Blazers, RiverKings in CHL first round

OKLAHOMA CITY, Ikla – A common factor when discussing a club’s chances in a playoff series is whether the team has the home ice advantage or not. However in this series the two clubs in question might want to defer home ice. Oklahoma City and Mississippi played each other nine times this year and the visitor has won the game a confounding seven times. Thanks to their regular season total of 91 points in comparison to Oklahoma City’s 85 points the River Kings will have that “advantage” in 2009. These two storied franchises will kick off their respective quests for their third CHL championship by fighting it out for Northeast Division supremacy (although Bossier-Shreveport may still have a say in the matter). The two

clubs are defensive twins. The Blazers led the loop in team goals against by limiting foes to just 158 goals this year. The River Kings finished just behind Oklahoma City by giving up just 166 tallies. Where the clubs begin to differ is on the other side of the ice as the River Kings poured in 242 goals, good for third in the league while the Blazers scored a more pedestrian 202 times. Both clubs are relatively healthy coming into the series. The Blazers will be without Oriel McHugh for at least the first two games of the playoffs and while Memphis has a full roster, Jeff Nelson, Bobby Chaumont and Darrell Stoddard are fresh off the injured reserve list while teammate Matt Pierce was placed on the season-ending IR. If Chaumont, who led the team with 28 goals and Nelson, who probably would have led the club in scoring had he not missed nine games, are slowed the River Kings offensive advantage will be narrowed. However, CHL Coach of the Year Kevin Kaminski has not put all his eggs in a couple of baskets. Mid-season arrival Martin Gascon, minor-pro legend Louis Dumont, Garrett Larson and Matt Summers can also change the scoreboard in a hurry for the club. Memphis generates a lot of opportunities from the blue line thanks to the play of perennial All-Star Derek Landmesser and Stephen Marguson (12 goals), Jeff Alcombrack (14 goals), CHL All-Rookie Team member Dane Marshall and Joe Markusen (10 goals). Transition is the name of the game in the playoffs and those five players on this roster can definitely key an attack. Nelson has had marvelous playoffs before in the then-UHL, so it will be very important for the Blazers to account for him. As their low goals against total would attest the River Kings are not a one-trick pony. The team is committed to playing a game in which the other team is challenged to score from the first-liners on down. You have to go all the way to Taylor Hustead, who was with the club in October, to find a minus player on the roster. That type of play can only help netminder Kevin Beech who was named the CHL’s Outstanding Goaltender this year after an incredible second half. Keyed by a shutout over the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs on New Year’s Eve the 2005 draft choice of the Tampa Bay Lightning went 23-3-3 from that point forward. Simply put their may be no other hotter player in the league at this time.
 
While Beech may have been receiving well-deserved accolades for his play, Blazers coach Doug Sauter split the duties during the season between Doug Groenestege and Andy Franck. Recently Sauter has been playing Groenestege more (he appeared in seven of the club’s last ten games) and appears to have given the 25-year old with the 2.10 goals against average the nod as the club’s playoff starter. Neither Beech nor Groenestege have a history of long playoff runs so both of those netminders will have to answer that question this year. Memphis has Tyler Sims as a backup while Franck, who did have a nine-game playoff season with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers in 2005-06, will be ready to step in if required. Just because the Blazers’ offense is not as prolific or storied as the River Kings that does not mean the club does not have weapons. With 30 goals to his credit Bill Vandermeer has more goals this year than any other player in this series has. DJ Jelitto (25) and Ted Vandermeer (21 goals in 50 games) can also score at prolific rates while other forwards such as Chad Hinz, Brian Passmore and Simon Lambert had productive seasons. The Blazers can also play in your face with Robin Gomez and the improving Josh Patterson contributingto the club’s success. Veteran Tyler Fleck is the linchpin on an defensive crew that includes Stacey Bauman, Jason Seerey, Justin Sawyer, Tyler Harder and the injured McHugh. This crew may not blind you with sheer numbers or offensive skills, but they will play you tough and they make life miserable for their opponents. What to expect; This series has the potential to be a classic. These teams are each good enough to play for a championship and if this were the CHL final it would not be a shock. However this series is not the final and one club will go home believing that they underachieved this year. Both these teams are excellent at limiting shots on goal. This means with limited chances to score the goaltenders are going to have to come up big when called for and no one knows if these goalies are “playoff” goalies. This series is very likely going to come down to which goaltender can be sharpest when the odd shot does come in against him. With limited chances to score the goals are going to swing the game’s momentum more than if there were plenty of goals scored. Teams have to be mentally tough to win in a low-scoring series and that usually favors a veteran club. Whichever team can keep its head up if a soft goal gets scored will have an advantage. Due to their veterans it would appear that the River Kings have a better chance to win in a shorter series. I believe the longer this series goes the better the Blazers have a chance to win as their younger players gain confidence in the playoffs. Contact the author at tom.schettino@prohockeynews.com