good athletes and are getting into hockey."

Austin Sutter, who serves as the Amarillo Youth Programs ice coordinator while doubling as business development manager for the Bulls, illuminates how profoundly the relationship can be mutually beneficial. "The bigger the youth hockey program grows, the more revenue we can bring in for the NAHL Team and vice versa," said Sutter, who played four plus seasons for the former Amarillo Gorillas in the CHL before retiring in 2010 to get into youth coaching. "The Bulls understand the value of that partnership and so does youth hockey. When the Bulls fans come to games, they can see that we offer quite a program for kids here for kids that want to play and try the game. We do work hand-in-hand."

"Everywhere, the youth programs grow when you have a junior team there," Frankenfeld said. "That situation is good for everybody, with more people playing hockey."

About Texas Rubber Magazine: Texas Rubber Magazine is a brand new digital magazine that debut last fall and it's a monthly magazine with different features on different Youth & Junior Teams around the State. Including Texas, Rubber Magazine also does similar magazine for the states of Arizona, California, Colorado & Florida.

Corpus Christi uses strong 2nd period to end Winless Streak

Corpus Christi has had a string of very close but still losing to different teams and losing ground in the South Division as the team is currently 4 points back of 4th Place Topeka who currrently holds the 4th and final playoff spot. You have to go back to October 10 when the Icerays last won against the struggling New Mexico Mustangs who are cleary the weak link in the South Division this season.

After Stephen Fahlstedt and Dakota Klecha who scored for the Wildcats less then 30 seconds apart, that part the Icerays team in another funk as the Icerays were looking to end a winless streak.

But when 2 2nd period goals scored just under 2 minutes apart, plus a Ben Hughes goal midway through the 2nd period to put them up 3-2, the Icerays began to take over the game which included 2 Power Play Goals and a SH Goal Empty Netter to officially clinch the Icerays first win since October 10.

The two teams play again tonight at the American Bank Center before Corpus Christi leaves on a 7 game road-trip. While Wichita Falls will have a busy 3 game week next week, first a mid-week home game against the Texas Tornado, then a weekend series against the Amarillo Bulls next weekend.


Corpus Christi Icerays Players Heading to the Top Prospects Tournament

Wichita Falls Wildcats 2  Corpus Christi Icerays 4  (2-0, 0-3, 0-1)

Here's the Game Report from Greg Rajan of the Corpus Christi Caller

From Corpus Christi, Texas: It's a stretch to say the Icerays turned around their season with one game. But for one night, they saw a lot of things they'd been missing in recent weeks.

Corpus Christi snapped a five game winless streak on Thrusday Night, rallying for the game's final four goals to down the Wichita Falls Wildcats 4-2 at the American Bank Center.

The Icerays (7-8-2, 16 points) won in regularation for the first time since September 17 at the North American Hockey League Showcase. Corpus Christi also halted a four game winless stretch against the Wichita Falls Wildcats (12-5-2, 26 points).

"That paid off after a long week of hard practice," said Icerays defensemen Jason Suova, who had a goal and an assist. "We came out with a good start that we haven't had in a long time. When they scored those couple goals, it was like 'come on'. But we battled back like usual and finally held a lead and won in regulation against one of the top teams in the league."

Things didn't look auspicious first 15 minutes into the game, as the Icerays found themselves down 2-0 after the Wildcats Tanner Fahlstedt and Dakota Klecha scored scored goals 33 seconds apart.

"There weren't to many negatives things said," Hughes said. "We had a pretty good period other then those two breakdowns that lead to the goals. "We're a team that has a lot of heart. We came out strongly today and part of our identity is to come back and battles back when we fall behind."

The first goal came three minutes into the frame. Souva's shot came from the left point was stopped, but the rebound came to Beau Walker at the bottom of the right circle. The Icerays leading scorer promptly buried the puck into an empty net with five seconds left on the power play.

Corpus Christi needed less then two minutes to find the equalizer. After the Icerays won an offensive zone faceoff, Cody Milligan set up Joey Parizek in the low slot and he snapped in the low shot and he snapped a wirst shot past goalie Eric Garavaglia at 4:55.

The Icerays then took their first lead on the man advantage at 11:14. Jacob Diamond's inital shot was stopped, but the rebound went to Hughes in the high slot and he snapped it over Garavaglia and under the crossbar.

The Icerays then nursed that lead over the final 28 plus minutes, with some strong work from from goalie Phoenix Copley.

Hughes was sent off for holding with 1:34 left and then the Wildcats pulled Garavaglia for a six-on-four advantage, but Suova, from behind his goal line scored into the empty net with 54.5 seconds left to seal the victory.

"It was extremely tough," Hughes said of watching the final penalty kill. "I told Souva that I never celebrated so hard before in the penalty box. That's something where we earned our breaks. We hadn't been getting too many breaks all season. We really worked hard for it tonight and things went our way."

NAHL South Division Report: Corpus Christi bringing in Huge Crowds

Even though the Corpus Christi Icerays are currently in 5th place in the NAHL South Division, they are winning big at the gates and with the fans as they are leading the league in average attendance with just under 3500 per game and a couple of games where they have pushed 6,000 at the American Bank Center.

It's starting to look like that making the move from Minor League to Junior is turning out to be a great move for the city and the team. During the final year of the Corpus Christi Icerays playing in the Central Hockey League were they were averaging a little over 3,000 fans per game.

But they are embracing the Junior Route and hope to make a desirable destination for young players to come to their team in the near future and hoping to compete with teams like the Texas Tornado and Wichita Falls Wildcats for players in the Southwestern part of the country.

Here's a look at the rest of this Weeks Division Reports.

West Division, No Place like home for Fresno

NAHL South Division Report by Zach Duncan of the NAHL Website

Some Hockey fans in Corpus Christi were skeptical when it announced last May that the local pro team would be replaced by a NAHL Team.

But it hasn't taken long for those fans to be won over by the excitement of Junior A Hockey.

The Icerays lead the NAHL in attendance with an average of 3,446 fans per game. In Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Texas Tornado, 5,912 fans came out for the team's annual stars and stripes Night, in which tickets were provided to the families of Police, Fire, other law enforcement and emergency response personnel.

Another 5,762 fans showed up at the American Bank Center on October 10 to witness a 5-4 shutout victory over the New Mexico Mustangs.

Corpus Christi coach Brent Hughes said the transition from pro to junior hockey couldn't have been much smoother, and has received lots of support and positive feedback from the fans.

"It's gone really super well," said Hughes, who is enjoying his first stint coaching junior hockey after spending the last seven years in Pro Hockey in Corpus Christi and Austin. "A lot of skepticism was definitely in the air (about the league switch). A lot of people didn't know about Junior Hockey in Texas.

"It's pretty much the same speed as the pro game, and the intensity is probably higher."

Hughes said that Icerays GM Pat Dunn invited all of last year's season ticket holders to the first two home dates on October 1 and 2 and guaranteed that he'd refund their money for 2010-2011 if they were satisfied.

The result was an increase in season tickets sold. Corpus Christi has always drawn well - it averaged 3104 fans in 32 home games a year ago as a pro team - so it's not too surprising that fans have embraced a different level of hockey.

While the crowds have been stellar, the Icerays own a 3-3 record at the American Bank Center and are 6-6-2 on the season.

Hughes said he expected a slow start because his squad is young and it was assembled later then most. The Alpena team wasn't relocated to South Texas until after many teams have tendered prospects and the 2010 NAHL Draft had taken place.

"If I was told we'd be almost .500 almost two months into the season, I would have taken all day long." Hughes said. "With Junior Kids, there's a bigger learning curve. We're making headway, and the guys keep working together."

Goaltender Marco Wesiner, who played in 42 games with Alpena last year, has been pivotal to the Icerays Success early on. Hughes also said that leading scorers Beau Walker (21 Points) and Mike Benedict (15 Points) have flourished in early roles. Walker scored all of 7 points a year ago with the Alaska Avalanche.


South Division Notebook

Amarillo Bulls: The Bulls have been outstanding at home this season, winning seven of eight and outscoring opponents 39-24 in the process. Forward Zack Smoot and defensemen Karl Backman are a combined +20 inside the Amarillo Civic Center. The Bulls only play two games in the next three weeks.

Here's the Amarillo Bulls Weekly Release

New Mexico Mustangs: Forward Adam Chapie has a hand in all the Mustangs goals during Saturday's 5-3 loss to Wichita Falls. Chapie, a Michigan Native, registered a goal and two assists. He leads New Mexico with 9 points this season.

Texas Tornado:  The Tornado has won eight straight and moved into sole possession of first place with a weekend sweep of Corpus Christi. Texas has scored at least eight goals once in each of the past three weekends, and J.D. Howard returned after being sidelined for three weeks with an injury to lead Texas with four points against the Icerays.

Here's some interesting news items on activities coming up.

First here's what's planned for Halloween Weekend

Texas Tornado Tailgate Parties

Topeka Roadrunners: Topeka split it's home weekend series against the St. Louis bandits. The Roadrunners rallied from a 3-1 deficit Friday behind five goals in the third period to win 6-3. Captain Michael Hill scored twice. While Jordan Davis and Nate Milam recorded shorthanded tallies a mere 45 seconds apart.

Wichita Falls Wildcats: After a 1-for-25 stretch on the power play on its previous four games, the Wildcats broke out of a slump by going 5-for-14 during a four point weekend. Mac Olson, who had a hat trick in Sunday's 5-3 win against New Mexico and Mikhail Sentyurin had two man advantage goals each.

NAHL South Division Report; Amarillo taking early success in stride

Here's a look at this weeks South Division Report about the Amarillo Gorillas off to a great start as they take in a new home after being in the Southern Minnesota town of Albert Lea where they were having problem after problem with the team before they moved to the Texas Panhandle.

So far, the Bulls are tied for first in the South Division with a 9-3-1 record through 13 games and will be hosting the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Friday Night for the only game of the weekend. They hoping that they can get the win and get some help from the Corpus Christi Icerays as they will host the Texas Tornado for a pair of games this weekend on Saturday Night and Sunday Afternoon.

The top players for the Bulls so far has to be one of the top goalies in the NAHL with a solid .929 SV% and a 2.17 GAA in 12 games played this season.

As for offensive production, keep a look out for Zach Smoot who's leading the team in scoring with 14 points (6G 8A) as well as Cody Freeman who leads the team in goals right now with 7. In addition just announced yesterday that defensemen Kyle Sucher has been named on the NHL Central Scouting Watch list for 2011. Sucher is a commit to Bowling Green State University and has 2 goals in 8 games so far this season.

Here's the NAHL South Division Report by Zach Duncan

Derek Williams is a firm believer in keeping everything in an even keel. So though his Amarillo Bulls are fresh of an impressive two game sweep of the Topeka Roadrunners and are tied for the NAHL South Lead, don't expect them to be overconfident.

"It's a long season, and we'll have some highs and lows," said Williams, who came to the Amarillo Bulls after coaching at Bowling Green State Univeristy. "Whetever gets thrown at us, we just have to keep going."

Saturday Night was a perfect example of maintain composure through adversity.

After the Bulls 4-2 victory on Friday in which Dan Sherer scored twice - including the game winner with 7:15 to go - Topeka surged ahead 4-1 the next night.

But the Bulls didn't panic. When Michael Erickson scored with one second remaining in the second period, Amarillo was re-energized despite trailing by two goals.

"It gave us some life," Williams said. "In the locker room, we talked about how we've scored two goals in a lot of periods this year. We aren't going to change our game plan."

Terrance Johnson and Chris Cass responded by finding the back of the net in the final 20 minutes, and Johnson notched the difference maker in the seventh round of the shootout.

The Bulls are third in the NAHL in scoring, averaging 4.15 Goals per game. But there isn't anyone from Amarillo that's in the top 15 of the league's leading scoring leaders.

Impressive depth is the reason for that. Ten players have recorded at least 8 points, led by Zach Smoot (6G 8A) and Cody Freeman (7G 5A).

In fact, theirs not a single player on the Amarillo's current roster with plus-minus rating in the red.

"All four lines are contributing," said Williams. "I can't tell you who our #1 line is right now. We're strived for 5-on-5."

The Defense lead by captain Derek Hills, Luke Jenkins and Karl Backman, has also hunkered down, allowing just 26.42 shots per game.

Williams said that Amarillo has a good mix of veterans and junior hockey newcomers. Eight Bulls played last season with the Albert Lea Thunder, the team that relocated to Texas during the off-season.

One of those was Smoot, who Williams said he is a fast skater and good puck-handler who's elevated his game up a notch since the preseason.

Another is goaltender Nikifor Szczerba, who played in 13 games for the Thunder in 2009-2010.

"I thought at camp, he looked a little out of shape and his conditioning was suspect," Williams said. "Now's he's getting in workouts after games, going hard on a bike."

"And more and more guys are doing that. We had 12 guys doing a squat workout after Saturday's game, and that was a tough battle. "That's really nice to see."

The hard work has paid off for Szczerba, who is sporting a 9-1-1 record with a 2.17 GAA and a .929 SV% so far this season.

And it's paid off for the Bulls, who look to keep the momentum rolling Friday against the Wichita Falls Wildcats.

Here's the current NAHL South Division Standings.

1. Amarillo           13 GP   9-3-1    19 PTS     54-38

2. Texas               13 GP   8-2-3    19 PTS     52-40

3. Wichita Falls    12 GP   8-2-2    18 PTS     43-34

4. Topeka             12 GP   7-3-2    16 PTS     39-31

5. Corpus Christi   12 GP   6-4-2   14 PTS     43-45

6. New Mexico     13 GP    4-7-2    10 PTS    32-58


South Division Notebook

Corpus Christi Icerays: The Icerays couldn't extend Friday's 2-1 overtime loss to Wichita Falls into a shootout, but if they had, Corpus Christi would have had the owned the edge. The Icerays success rate of 55.6 % (10 of 18) trails only Austin as the league's top shootout team.

New Mexico Mustangs: Eli Riddle scored his fifth goal of the season on Saturday in Saturday's loss to Texas. Only two NAHL Defensemen have scored more goals, and no blueliners have a better shooting percentage then his 31.3%.

Texas Tornado: After sweeping New Mexico, the Tornado is riding an NAHL Best 6 game winning streak and is tied for the Division lead. Sean Heidrick scored four goals in Friday's 8-2 win victory, and goalie Jimmy Kruger made 26 saves in Saturday's 3-1 outcome, boosting his record between the pipes to 5-0.

Topeka Roadrunners: Daniel Dupell scored a pair of goals in Saturday's 5-4 shootout loss to Amarillo, including his league leading second shorthanded tally of the year. Topeka killed off all 17 of the Bulls power plays over the weekend, bumping it's success rate to 91.1%, which ranks third in the league.

Wichita Falls Wildcats: Tyler Green (2.46 GAA, .921 SV%) has emerged as the team's #1 netminder, starting in five of the Wildcats six last outings. His record has improved to 5-1-2 after he stopped 17 of 18 shots in Wichita Falls' 2-1 OT Victory against the Icerays.


Here's the Links to the rest of the Division Reports.

North Division, North Stars help fight Breast Cancer

Central Division, Austin Bruins continue to fight on after a slow start.

West Division

NAHL South Division Report; Topeka Building another strong contender

With the top 4 teams in the NAHL's South Division all log jammed and separated by just a single point heading into this weekends games. The Roadrunners have a chance to go on top with a tough weekend road trip to Amarillo against the Bulls where the Roadrunners are looking to continue a strong road- trip with 2 huge wins over the Wichita Falls Wildcats with 6-1 and 5-3 wins last weekend in Northwest Texas.

Now the Roadrunners will be looking to shake up one of the league's best goaltenders in Nikifor Szczerba who has been in net for all seven victories for the Bulls this season.

For the Roadrunners, they have been the team that haven't been able to finish off a strong regular season after having a strong season last year where they finished the season tied with Wenatchee for the best overall record at 44-9-5. After dominating Springfield in the first round, they ran into their arch rival St. Louis Bandits who after a back-and-fourth series that got it tied at 2-2 after four games. St. Louis dominated the 5th and final game of the series where the Bandits won 5-0 to win the series and the South Division for the 4th straight year.

Now with St. Louis going to the East Division, it will be fighting off teams like the Texas Tornado, Amarillo Bulls and the Wichita Falls Wildcats for the South Division Title this season.

Through 10 games this season, the Roadrunners are looking to get away from the Gridlock that has the top 4 teams separated by just 1 point. In addition to the Topeka VS. Amarillo Weekend Series, you have the Tornado heading west to play the New Mexico Mustangs, finally it's a single game weekend as the Wichita Falls Wildcats plays a single game set with the Corpus Christi Icerays this weekend.

Can Topeka find a way to take control of the division, or can Texas, Wichita Falls or Amarillo find a way to break away from the current pack.

Here's the Current Division Standings. Plus links to the team Stats for the NAHL South Division.

1. Wichita Falls        11 GP     7-2-2    16 PTS      41-33

2. Amarillo                11 GP     7-3-1    15 PTS      45-32

3. Topeka                   10 GP     7-2-1    15 PTS      33-22

4. Texas                      11 GP     6-2-3    15 PTS      41-37

5. Corpus Christi       11 GP     6-4-1    13 PTS      42-43

6. New Mexico            11 GP    4-5-2     10 PTS      29-47


Here's the Team Stats for each of the Teams

Amarillo Bulls

Corpus Christi Icerays

New Mexico Mustangs

Texas Tornado

Topeka Roadrunners

Wichita Falls Wildcats



Here's a look at the rest of the Divisions.

West Division, Consistency key to Avalanche Success

Central Division, Additions Bolster the Express Attack

North Division, Springfield Rebound after shaky Start


Here's the NAHL South Division Report from Zach Duncan

As host of the 2011 NAHL Robertson Cup, the Topeka Roadrunners have assured of participating in the NAHL's Championship Tournament.

However, Topeka Roadrunners Head Coach Scott Langer said his squad doesn't discuss that fact.

Instead, the Roadrunners have their sights set on defending their South Division Regular Season Title they captured last year.

"Every night it's going to be a difficult game," Langer said. "Every team that wins the South Division has to win 40 plus games to do it, and that's a lot of hockey games."

Through almost one-fifth season, only six points separate the first place Wildcats from the last Place New Mexico Mustangs.

The Roadrunners (7-2-1 15 PTS) are currently one point shy of the Wildcats thanks to a two game sweep in Wichita Falls over the weekend.

Those victories came on the heels of a disappointing home opener the weekend before, but Langer said spent Topeka last week refocusing.

"We had to replace a lot of guys like we have every year," said Langer. "We have only seven guys back, so it's a matter baby steps and growing pains. That's what were seeing right now."

Michael Hill, who bagged a hat trick in Friday's 6-3 win, has stepped up his game since becoming the team's captain. Hill has scored a team best 17 games, and his five power play goals are second in the NAHL.

Defensemen Jacob Poe is another veteran who turned down a scholarship offer to Alabama-Huntsville because he felt he had unfinished business with the Roadrunners, who were eliminated in last year's South Division Final.

"That shows a lot about his character," said Langer, who recorded his 250th win with the Roadrunners Saturday (Langer has been their coach since the organization arrived from Santa Fe in 2004).

A couple Junior A Newcomers - forwards Justin Hussar (8 Points) and Kevin Novakovich (3 Goals) - are playing well, but Langer's said his squad's strength so far this season has been in net.

Holdover Eric Rohrkemper and Finland Native Rasmus Tirronen have combined for a 2.20 GAA and a .915 SV%.

Rohrkemper played 20 games with Topeka last season before emerging as the team's number 1 goalie in the playoffs. That experience is paying dividends.

"Having to grow up so quickly against a team like the St. Louis Bandits is not easy to do," Langer said. "It's such a competitive situation right now. Those guys are fighting for minutes."

And the Roadrunners, who haven't finished lower then second in the three years since relocating to Kansas, will be fighting for a South Division title - even if a Robertson Cup Spot is not on the line.


South Division Notebook

Amarillo Bulls: Despite two losses to the Tornado, the Bulls are still averaging 4.09 Goals per game, second highest in the league behind Fairbanks. Forward T.J. Sarcona has registered an assist in each of the last five games.

Corpus Christi Icerays: With a pair of shootout victories against New Mexico, Corpus Christi has bumped its record to 4-0 in shootouts this season. Five of the Icerays 11 games have been tied at the end of regulation. No team has played more OT/SO Games in the NAHL.

New Mexico Mustangs: Goaltender Brian Jones got some revenge on Thursday Night against the Wildcats, who traded him before the October 1 Roster Cuts. Jones made 36 saves and stopped all but one shootout attempt in the Mustangs 3-2 victory. He's 1-1-2 with a 2.83 GAA and a .908 SV% since joining New Mexico.

Texas Tornado: Ralfs Freibergs has six assists over the weekend, including 5 in Saturday's 8-4 win over Amarillo. Freibergs 15 points are the most among NAHL Defensemen, he also heads the league in assists with 14 and power play assists (8). The Tornado are currently riding a four game winning streak.

Wichita Falls Wildcats: Mikhail Sentyurin's three game streak of scoring a goal ended in Saturday's loss to Topeka. Mattia Bortolotto picked up an assists Friday in his second game with the team after being acquired by the WHL's Prince George Cougars.

New Mexico nipps Division Leading Wichita Falls in SO

The New Mexico Mustangs are recovering nicely from the slow start that got them in last place for now. Last night a back-and-fourth game in Rio Rancho saw Evan Johnston and Adam Chapie score in the SO to beat the Wichita Falls Wildcats 3-2 and to get the Mustangs back on track after a rough weekend that saw them get outscored 13-2 in a pair of games against the Amarillo Bulls last weekend.

As for the remainder of the weekend, New Mexico will head to the Coastal Bend to play the Corpus Christi Icerays will the Wichita Falls Wildcats play a pair of home games against the Topeka Roadrunners on Friday & Saturday Night coming up.


Here's the Game Boxscore and Story from last night.

Wichita Falls Wildcats 2  New Mexico Mustangs 3  (SO) (0-0, 1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

9/20-26 This Weeks Southwest Schedule

With the North American Hockey League Season getting underway last week and with things like NHL & AHL Preseason about to start up. Every Monday, I'm going to present a Southwest Schedule so you can see which teams in which leagues are in action so you can make your plans on games that fans may want to head up to. So far, the Stars are back from Prince Edward Island and will begin their regular practice schedule from the Dr. Pepper Starcenter in Frisco.

With the NAHL Blaine Showcase now over, the home schedule for the NAHL Teams get underway this week with everybody execpt the Corpus Christi Icerays starting the home schedule this week, for Corpus Christi, they first home game will be on October 1.

Here's this weeks home schedule. All Start Times are CDT.

NHL Preseason

9/21: VS. Tampa Bay Lightning 7:30 PM

9/24: VS. Colorado Avalanche 7:30 PM

9/25: VS. St. Louis Blues 7:00 PM


NAHL Schedule

9/24

Texas Tornado VS. Amarillo Bulls 7:00 PM

Fairbanks Ice Dogs VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 7:05 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. New Mexico Mustangs 8:30 PM


9/25

Amarillo Bulls VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 7:05 PM

Fairbanks Ice Dogs VS. Texas Tornado 7:30 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. New Mexico Mustangs 8:30 PM


9/26

Fairbanks Ice Dogs VS. Texas Tornado 5:00 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Amarillo Bulls 6:00 PM

Garavaglia, Wildcats shutout 2 Time West Division Champions

It was a much different game then the season opener against the Chicago Hitmen, but a great shutout performance by goalie Eric Garavaglia.

As well late goals by Dakota Klecha and Chris Leone both scored in the final four minutes of the game to shutout the 2 Time West Division Champion Wenatchee Wild 2-0 to-go-to 2-0 in the Showcase. And have temporally taken over the top spot in the league's South Division.

It was a shutout performance from the defense as the Wildcats to just 26 shots and didn't allow double digit shot totals in all the periods of play.

Wenatchee Goalie Marcuz Zelzer had a strong performance as well by stopping 27 of 29 Wichita Falls Shots and were able to neutralize players like Michael Di Puma and Zach Frye who are spouse to 2 of the team's biggest offensive weapons this season as the Wild will look to win a third straight West Division Title this season, while the Wildcats look to rebound after finishing 5th in the South Division and didn't make the playoffs last year.

Next up for the Wichita Falls Wildcats is Friday Afternoon at 1:15 PM as they will take on the defending Robertson Cup Champion Bismarck Bobcats in what will be the strongest test for the Wildcats this week.

If they can play well and maybe even pull off an upset, this will be a statement game for the Wildcats that they could be a major player in the South Division this season.

In addition to yesterday's Game Summary, here's a story from Greg Rajan about the Wichita Falls Wildcats New Head Coach.

Late Coaching Change doesn't hurt Wildcats

From Greg Rajan of the Wichita Falls Times Record News

Wenatchee Wild 0 Wichita Falls Wildcats 2 (0-0, 0-0, 0-2)

From Blaine, Minnesota: Unlike their opener, there wasn't a gusher of goals for the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Thursday. However, there likely was a more rewarding feeling when they skated off the ice.

In a tight defensive battle, Wichita Falls edged the Wenatchee Wild 2-0 on the second day of the North American Hockey League Showcase Tournament at the Schwan Super Rink.

The Wildcats (2-0, 4 PTS) were buoyed by a 26 save shutout from Goalie Eric Garavaglia, who made his first start in the Wichita Falls Net and put up a stellar performance.

"What can you say when your goalie gets a shutout? He was definitely on top of his game," Wildcats head coach Mark Lerose said. "I was very happy with our goaltending."

"This win is definitely more satisfying. It's great to win a game 8-1 (on Wednesday over Chicago), but with a 0-0 game going late in the third period, it was very rewarding to come out with a 2-0 victory."

The match was evenly played until the Wildcats broke out the ice with a few minutes a spare. With 4:07 left in the third period, Wenatchee Defensemen Geoff Ferguson was sent off for checking from behind, giving the Wildcats a late power play.

Wichita Falls set up in the offensive zone, with Drew Allen, near the faceoff dot, sending a cross ice pass to Dakota Klechia in the right circle. Klechia, with a half open net facing him, buried the feed pass goalie Marcuz Zelzer at 16:10 for the games first goal.

"I just saw the puck and looked at the net and saw it was wide open," said Klecha, who scored twice in Wednesday Opener. "I just tried to get it there and I did. It was an awesome feeling.

It also eased the pressure considerably on Garavaglia at the other end.

"In my mind, it was stay relaxed and keep doing the same thing I was doing," he said. "Don't change anything and don't get too excited - just stay calm.

"It was a big relief (when Klecha scored). I knew we could keep the puck out of the net for (the final 3:50). I knew I could with the kind of game I was playing and my mindset."

Defensemen Chris Leone gave the Wildcats some insurance by beating Zelzer with a right wing circle wrist shot at 18:51.

The Wildcats wouldn't have been in position to win if not for the work of Garavaglia, with two critical saves waving sticking out.

Late in the 2nd period, a bad Wichita Falls line change gave Wenatchee a two-on-none rush, but Garavaglia somehow made a toe save with his left skate.

Then about six-and-a-half minutes into the third period, he denied the Wild's Nathan Sliwinski on what appeared to be an open-net rebound at the right post.

"He kept us in it throughout the whole game," Klecha said. "And a lot of them were good scoring opportunities."

"This was a lot more exciting then Wednesday. Wenatchee is a very good team and we beat them, so everybody's talking about us and how good we are."

Wichita Falls Crushes the Hitmen

Wichita Falls ran into a struggling Chicago Hitmen team where after 3 losses last weekend in their pre showcase action, the Hitmen got crushed from a flury of goals throughout the game to get an 8-1 win. It was also the first victory for new head coach Delarose who took over for Mike Flanagian who took a job with the AHL's Norfolk Admirals just before the season started.


It's starting to look like the Chicago Hitmen will be struggling this year in the East Division which includes teams like the Traverse City North Stars, St. Louis Bandits and the Janesville Jets this season.


Next up for the Wichita Falls Wildcats against the Wenatchee Wild tomorrow afternoon.

From Greg Rajan for the Wichita Falls Times Records News

Game Boxscore

From Blaine, Minnesota: It would be hard to stop the first impression the Wichita Falls Wildcats made on Wednesday Afternoon.

The Wildcats opened the North American Hockey League Showcase with a flourish, pummeling the Chicago Hitmen 8-1 at Schwan's Super Rink.

That made a winner of Derek Lerose in his debut behind the Wichita Falls bench a little more then two weeks after he was wired to replace Mike Flanaigan, who left to be an assistant with the AHL's Norfolk Admirals.

"I'm very happy about the result," Lerose said. "I saw a lot of very good things. But still, as a coach, you're never completely happy and there are a lot of things to work on."

The Wildcats certainly got off to an auspicious start, taking three penalties in the first 11 minutes. But they managed to kill off those infractions, setting a tone for the rest of the game.

The other half of the Wichita Falls Wildcats special teams then came through late in the first. Drew Allen and Sean Keane knocked home power play rebounds a little more then three minutes apart for a 2-0 lead.

"After they called three penalties on us, we were getting a little down," said forward Dakota Klecha, who finished with two goals and two assists. "Then we started and we got back into the grove of things. Then we just started rolling."

Mac Olsen scored just 35 seconds into the middle period. His score seemed to sting the Hitmen in a major way. Wichita Falls turned the game into a rout with two more second period goals from Drew Hildebrandt and Klecha.

"Anytime its 2-0, the next goal is huge," Larose said. "It's 3-0 or 2-1 and when we went up by 3 goals, I think they got a little deflated."

Lost in the offensive bonanza was the solid workplace put in by goalie Tyler Green, who rebuffed 33 of 34 Hitmen Shots in his first Wildcats start. His lone blemish came when Chicago scored on a five-on-three advantage when the game was already out of hand. But Green seemed to have more fun watching things unfold at the other end.

"I loved what I was seeing in the crease," he said. "We got out to a big cushion and guys were playing well in front of me. I loved the way my defense was playing and blocking shots. They don't get much credit, but they did really well."

However, despite the lopsided win, there was one glaring negative: The constant parade to the penalty box. The Wildcats found themselves on the penalty kill 13 times to just five for Chicago.

"I'm extremely concerned," Lerose said. "That is uncharacteristic of my teams and that's definitely my biggest concern coming out of this game."

NAHL Blaine Showcase Scoreboard, Day 1

Here's a look at the scores from Day 1 at the NAHL Blaine Showcase up in the Twin Cities. For the Southwest Teams, it's been a mixed bag so far as Amarillo & Wichita Falls have beaten Michigan & Chicago today, while the New Mexico Mustangs got blasted by the Janesville Jets and the Corpus Christi Icerays had a fustrating day against Traverse City in a 1-0 loss.

Currently the Texas Tornado are on the ice in their season opener against the Motor City Metal Jackets. Other action tonight involves the Topeka Roadrunners VS. Alexandria Blizzard & the Owatonna Express VS. Wenatchee Wild.

Look for the last 3 games late tonight to see the links to the Boxscores.

Alaska Avalanche 8 Aberdeen Wings 5 (2-0, 2-2, 4-3)

Corpus Christi Icerays 0 Traverse City North Stars 1 (0-1, 0-0, 0-0)

Michigan Warriors 3 Amarillo Bulls 4 (1-2, 2-1, 0-1)

Fairbanks Ice Dogs 3 Austin Bruins 4 (SO) (0-2, 1-1, 2-0, 0-0, 0-1)

Bismarck Bobcats 7 Fresno Monsters 2 (6-0, 0-1, 1-1)

Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons 2 Coulee Region Chill 5 (0-2, 0-2, 2-1)

Wichita Falls Wildcats 8 Chicago Hitmen 1 (2-0, 3-0, 3-1)

St. Louis Bandits 3 Dawson Creek Rage 0 (0-0, 0-0, 3-0)

New Mexico Mustangs 0 Janesville Jets 7 (0-3, 0-4, 0-0)

Springfield Jr. Blues 1 Kenai River Brown Bears 4 (0-0, 0-1, 1-3)

Owatonna Express 3 Wenatchee Wild 5 (0-0, 0-3, 3-2)

Topeka Roadrunners 6 Alexandria Blizzard 4 (4-0, 1-3, 1-1)

Texas Tornado 4 Motor City Metal Jackets 5 (OT) (1-2, 3-0, 0-2, 0-1)

Day 1 Recap


Here's a look at tomorrow's schedule.

Coulee Region Chill VS. St. Louis Bandits 10:00 AM

Bismarck Bobcats VS. Springfield Jr. Blues 10:15 AM

Chicago Hitmen VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Janesville Jets VS. Alaska Avalanche 1:15 PM

Motor City Metal Jackets VS. Topeka Roadrunners 1:30 PM

Traverse City North Stars VS. Austin Bruins 1:45 PM

Wenatchee Wild VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 2:30 PM

Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons VS. Owatonna Express 4:30 PM

Dawson Creek Rage VS. Alexandria Blizzard 4:45 PM

Kenai River Brown Bears VS. Texas Tornado 5:00 PM

Aberdeen Wings VS. Michigan Warriors 7:45 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Fairbanks Ice Dogs 8:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Fresno Monsters 8:15 PM

Twitter Updates during NAHL Blaine Showcase

Be sure to look for my twitter page starting today through Saturday as the North American Hockey League (NAHL) will kick off the season opening Blaine Showcase up at the Schwan Super Rink today. Schwan Super Rink is one of the biggest public rinks in the country boasting of 8 ice rinks, numerous practice facilities and workout areas for teams and players of all sizes and ability levels.

The Showcase gets going in a little over an hour with the Alaska Avalanche taking on the expansion Aberdeen Wings at 10:00 AM. As for Southwest Teams, the Amarillo Bulls will hit the ice at 10:30 AM against the Michigan Warriors. Also the Corpus Christi Icerays will get underway this morning at 10:15 AM against the North Division Champion Traverse City North Stars as they look to defend the Division Championship and get back to the Robertson Cup Tournament this year in Topeka, Kansas.

For full schedule and stats updates, check out the NAHL Page on Pointstreak and look for game summaries of the 5 Southwest Teams going on throughout the Showcase Event. This is not just to open the season but a chance for the players to play in front of NCAA & Professional Scouts as they get looked at throughout the season.

For the latest News, check out the NAHL Showcase Website

To check out the latest Scores & Stats Updates, click Here

Check out the venue for the Showcase, the Schwan's Super Rink

My Twitter Page

Southwest Team Websites

Amarillo Bulls

Corpus Christi Icerays

New Mexico Mustangs

Texas Tornado

Wichita Falls Wildcats



Southwest Teams Schedule for this Week. To see the full schedules, click on the Dates.

9/15

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Traverse City North Stars 10:15 AM

Michigan Warriors VS. Amarillo Bulls 10:30 AM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Chicago Hitmen 1:45 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Janesville Jets 4:45 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Motor City Metal Jackets 8:15 PM


9/16

Chicago Hitmen VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Wenatchee Wild VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 2:30 PM

Kenai River Brown Bears VS. Texas Tornado 5:00 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Fairbanks Ice Dogs 8:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Fresno Monsters 8:15 PM


9/17

Owatonna Express VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Bismarck Bobcats 1:15 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Coluee Region Chill 1:45 PM

Springfield Jr. Blues VS. New Mexico Mustangs 5:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons 8:00 PM


9/18

Aberdeen Wings VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 9:00 AM

Austin Bruins VS. Texas Tornado 9:15 AM

St. Louis Bandits VS. Amarillo Bulls 9:45 PM

Alexandria Blizzard VS. New Mexico Mustangs 12:15 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Dawson Creek Rage 3:45 PM

Watch the NAHL Blaine Showcase on Fast Hockey

After the last several years on B2TV, the NAHL are changing their Internet broadcast service to Fast Hockey and they will be making their debut tomorrow when the NAHL Blaine Showcase in Minnesota gets underway. You can watch every game live and can get them on Demand as well if you can't watch them live.

It all starts tomorrow morning as the Alaska Avalanche will open the showcase against the Aberdeen Wings, as for Southwest Teams kicking off their Showcase action, that will be the Corpus Christi Icerays facing off against the defending North Division Champion Traverse City North Stars.

Other games tomorrow include the Amarillo Bulls against the Michigan Warriors, Wichita Falls who goes up against Chicago who had a rough opening weekend last weekend losing all 3 games against Traverse City & a pair against the Janesville Jets. Later in the day it will be the New Mexico Mustangs and the Janesville Jets, then the Texas Tornado will wrap up the first day with a game against the emerging Motor City Metal Jackets.

To get the info on what you need to get on board and watch the North American Hockey League all season long, here's a Press Release on what you need to know to be on board this season.

In addition to the North American Hockey League, you can use your credits that you gain to help follow other leagues and events that Fast Hockey Broadcasts during the season which includes several international events including the World Jr. A Challenge, 4 & 5 Nations Cups amongst others.

In addition to the NAHL Blaine Showcase, Fast Hockey will also show the North American Prospects Hockey League Futures Showcase which will be from September 16-19. With some of these teams affiliated with the NAHL Teams, some are looking to maybe get a call up with a NAHL Team like Mico Solarizo had for a few games last year with the Texas Tornado and is expected to be on the team full time this season.

NAHL on Fast Hockey

North American Hockey League Blaine Showcase

To Log in, Click Here

It was also announced that Mark Messier will be at the Showcase Event to help introduce his new helmet that he helped produce along with league Commissioner Mark Frankfeld and the project lead by Mary-Kay Messier. He will also do a ceremonial faceoff tomorrow at 10:30 AM at the kickoff of the Michigan Warriors VS. Amarillo Bulls Game.

The new helmet called the "M11" will be joining over 250 associations which brings head protection to the next level to prevent and lower the impact of concussions and head injuries to players all over the world. He will also be available to the Media for questions at several times throughout the day to ask questions and get reaction about the new helmets starting at just after 11:00 AM.

To Learn More about the new helmets, click on the following links.

Mark Messier at NAHL Blaine Showcase

The Messier Project


Here's the Southwest Schedule at the NAHL Blaine Showcase. To see the Full Schedule, click on the date.

9/15

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Traverse City North Stars 10:15 AM

Michigan Warriors VS. Amarillo Bulls 10:30 AM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Chicago Hitmen 1:45 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Janesville Jets 4:45 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Motor City Metal Jackets 8:15 PM


9/16

Chicago Hitmen VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Wenatchee Wild VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 2:30 PM

Kenai River Brown Bears VS. Texas Tornado 5:00 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Fairbanks Ice Dogs 8:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Fresno Monsters 8:15 PM


9/17

Owatonna Express VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Bismarck Bobcats 1:15 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Coluee Region Chill 1:45 PM

Springfield Jr. Blues VS. New Mexico Mustangs 5:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons 8:00 PM


9/18

Aberdeen Wings VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 9:00 AM

Austin Bruins (MN) VS. Texas Tornado 9:15 AM

St. Louis Bandits VS. Amarillo Bulls 9:45 AM

Alexandria Blizzard VS. New Mexico Mustangs 12:15 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Dawson Creek Rage 3:45 PM

2010-2011 NAHL Rosters

All 26 teams in the North American Hockey League has revelled their 25 man rosters as the league will be getting ready for the regular season which gets underway on September 15 with the NAHL Blaine Showcase starting up the season.

As for the Southwest Teams, surprisingly, neither the New Mexico Mustangs, Wichita Falls Wildcats or Amarillo Bulls had no Southwest Based players as they looking for talent and I would expect to work the DFW Metroplex in future years as the teams start to get more developed and gets more well known throughout the season.

In all 16 players from the Southwest made NAHL Rosters including 3 they found at the DFW Prospects Camp the team had in July. Also having multiple members include Tom Rizzardo and Nicholas Miglio who are joining the defending NAHL Robertson Cup Champion Bismarck Bobcats as well.

As for the Texas Tornado, they will have the only Oklahoma kid in the league in Tyler Herndon and Axel Boyer who is making his return for the Tornado this season and Sean Heidrick and Jake Stafford who were both with the Texas Tornado AAA Team last year along with Mico Solorzano who started last season with the Texas Tornado Midget Major Team, but made history as the first player from the newly created North American Prospects Hockey League to be called up to a Junior Team last season.

Topeka has most of their Texas guys back this year with defensemen Jacob Poe and Cory Ramsey, as well as Mason Milner who's joining the team. Two of the biggest weapons from last in NAHL Scoring Champions & Player of the Year Erik Higby who's heading to Northern Michigan University and the possibly of Michael Hill of making the Waterloo Blackhawks (USHL).

Some other Southwest Players making their NAHL Debut will be Frederick Leisner who's part of the expansion Aberdeen Wings and Joe Purull who's heading to the Springfield Jr. Blues.

This is a decent number, but with the number of high level talent getting into the USHL. This number is growing as well and the definition of success are big time honors, players looking to help be a part of a title contender and players looking to play in the NCAA Division 1 Level. 6 teams currently have Southwest Players and with Corpus Christi, Amarillo & New Mexico joining the league this year.

Hopefully we can see this number skyrocket as the competition should take a jump for roster spots in both the North American Hockey League (NAHL), the United States Hockey League (USHL) and the different Canadian Jr. A Leagues as Austin Smith played in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) and Nick Lazorko who's heading to Castleton State College in Vermont which is a Division 3 School in the ECAC East Division.

Here's the Rosters for the Southwest Teams in the NAHL. In addition, I will provide links to player profiles for the Southwest based players playing throughout the league. Even though the number is at 25 for all 26 teams, each team will have to cut 2 more players by October 1, and the place to show that you are worthy of being a strong player will be at the NAHL Blaine Showcase which will get underway on September 15 in Blaine, Minnesota. I will post the cuts for the teams when they come in which are expected to happen just before the deadline on October 1.

As you would expect, a majority of the players are from the DFW Area as 11 of the 16 players are from the different parts of the DFW Area. However, you have Kyle Hughes who's from Round Rock which is one of Austin's biggest surburbs. In addition Alex Rosado from Cypress which is in the Western part of the Houston area.

As well as 2 Oklahoma based players as Tyler Herndon is from Oklahoma City and Kyle Sharkley who's from Moore which is also part of the Oklahoma City Area.

Here's the Rosters for the 5 Southwest Teams.

Amarillo Bulls

Corpus Christi Icerays

New Mexico Mustangs

Texas Tornado

Wichita Falls Wildcats


All 26 Team Rosters Linked up here


Here's the Ind. Players who made NAHL Rosters throughout the League this season.

Aberdeen Wings

G, Frederick Leisner (Garland, TX.)


Bismarck Bobcats

D, Tom Rizzardo (Highland Village, TX)

F, Nicholas Miglio (Boerne, TX)


Corpus Christi Icerays

F, Derrek Schartz (Plano, TX)

D, Kyle Hughes (Round Rock, TX)

F, Alex Rosado (Cypress, TX)


Springfield Jr. Blues

F, Joe Purull (Dallas, TX)


Texas Tornado

F, Axel Boyer (Keller, TX)

F, Sean Heidrick (Plano, TX)

F, Taylor Herndon (Oklahoma City, OK.)

G, Jake Stafford (Frisco, TX)


Topeka Roadrunners

D, Jacob Poe (Arlington, TX)

F, Michael Hill (Ft. Worth, TX)

D, Mason Miller (Grand Prairie, TX)

D, Cory Ramsey (Colleyville, TX)

F, Kyle Sharkley (Moore, OK)


Blaine Showcase Schedule, all games are the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. To see the full schedule for each day, click the Date Links.

9/15

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Traverse City North Stars 10:15 AM

Michigan Warriors VS. Amarillo Bulls 10:30 AM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Chicago Hitmen 1:45 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Janesville Jets 4:45 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Motor City Metal Jackets 8:15 PM


9/16

Chicago Hitmen VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Wenatchee Wild VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 2:30 PM

Kenai River Brown Bears VS. Texas Tornado 5:00 PM

New Mexico Mustangs VS. Fairbanks Ice Dogs 8:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Fresno Monsters 8:15 PM


9/17

Owatonna Express VS. Corpus Christi Icerays 10:30 AM

Wichita Falls Wildcats VS. Bismarck Bobcats 1:15 PM

Texas Tornado VS. Coluee Region Chill 1:45 PM

Springfield Jr. Blues VS. New Mexico Mustangs 5:00 PM

Amarillo Bulls VS. Pt. Huron Fighting Falcons 8:00 PM


9/18

Aberdeen Wings VS. Wichita Falls Wildcats 9:00 AM

Austin (MN) Bruins VS. Texas Tornado 9:15 AM

St. Louis Bandits VS. Amarillo Bulls 9:45 PM

Alexandria Blizzard VS. New Mexico Mustangs 12:15 PM

Corpus Christi Icerays VS. Dawson Creek Rage 3:45 PM