Iowa Chops players visit Blank Children's Hospital

On Tuesday, December 16th, eight Iowa Chops players took time out from their day to go and visit sick kids at Blank Children’s Hospital. The line-up of players included forwards Matt Beleskey, Eric Boguniecki, Drew Miller, TJ Trevelyan and Francis Wathier; defenseman Eric Regan, and goaltenders David LeNeveu and JP Levasseur.The eight players visited the children for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon and brought Iowa Chops hats, stocking caps, and stuffed pigs. “It was amazing to see how much the kid’s spirits were lifted by the presence of our players,” said Iowa Chops Director of Fan Development Frank Meeink. “I was also touched by the positive reaction of the parents of these kids, who are also going through a difficult time.”Players, clad in their white home jerseys with numbers and names, went room to room spreading holiday cheer and talking to the kids about what they wanted for Christmas. Veteran forward Eric Boguniecki, who is married and has children of his own, said that the chance to visit kids in the hospital is an important one during the holidays. “It puts a lot of things in perspective for us players,” said Boguniecki. “You see what these kids and parents are going through and it makes it special for us to put a smile on their faces, especially during this time of year.”Blank Children’s Hospital is committed to family-centered healing, teaching and caring. Blank Children’s Hospital has the distinction of being the only civilian hospital built during World War II. The Blank family built the original hospital in 1944 to address the healthcare needs of Iowa’s ill and injured children for more than 60 years. Blank Children’s Hospital is a teaching hospital and is one of only two hospitals in the state to train residents in pediatrics. Many of the young patients we serve come from throughout the state of Iowa and beyond.

All Iowa Chops events on Tuesday are cancelled

Iowa Chops President Steve Nitzel has announced that all Iowa Chops off-ice events in Tuesday, December 16th have been cancelled due to the inclimate weather and deteriorating conditions in the Des Moines area today. These events that have been cancelled include:

The Sales seminar at the Wells Fargo Arena from 12-2pm. (Rescheduled for next Tuesday, December 23rd from 12-2pm)

The VIP focus group meeting at the Skybox Lounge at 6:30pm

The Chops youth clinic at 6:00pm at the Wells Fargo Arena. The Iowa Chops offices are open on

Tuesday, so for more information about the cancellations and make-up times, please call 515-564-8700.

Admirals sink Chops on Saturday, 6-2

It was a night of missed opportunities and unlucky bounces for the Iowa Chops, while the Milwaukee Admirals took advantage of some efficient scoring and timely power plays to defeat Iowa on Saturday night by a score of 6-2. The Chops went down early to two Admirals goals in the first three minutes of the game on their first four shots of the night. The Chops had to kill four penalties in the 1st period, which in large part led to their four shots on goal to Milwaukee's eight and a 2-0 lead after the 1st period. The Chops answered back on a power play of their own in the 2nd period with Ryan Dingle's fourth goal of the year and first Chops goal of the game for the second night in a row. Josh Green and Brendan Mikkelson posted assists. Milwaukee would answer back late in the period to make it 3-1, as a sprawling save by JP Levasseur was nulified with the rebound going off a Chops defensemen's leg and trickling in behind Levasseur. The turning point of the game was early in the 3rd period as TJ Trevelyan was given a penalty shot to try and make the score 3-2, but his attempt rang off the crossbar behind Admirals goalie Drew MacIntyre, straight down and bounced out. Replays confirmed the puck missed crossing the line by inches. From there, it was all Milwaukee who scored three more goals in five minutes to put the game out of reach. The Chops ended the game on the right note with a goal from Ryan Donally with :12 seconds remaining. Ajay Baines added an assist on the goal with a pass from behind the net, as did Matt Caruana, who recorded his first career AHL point on the play.

The loss to Milwaukee now means there is a three-way tie for first place in the West Division with Iowa, Peoria and Milwaukee all log-jammed at the top with 33 points. Chicago and Rockford sit just a point behind the trio with 32 points.

Chops Edged by Wolves in Shootout

Two early Iowa Chops goals were answered in a span of :31 seconds by the Chicago Wolves in the 1st period, which ultimately led to both teams unable to score the rest of the way as Chicago (15-9-1-1, 32 pts.) topped Iowa (15-8-1-2, 32 pts.) in a shootout on Friday night in Des Moines, 3-2. The shootout loss was the second in two tries for the Chops this season, who dropped a shootout decision in Manitoba a few weeks ago. The shootout loss also marked the first time the Iowa Chops did not win a game when scoring first. The Chops scored first thanks to a goal from Ryan Dingle, who got open in the high slot and fired a shot past Wolves goalie Robert Gherson. Andrew Ebbett and Drew Miller assisted on the goal with hard work in front. The Chops made it 2-0 on their first power play of the night as Drew Miller stuck with a rebound to slide the puck past Gherson's left pad with help from Brian Salcido and another from Ebbett. A momentary lapse for :31 seconds late in the 1st period led to both Chicago goals, the first from leading scorer Joe Motzko on the power play, and the second moments later off a redirect from Riley Holzaphel. Chops goaltender David LeNeveu was very sharp in goal keeping the Chops tied the remainder of the way out with 31 saves on 33 Wolves shots. After a scoreless 2nd and 3rd period, the game went to overtime, where both teams had chances, but could not convert. In the shootout, the Wolves got goals from Jeff Hamilton and Junior Lessard, while the lone Chops goal came from Andrew Ebbett.

AND FOR ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

DES MOINES, Iowa - The Chicago Wolves, down 2-0 in the first period, fought back for a 3-2 shootout vitory over the Iowa Chops at Wells Fargo Arena on Friday night.
Jeff Hamilton and Junior Lessard each converted in the shootout for the Wolves, while goaltender Robert Gherson stopped 4 of 5 shots in the shootout.
Joe Motzko and Riley Holzapfel scored the Wolves' goals in regulation.
Iowa made it 1-0 at 5:55 of the first period when Ryan Dingle took a pass from Andrew Ebbett and sent a one-timer through traffic that beat Gherson top shelf.
The Chops went up 2-0 at 10:41 of the first when Drew Miller tipped a rebound past Gherson on the power play.
Gherson (5-2-0) turned back 22 of 24 shots during regulation and overtime.
The Wolves cut their deficit to 2-1 with a Motzko goal against goaltender David LeNeveu on the power play at 16:37 of the first period.
Holzapfel made it 2-2 just 41 seconds later after redirecting a shot from Spencer Machacek past LeNeveu.
LeNeveu (8-7-0) made 31 saves.

Chops fall short against Hogs, 2-1 to finish road trip

A late goal from Andrew Ebbett and 27 saves from goalie JP Levasseur wasn't enough as the Iowa Chops finished their season-long seven-game roadtrip with a 2-1 loss in Rockford Thursday night. The Chops went down early in the game as just over two minutes into the 1st period IceHogs forward Jack Skille found himself open in the high slot and beat Iowa Chops goaltender JP Levasseur clean over the blocker side for a 1-0 lead. The Chops tried to claw back in the period with the help of two power plays, but could not find the back of the net. Some more saves by Levasseur kept the road-weary Chops in the game the rest of the opening frame as the IceHogs outshot the Chops 9-6 in the opening frame. The Chops had a couple of good chances in the 2nd period, but only managed another six shots on goal. The best may have come from Josh Green and TJ Trevelyan, but their back-to-back chances from the slot were stopped by IceHogs goaltender Corey Crawford. After killing of two power plays, the Chops could not contain the IceHogs late in the period as two point-blank saves by Levasseur were not enough and the third shot slid under the goalie as Tim Brent scored the second goal of the game for Rockford, who took a 2-0 lead into the lockerroom after two periods. More good saves in the 3rd period kept the Chops in the game and with Levasseur pulled in favor of the extra attacker, the Chops snapped Crawford's shutout with :27 seconds left with a goal from Andrew Ebbett with assists to Josh Green and Petteri Wirtanen. The Chops could not get the equalizer and ran out of time, losing their first game in regulation since Nov. 21. The Chops now return home for the first time in almost three weeks Friday, December 12 to face the Chicago Wolves at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

FOR ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW

Rockford, Ill.- The Iowa Chops came into Rockford hotter than any team in the Western Conference, but couldn't solve the Rockford IceHogs at the Rockford MetroCentre on Thursday. The Hogs beat the Chops 2-1 for the third straight win against their newest West Division foe.

The Hogs ended the Chops 5-0-0-1 road streak and 6-0-1-1 unbeaten streak.

"They're a very good team, they don't give you a whole lot," Rockford coach Bill Peters said of Iowa. "They have given up next to nothing in their winning steak, so if you're going to beat them, you're going to have to play well and earn everything you get."

Early in the first frame, Rockford winger Jack Skille sniped a bullet past the shoulder of Iowa netminder Jean-Philippe Levasseur. The goal came at 2:08 in the first and gave the Hogs a 1-0 lead over the Chops. The assists were credited to Petri Kontiola and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Skille finished with eight shots on net in the game.

The IceHogs added another marker in the second frame to jump ahead 2-0 over the Chops. Tim Brent chipped in a rebound off of Levasseur at 14:51. Pascal Pelletier and the Hogs' newest blueliner Jimmy Sharrow were credited with the assists.

Just down from Chicago, Corey Crawford got the nod in net.

"You're always going to be a little rusty," he said. "I haven't played in two weeks. It was fun to be in Chicago but it's also nice to be back on the ice."

He finished with 25 saves, but couldn't finish with the shutout as Iowa's Andrew Ebbett solved Crawford with 26 seconds left in the game with an empty net on the other side of the ice.

"I gave them one there," he said. "I felt good, but the whole team played really well tonight."

The IceHogs finished 0-for-4 and haven't scored a power play goal in four straight games.
"It's not very good right now," Peters said. "We're going to have to make some personnel moves. Obviously it's gone stale."

On the other side of special teams, the Hogs held off the Chops in five attempts.

Iowa Chops hiring staff despite local layoffs and economy

DES MOINES, IA - (December 10, 2008) - In light of the recent and local layoffs due to the poor economy, Iowa Chops President Steve Nitzel announced today that the Iowa Chops Hockey team is hiring personnel for four corporate sales positions. "Losing your job is always tough, especially now around the holidays, so we feel the timing of our announcement has everything to do with putting someone back on their feet and working again," said Nitzel. "Working in sports is a unique and exciting way to make a living, and is a great way to meet new people and network within our community."

The Iowa Chops will be holding a one-day seminar at the Wells Fargo Arena on Tuesday, December 16th from Noon-2pm for those interested, and the top four candidates from that seminar will be selected and hired by the Iowa Chops to become a corporate sales manager with the team. The corporate sales manager position with the team includes, but is not limited to: Corporate sponsorship sales, ticket sales, group sales, game day operations, community events and customer service. The position is a full-time position that is based off an aggressive sales commission structure, with potential future benefits based upon performance. If you are interested in attending the seminar, please email cover letter and resume to Iowa Chops President Steve Nitzel at snitzel@iowachops.com. No phone calls please.
The Iowa Chops are Iowa's newest professional hockey team and the American Hockey League affiliate (AAA level) of the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks. All home games are played out of the Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. The season runs from October through April, with the Calder Cup playoffs extending into May and June. The team plays 80 regular season games (40 home, 40 road).

The Iowa Chops return home from their longest road

trip of the season on Friday, December 12th against the Chicago Wolves at 7:05pm at the Wells Fargo Arena. Tickets start as low as $10 per game. To purchase tickets for this season, call 515-564-8700 or visit the web site at www.iowachops.com for more information.