Bandits cruise to wins

Published on January 16, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release

With both old and new faces making significant contributions, the South Division-leading St. Louis Bandits continued their winning ways last weekend with three victories over Springfield.

"We did what we had to do to win," said Bandits coach Jon Cooper, whose team improved to 28-6-2. "We got timely goaltending when we needed it and timely goals when we needed them."

On Friday, goaltender Pat Nagle made all 24 saves as the Bandits skated to a 2-0 over the Jr. Blues. Jeff Dimmen scored the game-winning goal on the power play, with Derek Danowski recording the other St. Louis marker.

The next night, the Bandits took a 5-2 decision over Springfield. Graham Sisson (pictured left) scored two goals, including the game-winner, and an assist, with Danowski, Russel Anderson and Ben Warda notching the other tallies. Between the pipes, Shane Madolora made 25 saves.

St. Louis wrapped up its weekend on Sunday with a 3-1 win over the Jr. Blues. Warda, Scooter Vaughan and Nic Polaski lit the lamp for the Bandits, and Nagle stopped 27 shots to pick up his second win of the weekend.

"I thought we played really solid defensively," said Cooper. "I don't think we gave up a whole lot of chances, but, when we did give up the big chance, our goaltenders were there to make the save."

The Bandits have pulled off a couple of major trades over the last month, and both are paying dividends. Madalora, acquired from Fairbanks, has done a formidable job filling the role of the departed Kenny Reiter, while Dimmen, whom the Bandits picked up in a trade from Alaska, has been a welcome addition to the St. Louis defense.

"I'm really a big fan of the way he plays and we're elated to have him," said Cooper. "I thought we had a really good D corps before, but he cements it now. He's kind of that anchor we needed."

And another played bound for Division I hockey next season. With Dimmen headed to Canisius College, the Bandits now have a league-leading seven committed on scholarship with more to come, according to Cooper.

"We probably have another half dozen on the horizon, so we're having a real good year in that regard, too," said the coach.

Maroon and Sisson have been outstanding offensively, with defensemen John Kennedy and JP Maley, along with Wes Love, who was also acquired from Fairbanks, also playing key roles for the Bandits.

"We made a lot of deals, which is a little risky for a team having some success, but they've worked out pretty well for us," said Cooper.

But it doesn't get any easier for the Bandits, as they face divisional foes Texas (three games), Wichita Falls (five) and Santa Fe (three) in their next 11 games.

"We've got a tough stretch coming up," said Cooper. "This will tell the tale of where we're going to finish in the division and how well we do down the stretch."

STANDINGS/LEADERS

North Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
Mahoning Valley 39 28-10-1 57 .731 169 104
Alpena 38 26-10-2 54 .711 146 116
Marquette 37 14-20-3 31 .419 107 132
Traverse City 39 13-21-5 31 .397 117 160
USNTDP 34 13-18-3 29 .426 112 124

South Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
St. Louis 36 28-6-2 58 .806 132 76
Santa Fe 37 24-9-4 52 .703 129 84
Texas 37 23-11-3 49 .662 129 108
Fairbanks 41 22-18-1 45 .549 150 143
Wichita Falls 38 14-19-5 33 .434 107 131
Alaska 38 12-21-5 29 .382 97 137

Central Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
Fargo-Moorhead 37 26-9-2 54 .730 138 101
So. Minnesota 41 21-18-2 44 .537 127 117
Springfield 40 18-18-4 40 .500 113 121
Bismarck 41 14-21-6 34 .415 114 152
Alexandria 39 16-22-1 33 .423 106 131
North Iowa 38 15-20-3 33 .434 109 142

LEADING SCORERS
PLAYER TEAM P GP G A PTS
Rudasill, Todd ALP F 38 20 43 63
Shean, Joe FBX F 41 17 38 55
Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 41 35 19 54
Echternach, Jesse FMH F 37 22 31 53
Pierson, Drew ALP F 38 20 29 49
Maroon, Pat STL F 33 16 33 49
Haddad, Nick FBX F 41 20 27 47
Craner, Nolan ALP F 35 19 26 45
Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 36 25 18 43
Connolly, Chris FMH F 37 13 30 43

LEADING GOALTENDERS
PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L-OTL GAA SPCT
Nagle, Pat STL 21 1248:42 16-3-2 1.78 .938
Hopper, Nick SFE 31 1795:50 19-8-3 2.04 .911
Lee, Austin FMH 21 1222:52 16-3-1 2.26 .932
Zapolski, Ryan MVY 35 2037:02 27-7-1 2.27 .931
Tragust, Thomas TXS 31 1764:54 18-8-3 2.55 .901

GOALS
PLAYER TEAM P GP G
Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 41 35
Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 36 25
Fuller, Ryan TXS F 34 24

ASSISTS
PLAYER TEAM P GP A
Rudasill, Todd ALP F 38 43
Shean, Joe FBX F 41 38
Maroon, Pat STL F 33 33

PENALTY MINUTES
PLAYER TEAM P GP PIM
Belanger, Neeco MAR F 37 158
Flink, Adam TXS F 31 147
Yovanic, Paul TXS F 31 135

Peterson, Nagle, Johnson named Sherwood Players of the Week

NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alpena forward Erik Peterson rang up two goals and three assists last week as the IceDiggers skated to a 3-0 record. On Wednesday, the 18-year-old recorded an assist in Alpena's 6-2 win over Marquette. The Alpena native tallied a power-play marker and an assist in a 5-4 win over Mahoning Valley on Saturday, and followed that up with a shorthanded goal and an assist in another 5-4 IceDiggers triumph over the Phantoms on Sunday.

SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
St. Louis goaltender Pat Nagle backstopped the Bandits to two wins over Springfield last week, turning aside 50 of 51 shots faced. On Friday, the 19-year-old Ferris State University recruit made all 24 saves in St. Louis' 2-0 victory over the Jr. Blues. On Sunday, the Bloomfield, Mich., native stopped 27 shots as the Bandits skated to a 3-1 win.

CENTRAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Fargo-Moorhead forward Rob Johnson struck for five goals in two games last week, helping the Jets to a 2-0 record. On Friday, the 20-year-old recorded a hat trick, including the game-winner, in Fargo-Moorhead's 5-2 win over Bismarck. The next night, the Duluth, Minn., native scored two more goals as the Jets downed Southern Minnesota, 4-1.

HONORABLE MENTION: Alpena forwards Drew Pierson Todd Rudasill and goaltender Shawn Hunwick; Alexandria goaltender Ryan Leets; Bismarck forward Jeremy Robert and goaltender Clark Oliver; Fairbanks forward Nick Haddad; Texas forward Ryan Fuller and defenseman Lyon Messier; Wichita Falls forward Sean Nealon and defenseman Chris Nutini

LAST WEEK'S SCORES/HIGHLIGHTS

Wednesday, January 10
Marquette 2 @ Alpena 6 (ALP: Pierson, G, GWG)

Friday, January 12
North Iowa 4 @ Alaska 1 (NI: Mobley-McLeod, G, A)
Bismarck 2 @ Fargo-Moorhead 5 (FM: Rob Johnson, 2G, GWG)
Wichita Falls 4 @ Fairbanks 8 (FBX: Haddad, 2G, 2A)
St. Louis 2 @ Springfield 0 (STL: Nagle, 24 saves)
Santa Fe 1 @ Texas 5 (TEX: Fuller, G, GWG, A)
Alexandria 2 @ So. Minnesota 5 (SM: Junkermeir, G, 2A)
USNTDP 2 @ Marquette 1 (OT) (USA: Lofquist, GWG)
Traverse City 4 @ USNTDP 3 (OT) (TC: Kimmel, GWG)

Saturday, January 13
North Iowa 4 @ Alaska 5 (OT) (ALA: McCabe, G, GWG)
Wichita Falls 4 @ Fairbanks 2 (WF: Nealon, G, GWG)
Springfield 2 @ St. Louis 5 (STL: Sisson, G, GWG A)
Santa Fe 5 @ Texas 2 (SF: Omilusik, 2G, A)
Alexandria 0 @ Bismarck 6 (BIS: Oliver, 32 saves)
Fargo-Moorhead 4 @ So. Minnesota 1 (FM: Rob Johnson, 2G)
Mahoning Valley 4 @ Alpena 5 (ALP: Pierson, 3A)
USNTDP 1 @ Marquette 4 (MAR: Zuk-Hauswirth, G, A)
Traverse City 3 @ USNTDP 7 (USA: Rust, G, GWG, 2A)

Sunday, January 14
Springfield 1 @ St. Louis 3 (STL: Vaughan, GWG)
Bismarck 0 @ Alexandria 2 (ALX: Leets, 28 saves)
Wichita Falls 3 @ Fairbanks 4 (SO) (FBX: Samuels, G, SOG)
Mahoning Valley 4 @ Alpena 5 (ALP: Stadler, GWG, A)

AROUND THE NAHL

THREE TABBED BY NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING: Three players were recognized by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau on its midseason rankings for 2007 draft-eligibles released last week: Mahoning Valley defenseman Doug Leaverton (No. 204 overall among North American skaters); Alaska forward Brad McCabe (No. 208); and Fargo-Moorhead goaltender Austin Lee (No. 28 among North American goaltenders).

FULLER NEARING D-I DEAL: Texas forward Ryan Fuller, 19, helped his collegiate cause last week by scoring two goals and an assist in the Tornado's 5-1 win over Santa Fe on Friday. "He's very close to signing a major Division I scholarship," said Tornado coach-GM Tony Curtale.

LEETS SHINES BETWEEN PIPES: Alexandria goaltender Ryan Leets, 17, picked up his second shutout in as many games after a perfect 28-save performance in the Blizzard's 2-0 win over Bismarck on Sunday. The week prior, the Kentwood, Mich., native blanked the Bobcats, 5-0, on 27 saves.

BIG WEEKEND FOR ROBERT: Bismarck forward Jeremy Robert, 19, tallied three goals and three assists as the Bobcats went 1-2 last week. The Maplewood, Minn., native leads the Bobcats in scoring with 15 goals and 31 points after 36 games.

ICEDIGGERS SOLVE PHANTOMS: Alpena snapped its six-game winless streak against Mahoning Valley this season with a pair of 5-4 victories over the Phantoms last weekend. With the wins, the IceDiggers cut Mahoning Valley's North Division lead to three points. "We came into the weekend seven back. Now we're three back. To be three back is big for us," said IceDiggers coach Kenny Miller.

THE WEEK AHEAD
Monday, January 15
Mahoning Valley @ USNTDP, 3:00 pm

Thursday, January 18
St. Louis @ Texas, 7:30 pm

Friday, January 19
Wichita Falls @ Alaska, 7:30 pm
St. Louis @ Texas, 7:30 pm
Southern Minnesota @ Bismarck, 7:05 pm
Springfield @ Santa Fe, 7:05 pm
Traverse City @ Mahoning Valley, 7:00 pm
Marquette @ USNTDP, 7:00 pm

Saturday, January 20
St. Louis @ Texas, 7:30 pm
Wichita Falls @ Alaska, 7:30 pm
Southern Minnesota @ Bismarck, 7:05 pm
Fargo-Moorhead @ North Iowa, 7:05 pm
Springfield @ Santa Fe, 7:05 pm
Traverse City @ Mahoning Valley, 7:00 pm
Marquette @ USNTDP, 7:00 pm

Sunday, January 21
Fargo-Moorhead @ North Iowa, 5:00 pm

(all times local)

North American Hockey League Stories from January 16, 2007

• Bandits cruise to wins - NAHL
• Rob Johnson Named Player of the Week - Fargo-Moorhead Jets

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