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)

Corpus Christi's Tebbs Earns Player of the Week Award

The Central Hockey League announced today that the recipients for the Oakley CHL Player and Goaltender of the Week for the period ending January 25th, 2009 are forward Bobby Chaumont of the Mississippi RiverKings and Kris Tebbs of the Corpus Christi IceRays.

Chaumont broke out of his mini-slump (scoreless in four straight games) in a big way scoring three points in each of the RiverKings games last week, both victories. In Friday’s 4-3 win versus Rio Grande Valley, the Sudbury, Ontario native scored the first goal for the RiverKings and assisted on two others including the game winner. He had a game-high 10 shots on net. In Saturday’s 5-3 win versus Laredo, the 6-0, 200-pound forward scored a first period goal and had two assists. For the season, the CHL All-Star leads the RiverKings with 22 goals and nine power play goals. His 38 points are second on the team.

Tebbs won all three starts for the IceRays last week, all on the road. During his hot stretch, the Calgary, Alberta native allowed five goals on 107 shots (.953 save percentage) and finished the week with a 1.67 goals against average. The 5-10, 170-pound goaltender’s wins came against Rapid City, Rocky Mountain and New Mexico. Tebbs is 13-10-3 on the season winning each of his last four starts vaulting the IceRays into the fifth and final playoff spot in the Southern Conference.

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

Oakley CHL Player of the Week
Bobby Chaumont, Mississippi RiverKings
Position: F
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 2
Goals: 2
Assists: 4
Points: 6
Plus/Minus: +1

Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week
Kris Tebbs, Corpus Christi IceRays
Position: G
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 3
Record: 3-0-0
GAA: 1.67
Save %: 0.953
Saves: 102 of 107

Rapid City Goaltender Wins CHL Performance of the Week

The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today that Rapid City’s Miguel Beaudry has been voted the winner of the CHL Performance of the Week for Week Seven after shutting out the Northwest Division leading Colorado Eagles, 4-0, in the Rush’s home opener on November 29th. Beaudry made 27 saves in the game.

Beaudry’s memorable first impression to Rapid City hockey fans earned 699 votes (41%). Coming in second place was Texas’ David Cacciola who made 41 saves in a shootout win over his old team, the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs (619 votes). The total votes cast in the weekly poll were 1,704.

Beaudry was one of the key signings for the expansion team in the off-season and is 4-4-3 on the season with a 3.72 goals against average. In his CHL career, the Rush are his fourth team also seeing action with New Mexico, Memphis and Austin. He has a career 94-91-24 record with 11 shutouts.

The nominees for the CHL Performance of the Week for week eight of the season (Dec. 1-7) are as follows:

-Bossier-Shreveport’s Jon Horrell making 31 saves in shutout win over Wichita on December 4th
-Texas’ David Cacciola making 36 saves in shootout win versus Bossier-Shreveport on December 5th
-Odessa holding Corpus Christi to 13 shots on goal in 2-1 win on December 6th
-Tulsa’s three-goal third period in 3-1 win versus Oklahoma City on December 6th
-RGV erasing two three-goal deficits in 5-4 OT win versus Corpus Christi on December 5th

Fans can vote for the winner through Monday, December 15th with the winner being announced on Tuesday, December 16th.

Bobby Chaumont of the CHL's Mississippi RiverKings Wins November's Oakley Three-Star Award

The Central Hockey League announced today that Bobby Chaumont of the Mississippi RiverKings has won the Oakley Three Stars Award for the month of November/2008. Chaumont will receive a pair of Oakley THUMP sunglasses which feature blue tooth technology and a built in MP3 player. Learn more about the wide range of Oakley products at www.oakley.com.

Chaumont, 24, had a great offensive month of November scoring 10 goals (six on the power play) with six assists. He helped lead the RiverKings to an impressive month that saw them post a 9-4-0 record and a league-leading 18 points. During the month, the Sudbury, Ontario native earned 20 points in the Oakley Three Star tabulating being named first star of the game four times.

In the season Oakley Three Star standings, Chaumont also leads with 25 points sitting two points in front of Amarillo’s Sam Ftorek and Colorado’s Andrew Penner.

Oakley CHL Three Star Player of the Month
Bobby Chaumont, Mississippi RiverKings
Position: Forward
(November Totals)
Games – 13
Points – 16
Goals – 10
Assists – 6
First Star – 4 times (20 points)
Second Star – 0 times (0 points)
Third Star – 0 times (0 points)
Total Points – 20

Oakley CHL Three Star Player of the Month Winners
October – Travis Clayton, Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs
November – Bobby Chaumont, Mississippi RiverKings