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)

2009 CHL All-Star Team Adds Two Forwards

The 2009 Central Hockey League All-Star Game is less than a week away scheduled for Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 in Loveland , Colorado at the Budweiser Events Center. The game features a team of CHL All-Stars facing the host team, the Colorado Eagles.

Today, the CHL announced two additions to the team with Mississippi’s Bobby Chaumont and Wichita’s Chris Greene being named as replacements for two players that will be unable to attend. Chaumont, 24, replaces teammate Louis Dumont on the roster and Greene, 23, replaces teammate Jason Duda. Both Dumont and Duda are unable to attend next week’s game.

Chaumont is playing in his second CHL season and his first with the RiverKings. The Sudbury, Ontario native was an all-star previously during the 2006-07 season while a member of the Laredo Bucks. This season in Mississippi, the 6-0, 200-pound forward leads his team with 19 goals and ranks second to Dumont with 31 points. Chaumont has eight power play goals and is tied for second in the CHL with four game winning goals.

Greene is playing in his third CHL season and is in his second season with the Thunder after being acquired in a trade with Arizona last season. The Massena, New York native has four goals and 13 assists in 30 games played with the Thunder this season. His energy and hard-work on the ice has led the charge for the young Wichita team that has won four of their last six games.

The game can be seen LIVE on Altitude Sports and Entertainment (Dish Network channel 410 and DirecTV channel 681) as well as on the CHL Network which will carry the game LIVE (blackout restrictions apply in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah) and also offer all the action on a tape delay in the days following the game.

CHL's Arizona Sundogs Purchased by Consolidated Sports Holdings

The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today that Consolidated Sports Holdings (USA) Inc. has purchased Prescott Valley Hockey Club, LLC, operator of the Arizona Sundogs, and that Consolidated Sports Holdings (USA) Inc. will take over the day-to-day operations of the CHL team beginning immediately. Tim’s Toyota Center will host a formal press conference to introduce the new ownership group early in the New Year.

“Consolidated Sports is delighted to become a partner in the CHL and especially in Prescott Valley and we look forward to the wonderful opportunity that this location provides. We are assuming control of an ongoing operation, the Arizona Sundogs, complete with management, staff and a players roster that has been a successful franchise for the last three years,” stated Bill Yuill, President of CSH.

Consolidated Sports has been involved in minor league baseball for many years and more recently owns and operates sports properties in the USA. This CHL franchise will compliment the organization that operates a major junior hockey franchise in the Western Hockey League, located in Everett, Washington.

Consolidated Sports Holdings (USA) Inc., has appointed Bill Yuill as Governor and Terry Thom as Alternate Governor for the balance of the 2008-09 season.

“On behalf of the Prescott Valley Hockey Club, we would like to thank the wonderful community of Prescott Valley and Prescott for their support of the Arizona Sundogs since the very first shovel was put in the ground of Tim’s Toyota Center, which became home of the Champion-to-be,” said Shawn Fowler, co-owner of the Arizona Sundogs. “We are truly appreciative of the support from the community, the league, league officials, and all of the Central Hockey League member teams. We wish the new Owners great success for many years to come.”

“The Central Hockey League is proud to welcome Consolidated Sports Holding (USA) Inc. to the CHL family,” said CHL Commissioner Duane Lewis. “Their history of success in running sports franchises, as well as other businesses, speaks for itself, and they will retain the high standards set by the Arizona Sundogs organization. On behalf of the entire League, we would like to thank the ownership group of Eric Lacroix and Shawn Fowler for their leadership in establishing the Sundogs as one of the premier sports teams in the country. We are certain the Northern Arizona area will see a smooth transition in the ownership of the club, and we all look forward to their continued success long into the future.”

About the Arizona Sundogs
The Sundogs are in their third season in the CHL playing their home games at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona. The Sundogs reached the plateau of the CHL last season by winning the Ray Miron President’s Cup in just their second year as a franchise. They did so in impressive fashion by becoming the first CHL team in a decade to win The Cup via a series sweep in the finals.

The Arizona Sundogs next home game is Wednesday, December 17th when they begin a three-game home stand versus the Texas Brahmas.

Stars Down Wings, Fall to Preds

I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to last night's game against the Detroit Red Wings. The same Wings that put us out of the playoffs last year were coming back to pick on a team that has very little resemblance to last year's squad that made it to the Western Conference Finals. And fresh off a loss to the Phoenix Coyotes, perennial whipping boys of the Pacific Division, things didn't look good.

But, when I stumbled across a deal on a pair of tickets, the opportunity to see one of my favorite rivalries was too great. My father-in-law and I picked up the tickets and joined the fans at the AAC for what turned out to be one of the better games of the season, thus far. It was kind of interesting to watch the number of Wings fans that turned out to cheer for their team. It was rather like being at a Texas Rangers game against the Boston Red Sox - nearly half the fans were rooting for the other side. Slightly bizarre.

Marty Turco was "Turcolicious" in net, stopping all but one of the 38 shots. Detroit peppered him in the third, but he held strong. A couple of his saves will be on Stars' highlight reels for the next year or two at least. And Stevie Ray Vaughn sent the fans on their way home singing - "If the house is a rockin', don't come a-knockin'..."

The Stars hopped on a plane and were off to Nashville for a game the next night. Tobias Stephan got the nod in goal for his first start since Halloween of this year. Unfortunately, probably in part due to fatigue from the previous night's game, the Stars came out flat and looked that way for most of the game. Stephan looked very good in net though, stopping several fantastic bids. One of the saves will probably be reflected upon as a top 10 save of the NHL season, as he robbed Nashville's Greg Zanon of a 3-on-1 goal with a quick glove save.

But, in the end, the Preds offense was too much for the beleaguered Stars. Down 2-0 in the final minutes, they pulled Stephan for an extra attacker, and the Preds got the empty netter to nail the coffin shut.

The Stars are set to play again tomorrow night, facing the Phoenix Coyotes once again at the AAC.

In transaction-type news.... The Stars confirmed what most fans believed already: Sean Avery will not be suiting up for Dallas again. Too much had happened (very little of it publicized) for him to return to the team and be a trusted, contributing member of the team. I held out hope that Avery would be a good addition to the Dallas roster when they signed him in July...but I worried about the rumors. Unfortunately the rumors were too true.

Dallas swung a minor trade over the weekend - the Stars sent minor leaguer David McIntyre (a fifth round pick in 2006) and a conditional sixth round draft pick in 2010 to the Anaheim Ducks for Brian Sutherby. Sutherby was the Washington Capitals first pick (26th overall) in 2000. He has struggled to make a name for himself, but at 26 years old, is still pretty young, and has a good upside. It hurts to lose McIntyre though...a big guy with good hands who is still playing in the college ranks. I kind of agree with what Mike Heika had to say on this one - not much of an upside on this trade, but maybe Sutherby will be another missing piece like Hagman was a couple of years ago.

Dallas Stars Resting, Healing & Preparing

I didn't get to weigh in on this weekend's game yet - a gritty 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche - but that game was won with a lot of heart. These Stars are beat up and were tired, finishing up their third game in four nights, and were just trying to scrape out some points before getting four days off. Thankfully, they are getting that rest now, and were able to get 2 points out of Friday night's match.

Mike Modano got the shootout winner against the Avs, which gives him 11 goals on the year - just one back of Loui Erikson, who leads the team. In the last two games, he's had two goals and an assist, along with a shootout game-winner. Not so bad for a 38-year old.

A few notables - there was a very good article by Stars' play-by-play man Ralph Strangis posted on the team's website today. I think, because he's with the team, he might be pulling back a bit and changing a few nouns and adjectives here and there, but overall it's a pretty honest and accurate piece. Of the two fine men on our broadcast team, Razor is obviously the more outspoken one usually, so it's refreshing to here Ralphie really weigh in on something. And he did a nice job.

Also, On the injury front, there's not a lot of new developments. Obviously Morrow is still lost for the foreseeable future, most likely the rest of the season. Ott has been doing well in rehab, but is looking at mid to late January for his return. Lehtinen and Zubov are being viewed kind of day-to-day, but both are doubtful for Wednesday. The closest to return is Joel Lundqvist, who has been out since late October with a shoulder injury. He is not expected to skate on Wednesday, however.

And lastly, the Stars recalled forward Tom Wandell from the Swedish Elite League this weekend. How's THAT for a call up? You have to board a plane and hop the ocean in order to join your NHL team...don't hear that happen very often. But, the Stars were really pressed for skaters. With most of the eligible call ups already on the team (James Neal, Chris Connor and Toby Peterson), the Stars had to dig deep. All the way to Europe deep. Wandell participated in a partial team skate on Sunday, but some of the veterans were excused from practice that day (Modano, Ribeiro, Richards, etc.). So, we won't get a good idea of what line he'll play on and what his chemistry will be with his linemates until today or tomorrow. Wandell was the Stars' 5th round choice in the 2005 draft (146th overall). He's expected to wear number 48 when he makes his debut on Wednesday.