Texas CHL Teams Involved in Quiet Deadline Deals

The Central Hockey League (CHL) trade deadline expired on Monday at 3:00 PM (CST) with very little movement. The Tulsa Oilers made two deals and several players who were dealt prior in the season were on the move again finding new homes at the deadline.

The Mississippi RiverKings made a late splash finalizing a deal just minutes before the deadline expired that had high-scoring forward Martin Gascon of the Tulsa Oilers on the move again. Gascon was traded from the Arizona Sundogs to the Oilers on January 27th and in six games with Tulsa he scored a goal with an assist. On the season, Gascon has 46 points (8-38=46) in 47 games.

To get Gascon, the RiverKings sent forward Jason Weitzel and future considerations to Tulsa. Weitzel was acquired earlier in the day by Mississippi from the Amarillo Gorillas as the future considerations in the Brad Bonello deal that happened earlier in the season. Weitzel has 11 goals and 14 assists in 39 games with the Gorillas.

The other deal made by the Oilers sent forward Jereme Tendler to the Corpus Christi IceRays in exchange for defenseman Matt Smyth. Tendler has four goals and three assists in 36 games with Tulsa this season. Smyth has three goals, seven assists and 113 penalty minutes in 44 games with the Rays this season.

The Laredo Bucks made a four player swap with the Rapid City Rush on ‘deadline day’ acquiring forward Josh Bonar and the rights to forward Mickey Gilchrist from the Rush in exchange for forward Mitch Stephens and defenseman Ryan Hand. Bonar has no points in five games with Rapid City but was a 20-goal scorer a year ago with Rio Grande Valley. Gilchrist is currently playing in Asia but could join the Bucks in the coming weeks upon his return to North America.

The Rush get Stephens (acquired by the Bucks from New Mexico at the end of January) who has 50 points (14-36=50) in 47 games this season combined with Laredo and New Mexico. Hand has two points (1-1=2) and 57 penalty minutes in 22 games with the Bucks.

Deadline Deals:
-Mississippi gets Jason Weitzel (F) from Amarillo as a part of future considerations from a previous trade
-Mississippi trades Weitzel to Tulsa along with future considerations in exchange for Martin Gascon (F)
-Corpus Christi trades Matt Smyth (D) to Tulsa in exchange for Jereme Tendler (F)
-Laredo trades Ryan Hand (D) and Mitch Stephens (F) to Rapid City in exchange for Josh Bonar (F) and the rights to Mickey Gilchrist (F)

Jeff Bes’ Milestone Voted CHL Performance of the Week

The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today that Laredo Bucks forward Jeff Bes has been voted the winner of the CHL Performance of the Week for the period of January 12-18. The Tillsonburg, Ontario native wins the honor thanks to his four-point night (one goal, three assists) on January 16th in the Bucks 6-3 win over Corpus Christi. His four points also pushed the 6th year Buck veteran to a milestone reaching 900 career professional points.

Bes received 40% of the 924 total votes cast (371 votes for Bes) narrowly beating out Colorado’s Konrad Reeder who’s four goals and CHL All-Star Game Most Valuable Player effort received 35% of the vote (327 votes for Reeder).

In his career, Bes (the reigning CHL Most Valuable Player) has scored 315 goals with 591 assists for 906 points. This season, the 6-0, 190-pound forward ranks second in the CHL with 60 points (14-46=60).

The nominees for the CHL Performance of the Week for week 14 of the season (Jan. 19-25) are as follows:
-Bossier-Shreveport’s Travis Clayton scoring four points (2g, 2a) with a +4 in 4-1 win at Tulsa on January 22nd
-Corpus Christi’s Justin Quenneville scoring a pair of goals in 2-1 win at Rocky Mountain on January 23rd
-Texas’ three-goal third period in 4-3 win at Amarillo on January 24th
-Laredo scoring four unanswered goals in 5-4 SO win vs. Texas on January 21st
-Rocky Mountain’s three-goal third period in 5-4 comeback win vs. Rapid City on January 25th

Fans can vote for the winner through Monday, February 2nd with the winner being announced on Tuesday, February 3rd.

Oakley CHL Player/Goaltender of the Week Announced

The Central Hockey League announced today that the recipients for the Oakley CHL Player and Goaltender of the Week for the period ending December 7th, 2008 are forward Darryl Smith of the Laredo Bucks and goaltender Alexandre Vincent of the Odessa Jackalopes.

Smith is one of the hottest forwards in the league right now sitting with a 10-game point streak and helping the Bucks to a 9-1 record over that stretch. Last week in three games, the rookie scored five goals with four assists and was a remarkable +9. The St. Catharines, Ontario native leads all rookies in scoring with 32 points (16-16=32) on the season. Overall he ranks second in points (32), second in goals (16) and tied for first in game winning goals (4). Six of his last eight games have seen the 5-11, 190-pound forward record multiple points.

Vincent wins the goaltending award for the second time this season (previously won on November 3rd). In fact, the Jackalopes have garnered four of the eight weekly goaltending awards given to date (Juha Toivonen has won twice as well). Last week, Vincent posted a 3-0 record allowing just one goal in each game. He finished with a .944 save percentage (51 saves on 54 shots). On the season, the Drummonville, Quebec native is 5-2-1 with a 2.63 goals against average. Due in large part to the strong goaltending, Odessa has won seven straight games and are in first place in the Southwest Division sitting 11 points in front of their closest competitor.

In recognition of their achievement, both Smith and Vincent will receive a special gift from Oakley.

Oakley CHL Player of the Week
Darryl Smith, Laredo Bucks
Position: F
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 3
Goals: 5
Assists: 4
Points: 9
Plus/Minus: +9

Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week
Alexandre Vincent, Odessa Jackalopes
Position: G
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 3
Record: 3-0-0
GAA: 1.00
Save %: 0.944
Saves: 51 of 54

CHL's Performance of the Week Fan Poll Returns

The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today the five nominees for the CHL’s Performance of the Week. Fans can vote for the winner of the weekly award at www.centralhockeyleague.com in the CHL Performance of the Week fan poll.

The nominees for the CHL Performance of the Week for week one of the season are as follows:

-Corpus Christi’s Chris Richards scoring seven points (4-3=7) in 12-3 win versus Tulsa on October 18th

-New Mexico’s Jason Wolfe making 25 saves in the Scorps 6-0 shutout win at Amarillo on October 18th

-Rookie Mudbugs goaltender Ryan Mior making 27 saves in 2-1 win at Laredo on October 18th

-Tulsa’s Kevin St. Pierre making 55 saves in 3-2 shootout loss at OKC on October 17th

-Laredo rookie Daryl Smith netting a hat trick in the Bucks 7-1 win over RMR on October 17th

Fans can vote for the winner through Monday, October 27th with the winner being announced on Tuesday, October 28th.


CHL’s Hat Tricks for Kids
The CHL and Infinity Pro Sports have partnered for the 2008-09 season for a new program called Hat Tricks for Kids. Infinity Pro Sports will donate $25.00 for every hat trick scored throughout the CHL regular season. Fans are also able to donate money to the program that will donate all proceeds to The Hoffen Foundation (www.hoffenfoundation.org). To follow the Hat Trick’s Tote Board and see how much money has been donated to date or to donate money yourself visit www.hattricksforkids.org.


CHL All-Star Game on January 14th in Loveland, Colorado
The 2009 CHL All-Star Game is scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado. The game is hosted by the Colorado Eagles and presented by Poudre Valley Health System. The format for this year’s game features a team of CHL All-Stars taking on the Colorado Eagles. For more information and for all-star updates visit www.centralhockeyleague.com or www.coloradoeagles.com.