Playoff chase heats up

The Youngstown SteelHounds (28-17-4, 60 points) launched the final quarter of their third season in the Central Hockey League with a 2-1 overtime loss Sunday to the Oklahoma City Blazers.

With 15 games to go, only this is certain: The SteelHounds have two three-game roadtrips and nine home games at the Chevrolet Centre. Nothing else is guaranteed.

Their second postseason berth is in reach. The SteelHounds are one of five Northern Conference teams contending for the final three playoff berths. The defending champion Colorado Eagles (61 points) have third place to themselves after a 6-0 win over New Mexico. And they have two more games to play than Youngstown.

Also in the mix are Northeast Division rivals Mississippi RiverKings (56 points), Texas Brahmas (55 points before their Sunday game) and the Blazers (50 points). The RiverKings and Brahmas have 17 games to play while the Blazers have 14.

Two of those five won’t qualify for the postseason. One will get a first-round bye. The other two will meet is a short best-of-3 series.

In this year’s CHL playoffs, the winners of the Northeast and Northwest divisions earn the top seeds plus home-ice advantage when the best-of-7 series begin.

The third-place team also gets a bye before playing the division winner with the second-best record. The winner of the series between the fourth and fifth seeds will take on the conference’s top seed.

SteelHounds hit road
for three-game swing

Up next for the SteelHounds is a three-game road trip to Colorado and Texas to play the Eagles, Amarillo Gorillas and Brahmas.

“This road trip is going to be huge for us,” forward Bryan Lachapelle said Sunday. “We need to [regroup] for three wins on the road. It could be a determining factor in where we end up in the standings.

“We’ve done well on the road,” said Lachapelle of the SteelHounds’ 16-9-1 record away from the Chevrolet Centre.

But the road to the playoffs won’t be easy for the SteelHounds; injuries have taken their toll. Defenseman Jeff Alcombrack suffered a concussion Jan. 25 and is unlikely to play anymore this season.

Forward Eric Przepiorka, who was the team’s leading scorer when he was rammed into the boards Feb. 11, sat out this weekend’s series against the Blazers. The center of the SteelHounds number-two line, Przepiorka has 21 goals and 56 points. He’s expected to play Friday in Colorado.

The SteelHounds need all the offense they can muster. Unlike last season when their two league MVP candidates, Jeff Christian and Chris Richards, surpassed 100 points, the team’s scoring leader this season most likely will finish with about 75 points. Przepiorka, Richards and Petr Pohl share the team lead with 56.

Nine home games
to feature solid teams

The schedule contains its share of challenges. Of the remaining games, five are against Colorado (28-14-5).

The final homestand has three games against the Laredo Bucks (with 69 points, the best team in the Southern Conference) and three with the Eagles.

What happens after the playoffs remains a mystery. In December, Mahoning Valley Phantoms owner Bruce Zoldan issued a press release saying that he and SteelHounds owner Herb Washington would work together to put a hockey team on the Chevrolet Centre ice next fall.

But earlier this month, Zoldan hinted that the partnership plan may be off.

Washington and the CHL front office claim they are each owed money from the other. Neither side will discuss specific amounts.

Clouding the future is the CHL’s commitment to a team in Ohio when most of its 17 teams are in Texas. The CHL’s owner is Global, the arena management company that no longer manages the Chevrolet Centre.

It’s possible the SteelHounds and CHL will part ways this summer. And it’s possible they’ll kiss and make up. For now, 15 games await to determine a playoff berth.

XTom Williams is a sportswriter for The Vindicator. Write to him at williams@vindy.com.