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Shootout ups and downs
LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- Many people consider a penalty shot to be the most exciting play in hockey. It involves a one-on-one situation displaying the skills of both the goaltender and skater. Since the 1995-96 season, the United Hockey League (UHL) has used a shootout in the regular season to decide games that are tied after regulation. The shootout takes the most exciting play in hockey and uses the individual talents of players to decide which team earns the victory.
Four of the ten games during the past weekend were decided in a shootout. Prior to the weekend, it had been 19 games since a UHL contest was decided by the extra session. The Port Huron Flags had failed in their previous four shootouts this season, but captured back-to-back shootout victories during the 11th week of the 2006-07 campaign. The Flags had converted just 2 of 19 attempts in their first four shootouts, but were successful on 5 of 12 in their two recent shootout wins. Their success extended their winning streak to six-games.
The Muskegon Fury had competed in just one shootout this season prior to the past weekend, but also found themselves in back-to-back contests that needed the extra session. Muskegon was the last team to compete in a shootout this season as their first 23 games were decided in regulation. Since that time, 3 of their last 6 games have ended in a shootout. The Fury have won all three shootouts as they have converted on 8 of 15 attempts.
Kalamazoo and Bloomington found themselves on the losing twice during the weekend as they each lost to Port Huron and Muskegon in the shootout. Bloomington had won their previous two attempts in the shootout, but converted just once in nine shootout rounds to drop the two contests. Kalamazoo had also won their first crack at a shootout early in the season, but converting in 3 of 11 rounds wasn't enough to capture a victory last week.
The Elmira Jackals have been the most efficient UHL team in the shootout as they have converted on 11 of 17 attempts for a league leading .647 conversion rate. Fort Wayne goaltenders have been the toughest to solve as they have allowed just one goal in 13 attempts for a league leading .923 shootout save percentage.
UHL teams that win a shootout earn two points in the standings and the win. The losing team in the shootout earns one point and a shootout loss.
DOUBLE TAKE - Muskegon defenseman Josh Chase was joined in the lineup by twin brother Jeremy for two games over the weekend. Josh recorded an assist and a plus-4 rating over the two contests while Jeremy was held scoreless. They are the third set of brothers to play in the UHL this season, but the first to play on the same team this year. Kalamazoo's Adam Elzinga and Port Huron's Josh Elzinga were teammates last season in Kalamazoo. Flint's Tony Tuzzolino and Fort Wayne's Nick Tuzzolino have also seen UHL action this season.
ALL-STAR COACH - The first place coach in each conference as of games played on December 31st will be selected as the head coach for their respective conferences in the 2007 UHL All-Star Classic. Muskegon Fury head coach Bruce Ramsay clinched a spot as the head coach for the Eastern Conference. Friday's 5-4 shootout win over Kalamazoo secured his spot in the mid-season event. Kalamazoo's Mark Reeds was mathematically eliminated from contention for the honor when his club was saddled with Friday' shootout loss.
In the Western Conference, Fort Wayne's Pat Bingham holds an edge over Rockford's Steve Martinson by six points in the standings. Fort Wayne has five games to play before the December 31st deadline while Rockford has four games before the deadline including a Tuesday match-up in Fort Wayne. A win or shootout loss by Fort Wayne tonight would clinch the coaching spot for Pat Bingham.
QUICK HAT TRICK - Quad City Mallards forward Luke Stauffacher recorded a "hat trick" (3g) in Friday's 7-2 win vs. Flint. All three goals came in the third period during a span of 2:25 of game time. Teammate Justin Chwedoruk assisted on all three of the goals.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Bloomington PrairieThunder - (0-1-2) - The PrairieThunder have not won in five straight games...Defenseman Jeff Cameron's power play goal on Saturday vs. Muskegon snapped an 0 for 35 drought on the power play for Bloomington that lasted over 20 periods of play...Forward Andre Niec has three goals in his seven games played with the club this season...The team plays four of their next five games on home ice where they have a 5-7-0 record this season...Bloomington has the third best power play on home ice (18.1%) among UHL teams.
Chicago Hounds - (1-1-0) - Winger Greg Koehler has four goals over his last four games...Goaltender Marty Magers stopped all 32 Rockford shots on Friday to earn his second shutout of the season. It was his 15th consecutive start in net for the Hounds...After Maris Ziedins shorthanded goal on Friday, the Hounds are now tied for third in the UHL with seven shorthanded goals this season...Chicago is 6-3-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game, but have lost two of their last three in which they scored first.
Elmira Jackals - (1-1-0) - The Jackals snapped their six-game losing skid with a 6-2 victory over Chicago on Saturday. They were outscored 27-13 during the streak...Goaltender David Lemanowicz picked up his first victory of the season making 29 saves during Saturday's win. He made back-to-back starts over the weekend after Kris Tebbs had started the previous 18 for the club...Right wing Brent Cullaton is riding a four-game point streak and has nine points (3g, 6a) during that span.
Flint Generals - (0-2-0) - The Generals have lost their last three games...After scoring just two points (2a) in his first 29 games, defenseman Sean Kotary had two points (1g, 1a) in his last two games...Defenseman Gerard Miller had his four-game point streak snapped in Friday's 7-2 loss to Quad City...Goaltender Bryan Worosz made a personal season high 40 saves in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Rockford...Center Terry Marchant recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season when he scored two points (1g, 1a) on Friday.
Fort Wayne Komets - (2-0-0) - The Komets won their third consecutive home game with a 4-2 win over Elmira on Friday...Left wing Matt Syroczynski is riding a five-game point streak. He has a point in six of the last seven games. He had not scored a point in the previous 15 games he has played this season...After trailing 1-0 on Saturday, the Komets scored three goals in the first period and held on for a 3-2 victory vs. Quad City...Rookie center Scott Seney dished out two assists in his debut with the team on Saturday.
Kalamazoo Wings - (0-0-2) - Forwards Glenn Detulleo, Lucas Drake, Scott Dobben, and Justin Cross are all riding four-game point streaks...Defenseman Joe Markusen is plus-10 over his last 11 games and now leads the team in plus/minus...Nick Bootland is two games shy of 600 for his career...Kalamazoo has not had a fighting major penalty in their past 11 games...Kory Karlander is one assist shy of 300 for his career...The next four games for the club are on the road. They play five games in the next six days.
Muskegon Fury - (2-0-0) - The Fury have won ten consecutive games on the road...Muskegon is undefeated vs. Western Conference opponents this season (12-0-0)...Left wing Mike Watt is riding a ten-game point streak... Center Todd Robinson fired a UHL season high 14 shots on goal in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win vs. Bloomington... Right wing Rustyn Dolyny is on a league season high 13-game point streak...The Fury have a road win in every UHL city this season with the exception of Rockford, where they have yet to play a game.
Port Huron Flags - (2-0-0) - The Flags have won a team record six straight games...They have won four straight at home...Winger Bobby Kukulka is riding a six-game goal streak...Saturday's 4-3 shootout win was the first win for the Flags at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo...Goaltender Dustin Traylen has won his last four starts. He is tied with teammate Noah Ruden for fourth place among UHL goaltenders in save percentage (.913)...Port Huron is 6-3-0 vs. Western Conference opponents including three straight wins.
Quad City Mallards - (2-1-0) - The Mallards scored seven goals in consecutive games during the week...Right wing Chad Woollard dished out four assists in Wednesday's 7-1 win vs. Bloomington. He has seven points (3g, 4a) over his last three games...Seven different Mallard players had multi-point games during the week...Defenseman Sergei Durdin has six points (1g, 5a) over his last four games...Defenseman Nick Harloff is riding a four-game point streak...Forward Brett Pilkington has 18 points (7g, 11a) in 14 games since being acquired in a trade.
Rockford IceHogs - (1-1-0) - Goaltender Jake Moreland make his debut with the club on Saturday and made 29 saves to earn the 4-2 win vs. Flint...Center Preston Mizzi ended a seven-game drought without a goal when he netted the game-winner on Saturday...17 of the 27 games for the IceHogs this season have been decided by two goals or less...Rockford has a record of 3-7-1 on Friday nights, but a record of 7-3-1 on Saturday nights this season...Right wing Bryce Cockburn made his debut this weekend and scored a goal in just his second game.
LAKE ST. LOUIS, MO --- Many people consider a penalty shot to be the most exciting play in hockey. It involves a one-on-one situation displaying the skills of both the goaltender and skater. Since the 1995-96 season, the United Hockey League (UHL) has used a shootout in the regular season to decide games that are tied after regulation. The shootout takes the most exciting play in hockey and uses the individual talents of players to decide which team earns the victory.
Four of the ten games during the past weekend were decided in a shootout. Prior to the weekend, it had been 19 games since a UHL contest was decided by the extra session. The Port Huron Flags had failed in their previous four shootouts this season, but captured back-to-back shootout victories during the 11th week of the 2006-07 campaign. The Flags had converted just 2 of 19 attempts in their first four shootouts, but were successful on 5 of 12 in their two recent shootout wins. Their success extended their winning streak to six-games.
The Muskegon Fury had competed in just one shootout this season prior to the past weekend, but also found themselves in back-to-back contests that needed the extra session. Muskegon was the last team to compete in a shootout this season as their first 23 games were decided in regulation. Since that time, 3 of their last 6 games have ended in a shootout. The Fury have won all three shootouts as they have converted on 8 of 15 attempts.
Kalamazoo and Bloomington found themselves on the losing twice during the weekend as they each lost to Port Huron and Muskegon in the shootout. Bloomington had won their previous two attempts in the shootout, but converted just once in nine shootout rounds to drop the two contests. Kalamazoo had also won their first crack at a shootout early in the season, but converting in 3 of 11 rounds wasn't enough to capture a victory last week.
The Elmira Jackals have been the most efficient UHL team in the shootout as they have converted on 11 of 17 attempts for a league leading .647 conversion rate. Fort Wayne goaltenders have been the toughest to solve as they have allowed just one goal in 13 attempts for a league leading .923 shootout save percentage.
UHL teams that win a shootout earn two points in the standings and the win. The losing team in the shootout earns one point and a shootout loss.
DOUBLE TAKE - Muskegon defenseman Josh Chase was joined in the lineup by twin brother Jeremy for two games over the weekend. Josh recorded an assist and a plus-4 rating over the two contests while Jeremy was held scoreless. They are the third set of brothers to play in the UHL this season, but the first to play on the same team this year. Kalamazoo's Adam Elzinga and Port Huron's Josh Elzinga were teammates last season in Kalamazoo. Flint's Tony Tuzzolino and Fort Wayne's Nick Tuzzolino have also seen UHL action this season.
ALL-STAR COACH - The first place coach in each conference as of games played on December 31st will be selected as the head coach for their respective conferences in the 2007 UHL All-Star Classic. Muskegon Fury head coach Bruce Ramsay clinched a spot as the head coach for the Eastern Conference. Friday's 5-4 shootout win over Kalamazoo secured his spot in the mid-season event. Kalamazoo's Mark Reeds was mathematically eliminated from contention for the honor when his club was saddled with Friday' shootout loss.
In the Western Conference, Fort Wayne's Pat Bingham holds an edge over Rockford's Steve Martinson by six points in the standings. Fort Wayne has five games to play before the December 31st deadline while Rockford has four games before the deadline including a Tuesday match-up in Fort Wayne. A win or shootout loss by Fort Wayne tonight would clinch the coaching spot for Pat Bingham.
QUICK HAT TRICK - Quad City Mallards forward Luke Stauffacher recorded a "hat trick" (3g) in Friday's 7-2 win vs. Flint. All three goals came in the third period during a span of 2:25 of game time. Teammate Justin Chwedoruk assisted on all three of the goals.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Bloomington PrairieThunder - (0-1-2) - The PrairieThunder have not won in five straight games...Defenseman Jeff Cameron's power play goal on Saturday vs. Muskegon snapped an 0 for 35 drought on the power play for Bloomington that lasted over 20 periods of play...Forward Andre Niec has three goals in his seven games played with the club this season...The team plays four of their next five games on home ice where they have a 5-7-0 record this season...Bloomington has the third best power play on home ice (18.1%) among UHL teams.
Chicago Hounds - (1-1-0) - Winger Greg Koehler has four goals over his last four games...Goaltender Marty Magers stopped all 32 Rockford shots on Friday to earn his second shutout of the season. It was his 15th consecutive start in net for the Hounds...After Maris Ziedins shorthanded goal on Friday, the Hounds are now tied for third in the UHL with seven shorthanded goals this season...Chicago is 6-3-0 this season when scoring the first goal of the game, but have lost two of their last three in which they scored first.
Elmira Jackals - (1-1-0) - The Jackals snapped their six-game losing skid with a 6-2 victory over Chicago on Saturday. They were outscored 27-13 during the streak...Goaltender David Lemanowicz picked up his first victory of the season making 29 saves during Saturday's win. He made back-to-back starts over the weekend after Kris Tebbs had started the previous 18 for the club...Right wing Brent Cullaton is riding a four-game point streak and has nine points (3g, 6a) during that span.
Flint Generals - (0-2-0) - The Generals have lost their last three games...After scoring just two points (2a) in his first 29 games, defenseman Sean Kotary had two points (1g, 1a) in his last two games...Defenseman Gerard Miller had his four-game point streak snapped in Friday's 7-2 loss to Quad City...Goaltender Bryan Worosz made a personal season high 40 saves in Saturday's 4-2 loss to Rockford...Center Terry Marchant recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season when he scored two points (1g, 1a) on Friday.
Fort Wayne Komets - (2-0-0) - The Komets won their third consecutive home game with a 4-2 win over Elmira on Friday...Left wing Matt Syroczynski is riding a five-game point streak. He has a point in six of the last seven games. He had not scored a point in the previous 15 games he has played this season...After trailing 1-0 on Saturday, the Komets scored three goals in the first period and held on for a 3-2 victory vs. Quad City...Rookie center Scott Seney dished out two assists in his debut with the team on Saturday.
Kalamazoo Wings - (0-0-2) - Forwards Glenn Detulleo, Lucas Drake, Scott Dobben, and Justin Cross are all riding four-game point streaks...Defenseman Joe Markusen is plus-10 over his last 11 games and now leads the team in plus/minus...Nick Bootland is two games shy of 600 for his career...Kalamazoo has not had a fighting major penalty in their past 11 games...Kory Karlander is one assist shy of 300 for his career...The next four games for the club are on the road. They play five games in the next six days.
Muskegon Fury - (2-0-0) - The Fury have won ten consecutive games on the road...Muskegon is undefeated vs. Western Conference opponents this season (12-0-0)...Left wing Mike Watt is riding a ten-game point streak... Center Todd Robinson fired a UHL season high 14 shots on goal in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win vs. Bloomington... Right wing Rustyn Dolyny is on a league season high 13-game point streak...The Fury have a road win in every UHL city this season with the exception of Rockford, where they have yet to play a game.
Port Huron Flags - (2-0-0) - The Flags have won a team record six straight games...They have won four straight at home...Winger Bobby Kukulka is riding a six-game goal streak...Saturday's 4-3 shootout win was the first win for the Flags at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo...Goaltender Dustin Traylen has won his last four starts. He is tied with teammate Noah Ruden for fourth place among UHL goaltenders in save percentage (.913)...Port Huron is 6-3-0 vs. Western Conference opponents including three straight wins.
Quad City Mallards - (2-1-0) - The Mallards scored seven goals in consecutive games during the week...Right wing Chad Woollard dished out four assists in Wednesday's 7-1 win vs. Bloomington. He has seven points (3g, 4a) over his last three games...Seven different Mallard players had multi-point games during the week...Defenseman Sergei Durdin has six points (1g, 5a) over his last four games...Defenseman Nick Harloff is riding a four-game point streak...Forward Brett Pilkington has 18 points (7g, 11a) in 14 games since being acquired in a trade.
Rockford IceHogs - (1-1-0) - Goaltender Jake Moreland make his debut with the club on Saturday and made 29 saves to earn the 4-2 win vs. Flint...Center Preston Mizzi ended a seven-game drought without a goal when he netted the game-winner on Saturday...17 of the 27 games for the IceHogs this season have been decided by two goals or less...Rockford has a record of 3-7-1 on Friday nights, but a record of 7-3-1 on Saturday nights this season...Right wing Bryce Cockburn made his debut this weekend and scored a goal in just his second game.
