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Big week for Bandits

November 7, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


With four wins last week, the St. Louis Bandits improved their record to an NAHL-best 14-1-1.

"We didn't play a whole lot of games towards the beginning of the season, so we've been allowed to practice a bit more and we've been healthy," said Bandits coach Jon Cooper. "The guys are playing pretty well and it showed this weekend."

St. Louis opened its week on Halloween with an 8-2 victory over Springfield. Travis Vogelhuber recorded a hat trick in the win, while Pat Maroon added two goals of his own. Mike Leone chipped in three assists, and goaltender Pat Nagle made 32 saves.

On Thursday, Graham Sisson's goal with four seconds left to play lifted the Bandits to a 4-3 win over Wichita Falls. Maroon tallied two assists, while netminder Kenny Reiter stopped 28 shots.

The Bandits kept the offense coming the next night in a 6-2 win over the Wildcats. Sisson notched two more goals for St. Louis, while Maroon registered three more assists. Nagle made 18 saves in net.

St. Louis closed out its weekend with a 4-1 triumph over Wichita Falls on Saturday, with Nic Polaski ringing up the game-winning goal. Shawn Gawrys added two assists, while Nagle turned aside 34 shots for his third win of the week.

"I'm actually a little surprised at our record because of all the veterans we lost after last year," said Cooper. "But we've had a lot of new players come in and really adapt to a lot of things we try to preach and what our goals are as a team."

Among those newcomers is the reliable goaltending tandem of Nagle and Reiter, for whom Cooper credits much of his team's early good fortunes.

"They've been absolutely phenomenal," said the coach. "It's rare that you get to have one Division I-caliber goalie on your team, and we have two."

Along with two gifted first-year defensemen in Scooter Vaughn and JP Maley - both 1989-borns - the additions of NAHL veterans John Kennedy, who played in Cleveland last season, and Phil Rauch, who came over from Helena, have also helped St. Louis' cause.

And upfront, veterans Maroon, Sisson, Leone and Polaksi have meshed nicely with newcomers like Vogelhuber and Todd Pococke.

"We have a really good mix of veteran leadership to go along with some talented young guys," said Cooper.

The Bandits face perhaps their biggest test of the year this weekend, as they head back to Texas for a pair of games against the Tornado, the only team to beat St. Louis this season.

STANDINGS/LEADERS
North Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
Alpena 18 12-5-1 25 .694 68 56
Mahoning Valley 18 10-7-1 21 .583 69 69
Marquette 17 9-7-1 19 .559 59 49
USNTDP 17 8-8-1 17 .500 75 63
Traverse City 19 7-11-1 15 .395 57 70

South Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
St. Louis 16 14-1-1 29 .906 67 30
Santa Fe 17 12-3-2 26 .765 66 38
Texas 17 11-5-1 23 .676 59 48
Fairbanks 21 7-13-1 15 .357 69 81
Wichita Falls 18 6-10-2 14 .389 50 63
Alaska 18 6-10-2 14 .389 47 61

Central Division
TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA
Fargo-Moorhead 18 13-5-0 26 .722 65 50
Springfield 18 10-8-0 20 .556 61 55
Bismarck 20 9-9-2 20 .500 63 79
So. Minnesota 15 6-9-0 12 .400 43 45
North Iowa 16 6-10-0 12 .375 46 69
Alexandria 15 5-10-0 10 .333 38 53

LEADING SCORERS
PLAYER TEAM P GP G A PTS
Craner, Nolan ALP F 18 13 19 32
Rudasill, Todd ALP F 18 12 19 31
Maroon, Pat STL F 16 9 17 26
Kretzer, Ryan SPR F 18 5 21 26
Echternach, Jesse FMH F 18 12 13 25
Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 17 14 10 24
Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 21 14 9 23
Pierson, Drew ALP F 18 9 13 22
(three players tied with 21)

LEADING GOALTENDERS
PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L-OTL GAA SPCT
Reiter, Kenny STL 7 389:59 6-0-1 1.85 .936
Hopper, Nick SFE 16 935:57 12-3-1 1.86 .913
Nagle, Pat STL 9 544:31 7-1-1 1.87 .935
Ritter, Stephen MAR 13 780:06 9-3-1 2.08 .935
Tragust, Thomas TXS 11 668:57 7-3-1 2.24 .910

GOALS
PLAYER TEAM P GP G
Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 17 14
Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 21 14
(two players tied with 13)

ASSISTS
PLAYER TEAM P GP A
Kretzer, Ryan SPR F 18 21
Craner, Nolan ALP F 18 19
Rudasill, Todd ALP F 18 19

PENALTY MINUTES
PLAYER TEAM P GP PIM
Flink, Adam TXS F 17 77
Ikkala, Cody MAR D 16 76
Carlson, Matt FBX D 17 75

Longpre, Nagle, Moss named Sherwood Players of the Week

NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Mahoning Valley forward Nathan Longpre, 18, struck for three goals and two assists as the Phantoms skated to two wins over Traverse City last weekend. On Friday, the Peterborough, Ontario, native recorded a hat trick, including the game-winning goal, and an assist in the Phantoms' 7-2 win over the North Stars. The next night, Longpre assisted on Dustin Cloutier's game-winning goal in Mahoning Valley's 3-2 triumph.

SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK
St. Louis goaltender Pat Nagle, 19, turned aside 84 of 89 shots last week, backstopping the Bandits to three wins. On Tuesday, the Bloomfield, Mich., native made 32 saves in St. Louis' 8-2 victory over Springfield. He stopped 18 shots in a 6-2 win over Wichita Falls on Friday, and finished his week with a 34-save performance in a 4-1 Bandits win over the Wildcats on Saturday.

CENTRAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
North Iowa goaltender Robby Moss, 19, allowed only one goal against on 49 shots last weekend, lifting the Outlaws to a pair of wins over Bismarck. On Friday, the St. Louis native made 20 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Bobcats. The next night, Moss turned aside all 28 shots as North Iowa blanked Bismarck, 3-0, marking the first shutout in Outlaws history.

LAST WEEK'S SCORES/HIGHLIGHTS
Tuesday, October 31
Fargo-Moorhead 5 @ Bismarck 3 (FM: Johnson, 3G)
Alpena 3 @ USNTDP 6 (USA: Hayes, 3A)
Springfield 2 @ St. Louis 8 (STL: Vogelhuber, 2G, GWG)

Wednesday, November 1
Alpena 4 @ USNTDP 3 (ALP: Craner, GWG, A)

Thursday, November 2
St. Louis 4 @ Wichita Falls 3 (STL: Sisson, GWG, A)

Friday, November 3
Marquette 6 @ Fargo-Moorhead 3 (MAR: Belanger, 2G, 2A)
Alaska 3 @ Texas 2 (ALA: Stevens, G, A)
Bismarck 1 @ North Iowa 3 (NI: Wallgren, G, GWG)
Fairbanks 0 @ Santa Fe 6 (SF: Kutalek, 3G, GWG; Hopper, 18 saves)
Springfield 3 @ So. Minnesota 2 (SPR: Plocar, GWG, A)
St. Louis 6 @ Wichita Falls 2 (STL: Maroon, 3A)
USNTDP 2 @ Alpena 5 (ALP: Pierson, 3A)
Traverse City 2 @ Mahoning Valley 7 (MV: Longpre: 2G, GWG, A)

Saturday, November 4
Alaska 0 @ Texas 3 (TEX: Lawrence, G, A; Cramer, 11 saves)
Marquette 1 @ Fargo-Moorhead 5 (FM: Mihulka, G, GWG, A)
Bismarck 0 @ North Iowa 4 (NI: Moss, 28 saves)
Fairbanks 3 @ Santa Fe 4 (SF: Omilusik, GWG)
Springfield 0 @ So. Minnesota 3 (SM: Paulgaard, 25 saves)
St. Louis 4 @ Wichita Falls 1 (STL: Gawrys, 2A)
Traverse City 2 @ Mahoning Valley 3 (MV: Cloutier, GWG)

AROUND THE NAHL
TWO JR. BLUES COMMIT: First-year Springfield Jr. Blues defenseman Chris Waterstradt has committed to the University of Connecticut (Atlantic Hockey) for next season, while first-year forward Christian Hmura has announced his intentions to attend Wayne State University (CHA) for 2007-08.

PAETH TO WESTERN MICHIGAN: Former Traverse City forward Travis Paeth, 19, has committed to Western Michigan University (CCHA) for next fall. Last season, Paeth, from Muskegon, Mich., scored 21 goals for 36 points in 54 games.

HOPPER THE STOPPER: Santa Fe goaltender Nick Hopper, 18, recorded his league-leading fourth shutout of the season with an 18-save performance in the Roadrunners' 6-0 whitewash of Fairbanks on Friday. The Santa Monica, Calif., native also has an NAHL-leading 12 victories.

FRENCH TWIST: Texas forward Stephane DeCosta, 18, struck for a goal and two assists last weekend as the Tornado split a pair with Alaska. The Paris, France, native now has eight points in his last five games. "Stephane has been one of the most consistent players for us the past few weeks," said Tornado coach Tony Curtale of DeCosta, who is on NHL Central Scouting's "Players to Watch" list for 2007 draft-eligibles.

FINE FINN: Marquette defenseman Iiro Junnila, 19, recorded three assists on the power play in the Rangers' 6-3 win over Fargo-Moorhead on Friday. "He's improving everyday defensively while adding offense to our power play," said Rangers coach Leigh Mendelson of the Finland-born blueliner.

SHOW STOPPERS: Texas' Corson Cramer (11 saves in a 3-0 win over Alaska), 18, and Southern Minnesota's Lars Paulgaard (25 saves in a 3-0 win over Springfield ), 19, recorded their first NAHL shutouts last weekend.

KUTALEK SHINES: Santa Fe forward Tibor Kutalek, who turns 20 next week, scored four goals and an assist in the RoadRunners' 6-0 win over Fairbanks on Friday, and followed that up with a two-assist effort in Santa Fe's 4-3 triumph over the Ice Dogs on Saturday. The Slovakian's 14 goals in 17 games are tied for tops in the league with Fairbanks' Kyle Schmidt.

THE WEEK AHEAD
Thursday, November 9
Alaska @ Santa Fe, 7:05 pm

Friday, November 10
North Iowa @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:35 pm
Southern Minnesota @ Alexandria, 7:30 pm
Bismarck @ Fairbanks, 7:30 pm
Wichita Falls @ Springfield, 7:30 pm
St. Louis @ Texas, 7:30 pm
Alaska @ Santa Fe, 7:05 pm
Traverse City @ Alpena, 7:00 pm
Marquette @ Mahoning Valley, 7:00 pm

Saturday, November 11
Bismarck @ Fairbanks, 7:30 pm
St. Louis @ Texas, 7:30 pm
North Iowa @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:05 pm
Alaska @ Santa Fe, 7:05 pm
Alexandria @ Southern Minnesota, 7:05 pm
Marquette @ Mahoning Valley, 7:00 pm
Wichita Falls @ Springfield, 7:00 pm
Alpena @ Traverse City, 7:00 pm

Sunday, November 12
North Iowa @ Southern Minnesota, 5:05 pm
Fargo-Moorhead @ Alexandria, 5:00 pm
Marquette @ Mahoning Valley, 1:00 pm

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