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(Tempe, Arizona) – The Central Hockey League announced today that the recipients for the Oakley Central Hockey League Player and Goaltender of the Week for the period ending February 28, 2010 are forward Sylvain Deschatelets of the Laredo Bucks and goaltender Charlie Effinger of the Missouri Mavericks.

Deschatelets was signed by the Bucks last week and made an immediate impact in his three games scoring points in each of them. The veteran introduced himself to his new teammates with three assists in a loss to Allen on Thursday and followed that up with game winning goals in each of the Bucks next two games. In Saturday’s 5-1 victory over Texas, the Bellville, Quebec native scored a pair of goals with an assist. For the week, Deschatelets scored three goals with four assists and was a +6 in the three contests. The veteran of close to 500 professional games was signed by the Bucks for an offensive lift for the remainder of the regular season and potentially into the playoffs.

Effinger won four games in a very busy week for the red-hot Mavericks. The rookie goaltender was acquired in a trade by Missouri at the CHL’s trade deadline and has been nothing short of spectacular ever since for the expansion Mavericks. His accolades from this past week include an overtime win versus Wichita, a shootout win versus Mississippi and a relief win over Tulsa where he entered the game with his team trailing and proceeded to stop all 20 shots he faced giving the Mavs time to re-take the lead and eventually win. The Belleville, Illinois native’s top save total for the week came on Sunday with 32 stops in a 4-2 win at Texas. Effinger is 7-1-0 with Missouri and 15-4-1 overall.

In recognition of their achievements both Deschatelets and Effinger will receive a special gift from Oakley.

Oakley CHL Player of the Week
Sylvain Deschatelets, Laredo Bucks
Position: F
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played: 3
Goals: 3
Assists: 4
Points: 7
Plus/Minus: +6

Oakley CHL Goaltender of the Week
Charlie Effinger, Missouri Mavericks
Position: G
(Weekly Totals)
Games Played:4
Record: 4-0-0
GAA: 2.26
Save %: 0.922
Saves: 95 of 103

The Allen Americans traded goaltender Charlie Effinger to the Missouri Mavericks on Monday, completing the trade made last year for former defenseman Sean Perkins. (Photo Credit: John O'Neill)

On Monday, the Allen Americans shipped goalie Charlie Effinger to the Missouri Mavericks to complete the trade they made at the end of last year to bring in defenseman Sean Perkins.  The Americans waived Perkins at the end of last month, but still needed to complete the trade with the Mavs.  Although I wasn’t surprised to hear that Effinger was traded to another team (Chris Whitley has certainly cemented himself as the Americans #1 netminder), I was a bit surprised to hear that it was to complete a “future considerations” deal that Allen had previously made.  Effinger has twice been called up to the AHL, and has played strongly for Allen when called upon.  Missouri certainly ended up with a great player coming back their way.

Allen also signed a goaltender to backup Whitley now that Effinger is gone.  David McKee will join the Americans in time for their Thursday night game against the Tulsa Oilers, and will surely be on the bench if needed.  McKee, a native of Irving, TX, is the first native Texan on the Americans’ roster. He had a solid collegiate career at Cornell, and went on to play in the ECHL and AHL. McKee’s stats are at the bottom of this article, but here is Allen’s press release about the day’s transactions:

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ALLEN, Texas – The Allen Americans announced that the club traded goalie Charlie Effinger to Missouri and signed netminder David McKee today.

Earlier this season, Missouri sent defenseman Sean Perkins to Allen in exchange for future considerations. The Effinger trade today completed the earlier transaction.

Effinger had an 8-3-1 record with the Americans, posting two shutouts. He was the first player in club history to be sent up to the American Hockey League. The Texas Stars, the Dallas Stars’ AHL affiliate, called up Effinger Oct. 30 and Nov. 25.

McKee is the first native Texan on the Americans with the hometown of Irving. The 6-foot-1 goaltender attended Cornell University, where he played 102 games over three seasons. From 2006-2009, the 26-year-old played in the ECHL for the Augusta Lynx, Phoenix Roadrunners and the Bakersfield Condors with two stints in the AHL.