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TOP STORIESHockey playoff preview12:35 PM CDT on Thursday, March 27, 2008
CAN'T-MISS PLAYERS
FORWARDS
Michael Crow, Highland Park: He led the Gold Division in points (40) and assists (20) and was second in goals (20). Greg Douglas, Plano West: Led the Gold Division in goals, with 23 in 21 games. He is dangerous on the power play (10 goals) and killing penalties (5 short-handed goals). Michael Zahner, Mansfield: He was second in the Gold Division in points (35). Mansfield was 11-0-1 in games in which he scored a goal.
DEFENSEMEN
Chris Schnurr, Matt Nitishin and Will Leedy, Jesuit: They combined for 38 points for the Gold Division regular-season champion. Nate Milburn, Plano: Had team-high 16 assists; team allowed 2.2 goals a game in Gold Division. Brian Young, Mansfield: Had 17 assists, and helped Mansfield allow the fewest goals (46) in the Gold Division.
GOALIES FILE 2007Staff photo Plano goalie Tim Franda, stopping Highland Park's Madison Gardner, won eight of his last 10 games.
Connor Cantrell, Highland Park: He led the Gold Division in wins (14) and shutouts (four). He made 556 saves – 125 more than anyone else in the Gold Division. Tim Franda, Plano: Was 11-3 and ranked second in the Gold Division in save percentage (.940). Michael Staab, Mansfield: Led Gold Division in save percentage (.941); had a 1.26 goals-against average.
TOP STORYLINES
Missing star
Birdville junior Sean Hickey leads the Silver Division in goals (35) and points (58), but he may miss all of the AT&T Metroplex High School Hockey League's city playoffs. Hickey plays for the Texas Attack 16-under prep travel team, which qualified for the USA Hockey National Championships that are Wednesday through April 6 in Buffalo, N.Y. Birdville plays its first playoff game Tuesday – the day Hickey is scheduled to leave for nationals – and the city final is April 8. Birdville went 16-4 with Hickey in the lineup and 0-3 without him.
Battling back
Garland center Kyle Hood was told by doctors that he would never be able to play hockey again – and that he would never regain use of his right arm – after he broke the arm in a game two years ago and then suffered complications. "When they fixed it, the bone slipped, so it was cutting off all the circulation in my arm and I had no blood flow in my whole arm," Hood said. After several surgeries, Hood returned to the ice. This season, as a senior, Hood leads the Silver Division in assists (32) and is tied for fourth in goals (25). ON A ROLL
Jesuit: It won 13 of its last 14 games to claim the Gold Division regular-season title. Plano West: Last season's state runner-up won eight of its last nine regular-season games. Frisco: It won its last 12 games to capture the Silver Division regular-season title. Frisco's last loss was Dec. 13. Richardson: It has won nine in a row. Nick Sellers has 21 points during the winning streak. Justin Northwest: It has won seven in a row, including two wins apiece over Silver Division powers Arlington Martin and Birdville. Colleyville Heritage: It sits in second place in the Silver Division after winning its last five games by a combined score of 33-2.
POTENTIAL SURPRISES Allen: The defending city and state champion has twice as many losses as last season but beat Gold Division regular-season champion Jesuit twice. Ryan Holloway had 29 points, including seven game-winning goals, in 16 games. Flower Mound: It finished seventh in the Gold Division but beat Jesuit, Mansfield, Plano West and Allen, which were a combined 64-19-10. Jake Newton tied for third in the Gold Division in goals (19), and Jimmy Hawes tied for second in assists (19). McKinney: It finished eighth but beat Gold Division powers Plano West, Plano and Highland Park. Bishop Lynch: It went 11-11-1 in the regular season but beat Silver Division champion Frisco.
KEY DATES
Sunday: Play-in games for Gold and Silver division city playoffs Tuesday: First-round games for city playoffs April 8: Silver Division city championship game (6:45 p.m. at Farmers Branch) April 8: Gold Division city championship game (8:30 p.m. at Farmers Branch) April 11-13: Texas Amateur Hockey Association's Texas Cup state tournament in Houston |
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