Mid-week Update

The Scorpions take to the ice tonight against the Arizona Sundogs in a crucial four-point contest. This is the perfect opportunity for the Scorps to capitalize on a huge weekend performance and gain some much-needed momentum going into the all-star break. As most of you know, the Scorps have had their troubles putting together back-to-back performances like they did this past weekend, so here's to hoping Randy Murphy's got his guys where he needs them.

In other news:

• Chris Robertson is named the Oakley/CHL Player of the Week after posting 6 points (4g, 2a) in 3 games last week. It seems to be right around this time every year that Robo absolutely goes berserk.
• The CHL names its all-star starters as well as the reserve crew that will take on the Colorado Eagles on January 14. Aaron MacInnis is the Scorpions' lone representative, but it's a much-deserved nod for big Mac, who's been overshadowed a bit in past years by the point totals of Rob Guinn and Vladimir Hartinger
• Lastly, here is top NHL prospect John Tavares' unbelieveable goal from the World Junior Championships. Sign him up!

The Peoples' Blog!

Apparently I picked a good weekend to miss Scorpions hockey, and I only mean that half-sarcastically this time. I didn't see any of Friday's game (thankfully) and I was only able to tap into about 30 minutes of streaming audio from Saturday before my shoddy wireless crapped out again. Alas, I'll be in flight for today's matinee against Odessa, so I'd like to open up the floor to any readers to post their own blog-style analysis of this weekend's games. Do me proud!

On a sidenote, is Marco Emond really going to win goaltender of the week? I could see it with Colorado's defense in front of him, or Laredo's, but not with Arizona's porous back line. Maybe he's found a home in sunny South Dakota

Merry Christmas

Hope the Scorps faithful and anyone else around the CHL has a very safe, merry Christmas. I will be sending out a Scorpions-themed Christmas card as soon as I get my hands on it. In the mean time, rest assured that there will be hockey in Rio Rancho this holiday season, as promised by Adam Minnick. I will join in his plea to grab some friends this the holiday weekend and get some happy butts in the seats at the SASC. Now stop reading this and go have some fun!

Eagles 2, Scorpions 1 (OT) ... ?

Sorry for the delay... holiday travels plans got in the way of blogging about this, far and away this season's most noteworthy game -- for several reasons. Obviously the big talk is the end-of-game controversy, and we'll touch on that later. What I will say, however, is that this was one of the best hockey games I have ever been to and, regardless of the outcome, it deserved a decisive finish. These guys don't battle for 60-plus minutes to watch the game end with a conference. This makes a pretty compelling argument for video review.

Observations:

• This was the most complete performance top-to-bottom the Scorpions put together this season. I know a lot of people won't be too pleased by the 0-for-7 powerplay line, but a 7-for-7 PK line is exponentially more important against the league's top powerplay. Aaron MacInnis and Jamie Herrington were the big reasons for that number, as they anchored the penalty kill with incredible veteran poise. I have those two marked as my two most consistent performers this season. As for the Scorpions' defense as a whole, they were great about getting in the passing lanes and denying the Eagles those quick bang-bang passing plays they burn so many people with. When the Eagles did manage to cycle the zone, which they are so efficient at doing, the Scorps again did well to limit it to just puck possession and not allow the Eagles to generate quality chances
  
• A nice goal by Ed McGrane, but the attention once against has to focus on Justin Greene. Mitch Stephens had the puck and skating out of the zone when either Reimann or Pankewicz took his feet out from under him. McGrane scooped up the loose puck, dangled around for a bit and scored about 10 seconds later. There are two situations as a ref where, by definition, you almost HAVE to call a penalty -- one is when a player is denied a clear scoring chance, and the other is an infraction that directly creates a scoring chance for the infracting team. A trip that keeps the puck in the offensive zone should constitute the latter...
• In the games where the Scorpions have played team defense in front of him, Jason Wolfe has been MVP-worthy this season. If he gets confidence early in a game, he's almost unbeatable. There was a series of post-to-post saves he made early on that was worthy of any highlight reel. The man they howl for deserved better fate
  
• Even though he was held off the scoresheet, Seth Leonard once again had his dancing shoes on against his former team. He was creating chances every time he touched the puck and was clearly one of the Scorpions' best players out there.
• Speaking of Leonard, I thought the game was in the bag when he set up Robertson on that breakaway late in the 3rd. I'll admit, I was surprised and a bit puzzled that a shoot-first guy like Robo opted to throw a deke at Andrew Penner. He made a nice move and had Penner going the wrong way, but he just couldn't settle the puck down on the late-period ice
• Ok -- now for "the call." First, let me say that I am in no place to say definitively whether the puck went in. I was seated at the opposite end of the arena at ice level, so I actually don't think I could have had a worse perspective. However, here is what I did see -- first, I saw Jared Ottenhof give an immediate washout signal, which is pretty hard to mistake for anything else given his 20-foot wingspan. Next, I only saw one Eagles player react on the play. Now, this could just be coaching -- "never stop until the whistle blows" -- but three of the four guys in the attacking zone began to follow the play the other way before Greene blew play dead. Hockey players know a goal when they see one, and I'm not too confident that those guys saw a goal. There is plenty more discussion to be had, but those are the two things I could CLEARLY see from my point-of-view. I don't know how great the angle would be from the camera platforms, nor do I know if the cameras can provide quality evidence one way or the other, but I'm sure I'm not alone in hoping the league takes a look at the tape anyhow
• Lastly, happy holidays to all. If travel is in your plans, make it safe. If you're staying put where you are, enjoy yourself. If you're at the SASC this weekend, cheer loud and let me hear it via CHLTV!
  

Eagles 4, Scorpions 3

The only thing Randy Murphy could've asked for out of this game was three more minutes of quality hockey. For the second time this season, the Scorpions went toe-to-toe with the league's best team, and for the second time this season, they came out on the short end. All in all, a solid effort that shouldn't leave Murph with too much to build on for tomorrow.

Observations:

• The lead, albeit short-lived, was a first for the Scorpions this season against the Eagles -- it's definitely a building block though. You knew a one-goal lead wasn't going to do the trick, and credit Morgan Cey with only allowing Stephens' goal in what I thought was a very strong start to the second period for the Scorpions
• A couple of observations about Greg Pankewicz -- first off, his goal to open the contest was unbelieveable. We've known for a while that he has one of the hardest slappers in the league, but he beat Andrew Martin clean on a simple snapshot from the top of the circles -- that thing was moving! On the other hand, and this is far less complementary, of course, but you have to ask yourself how deserving a guy is of the captain's C when clearly cannot control himself. After the Scorpions went up 2-1, Pankewicz was flying around with wreckless abandon, more like he was trying to hospitalize someone than give his team a spark. In my opinion, he was lucky to only come away with 2 PIM in the opening half of the second period, as he took runs at just about everybody and had three hits from behind in the course of one shift. The guy's lucky his team has a stellar PK, and he's lucky that he hasn't seriously injured someone (yet) in one of his fits -- and that's just his behavior on the ice. This basically personifies conduct unbecoming of a captain/role model. Funny how an organization like Colorado can keep the DUI arrest of a former playoff MVP under the radar, but the Scorpions get raked over the coals for a bar fight during rookie hazing. Is it just me, or should the league have a zero-tolerance policy for behavior like this? I don't care if it's a known face in this league and I don't care if it's a misdemeanor DUI charge -- that's unacceptable
• Absolutely gorgeous powerplay goal from Seth Leonard, Jamie Herrington and Craig Macdonald. That was a textbook example of opening up the ice on the powerplay. Any team at any level would be happy with puck movement like that
• Congrats to Andrew Smale on his first goal of the year, and what a blast it was. Getting goals from guys like Smale can really lift a team, and it certainly gave the Scorps the momentum, as they responded immediately and almost tied the game on the next shift
• Andrew Martin had his second straight strong outting, despite giving up four goals. It's hard to fault him on any of them, and although McGrane's goal seemed to be moving in slow motion, that was a deflection that no goalie could stop. Unbelievable hands by the CHL's best skullet
• I usually don't like to point to officiating as a turning point, but there is no avoiding it tonight. The Scorpions had all the momentum after Smale's goal, only to have it killed just over a minute later on VERY soft offensive zone penalty to Craig Macdonald. On the ensuing penalty kill, Seth Leonard was off to the races after blocking a shot at the point, only to have Kevin Ulanski essentially bear-hug him from behind on the breakaway. Leonard did bobble the puck, which gave Ulanski a chance to catch up, but Ulanski was never between Leonard and the goal and it's pretty hard to play the puck cleanly from that position
• Also, in case you missed the pregame show, Tyler Fuller broke his thumb on Grant Goeckner-Zoeller's face last Saturday and is out for 4-6 weeks. The Scorpions were even thinner on the back end with Lyon Messier absent due to a death in the family. At least for the short-term, Randy Murphy signed Swedish defenseman Henrik Ivarsson, who was waived by Arizona to make room for Derek Legault. Ivarsson, who carried an even rating through 10 games with the CHL's lowest-ranked defense core, is expected to be in the lineup Saturday
  

Elsewhere:

• Karl Sellan completes the patented "Karl Sellan Hat Trick" with a goal, a fight and a diving penalty
• Corpus halts Odessa's winning streak at 11. As Rajan noted, the Jacks broke out the champagne a tad bit early
• Shreveport gives up three goals in three minutes to Tulsa, then hangs on to take the two points. That's not very Mudbug-like
  

Since it's the thing to do...

It's getting close to that time of year again, and should you please, you can find all-star ballots from the likes of Greg Rajan, Brian Sandalow, and Adam Dunivan on their respective blogs.

I am not actually a member of the media, thus what you see below is by no means official, I just figured I would follow suit and name my starting lineup selections for the mid-season classic.

Forward

Jeff Bes - Laredo
Joel Irving - Arizona
Kory Karlander- Odessa

Defense

Russ Moyer- Odessa
Justin Kinnunen- Texas

Goaltender

Andy Franck- Oklahoma City

Now clearly this is slanted just a tad bit towards the Southern Conference, but in all fairness, these seem fair picks to be. Obviously Bes and Franck should be no-brainers, although a few guys have argued that Laredo's Darryl Smith should start because of his sensational rookie season. I just can't part with the assist numbers Bes has put up during the first half.

As for Irving, his numbers have undoubtedly been bolstered by the arrival of Adam Perry in Prescott Valley (he and Perry both have 23 points in 14 games). Still, I think Irving can easily rival Ryan Tobler as the top power forward in the Central Hockey League. He doesn't quite have the mean streak that Tobler does, but Irving rarely loses a battle in the corners and he has deft touch to go along with that brutal shot.

For his part, Kory Karlander is one of this league's ageless wonders, alongside Greg Pankewicz, Jeff Christian and Bes. The guy is in his late 30s and can still anchor a top line for any team he plays for. He's been exceptional on the draw (just ask Chris Robertson, who's one of the league's best faceoff men in his own right) and there aren't many guys in the league who can finish better from around the blue paint.

Karlander's teammate on the blueline, Russ Moyer, has impressed me since day one. He's shown that he can be one of the league's best two-way defensemen and has been one of the main cogs in that Odessa machine. Eleven of his 20 points have come on the powerplay, but he still boasts a team-leading +13 rating, which means he's equally invested in his own end. A strong second half and this guy will challenge for defenseman of the year.

Then there's Justin Kinnunen, who basically personifies the forgettable defenseman. He's the kind of player who's doing his job best if you don't even notice him. He's always in the right place, especially at the big moments in a game, and he's the perfect anchor on the blueline for Dan Wildfong's airtight Texas defense.

Andy Franck is just Andy Franck. It doesn't hurt that he has the league's best defense in front of him, but he certainly doesn't ride their coattails. Franck's a proven AHL-level goaltender, as is his likely all-star foe, Andrew Penner, and he's not the type to let in soft goals. Oh yeah, did I mention that he's carrying a .949 save percentage against Colorado this year?

As far as the Scorpions go, I have seen Aaron MacInnis on a couple of ballots, and I'm sure that he'll get the nod, possibly as a starter. He's right in there with Moyer and Kinnunen as one of the league's premier blueliners. If the Scorpions get a nod at forward, it's going to be very tightly-contested, given the change in the ASG format this year. With five guys averaging a point-per-game or better, it's basically a toss-up. Right now, my vote would go to Seth Leonard, as he has been the best player on the ice for the Scorpions over the past month and arguably one of the best players in the league. Of course, there's always the lure of that fairytale matchup against his former team in the all-star game, too.

Wednesday "Reeding"

Here's a story the Loveland Reporter Herald's Adam Dunivan wrote about Konrad Reeder's trials and tribulations in Europe this past summer.

It touches a bit more on the family side, although it seems like fact-checking is optional at the Reporter Herald, and I mean no offense to Dunivan in saying this. That's what copy editors are for. Still...

Reeder signed with a Dutch team, the Frederikshavn White Hawks, soon after
the 2007-08 CHL season was over and spent the entire summer getting his wife,
Katie, and young son, Wyatt, settled into their new environment.

After scoring 108 points last season with the New Mexico Scorpions, which was
second in the league behind Leavitt (128), expectations were high coming in.
After all, he scored 41 goals the prior season and was the All-Star game most
valuable player, to boot.

Not to be picky or anything, but Frederikshavn is based out of Denmark, not the Netherlands, and Leavitt was the all-star game MVP for the South, not Reeder (Scott Wray picked up the honors for the north)

Day game no more...

While I'm among the happiest in the 505 to see that white stuff on the ground, unfortunately it meant that the Scorpions' annual matinee kid's day game was postponed. I always enjoyed going to these games, and it was going to be a welcome respite from finals week. No word yet on when the game will be made up.

In other league news, Rio Grande Valley waived Rob Voltera, who was essentially the face of that organization. I guess it's the definitive sign that the Chris Brooks era has started. I'd be surprised if a few teams weren't already clamoring to get Voltera in a free vet spot, assuming he plans to continue playing

Lastly, the Sundogs find a new owner with a hockey pedigree. Now the question is this: with Eric Lacroix completely phased out of the organization, how long will Karl Sellan last before someone says enough is enough?

Night and day: Scorpions 4, Killer Bees 2

I didn't get a chance to catch Friday's game, but the box and the boards told me all I needed to know. I watched most of Saturday night's game on the CHL Network, and I think it's safe to say that the fans in Hidalgo, Texas know how the Star Center faithful felt last weekend. Oh what a difference a night can make...

Observations

• I would give the edge to RGV in 5-on-5 play tonight, but the Scorpions finally managed to win the special teams battle and -- go figure -- they won the game. The puck movement on the powerplay looked far crisper than it had been the past three games. It seems to me that the PP unit just has to work on getting into the zone and getting set up. Congrats to Michael Beynon on his first professional goal, as well. That was an absolute bomb, and it came on a play that I really liked from last season, which was that shortside one-timer from behind the goal line. I'd like to see that play a lot more on the man advantage
• Great bounce-back game from Andrew Martin after getting shelled in Laredo on Wednesday. The win was Marty's first in his last six appearances. He was his usually active self in the crease, but he was stopping the shots he had to stop and, more notably, making a few saves he had no business making, too. Hopefully he and the rest of the Scorpions can carry that momentum in Tuesday's day game against Amarillo
• A pair of very nice goals in this game. That setup from Robin Bouchard to Jesse Bennefield was absolutely gorgeous -- great vision by the veteran to basically corral the puck along the boards the puck and fire it to the slot in one quick motion. Seth Leonard's first goal, on the other hand, was one of those goals that can only leave you laughing. This guy is a serious hockey player, folks

Elsewhere:

• Instant classic in Wichita
• Odessa wins the battle of the Southern Conference. Could there be yet ANOTHER goaltender injury for the Jacks? Dan McWhinney gets the win, having relieved Alexandre Vincent after just one period
• Amarillo beats Colorado, in Colorado, then gets wasted at home by Corpus
  

Bucks 6, Scorpions 1

Don't get me wrong...Laredo is a great team. Terry Ruskowski's squads have been stacked since the Bucks set foot in the CHL. Still, efforts like this from the Scorpions can make anyone look like a title contender. The head-scratchers continue to pour in, and the Scorpions' special teams continue to underacheive.

Observations:

• The Scorpions are 0-for-19 on the powerplay in the past two games. Now, I have to give credit to Centomo on this one because he single-handedly killed a few of those Laredo penalties, but something's gotta give already. Couple that with a sub-50% penalty kill, and those numbers are nothing short of terrible. What's worse is that 3 of Laredo's 4 powerplay goals were goals they had no business scoring. Not to take anything away from Alex Goupil, who is a great player, but guys shouldn't score from parallel to the goal line. But while Martin was at fault for that one, there wasn't much else he could do on the other two. Even when you're a man down, you can't let the other team outnumber you around your own net. I don't know if the PK was sleeping or what, but Goupil had all day to wander in and hack that rebound past Martin. As for Darryl Smith's goal, right place, right time. The guy celebrated like he'd actually done something to earn that goal (it hit off a skate about 2 feet in front of Martin and kicked right onto Smith's tape), or like the goal was actually of some significance (it made it 5-1, and last I checked, a 3-goal lead in Laredo wasn't the worst lead in hockey). But oh well...here's to a fine rookie season and being linemates with Jeff Bes
• Where is the backchecking? Someone has to have been called out on the god awful two-way play we've seen with this team. That's not a blanket statement, but I'm by no means singling out just one player either

¡Bienvenidos a South Texas!

Tonight begins the infamous South Texas swing that has been less than kind to the Scorps over the past two seasons.

Last season the Scorps were a combined 2-3-1 on the road against Southeast Division foes (not counting Austin). Those two wins came in the second half against struggling Corpus and RGV squads. The Scorps managed just one point in their four-game swing during late November.

In 06-07, the Scorps went 0-3 in their only trip down south, getting outscored 14-5 in the process.

Add to all of this that the Scorps have never won a game at the Laredo Entertainment Center, and I say that it's time for some change! Randy Murphy's guys definitely have the odds stacked against them this weekend, but if that game in OKC is any indicator, this team is capable of defying those odds. Also, as Joy Lindsay noted, tonight is the first meeting between the two sides since youtubefest last year (see below). All of the main parties have since departed, but you know Murph would like to improve on his club's 2-8-1 record against the Bucks, and if that memory provides the spark, sobeit.

Gorillas 6, Scorpions 3

In a word, ugly. Apparently Tom Coolen's "closed-door meeting" reached his guys.

The Scorpions should know firsthand how motivated guys get when they're playing for their livelihood.

Observations:

• The Scorpions seemed content to pick up right where they left off Friday night, which was watching Mike Gorman fish the puck out of his net. The problem was that they abandoned their defensive posts about 50 minutes too early. That left plenty of time for the Joe Guenther show, as the mammoth winger effectively sunk the Scorpions in under 8 minutes flat
• I was talking to a fellow blogger/reader during the 1st intermission, and she 100% correctly called Gorman's right leg injury. I hadn't noticed it at all but, sure enough, Goreman had to be helped off just 22 seconds into the 2nd period. As much as I hated watching Gorman dominate the Scorps in his Odessa days, I do feel bad for the guy. Not only do I wish him a speedy recovery, but part of me hopes the Gorillas turn things around a bit so Gorman doesn't fade into obscurity into what is likely his last season. A legend of the game at this level deserves better than that
• Saturday night's special teams were the Jekyll to Friday night's Hyde. The stat of the night has to be 0-for-10 on the PP, especially with that two-minute 5-0n-3 late in the third. The passing on the PP was stale and off-target, and the movement off the puck was even worse. If you're having a tough time finding another guy's tape, the last thing you want to be doing is trying to thread the needle or go through clogged up lanes. I'm sure Randy Murphy would've liked to see his guys play a simpler game.
  
• I'm guessing the guy who came in to relieve Gorman was this Ryan Scott, not this Ryan Scott. For a guy with such shoddy numbers, he looked awfully good, especially when it counted. With how labored Gorman's exit to the dressing room was, I'm guessing Scott will have a starting job for at least the next few weeks
• Not a bad scrap between "Big Ben" Chaisson and "St. Nick" Theriault. Theriault's a soda machine on skates, but you're taking a risk any time you fight a guy with like a 12-foot wingspan. I hope those enforcer-starved fans out there are happy
  

Elsewhere:

• Kevin Harvey scores in his second game with the Syracuse Crunch. Well done, Harv
• Four one-goal games in the league on Saturday, highlighted by this Southern Conference showdown between Laredo and Texas
• Wake me up when Colorado loses
• Wake me up when Arizona wins without Adam Perry

Let's see what he can do...

Nothing Scorps or CHL related here, but I'm a huge Nathan Gerbe fan, and today he was recalled by the Buffalo Sabres, meaning the 5'6" Boston College product will play in his first NHL regular season game tonight against Tampa Bay. Not only does this guy make Konrad Reeder look big, but he almost makes him look slow!

Scorpions 8, Gorillas 2

For 40 minutes, this was a hard-fought, well-contested divisional game. Although the third period by no means followed that script, you certainly won't hear me complaining. This was finally the performance the Scorpions were looking for the follow up last week's win at Oklahoma City.

Observations:

• Congrats to John Mazzei on a hard-earned hat trick. His first goal was an absolutely beautiful setup and I have no idea how he scored his second, but it just seemed to be one of those nights for speedy No. 10. The irony in all of this is that I did a phone interview with Mazzei yesterday, and one of the big things he said was that his adjustment to the pro game was coming along a lot slower than he wanted, and that he wished he were putting up more points. Well, ask and you shall receive!
• Jason Wolfe was once again on fire in goal. He very well could have had his second consecutive shutout if not for a couple fortunate bounces that went Joe Guenther's way. He continues to see the puck well and, for the first time this season, his teammates are helping him out too. Oh, and that post-to-post save he made in the third off the feed from Sam Ftorek? WOW
• I'm just going to copy and paste my previous statements to all Seth Leonard doubters. The guy was all over the place out there and probably should have had a hat trick of his own. He's now up to 13 points in his last 6 games
• My hat's off to Tyler Fuller. That was the ultimate team play to stick up for Lyon Messier after Weitzel drilled him hard into the boards in the second. I'm sure Weitzel was hurting for more than just those 5 minutes from the whipping Fuller gave him
• Speaking of Messier, a respectable Scorpions debut for the 21-year-old. There were a few places where he didn't quite seem to be on board with Randy Murphy's systems, but you can't expect much with just a few days' practice under his belt. He looked pretty solid on both PP and PK, and he even showed that he's happy to stand up for himself against Lynes. I'd have to score that round 10-9 for Lynes, but it was good to see Messier get fired up.
• Torren Delforte picked a nice time and and even nicer way to break out of his mini scoring slump. The way he was putting up points early on, I didn't think we'd see a four-game pointless streak from this kid all season. Great job by the rookie to get back on track
• I think it's safe to say that tommorow night's game could be pretty chippy. Nick Theriault was a thorn in the Scorps' side all night, and while he had a few good, clean hits (namely that crunch on Leonard in the third) he pulled a few fast ones too (namely a cross-check to the chin of Mitch Stephens that went uncalled)

Elsewhere:

• For those of you at the Star Center who were wondering, the score of Corpus vs. Rio Grande Valley was never 13-4 -- merely a type-o. Rio instead rallied from a 4-1 deficit to win 5-4 in OT
• Odessa keeps its nine-point lead with a 3-1 victory in Tulsa
• Laredo's line-of-death keeps on truckin'
• David Cacciola beats up on his old team. Hmmm...haven't heard THAT one this season
  

"Harvey" and "Crunch" go well together

Congrats to Kevin Harvey on signing a professional tryout contract with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL. The Crunch are the top affiliate for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and this is definitely a great opportunity for Harves. I'll definitely be scoreboard-watching...or should I say PIM-board watching?

Here is the Scorpions' official press release.

And here is the Crunch's team release

Right on cue

Just when I was finished saying that the absence of Nick Theriault could put a damper on the fireworks between the Scorps and the Gorillas, I stumble upon these noteworthy transactions:

Amarillo	12/05/08	ADD Theriault, Nick (D) activated from IR
Amarillo	12/05/08	DEL Frick, Matt (D) waived

Not only is the big boy back, but Matt Frick is once again without a job. The poor guy can't seem to catch a break, and all I hope is that he's happy wherever he ends up, be it on the ice or not. He's one of the league's all-time gentlemen, and for all the heat he's taken for his statistical decline over the years, not once could someone question his heart. That image of him sitting back against his locker stall after the Scorps were eliminated by Laredo in 06-07 is still one of the most profound I've seen in my (limited) time as a journalist

Early candidate for goal of the year?

Johan "Moose" Franzen did some work against the Habs last week. Between this and last week's own goal, Ryan O'Byrne is having a tough welcome to the NHL.

Defensive foot forward

With a pair of four-point games coming up this weekend, it's safe to say that Randy Murphy will be fielding the strongest defensive unit he has had all season. Not only do the Scorpions get some much-needed spark in Lyon Messier, but they also get Michael Beynon back off the 14-day IR. It'll once again be interesting to see how Murphy pairs guys up on defense, but I certainly don't see any potentially "weak" pairing. Ben Chaisson seems to have settled down a bit in his past two games and Tyler Fuller has looked great since coming off a short stint on the IR. And get this little bit -- Aaron Schneekloth got a good deal of attention for his 17-game streak with an even rating or better. Now, that's on a 15-3 Colorado team. Adam Blanchette is currently on a 16-game streak of the same variety, but the Scorpions have won just 4 games in that span. The results can make that stat pretty easy to overlook, but there's no denying that Blanchette deserves some credit for being one of the few bright spots on an otherwise shoddy defense core.

Now, with seven defensemen active and Sam Bowles having been waived, my best guess is that Andrew Smale might share time at forward with Mike MacDonald alongside Jamie Herrington and John Mazzei. That gives Murphy a nice option of size versus speed in that fourth forward slot, and with the way Jamie Herrington has been feeding the puck so far this season, that's a checking line that's liable to put up some points too.

Welcome, Mr. Messier

Sam Bowles and Dylan Row are gone... best of luck to a couple of classy guys. I'm a bit surprised Murphy let go of a defensive-minded player in Bowles, although his -10 rating was far from appealing. For his part, Row had shown flashes of maturity but was still too inconsistent on the back end.

So who, you ask, was Murphy making room for?

That would be Lyon Messier, son of none other than Mark Messier. This is a move that is obviously going to come with a lot of hype, but I think anyone would be happy to see a few fresh faces on the back end -- and no one's going to argue with the bloodline.

For anyone who's curious, here's a taste of the big boy on the blue line. I assume we should expect to see him in uniform on Friday against Amarillo

Around the league...

Juha Toivonen collected goaltender of the week honors for the second time this season (third time in 7 weeks for an Odessa goaltender), while Jeff Christian became the second Tulsa Oilers player to garner player of the week honors, joining Michael Beausoleil (week 5).

Also, as most of you may have heard from around the blog community, the big controversy of the weekend is surrounding this hit that left Rio Grande Valley's Trevor Weisgerber unconscious on the ice. Sandalow, Rajan, Bochinni, et al have had plenty to say about this in the past few days. So let's open up this forum as well. Thoughts? Was it a clean hit? I don't know as of yet who it was that hit Weisgerber (one reader speculated that it was Troy Ofukany), but if you check out Rajan's blog, I think Matt Turek's comparison to the Mark Bell/Daniel Alfredsson hit is pretty accurate. The hit on Weisgerber wasn't blatantly late, and he did get caught watching the play. Still, I'm in no position to say whether the hit was dirty because the camera is too far away to see exactly how he gets hit. Even shoulder-on-head is deemed clean, but it looks a bit like there is an elbow that comes up on the play, and putting your elbow to a guy's temple is not only illegal, it's dangerous -- dangerous enough to warrant a suspension.

UPDATE: according to Kollen Long's blog, it was Thunder defenseman Curtiss Patrick who laid the hit on Weisgerber. The league reviewed the hit and it was passed down via director of communications Bob Hoffman that "the hit was clean."

Scorpions 3, Blazers 0

Wow...just wow

I don't think anyone around the league saw this one coming. Last night's loss to Odessa left such a bitter taste in my mouth that I didn't even bother writing about it, but boy oh boy did the Scorpions make up for it with hands down their best 60-minute effort of the season and possibly of the past few seasons. The offense was crisp, confident and aggressive, the defense was both smart and fundamental, and the goaltending was world-class. The team Randy Murphy put out there tonight was one that finally recognized its potential, and if they can keep that up, the rest of the league is sure to take notice.

Observations:

• Sweet redemption for Jason Wolfe against his former mates, especially after getting pretty well handled in the first meeting between the two teams. While the defense deserves all the credit in the world, especially without Michael Beynon, it was Wolfe who made the shutout stand with a remarkable third period. That save he made late in the game on Jeff MacDermid could be the save of the season
• Seth Leonard must have heard the grumbling because he continues to heat up. As Murphy has said a number of times, you probably won't see the best Seth Leonard until around December. Well, if 10 points (5g, 5a) and a +7 in the last 5 games of November is a prelude of what's to come, the critics are likely to be starved for words
• For the first time this season, the Scorpions forced the issue on special teams, especially the penalty-kill. That passive box that opponents had been so quick to exploit was nowhere to be found, and even though T.J. Luxmore only whistled the Scorpions for 7 penalties (5 of which resulted in powerplays), Murphy has to be happy with the PK
• How slick was the play by Jamie Herrington on Leonard's second goal of the game? Herry was a smart player when he joined the Scorpions two seasons ago, but he has come back as an even savvier player on both sides of the puck. He has been the epitome of an all-situations guy for the Scorpions and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves

Elsewhere:

• It's not a field goal or a 9-spot, but Rapid City shutting out Colorado in the Rush's home debut is as impressive as any scoreline in the CHL this season
• As Greg Rajan documents, an instant classic between the Kings and the IceRays in Corpus.
• Laredo does the Scorpions a favor
• So does Tulsa -- for about 22 minutes. Ouch

To nicely tie all of the night's themes together, here's a boxscore from one of my all-time favorite games, a 1-0 shutout by Miguel Beaudry against OKC back in the Tingley days.

Sundogs 6, Scorpions 4

I didn't see the first period of this game, which means I basically missed everything important. Still, it's another game that the Scorpions have lost because of shellshock. And once again, it's the shift immediately after a goal where they manage to shoot themselves in the foot. It's even tougher to swallow when you consider that the Scorpions held their own, if not outplayed Arizona in the second and third periods. They're going to need a much hungrier effort against Odessa on Friday.

Observations:

• It's amazing how one player can make an offense click, and that is exactly what Adam Perry has done. He is a phenomenally talented player and not only has he turned the Sundogs' top line into a formidable scoring threat, but he's also taken the pressure off the second and third line guys, who are in turn playing more relaxed, confident hockey. God, I sure hope San Antonio wants him back sometime soon
• On the other end of the spectrum, you hate to say that one player can break a team's chances, but the past three games have shown how much the Scorpions miss Michael Beynon on the back end. This could prove to be a very costly two weeks unless the Scorpions find a way to improve their team defense in Beynon's absence
• Speaking of no defense, you have to feel for Jason Wolfe, especially on his 31st birthday. From what I heard, he got absolutely hung out to dry, and you never want to put yourself in a position where your goaltender has to give you a chance in the game's first 10 minutes. Goalies steal games at the end of regulation, not the beginning. Having said that, I definitely feel that Andrew Martin played a stellar 40 minutes in relief
• One positive sign for the Scorpions is the continued success of the Macdonald/Stephens/Leonard line. Those three have just been getting hotter and hotter, and it's going to be tough to keep them off the scoresheet if their chemistry continues to build. And for all the Leonard doubters, how about that blind, tape-to-tape pass that hit Macdonald in stride on his second goal of the night? I can't imagine anyone will still have a problem with Lenny's play come the all-star break
• A pretty ballsy move by Chris Robertson in the third, taking a cue from former CHL/WPHLer Mike Legg. I would've loved to have seen Robo on youtube!
• I wish Andrew Smale a speedy recovery after taking a high stick to his already-broken nose. He looked to be absolutely miserable when he went to the locker room with Woody. Smale's tough-as-nails, but something tells me he'll go back to the full face-shield for a bit longer
• Hockey will be much easier to watch when Karl Sellan leaves. Until then, I'll have to settle for watching Ben Chaisson pound him into oblivion. Nice way for big Ben to pick up his first major in the Scorps uniform.

Elsewhere:

• Odessa looks scary again
• Apparently if Texas and Bossier play to a one-goal game, the Mudbugs are screwed
• Ladies and gentlemen, your MVP

Fill me in...

Well I was out of town this past weekend, and with internet costing a pretty $15-a-day at the Marriott Rancho Cordova, I had to pass on catching the games via the CHL Network. So why don't you guys tell me what you think? From looking at the boxscores, it sounds like it was a good weekend both for the Scorpions and their faithful. It appears that the oft-criticized Seth Leonard is doing his part to silence his critics, and it also appears that Christmas came early for the Sundogs in the form of Adam Perry. Must be nice to not have to scout your own talent. The irony is that the San Antonio Rampage are at the very bottom of the AHL (5 points in 19 games...ouch) and are dead last in the league in goals for. Sound like a team that has offense to spare?

Eagles 3, Scorpions 1

It may not have been a win, but this was far and away one of the Scorpions' best performances this season, especially on home ice. The Eagles showed why they are among the league's elite in every facet of the game, and while I won't say that they didn't deserve to win this game, I'll certainly say that the Scorpions didn't deserve to lose it. Anytime you can go punch-for-punch with a perennial powerhouse, especially given where their respective confidence levels were going into tonight, you have to call it a success.

Observations:

• Somehow, the Eagles always seem to be in the right spot, no matter how unpredictable and spontaneous the play happens to be. A perfect example came in the third period, when Seth Leonard found himself alone in the slot. Lenny ripped one that was labeled for the top corner, and somehow Scott Polaski cruised right into the shooting lane at the last minute and blocked the shot, which in turn kicked right to Ed McGrane and sprung the Eagles 3-on-1 the other way. A similar play happened on a pinball rebound that resulted in a transition goal that gave Colorado the lead for good in the third. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good, but to be lucky AND good? C'mon...
• The Eagles came in waves, as they usually do, and when they found their stride, Jason Wolfe almost single-handedly kept the Scorpions in the game. He had several key saves, including a great kick save on an Erik Adams one-timer in the first and that huge glove save on Greg Pankewicz in the second. It's a real shame that the game had to be decided on the one shot all night that Wolfe should've stopped, but any goalie will tell you that backhand shots can be pretty tough to read. Still, you know the big guy wants that one back.
• At the other end, Andrew Penner was impressive when he had to be. That save on Leonard in the second was easily the save of the game from either goalie, but aside from that, Colorado's team defense did a pretty stellar job of keeping the shots from the outside, especially on the powerplay. Credit Penner with controlling his rebounds well and not allowing the Scorpions to generate chances from seemingly harmless shots.
• As far as the Reeder/Leonard storyline goes, both were relatively quiet. Leonard seemed intent on bodying up a bit more against his old mates (including a nice hit that almost put Reeder into his own bench) but his offensive talents were pretty well kept at bay. The same can be said for Reeder, who to me seems a bit caged by Colorado's offensive system. It seems pretty weird to not see him at full flight when he's on the ice, but that could also be a credit to Randy Murphy's guys for doing a phenomenal job shutting down the Tobler/McGrane/Reeder line. Obviously Reeder did get the icing goal in the final minute, but the goal seemed rather irrelevant. I also have no idea how Reeder missed that tip-in attempt during the second period. Polaski sent him a slap-pass at the top of the crease, and he managed to tip it clean over the goal and nearly out of play from not even three feet away. Part of me is starting to see why maybe he didn't quite fit into Colorado's offensive system the first go-round. You have to give a guy like him open ice and creative freedom for him to be his most effective, and while Colorado's offense is the best in the business, it seems a bit too formulaic for a player like Reeder
  
• I was very impressed with the play of the Scorpions' third line tonight, on both sides of the puck. In the first period, the trio of Mike MacDonald, Sam Bowles and Jamie Herrington was all over the place, causing a few uncharacteristic turnovers and really taking the Eagles out of their comfort territory. They also generated some good chances early and kept the momentum with the Scorpions, even after Colorado went up 1-0
• I continue to be impressed with the play of Michael Beynon. He has been a fantastic addition to the Scorpions' blueline and has provided a nice bit of stability on the back end. I also thought he looked pretty good quarterbacking the powerplay last night too. Give him a few more games to get the new systems under his belt, and this guy will start turning some heads
  

Elsewhere:

• Laredo waives Marty Standish. Strange move if you ask me, but Joy Lindsay puts things in perspective a bit. I agree that we've probably seen the last of Standish in the CHL, unless he plans a reunion tour with the Blazers.
  

Right on cue...

...Arizona lands a nice fat point-producer from San Antonio. Should be fun to see how Corey Perry's lil' bro terrorizes the AA ranks. Just a note: the younger Perry finished fourth in scoring on the 06-07 London Knights squad with 87 points in 68 games. You may have heard of Gagner, Kostitsyn and Kane, the three guys who finished in front of him.

The long-awaited homecoming

Most of the fans on the Scorpions boards are pretty fired up about tonight's game and the return of Konrad Reeder to the SASC. It's going to be interesting to see how it all pans out.

As far as the bigger picture, a solid performance from the Scorpions against arguably the league's best team could and would be a huge boost to Randy Murphy's troops, especially if they could do it on home ice. Tulsa proved that the Eagles are human last week, but it took a couple of three-goal holes to do it, and while the Scorpions have proven capable of both digging themselves into holes and occasionally clawing their way out of them, the last thing they want to do is get into a run-and-gun game with talent the likes of Colorado's.

I'll post more from the game tonight

Rage 5, Scorpions 2

The Scorpions' home woes continue, as does their uncanny ability to kill any momentum they get from a win. Unfortunately, one of the bigger crowds of the year was on hand to witness this debacle. There probably aren't too many folks out there who want to come back after seeing their home team outplayed offensively, outplayed defensively, beaten to every puck...you get my point. And I honestly never thought I could see an offense of that caliber fall that flat, but there simply was nothing working for the Scorpions and I'm sure Randy Murphy let them hear about it, as any coach should. They're certainly going to have their work cut out tonight against a red-hot Brahmas team that has already embarrassed the Scorpions once this season.

Observations:

• The first period was just a good defensive period from both sides, but then it seemed like the Scorpions got too antsy about not putting up goals and forgot to take care of their own end. The Rage probably cycled the puck in the Scorpions zone for three or four consecutive shifts before Morelli scored. I don't think there was a Scorpion within 15 feet of Morelli when he took that pass in the slot either.
• For all the unsolicited mistakes the Scorpions made, you have to give credit to Rocky Mountain's team defense. They were flying all over the ice, taking away every passing lane, finishing every check, and essentially giving the Scorpions nothing to work with.
  
• Having said that, it was basically a padded stats night for Scott Reid. His defense let him see everything, as so did the Scorps, especially on the powerplay. I can think of maybe two challenging saves Reid was forced to make, but aside from that, he definitely didn't have to be the Scott Reid of old to win this one.
• Poor Andrew Martin. I would rank tonight's game among his best starts this season, and it was the one time the Scorpions' offense did nothing to help. He bit a little early on Morelli's goal, leaving the 5-hole open, but I can't really fault him on any of the other goals. He single-handedly kept the Scorpions in the game, especially during the second period
• The Scorpions scored twice in the final 5 minutes to make things interesting, and both times they conceded a goal on the very next shift. That has been a focal point of this team since Ray Edwards was at the helm, and the Scorpions effectively failed. The few times I've seen the team going over tape, there is always a huge emphasis put on the first shift after a goal, regardless of which team scores. An empty-netter is a slightly different circumstance, but the Scorpions couldn't even get posession of the puck in deep after they yanked Martin
• One bright spot of the night was Michael Beynon. I was extremely impressed with his performance, especially in his own end. He seems to be the kind of shutdown defenseman the Scorpions need to help take the load off Aaron MacInnis' shoulders. And from what I saw, he was great at starting the rush and making that first pass out of his zone. Hopefully he can bring some stability to the blueline

Elsewhere, in a rather upside-down night in the CHL:

• Amarillo thumps Odessa at the Jack Shack. Interesting to note that Sam Ftorek has points in every game since the Scorpions blanked him opening weekend
• Texas and Bossier combine for another nail-biter.
• Huh?
  
• HUH????
  

Changes on the back end

Randy Murphy's taking steps in the right direction in terms of overhauling the Scorpions' defense core, adding ECHL defenseman Michael Beynon to the mix. Beynon doesn't have a wealth of experience under his belt, but a guy with a minor ECHL pedigree and a bit of time at AHL camp definitely can't hurt what has been a very inexperienced back end.

To make room for Beynon, Murphy waived Russell Smith. Smith was another genuinely nice guy and a character, to boot. Best of luck wherever he ends up.

Murphy also placed Tyler Fuller on the 14-day IR, while Mike MacDonald came off and is expected to suit up tonight. I expect that "Mini Mac" will take shifts as the 4th man on the checking line, while my guess is that we'll see Beynon maybe paired with Dylan Row.

Full team press release can be found here

Out with the old...

Well it went from speculation to rumor to truth in the matter of a few days, but Blazers mainstay and uberpest Marty Standish was traded to Laredo today in exchange for future considerations. The move makes room for Chad Hinz on Sauter's already loaded roster, and it gives Standish a whole new conference of players whose skin he can get under. I'm sure it'll also help Terry Ruskowski light a fire under his guys, as if jobs weren't on the line already following a very un-Laredo like 6-4-0 start (remember when they lost just 8 games in regulation all year back in 03-04?).

Of course, logic says that Marty Standish has been such a royal pain-in-the-a** for nearly the past decade that he would have to go to a Southern Conference team, as not too many fans have short-term memories when it comes to guys like him

Scorpions 5, Sundogs 3

A great win for the Scorpions, and a much-needed one at that. Given how Arizona has been playing in its past few games, Randy Murphy has to be very happy with his team's showing on the road. Now if the Scorpions could only show this kind of intensity at home...

Observations:

• Once again, it's great to see the Scorpions get scoring from all three lines. Not only does it take the pressure off the top two lines, but it also gives that shutdown line some confidence, and nothing beats getting timely goals from your checking line. Just a note: Sam Bowles has points in four games this season, three of which have been Scorpions victories
• A much better performance from the Scorpions on the defensive side of the puck. There is still room for improvement, and the defense as a unit seems to lack that aggressiveness that you see in teams like OKC and Bossier, but it's a step in the right direction. Also, as Adam said, credit to Tyler Fuller for playing what has to be his best defensive game in a Scorpions uniform
• Along those same lines, a simply fantastic game for Andrew Martin, and hopefully one he can feed off of in the near future. Those back-to-back saves on the 2-on-1 with Gascon and Kolanos were unbelieveable. He seemed to be seeing the puck better through traffic as well, and his rebound control looked far better as well
• What a slick goal from Craig Macdonald. That quick inside-outside move is becoming his bread-and-butter, and a great finish to roof that puck from in close. That combination of power-forward strength, playmaker hands and finisher shot is quickly turning "Middle Mac" into an impact player for the Scorpions

Elsewhere:

• For just the second time this season, Greg Pankewicz has more points than PIMs. On an interesting note, Konrad Reeder is now donning Seth Leonard's old No. 18

Scorpions week in review

Sorry about the lack of posts recently...kind of a hectic week so I'm just now getting around to posting again.

Anyhow, the Scorpions went 1-2-0 in their three games this week, pushing their record on the season to 4-5-1 and putting them in a tie for second in the Southwest Division with Arizona. They meet the Sundogs in Prescott Valley on Tuesday, so someone will have sole possession of that second spot by the weekend.

Like the rest of you, I wasn't able to watch Friday's game at Wichita. It's a damn shame too, because it sounds like it was the kind of game that people pay good money to see. Credit both sides with fighting back to erase deficits, and credit the officiating crew with being on top of the action at the end of the regulation. That's a tough call for anyone to have to make, but it sounds like all involved did their respective parts to ensure the right call was made.

As for Saturday, I was able to watch the game and definitely wished that I'd chosen not to. First things first, full credit to the Blazers, as they showed why they're a force to be reckoned with in the Northern Conference. Still, it's difficult to watch a game that feels like it's being played at two different speeds. The Scorpions were getting beaten to pucks all over the ice and never really looked to play a controlled kind of game.

Here are a few observations/notes from this week:

• First, and most importantly, the Scorpions need to do SOMETHING to sure up their defense. In the past, the Scorpions have struggled with shoddy goaltending. And while Andrew Martin and Jason Wolfe have both had performances they would like to forget, the blame hardly rests on the them, in my opinion. The problem is the guys in front of them. Randy Murphy preaches about taking away time and space in the defensive zone, yet I have seen more freewheeling by the opposition than I remember in recent years. Part of me thinks the guys are a bit edgy with how the league has cracked down further on obstruction penalties and whatnot, but giving anyone at this level time and space is going to get you in a lot of trouble. And it has for the Scorpions, who are dead last in the league with 47 goals against in just 10 contests. On the bright side, the Scorps rank 3rd in offensive output with 41 goals for, but unless you're last year's Sundogs, run-and-gun hockey isn't going to take you to the postseason. Obviously the talent Murphy has up front has negated the relative lack of experience, but the same can't be said for the back end. I definitely feel that Murphy needs to make a move on minimum one veteran defenseman to fill those massive gaps in the back line and take the pressure off Aaron MacInnis
• Seth Leonard is getting closer and closer to game shape every day and he is finally starting to live up to his reputation. I know that his numbers don't look great right off the bat (4g, 2a, -7 in 8 games) but he's starting to find some chemistry with Craig Macdonald and Mitch Stephens, which is an encouraging sign. If Randy Murphy continues to give Leonard some creative freedom in the offensive zone, I have very high hopes for what that line can do.
• Four of the Scorpions' next 7 games are against Arizona, which means a ton of divisional points are up for grabs. Clearly the Sundogs have yet to find their stride as well, so you know both Randy Murphy and Marco Pietroniro are pressing their respective squads to clamp down and grab some points that could potentially make-or-break a playoff birth down the road

IceRays 6, Scorpions 3

This is starting to sound all-to-familiar...
-Scorpions dig themselves a hole
-Scorpions wake up, play inspiring hockey to seemingly dig themselves out of hole
-Scorpions shoot themselves in the foot
-Hole gets deeper, Randy Murphy gets angrier

I guess Wednesday's game was somewhat of a role-reversal from last Saturday, when the Scorps were the ones to jump on a wounded Rocky Mountain squad. Still, one would think Murphy's troops would come out a lot hungrier against another team starved for confidence.

Observations:

• I think everyone in the building collectively said "here we go again" when the IceRays converted their first two powerplays less than 6 minutes in. Credit Ryan Bennett with a pair of textbook shots from the point. Andrew Martin never saw the first one, and he had no time to react on a superb tip from Mike Zbriger on the second. On the plus side, the Scorpions PK somehow managed to relax and do its part for the rest of the game. Too bad it took two goals
• Kris Tebbs deserves all the credit in the world for making the Rays' lead stand. The guy was seeing absolutely everything and his rebound control was exceptional. It was one of those nights where you knew everything was on his side, including Lady Luck. I by no means want to take anything away from Tebbs' performance, but there were about 7 or 8 shots he didn't stop that fate managed to keep out. With the Scorps already down 2-0 and on another PK, Aaron MacInnis took a Torren Delforte feed and ripped one past Tebbs that came right back off the post. That would've made it a 2-1 game and shifted the momentum heavily in the Scorps' favor. Then in the third period, both Jamie Herrington and Craig Macdonald missed wide-open nets, and Corey Courchene danced through 3 Corpus defenders, only to have the puck roll on him when he went to the backhand on Tebbs. Then again, it's not like Tebbs didn't earn some good fortune
• Having talked so much about Tebbs, it has to be said that the second period was one of the best periods of hockey the Scorpions have played all season. Personally, I thought they looked even more dominant and more confident than they did in that third period comeback against Wichita, and outshooting a team like Corpus by a margin of 25-5 shows that. They were buzzing in the offensive zone and doing a great job of forechecking and forcing turnovers down low. Still, it has to hurt when the Scorps have outshot their opponents by a combined count of 38-14 in the second period in their last two home games, yet they've been outscored 4-3 in that middle frame.
  
• Martin's giveaway to Zbriger to start the third period was an absolute disaster, especially after how well the Scorpions cycled the puck on the first shift of the period. Goals don't come much easier than that at the pro level
• Greg Rajan said it and I completely agree with him: what a goal by Mark Tobin! Martin had stonewalled him twice in the first period, and it was pretty clear that he was not to be denied. It was impressive enough that he fought off two checks and kept the puck in front of him, but to go backhand-shelf from literally on top of the crease is just spectacular, especially on late-period ice
• Speaking of highlight-reel material, Mitch Stephens' end-to-end rush to get the Scorps within one was a thing of beauty as well. When Stephens can hit the line with speed, there is no one better on this Scorps team at finishing the play off. It reminded me a bit of the shorty he scored against Arizona in the playoffs last year, when Chris Bartolone completely underestimated Stephens' wheels and got turned inside out
  

CHL Award Winners: Week 3

Wichita's Jason Duda and Odessa's Alexandre Vincent took home player of the week and goalie of the week honors for week 3, respectively.

Duda's acknowledgment was more for career achievement than sheer numbers, as the longtime Wichita forward registered his 500th assist with the Thunder (his other 6 professional assists came with Oklahoma City). He also chipped in 3 goals in 3 contests this weekend.

For his part, Vincent is working to earn back his starting job from last year, as Juha Toivonen has been every bit a starter to this point in the season. The second-year pro went 1-0-1 in his first two starts of the season, sporting a 1.44 GAA and a .945 save %.

Rage 3, Scorpions 6

I didn't get a chance to watch this game, and I was only able to listen to the first period, but it sounds like a strong effort from the Scorpions to take advantage of another struggling team and maybe build some confidence going into next week.

When a team's in a funk, the last place the players want to find themselves is playing from behind, but credit the Scorpions with buckling down and really earning the "W" in those second and third periods.

Corpus Christi comes to town on Wednesday, and there's no doubt that the IceRays are reeling a bit, having lost 5 in a row. Randy Murphy just needs to make sure that his guys are hungrier for that two points than the IceRays, especially with the firepower they possess. Another lackluster game in the effort department could get very ugly with the likes of Chris Richards, Justin Quenneville and John McNabb out there.

Anyhow, here are just a few observations from Saturday night's game, having finally caught the replay on CHL TV:

• It looks like Murphy finally found the right line combination with the John Mazzei/Chris Robertson/Torren Delforte line. Mazzei proved to be the perfect playmaking complement to the finishing abilities of Robertson and Delforte, plus his speed was other-worldly. When those guys are on, watch out. Let's not forget that they can also "fall back" on the trio of Seth Leonard/Mitch Stephens/Craig Macdonald
• Andrew Martin was great between the pipes after letting in somewhat of a fluke goal to Tyler Butler at the start of the second. Still, part of me feels that he shouldn't have had to be that good. The Scorpions are starved for two things right now: a shutdown defenseman and a puck-moving defenseman. Aaron MacInnis is both wrapped into one, but he can't patrol the blueline on his own. That's definitely an area where Vladi Hartinger's departure rears its ugly head, and it's something that I'm sure Murphy will address if the right guys become available. The Scorpions have firepower to spare, so I won't be surprised if Murph makes a move to get another d-man before the deadline.

Elsewhere:

• Colorado is undefeated no more
• Rio Grande Valley is undefeated still
• Arizona scores 2 goals in regulation against Odessa -- and wins?

Brahmas 5, Scorpions 2

There's not much to be said about this mess that hasn't been said about the past few games. I can't say I noticed anything different to distinguish this game from the others, suffice to say that there was no effort, no intensity. It's a bit of an anomoly how a group with that level of talent can have so much trouble putting things together.

Randy Murphy told me after the game last night that he thought the Scorpions outworked the Brahmas in the first period and most of the second period as well. Regardless of who carried the play, Texas was far and away the more opportunistic side. Three goals on five shots in the second period were evidence of that. Here's to hoping that Murphy can light a fire under his team tonight against a struggling Rocky Mountain squad.

Observations:

• Good pressure from the Scorpions early on, and credit to David Cacciola for keeping his former team off the board. Tough luck for Sam Bowles, though, as he beat both Craig Minard and Cacciola, only to put the puck off the post. If Bowles can finish that play, the Scorps are in good shape. Instead, the Brahmas weather the storm and take advantage of really the only miscue the Scorpions had in the first period
• Lance Galbraith's goal to make it 3-1 was an absolute bomb from the point. Having him and Scott Sheppard on off-wings makes for a terrifying powerplay setup. That scrap Galbraith and Tyler Fuller had was also a pretty good tilt. Talk about a versatile player
• Congrats to Neil Trimm on his first professional goal. I really like the potential of that line with Trimm, Mitch Stephens and Seth Leonard. Hopefully they can find some chemistry, and quickly

Elsewhere:

• Wylie Rogers puts together a performance for the ages, stopping 53 of 54 Odessa shots to keep the Bees undefeated on the season. Keeping that Jacks powerplay 0-for-11 is something any team should be proud of
• Tulsa is not so lucky, as the Mudbugs pump them for 5 powerplay goals on just 7 opportunities
• Kevin McClelland sweats a bit in his homecoming. but the Eagles run the count to a perfect 8-0 on the season.

Roster moves as of 10/30

Randy Murphy waived Nate Bostic today and placed Mike MacDonald on the 14-day IR. This most likely means that John Mazzei will be in the lineup on Friday against Texas. Best of luck to Bostic, wherever he may end up. Another kid with a ton of heart.

I don't have a health update on Tyler Fuller, but his two weeks on the IR are up as of tomorrow, so it's a big question mark as to whether he'll be in the lineup or whether he'll be a healthy scratch.

One other transaction today that might be of interest to Scorpions fans, as Amarillo signed Jonathan Ornelas. You might remember Ornelas from his playoff stint with the Scorpions last season. His numbers weren't great (they weren't anything, actually) but he was a workhorse who definitely showed some offensive flare from time to time. I'll be interested to see how he does with the Gorillas

Time for a few more moves...

Good news for the Scorpions as John Mazzei finally sorted out immigration and has been cleared to play. The bad news is that Randy Murphy now has to make an additional roster cut to accommodate for the Bowling Green grad. Personally, I've been very excited to see what Mazzei can do for the Scorps, as he looked great in training camp and practice. He seems like the kind of player that could fit in well on just about any line Murphy has assembled right now, but I personally could see a guy with his playmaking ability alongside a natural shooter like Macdonald or Robertson. Now, given that Delforte has been nothing short of amazing in first five games, I can't see moving him off that top line. But... I also noticed that he had some instant chemistry with Neil Trimm and Mitch Stephens during training camp, so there's a possibility that Murphy puts those three together and slots Mazzei in with Robertson and Leonard. Tons of decisions to be made between now and Friday, but I think this is the first time we'll be able to see the full potential of the Scorpions this season.

The rich get richer, part deux

Apparently 5 games is enough for Terry Ruskowski to shake things up down in Laredo. Coach Rosco waived forwards Ryan Fuller and Joey Moggach to make room for former Memphissippi Riverking and NHL draftpick Rick Kozak. The Bucks also added forward Joey Olson, who put up 30 points in 39 games with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL last season. Two rookie forwards for two proven point-producers at this level -- sounds like a good exhange in my book!

Do it for the kids?

The Jackalopes made their position in the Southwest division pretty clear by drubbing the Gorillas 7-1 on kid's day at the Amarillo Civic Center. That makes the Jacks a perfect 4-0 against divisional opponents this season, not to mention that they've outscored their opponents by a combined 26-6 margin in those four games. Maybe Randy Murphy, Tom Coolen and Marco Pietroniro need to do some brainstorming. Or maybe we'll all get to see what the Northeast Division felt like a few years ago

In related news, apparently Derek Dolson opted to return north of the border and pursue other opportunities. With that in mind, Amarillo is reportedly pursuing former all-star and fellow Jacks outcast Mike Goreman, who was waived by Rio Grande Valley today. This comes after the Gorillas waived goaltender Simon Nielsen, who was shelled for 6 goals on 24 shots in his only game of the season, a 6-0 loss to the Scorpions opening weekend. Coach Coolen clearly has no problem keeping that revolving door moving

CHL Award Winners: Week 2

The CHL announced today its player of the week and goaltender of the week for week 2 of the CHL season. Rapid City's Chris Lipsett grabbed player of the week honors, notching 7 points (5g, 2a) in 3 games for the Rush this week. Having shared a division with Lipsett for the past few years, I'm sure most Scorps fans are aware of the offensive damage this guy can do. Looks like he's found a nice spot playing along side former Gorilla Rich Hansen and recent addition Les Reaney, a former teammate of Scorps forward Nate Bostic at Niagara University.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City's Andy Franck took home goaltender of the week honors after picking up points in all four of his starts this week (2-0-2). The fourth-year pro sported a 1.32 goals against average to go along with a .947 save percentage. When you share a division with Bossier-Shreveport, every point's going to count come playoff time.

A great effort

Just a thanks to everyone who pitched in this weekend to support Rob Guinn's family. I'll post an update as soon as I learn how much was raised this weekend, but I know I'm not alone in saying that every effort made over the past few days was greatly appreciated.

Thunder 7, Scorpions 6 (OT)

I hope you didn't turn on your radio or head for the exits midway through this one...though I wouldn't have blamed you. Needless to say, having deja vu of the worst kind on the same night the Scorpions have what could be a critical breakthrough in this early season is -- well -- beyond words.

This obviously was not a game that Randy Murphy would be proud of, but the effort the Scorpions showed to erase a 6-goal deficit was definitely something they can feed off of. After 4 and 1/2 terrible periods of hockey, the Scorpions managed to show both their coach and themselves what they're capable of. The team I saw in that third period is a force to be reckoned with, it's just an issue of whether they can hang on to that confidence.

Observations:

• Wichita might not have had the firepower that Odessa did the night before, but these guys were quick! Part of it can be attributed to sloppy offensive zone play by the Scorps, but credit the Thunder in springing a number of odd-man man rushes with sheer speed. Bruce Bilodeau's squad has a killer transition game
• It's been pretty rare in the past season and change to see Andrew Martin have two consecutive bad outings, but something just wasn't clicking this weekend. No one expected him to stop everything he saw, but I think there were a few goals over the past two nights that Marty definitely wants back
• Torren, Torren, Torren... you're not supposed to play favorites, but how can you not love this kid? And I can say "kid" because he's even younger than I am! Both of Torren Delforte's goals in the third period were absolutely beautiful. The first goal to make it 6-5 was the best individual effort of the season thus far, as Delforte sidestepped two or three checks coming out of the corner, undressed a defenseman, then fought off another to get his own rebound and put a backhand top shelf on Krister Toews. Absolutely electrifying. On the game-tying goal, Delforte sniped that short-side corner on Toews, but the real credit goes to Dylan Row. He hit the line and dangled right through two defenders, drawing a third to him and freeing up Delforte, whom he hit with a tape-to-tape backhand pass. If Row can play with that kind of aggressiveness and confidence, he could be a big contributor at both ends
• Mitch Stephens finished the game with 3 assists, but it's fair to say that his bad luck as of late continued. Twice Stephens missed from in close, including a look at a wide-open net, and both times Wichita took the puck the other way and scored on the insuing rush. That's gotta hurt, especially considering Stephens probably could've put up 5 or 6 points tonight
• Quick roster note: rookie forward Neil Trimm cleared immigration, so he was in the lineup tonight and Matt Cosmos was waived. He picked up his first career point on Jamie Herrington's goal early in the third and was a +1 on the night. Randy Murphy is still awaiting clearance on John Mazzei, which means that several guys are likely still fighting for roster spots.
• Kevin Graber is definitely making a name for himself in the Southwest division. A ref's job is never easy, but there's something to be said for letting the guys play
• Interestingly enough, the Scorpions were the only Southwest Division team to grab a point tonight. Who'd a thunk it?

Elsewhere:

• Scott Sheppard single-handedly dismantles Odessa. As James Yodice was pointing out, I'm sure the half-day bus ride didn't help the Jacks' cause
• Tulsa pulls in almost 17k to the new BOK Center, only to have OKC spoil the party.
• Laredo climbs out of the basement in the Southeast with a defensive battle in Corpus. Every part of that sentence sounds weird

Jackalopes 9, Scorpions 2

"Like boys amongst men"

Those words from Randy Murphy about sum up this, by far one of the ugliest affairs I've ever been privy to. From what I heard from other reporters, the usually docile Murphy unleashed a Paul Fixter-esque rant after the game, hinting not-so-subtly at the possibility of personel changes. As he so eloquently put it (and I'm paraphrasing, here) "some of these guys think the rink is a f***ing country club." When I left the SASC, Adam Minnick was returning to the booth with strict orders to cut up tonight's goal highlights and get Murphy the game DVD ASAP. Sounds like the Scorps are going to be doing some late-night film study. You can bet that jobs are going to be on the line tomorrow night against Wichita -- that is, if jobs weren't already on the line tonight.

As for the Jacks, they looked better than just about any team I have seen in the CHL, especially this early in the season. Paul Gillis' squad looks like a team that's been playing together for years. They outplayed and outperformed the Scorpions in every facet of the game from the drop of the puck. The new additions to their lineup lived up to their reputations, and the old Jacks (Ramsay, Swiniarksi, Thinel, Leveille, to name a few) looked more confident and more dangerous than I remember them. This is a team that is just brimming with confidence right now, and I'm sure the whole league, especially the Southern Conference, has taken notice. I also think the numbers in this week's poll (at right) might just take a jump after seeing the Jacks firsthand.

Observations:

• Poor Jason Wolfe. He looked great early on, especially on the first PK just :14 into the contest. The shot counter read 8-0 less than three minutes in, and Wolfe certainly kept the Scorpions in the game. Andrew Martin played well for the most part in relief, but I think that 6th goal from Lesperance completely broke his confidence and quelled any chance of a Scorpions comeback. A goaltender of Martin's quality should never get beaten 5-hole when he can see the shot coming from 60 feet out.
• I don't know if it was Kory Karlander or the linesman, but someone was driving Chris Robertson nuts on the faceoff. I've never seen someone tossed from the faceoff circle so many times. From the Murphy's point of view, it must hurt to continually lose the services of one of the league's premier drawmen
• This a pretty quick judgment after only one game, but I think the defensive pairing of Russ Moyer and Phillipe Plante could be one of the league's top defensive tandems by season's end. Absolutely lights out in their own end, and Moyer moves the puck like a quality AHL defenseman
• Juha Toivonen made a couple amazing saves, especially in those early flurries, but the 40-plus shots he faced did little more than pad his stats. Odessa's D was very good about clogging up the passing lanes and forcing the Scorpions to shoot from the outside. When the Scorpions did find space to shoot, Toivonen usually saw the puck all the way. I've only seen the Jacks this once, but I definitely think Toivonen's stats are indicative of the defense in the front of him. I saw plenty of areas where he seemed vulnerable, but his mates did a phenomenal job of helping him out
• The Scorpions' penalty kill looked about as static and flatfooted as it's ever been. The best penalty-killing teams in this league are equally dynamic when shorthanded as they are at full strength, and the Scorpions looked like pylons out there. The Jacks were free to work from the goal line all the way up to the point without any pressure. It made it pretty easy to open up those seams. The video game-style passing plays probably didn't hurt either.
• The same criticisms can pretty well sum up the Scorpions' power play too. Yes, they picked up their two goals of the evening on the PP, but I can think of maybe a handful of times the PP unit actually got set up in the zone and moved the puck around well enough to generate a quality chance. The Odessa PK worked like a 4-man unit should, clogging up the passing lanes and pressuring the Scorps from the inside out. Unfortunately for the Scorpions, they couldn't fall back on their 5-on-5 play like they could the past few seasons

Elsewhere:

• Colorado wins the first President's Cup rematch. Arizona loses Leavitt, Redenbach, Urquhart, Laperierre, McVicar. Colorado gains Reeder, Ulanski, two AHL goaltenders. Same teams as May? I think not
• Greg Rajan clearly knows how Scorps fans feel after the IceRays are brought back down to earth by Rapid City. Must be nice to give up 8 goals in your second game of the season and still have a positive goal differential. On another note, congrats to the Rush on the franchise's first win
• Wichita gets a much-needed boost in a battle of two teams much in need of boosting. Can the Rage seriously STILL be hungover from the all-star game?
• Rio Grande Valley shows Laredo that things might be a little different this year. And I thought the Southwest Division was gonna be tough... see what Joy Lindsay and Brian Sandalow have to say once they can shift focus back to hockey

Sundogs 5, Scorpions 3

Well it looked like a quality game for 40 minutes, but one bad period and the Scorpions and Sundogs put an end to their respective streaks. It's been a shared frustration between Ray Edwards and Randy Murphy as long as they've been behind the Scorpions bench, and tonight was no different -- the Scorpions will not consistently play 60 minutes of hockey. Even a five-minute lapse can put a team behind the 8-ball, but playing the final frame of a 2-2 game with zero intensity is a guaranteed way to lose a game.

Observations:

• Andrew Martin basically got hung out to dry. I missed the first goal of the game -- Adam said it was a hell of a shot from Karl Sellan. But a short-handed 2-on-1 and a pair of defensive zone giveaways (more on that later) are not indicative of a team that's helping out its goalie. Golden rule of hockey: take care of your end first.
• For as much as I've praised Mitch Stephens since the opening of training camp, his giveaway to Martin Gascon after Arizona's go-ahead goal was absolutely ghastly. Hopefully he can find a way to atone for that this weekend, but he put the nail in the coffin himself with that one
• I'm sure I sound like a broken record by now, but another solid performance from Torren Delforte. He keeps his point streak alive and was really all over the place tonight, creating opportunities and drawing penalties.
• Congrats to Corey Courchene on his first goal as a Scorpion. Pretty solid rip
• Suggestions for practice between now and Friday? Hitting the net from the hashmarks in. Too many times, the Scorps went for the corners when they had golden opportunities and too often they didn't even test Marco Emond. Adam said it in the broadcast and I will gladly reiterate that Emond is prone to coughing up rebounds. Rebounds come from shots on goal

Elsewhere:

• Colorado pounds on Rocky Mountain for a period, then puts it in cruise. Sounds like the third period was worth catching on the CHL Network
• Martin Brodeur inches closer and closer to Terry Sawchuk's 103 shutouts with a 5-0 whitewash of the Dallas Stars. That puts Marty at 98 for his illustrious carrer. More importantly, it puts him one step closer to erasing Patrick Roy from the record books :-)
• Talk of a 2nd NHL franchise in Toronto. It's going to be pretty hard to find many converts in Leaf-land. Besides, nobody wants to be the Clippers of the NHL

Rekindling the rivalry

Tonight's game at Arizona marks the next chapter in what has been a very entertaining division rivalry over the past two seasons. The Sundogs clearly got the last laugh, knocking off the Scorpions in 5 games last season on their way to the President's Cup title. It's equally clear that this is not last year's Sundogs team. Sans the game-breaking abilities of Alex Leavitt, Tyler Redenbach and Cory Urquhart, the Dogs put up a whopping 3 goals in a pair of contests against Odessa last weekend, with last season's top-ranked powerplay going a modest 2-for-23 (in another surprising turn of events, the Scorpions are actually leading the league on the PK at a clip of 93.3%). Now, let's give credit where credit is due, as the retooled Odessa Jackalopes squad that handed the Sundogs those two losses is arguably the league's best team on paper. While a lot of people had the chance to see what Paul Gillis' new team can do, I don't think anyone got a fair representation of what the Sundogs are capable of.

Having said all of this, I'm hopeful that tonight's game has the intensity and excitement we've all come to expect from the Scorps/Dogs rivalry. There are plenty of new faces on both sides, so maybe it'll take a few games for that hatred to get settled, but the guys who've been here before have no excuse not to send a message tonight.

There is also another interesting sideplot tonight -- should the goaltending matchup pan out, we could potentially see a duel between the two top prospects for the AHL's San Antonio Rampage in Andrew Martin and Joel Gistedt. Both players were in camp with the Rampage and both are at the top of the pool for an AHL call-up. Such a call up could be imminent as well, with the Phoenix Coyotes allegedly shopping backup goaltender Mikael Tellqvist. So far, Martin has fared better in his lone start than Gistedt, stopping 36 of 39 shots against Amarillo opening night. Gistedt was tagged for 6 goals on 12 shots and pulled after just 31 minutes of play, but I'm going out on a limb here and guessing that all 6 of those goals weren't his fault.

Follow the game live on pointstreak or on CHLTV