The Killer Bees (18-11-2, 38 pts) face off against the Corpus Christi Rayz (13-17-1, 27 pts) in the first game of a home-and-home series and the first of a three-in-three set. After this weekend, the Bees will have played the Rayz and Austin Ice Bats a total of three times each in a nine-day span. The Bees visit the Rayz tomorrow, then head to Austin Saturday. Rio Grande Valley occupies second place in the Southeast Division, trailing Laredo by seven points. Corpus Christi is tied with Austin points-wise, but has played two fewer games and had one more win.

Tune in all season long on ESPN 1240 or Real Country 840 to follow the Bees home and away. Rich Bocchini has the call beginning 15 minutes prior to faceoff.

Fifth of 11 meetings...The Bees are 4-0-0 vs. the Rayz this season...The Bees travel to Corpus Christi Friday, then don't face the Rayz again until Feb. 12...Bill Newson (2-4-6) and Bobby Davis (1-5-6) lead the Bees vs. the Rayz this season...Randy Murphy (1-1-2) and Matt Frick (0-2-2) lead the Rayz.

DATE OPPONENT RESULT RECORD SCORE GWG GOALTENDER OPPOSING GOALTENDER ATTEND

Dec 30 at Fort Worth W 15-11-1 6-3 Trevor Weisgerber Terry Dunbar (3GA, 23 SV) Chris Davidson (5GA, 25 SV) 3,349 Dec 31 Fort Worth W 16-11-1 5-2 Aaron Phillips Evan Lindsay (2GA, 36 SV) Larry Sterling (5GA, 50 SV) 4,598 Jan 06 Austin W 17-11-1 4-3* Kurtis Dulle Evan Lindsay (3GA, 29 SV) Miguel Beaudry (4GA, 31 SV) 4,507 Jan 07 Corpus Christi W 18-11-1 1-0 Daymen Bencharski Evan Lindsay (0GA, 24 SV) Scott Reid (1GA, 45 SV) 4,918 Jan 08 at Austin OTL 18-11-2 2-3* Terry Dunbar (3GA, 34 SV) Miroslav Kopriva (2GA, 46 SV) 2,419

The Bees have won seven of their last nine home games dating back to Dec. 3. The Bees have earned at least a point in eight of the nine games. Their four-game home winning streak was snapped Dec. 27 vs. Laredo in a 3-1 final.

On the road, the Bees have a 6-0 record when leading after the first and 7-0 when leading after two periods. Overall, they are 10-3-0 leading after one and 15-1-1 leading after two periods. The lone loss when leading after two was a 6-3 loss to Austin on Nov. 12, while the Bees earned a point in 3-2OTL at Austin on Jan. 8.

The Killer Bees set a new franchise record with their fourth consecutive road win Dec. 30 at Fort Worth. The previous mark of three in a row last occurred Feb. 15-21, 2004.

With a 5-4 win in overtime on Dec. 18, the Bees set a new franchise streak with five wins in a row. They extended the streak to six games overall with a 5-1 win at Corpus Christi on Dec. 23 The team had two previous win streaks of four wins in a row, most recently Feb. 15-21, 2004.

The Killer Bees broke another franchise record Dec. 31 by firing 55 shots at Fort Worth's Larry Sterling. The previous mark of 54 happened Jan. 6, 2005 vs. Odessa. The teams combined for 93 shots (a Bees record) and fell eight shots short of the CHL season high of 102 set by Colorado and Odessa on Oct. 22.

The Killer Bees have managed 22 shots on goal in a period twice this season (Nov. 15 at Corpus Christi and Dec. 18 vs. Laredo). The franchise record for shots in a period is 27 set Jan. 6, 2005 vs. Odessa. On Dec. 31, the Bees allowed a season-high 19 shots in the first period vs. Fort Worth as the teams combined for a season and franchise-high 40 shots.

A four-goal night on the power play set a franchise record Dec. 10 at Austin. The Bees matched the output Dec. 31 vs. Fort Worth, going 4-for-13. The Bees have scored three power play goals numerous times, including a three-goal performance on Dec. 3 at home vs. the Ice Bats and a 3-for-14 night Dec. 30 at Fort Worth.

The Bees and Corpus Christi Rayz combined for 112 PIM on Dec. 23, the most this season between the Bees and an opponent. Ryan Shmyr set a team high with 26 PIM, while the Rayz' Shawn Legault racked up 29 PIM. That included three major penalties, the most in the CHL this season. Wichita holds the league-high for team PIM in a game this season with 134 (5-4 loss vs. Oklahoma City on Dec. 27), while the Thunder's Chris Bain (Wichita) had the distinction of having a league-high 40 PIM assessed during that game.

The 1-0 win on Jan. 7 vs. Corpus Christi improved Rio Grande's record to 8-2-2 in one-goal games. The Bees lost in overtime the next day at Austin.

ONE, TWO THREE.....WE WANT FOUR!The Killer Bees are a perfect 15-0-0 when scoring four or more goals and 4-0 when scoring six or more. When scoring three or fewer goals, the record is just 3-11-2.

With a record of 0-9-0, the Bees have yet to come back from trailing after the second period. They are only marginally better (1-6-1) when trailing after the first, earning a point in an overtime loss to Colorado. Rio's 4-1 win over Corpus Christi on Dec. 16 marked the first time the team came back after being down entering the second period. On the flipside, the Bees have been solid at holding leads with a 15-1-1 record when entering the third period ahead.

The Killer Bees went 3-for-14 on the power play Dec. 23 at Corpus Christi and tied a franchise high set Feb. 14, 2004 vs. Laredo when the Bees went 2-for-14 on the man advantage. It eclipses the season-high of 12 power play chances, set Dec. 17 at Laredo when the Bees went 2-for-12.

The Killer Bees set a franchise record with four power play goals Dec. 10 at Austin and matched that performance Dec. 31 vs. Fort Worth. They went 16-for-87 (18.39%) in games 21-30, and entered the week with the third-best road and fifth-best home power play. The Bees have scored a PPG in all but eight games this season and are tied for the third most PPG (46) in the CHL. Daymen Bencharski leads the team with eight PPG. The Bees have allowed just three shorthanded goals this season.

The Bees went 6-for-67 on the penalty kill (91.04%) in games 21-30 and are third in the CHL with nine shorthanded goals. They broke a franchise record Dec. 31 vs. Fort Worth with their ninth SHG. Trevor Weisgerber (3) and Daymen Bencharski (2) lead the team in SHG. The Bees entered the week with the ninth-best home and seventh-best road penalty kill.

Jason Kuczmanski has been activated from the Injured Reserve list and Nathan Rosychuk has been placed on the 45-day Injured Reserve list retroactive to Saturday, January 7. Kuczmanski has been on the shelf since Nov. 15 with a shoulder injury. In 10 games this season, the rookie out of SUNY-Geneseo has two goals. Rosychuk will be eligible for assignment on Monday, February 20. In 26 games this season, he has 18 points (2-16-18) including a power play tally.

Center Daymen Bencharski has been named a starter in the Obra Homes CHL 2006 All Star Game at Dodge Arena on Jan 18. Starters were selected by the media, team communications staffs, and CHL coaches. Defenseman Jeff Mushaluk and goalie Evan Lindsay will join starting forward Daymen Bencharski as Killer Bee representatives at the All Star Game.

Darcy Smith appeared in his 250th pro game Sunday, Jan. 8 at Austin. Already this season, he has surpassed career highs with three goals and 13 points (previous highs 2-10-12).

Trevor Weisgerber's assist on Daymen Bencharski's goal 12/23 at Corpus Christi set a new franchise-high for consecutive games with an assist. The streak was broken Dec. 27 vs. Laredo in a 3-1 loss. Weisgerber's six-game streak eclipsed the five-game mark set by Joe Guenther in 2004.

Terry Dunbar (DOB 12/31/79) earned his fourth win of the season and second in a row with 23 saves just hours before turning 26 at Forth Worth on Dec. 30.

Dwayne Hay set a personal high water mark with a four-point game (1-3-4) at Fort Worth on Dec. 30, while Matic Kralj matched Hay and his own personal season-high. Kralj had two goals and two assists back on Oct. 29 at Austin. Aaron Phillips chipped in with a three-point night (1-2-3), his second of the season. Matt Medley's two-goal night was the rookie defenseman's first multi-point game of the season.

Evan Lindsay's 14 wins are third in the CHL while his minutes played (1295:51) have him just out of the top five. He earned his first shutout of the season Jan. 7 vs. Corpus Christi with 24 saves. His closest shutout bid prior to that was ended with Derrick McIver's goal with only 19 seconds in regulation at Corpus Christi on Dec. 23. He has won seven of his last eight starts (7-1-0), while goalie counterpart Terry Dunbar is 3-0-1 in his last four outings.  OurSports Central

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