RIO RANCHO, NM – It’s another year in the Central Hockey League and another year of new faces on many teams. For the New Mexico Scorpions this is no different. Gone are fan favorites Kevin Harvey who took his fists elsewhere, Konrad Reeder who bolted for Europe and Vladimir Hartinger who signed with New Mexico and then followed Reeder across the pond.
Head coach Randy Murphy, entering his second year behind the bench, engineered a highly competitive team last season and if two games tells anything he may be repeating the feat.
In a home-and-home series with the Amarillo Gorillas, New Mexico put up 6-3 and 6-0 wins in solid performances. In their opening night performance the Scorpions started out fast and posted a 3-0 lead before the Gorillas mounted a comeback to cut the score to 3-2 early in the third.
The 6-3 final was more a result of the effort of returning netminder Andrew Martin who withstood consistent Gorillas’ offense which provided
(G)Andrew Martin Photo courtesy of NM Scorpions
The following night the two teams picked up their gear bags and headed for the panhandle of Texas and the home opener for the Gorillas. For game two Murphy went with newcomer in net Jason Wolfe who played in Oklahoma City last year for the Blazers in the CHL. For the Scorpions the defensive scheme tightened up and the team yielded only 25 shots on goal and limited scoring opportunities for Amarillo.
But the real addition by subtraction was in net where Wolfe pitched the first shutout of the year for the Scorpions and the CHL in the 6-0 victory.
(G) Jason Wolfe Photo courtesy of NM Scorpions
Meanwhile the Scorpions lit up the scoreboard again with newcomer Torren Delforte getting two goals and four other Scorpions adding goals on the night.
The economics of the hockey industry have dictated movement back and forth across the Atlantic this past off season. Hartinger and Reeder’s departure to Europe can hardly be faulted from a purely fiscal point of view. Hartinger’s departure was harder to take based on his signing in the off season to return to the New Mexico club.
If the Scorpions continue to play as they did this opening weekend then the old favorites will be fondly remembered and the newcomers will find a place in fans hearts.
For opening night the Scorpions drew 3155 fans to the arena in Rio Rancho’s City Center. The only city center with no city around it as our CHL editor, Mitch Cooper, calls it. When considering the apathy of the Albuquerque metro sports fan for anything other than University of New Mexico athletics then 3155 fans is not a bad number.
But the promise of additional and varied entertainment during intermissions and throughout the game must be realized for the franchise to improve on opening night’s attendance. The Rio Rancho fan-base is fickle at best and can be easily diverted by someone shaking a bright shiny object in their eyes.
Fans in the arena will confirm the efforts of the franchise’s front office and the efforts of head coach Randy Murphy. When that is accomplished then the fiscal concerns of individual clubs, not just New Mexico, will be alleviated. And perhaps Europe will not be the siren call for so many fan favorites.
Contact the author at lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com .
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