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Killer Bees Win Spot In Chl Playoffs: Lindsay, Bees Come Through in Final Regular Season Game

Posted on: Monday, 27 March 2006, 09:00 CST

By The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

Mar. 27--ODESSA -- With Austin well on its way to victory, the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees had to defeat Odessa on Sunday at the Ector County Coliseum to qualify for the Central Hockey League playoffs.

Faced with that do-or-die scenario, the Bees closed the regular season with a dominating performance, beating the Jackalopes from pillar to post in a clutch 4-0 victory.

With the victory, the Bees (33-25-6, 72 points) open the first round of the Southern Conference playoffs against top-seeded Laredo (43-15-6, 92 points) in Game 1 at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Laredo Entertainment Center.

"It's just the next step for us," Bees coach Tracy Egeland said. "This was our goal and we made it. Now we have our sights set on the first round."

Odessa (36-22-6, 78 points) plays Amarillo (35-26-3, 73 points) in the other Southern Conference semifinal series.

On Sunday, Evan Lindsay made 30 saves for his third shutout of the season, including a key stop on a third-period penalty shot with the Bees holding a 2-0 lead.

Ryan Shmyr put the Bees on the board early when he rebounded his own shot for a 1-0 RGV lead at the 4:27 mark. That goal held until the 2:48 point of the second period when Dwayne Hay converted an Aaron Phillips feed to put the Bees up 2-0.

Daymen Bencharski put the game out of reach nine minutes into the third period with a power-play goal. Bill Newson provided the finishing touch, a shorthanded tally with 2:47 remaining to put the Bees back in the playoffs after a one-year hiatus.

"We're happy to be back in," Egeland said. "A year ago, a lot of people probably didn't know if we could be here. Look at what these players have done. We went from 19 wins to 33, and I think we regained a lot of respect that we lost last year, too. These 18 guys that are here right now have done a hell of a job."

Egeland said the players didn't know Austin was beating Tulsa 2-0 in an early afternoon game, meaning the Bees had to win to make the playoffs. According to the third-year RGV coach, they realized the gravity of the situation before taking the ice regardless of what Austin (34-27-3, 71 points) was doing.

"We knew we had to win," he said. "I don't think the players knew what the (Austin) score was. I didn't mention it to them. We knew if we won, it didn't matter what anybody else did."

NOTES: Tickets for Games 3 and 4 against Laredo on April 4 and April 7 at Dodge Arena go on sale at 10 this morning at the Dodge Arena box office. For more information, call (956) 843-7825 or visit killerbeehockey.com. Ticket prices are $11 to $20.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Monitor, McAllen, Texas

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Source: The Monitor (McAllen, Texas)

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