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