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)

Oakley CHL Player and 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 21st, 2008 are defenseman Neil Smith of the Amarillo Gorillas and goaltender Tim Boron of the Wichita Thunder.

Smith becomes the first defenseman to win the award this season using his physical presence on the blueline to help the Gorillas to a 1-1 record. In Friday’s 7-5 victory over Rapid City, the Fonthill, Ontario native had an assist and was a team-high +4. Then on Saturday night, Smith set the tone for one of the most physical games of the weekend with an early first period fight and then later assisted on the Gorillas only goal in the 2-1 loss to the RiverKings. On the season, the 6-3, 215-pound defenseman has seven assists in 17 games and is a +1 tying him for the best plus/minus on the team.

Boron has been on quite a roll lately moving up to the top of the league with his 2.20 goals against average (third in the CHL) and .936 save percentage (second in the CHL). Last week, the Winnipeg, Manitoba native went 1-1 stopping a season-high 53 shots in the Thunder’s 2-1 win over Mississippi and then followed that up with 28 saves in Wichita’s 2-1 loss to Rapid City. In the month of December, Boron is only 1-4-1 despite allowing just 10 goals in his six starts. The 6-0, 177-pound goalie has received just five goals of support from his team in the month.

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

Oakley CHL Player of the Week
Neil Smith, Amarillo Gorillas
Position: D
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 2
Goals: 0
Assists: 2
Points: 2
Plus/Minus: +4

Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week
Tim Boron, Wichita Thunder
Position: G
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 2
Record: 1-1-0
GAA: 1.50
Save %: 0.964
Saves: 81 of 84

Winter Weather Postpones CHL Game

The Central Hockey League, in conjunction with the New Mexico Scorpions and the Amarillo Gorillas, announced today that Tuesday’s game between the Scorpions and the Gorillas (CHL game #182) has been postponed due to inclement weather. No makeup date has been announced.

The game was scheduled to be the Scorpions Kid’s Day Game in Rio Rancho, NM, with a special 10:30 AM face-off time.

New Mexico will play next on Friday night when they host the Colorado Eagles and the Gorillas are back on action on Friday as well when they host the Rapid City Rush.