Dog Pound Weekly

Published on March 23, 2005 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Bozeman Icedogs News Release


With only a few games left in the season and nothing left to play for but pride, the Bozeman ICEDOGS wanted to get one thing straight with the rest of the teams in the NAHL-West - you can't just come into the Valley Ice Garden and expect to win. "Our guys are still playing tough, despite the circumstances," said ICEDOGS Head Coach John LaFontaine. Last weekend, two teams in desperate need of wins came to town looking for points, and the ICEDOGS gave them all they could handle. On Friday, the Fargo-Moorhead Jets wanted to increase their lead on the Billings Bulls by picking up a win in Bozeman. However, tough play and a timely goal late in the third by defenseman Josh Meyers, allowed the home team to walk off the ice with a win.

"Josh has been such a dependable player for us on the blue line this year," said LaFontaine. "It was great to see him get a goal like that." The ICEDOGS started the game flat, allowing Fargo to jump out to a 3-0 lead halfway through the second period before the tables turned in the second part of the game. Anton Kharin scored his third goal in as many games, with Bill Leahy and Ryan Bunger adding goals of their own to even the score before Meyers scored the game winner. It was the third time this season that the ICEDOGS beat the division-leading Jets. "We never gave up," LaFontaine said. "We came out a little flat at first, but in those last two periods we kept our intensity up and pulled out the win."

Saturday's game was similar, with Bismarck jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals scored within a minute of each other in the first period. Brett Beckfeld added a spark to the offense with a goal in the second that brought the 'DOGS within one, but it wasn't enough. Bismarck was able to maintain a lead throughout and come out of the Valley Ice Garden with a much needed win.

Fargo went on to play Billings Sunday, needing a win to secure the first place spot in the division. Despite a lackluster first period where they let the Bulls jump out to a 2-0, the Jets pulled out the win and secured first place in the division--setting them up against Bismarck or Minnesota for the first round of the playoffs. Billings will play Helena in a match up that promises to be hotly contested. LaFontaine said that although this season has been particularly frustrating, they nonetheless are looking forward to next season and are proud of the personal accomplishments that were achieved this year. "We'll miss the guys that are leaving, and are very proud of their accomplishments in their time in Bozeman," he said.

This is it...the last week of the 2004-05 season. Sad as that may seem, the 2005-06 squad will arrive in 5 short months. The ICEDOGS' organization is very grateful to you, our loyal fans. Whether you came to one game this year or all 32, you make our game atmosphere one of the best in the league, and definitely best in the division.

This Friday, the ICEDOGS travel to Helena for the first of back-to-back games against the Bighorns. Saturday is our annual Big Sky Golf Night sponsored by AutoBody Experience. If the game is sold out, all fans in attendance can redeem their game ticket for a FREE round of 18 holes at Big Sky Golf Course before June 9th or after September 25th of this year. One lucky fan will also walk away with a golf car, compliments of AutoBody Experience!

This will be the final Dog Pound Weekly for the season...but don't be surprised if your inbox has a little offseason update once in a while.

Don't forget to check out our Photo Caption Contest page! There are some hilarious captions to last week's picture.

Coach LaFontaine's Plan For The Future

Realizing the need to put a winning team on the ice, Head Coach John LaFontaine has developed a plan that should help recruiting for the 2005-06 campaign. When asked to comment on the offseason for The Dog Pound Weekly, this is how he responded:

"We are replacing roughly 12-13 players for next season. We have two scouts officially on board with us, one living in Michigan and one living in Minnesota. They both know the majority of coaches in their respective states and watch a lot of hockey. This will help us tremendously for covering the two biggest recruiting states. Stoney and I will be leaving next Tuesday to cover the Midget AAA National Tournament in Chicago and then the Great 8 High School tournament in Minnesota. Then we will be covering the Chicago Showcase Tournament in April. The other tournaments we will attend are the Global Prospect tournament in Langley, BC, the Select 17's in July in Saint Cloud, MN, and the Toronto Prospects Tournament.

We have many different roles to fill, and are looking for players who understand the game, play smart, compete hard, and play with heart. Our graduating players exemplify the type of player we are looking for."

About The Bighorns

The Helena Bighorns learned on Sunday that they will face their old nemesis, the Billings Bulls in the first round of the NAHL West Division Playoffs.

For the last two seasons, the Helena Bighorns have seen their playoff run end at the hands of the Billings Bulls. This years playoffs begin right where last seasons playoffs ended, at the MetraPark Arena in Billings. The Bulls were locked into a #2 seed with their 5-3 loss to Fargo-Moorhead on Sunday afternoon, and thus a playoff reunion with the #3 seed Helena Bighorns. Meanwhile, the Jets await to see who ends up in the #4 slot, with Bismarck holding a 3 point edge over Minnesota in the race for the final playoff spot.

The first round of the playoffs will begin no earlier than March 30th, and will be a best-of-five format. Game locations and times will be posted as soon as they are available.

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North American Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2005


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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