NOTEBOOK YOUNGSTOWN STEELHOUNDS

In the hunt: The SteelHounds earned three of four points last week to pull within seven points of first place Bossier-Shreveport. The Hounds are in second place, one point ahead of Memphis and three points ahead of Fort Worth.
Good rookie: Rookie Ben Manny made quite an impression in his second weekend with the Hounds, scoring two goals and adding an assist in two games versus Odessa. Manny was signed by the Hounds on Jan. 11th after playing 20 games with Knoxville of the SPHL. Over the weekend, the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire alumnus was a plus- 3.
Fan frenzy: The SteelHounds are coming off a 2-1 victory on Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd of 5,717 at the Chevrolet Centre. It was Youngstown's second sellout of the season and second in three games. The Jan. 14 game against Wichita was also a sellout. The Hounds' next home game, Feb. 1 against Memphis, is also sold out.
First action: Prior to Friday's game, the Hounds acquired forward Mario Chinelli in exchange for Scott Barnes. Chinelli had 21 points (6-15=21) in 35 games with the Blazers.
Strong Christian: All-Star Jeff Christian notched points in each of last week's games, giving him 33 goals and 23 assists on the season. His 56 points are second in the CHL to Amarillo's Derek Hahn (69 points). Christian's 33 goals are four better than second place Joe Blaznek for the league's goal scoring crown. Christian has points in 11 of the team's last 13 games, amassing 11 goals and seven assists over that span.
Workhorse: Goaltender David St. Germain is coming off another outstanding weekend, earning three of four points in two games against the Southwest Division-leading Odessa Jackalopes. In two games against the Jacks, St. Germain made 55 saves on 59 shots (.932). Over his last six games, St. Germain has allowed 11 goals on 182 shots (.940) and has a 3-2-1 record. St. Germain has started each of the last 12 games and has played in 21 straight. St. Germain leads the CHL in minutes played (1,788:59) and saves (957).
Meet and greet: The SteelHounds will be at Salty Grogs in Austintown from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight.
Webcast: The SteelHounds and Broadcast Monsters.com have teamed up to webcast all the SteelHounds' games beginning Saturday against Tulsa. Visit www.steelhounds.com and click on the 'Listen Live" link to hear the call from broadcaster Bob Hoffman.
On the road again: Youngstown will travel to play the Tulsa Oilers at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night and the Wichita Thunder at 6:05 p.m. on Sunday. Both games are on WBBW-AM 1240.