Chilliwack Chiefs(19-11-0-2) vs Merritt Centennials (18-10-2-5)
Friday December 30th, 2011
What do Criss Angel, Alan from The Hangover, Mano from Bozzini's and, my personal favourite, Fremont Street all have in common? Las Vegas, of course!
If you're over 21, you and a guest could be heading to The Strip courtesy of Roblin Travel and Cruise. All you have to do is come out and cheer on the Chiefs tonight at Prospera Centre when they host the Merritt Centennials at 7 p.m. To be eligible for the trip please ensure that you are in your seat at the end of the second period.
Chilliwack is coming off a 4-2 home ice loss to the Prince George Spruce Kings Wednesday night. Mitch Gillam made 37 saves and was named the game’s first start. Kit Sitterley and Spencer Graboski scored for the Chiefs who despite the loss remain in third place in the Interior Conference with 40 points in 32 games. Chilliwack trails the second place Centennials by three points and are three points up on the fourth place Spruce Kings. The Chiefs have played three fewer games than Merritt and two fewer than Prince George. The top four teams will qualify for the playoffs.
The Centennials are also coming off a loss, a 6-5 overtime decision to the visiting Westside Warriors last night. It was the fifth loss in extra time for the Centennials this season.
The Chiefs are 1-1-0-1 vs the Centennials this season.
Fill the Rink for the Food Bank a huge success:The Salvation Army is now good until the end of February, all thanks to the Chilliwack Chiefs and their fans.
On Wednesday night Chilliwack Chiefs fans donated 9000 food items at the Chiefs/ Prince George game which was billed as Fill the Rink for the Food Bank Night. The Salvation Army’s Ian Pratt says their shelves are now full. “It will see us through with the Christmas food drives that we’ve already done till probably late February. So it’s been a tremendous boost for us. It was six skids of food that is well needed and will be well used.”
Pratt says he wasn't surprised by the outpouring of generosity. He says it is something Chilliwack just does.
Thompson commits to Penn State: Chiefs defenseman David Thompson has accepted a scholarship to play for the Penn State Nittany Lions and will attend the school beginning in September of 2013. Thompson, in his second BCHL season, leads all Chiefs defensemen in scoring with four goals and 12 assists in 31 games. A native of Glen Mills, Pennsylvania, it will be a return home for the 6-foot-2, 187-pound blueliner.
Chiefs #1 in Attendance:The Chiefs continue to lead the BCHL in attendance with an average of 2,059. The next highest total belongs to the Penticton Vees who are averaging 1,623
Top line leads the way:The Chiefs top line of Derek Huisman, Malcolm Gould and David Bondra continues to lead the way offensively for the Chiefs. The trio has combined to score 48 of the Chiefs 108 goals this season.
Song Requests: If you want to hear your favorite song during the game simply tweet your request to @Chiefs_Hockey and we'll do our best to get it played for you.
Home Sweet Home: The Chiefs are 11-4-0-1 on home ice this season which puts them on pace for 22 home ice wins this season. The team record for most home wins in a season is 26 set during the 1995-96 season.
T op 20:Derek Huisman’s 18 goals are the 17th highest total in the league. Last season with the Quesnel Millionaires Huisman scored 14 goals in 57 games. ..Chiefs goaltender Mitch Gillam ranks 8th in goals against average (2.79), sixth in save percentage (91.4) and 10th in minutes played (1,292).
Scoring 1st:The Chiefs are 12-2-0-0 when scoring first and 7-9-0-2 when allowing the first goal.
After 40 tells the story:When leading after two periods the Chiefs are 9-2-0-1. When tied after two, their record is perfect at 8-0-0-0. When trailing after two periods they are 2-9-0-1.
Close Games: The Chiefs are 10-3-2 in one goal games this season. On home ice the Chiefs are 6-2-1 in games decided by one goal.
Defense wins: When allowing three or fewer goals the Chiefs are 16-3-0-1. When allowing four or more goals the Chiefs are 3-8-0-1.
Chiefs Roster Notes:The Chiefs are currently carrying 20 players on their roster including two goaltenders, six defensemen and 13 forwards. By age, Chilliwack has one 16 year old (Forster), one 17 year old (Babych), six 18 year olds (Gossard, Graboski, Tibbet, Laurent, Berry, Udy) 8 19 year olds (Huisman, Bondra, Gould, Hansen, Hills, Thompson, Fontaine, Gillam), and four 20 year olds (Hutchinson, Spring, Sitterley, Miller).
American Flavor: The Chiefs currently have five players from the United States on their roster, including one player from each of the following States: Maryland, Delaware, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Home Country:The Chiefs have 15 Canadian players on their roster including representatives from BC (10), Alberta (3), Quebec (1) and Ontario (1).
Special Teams: The Chiefs currently have the 8thth ranked power play with a success rate of 19.86% (28/141). The Chiefs power play has been much better on home ice (23.75%) than on the road (14.75%). On the penalty kill, the Chiefs have killed off 82.55% of their penalties, good for 3rd place in the league.
