Eagles Travel to Janesville to Open North Division Finals
April 21, 2015 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Soo Eagles News Release
The Soo Eagles travel to Janesville, Wisconsin for the fourth time this season, but none more important than this weekend, where they open the best-of-five NAHL North Division Finals, against the league leading Jets, Friday and Saturday night at 7:00pm (CST).
You can catch all the action, live or on-demand on www.fasthockey.com.
Game 3 in the series is set for Friday, May 1 at Pullar Stadium at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 4 is scheduled for Saturday, May 2 at 7:00 p.m. at the Pullar, and Game 5 on Monday, May 4 in Janesville.
Both the Eagles and Jets earned sweeps in their semifinal series last weekend. The Eagles disposed of the Ice Miners on Friday night, with a 3-1 victory, sweeping the best-of-five series, allowing only 2 goals in the process. The Ice Miners never had a lead in the entire series. The Michigan Warriors led on a few occasions in their semifinal series against the Janesville, but gave them up, and gave up a whopping 21 goals to the high scoring Jets, and were swept out of the playoffs. Eagles captain, Matt Menta, has been red hot in the playoffs, and leads the team in scoring, with two goals and two assists, in three games. Sandis Zolmanis and Chase Mattson have three points each in the postseason. Darren Brady has two points and leads the team in +/- with a +6. The Jets are led in scoring in the postseason by Brandon Schultz and Cullen Munson, who four goals and two assists each, in three games. Adam Winborg has three goals and an assist, and leads the team in +/- with a +4. Soo Eagle's goaltender Chad Catt had quite a week, as he committed to the University of Michigan, and won all three games in the semifinal series against Keystone. He has a goals against average of 0.65 and a save percentage of .981 in the postseason. Janeville net minder, Matt Jurusik won all three games in the series against the Warriors, and carries a goals against average of 2.33 and a save percentage of .919. These two teams met 12 times during the regular season, with the Jets winning 10 of the contests. The Eagles won their last meeting, in a shootout in Janesville.
Eagles sweep Keystone in North Division Semifinals
Game 1: Soo Eagles 6, Keystone Ice Miners 1 - Friday, April 10, 2015
The Soo Eagles grabbed home ice-advantage in their North Division semifinal series, thanks to an efficient 6-1 Game 1, win on Friday night in Keystone. It didn't take long for the Eagles to take control of the game, as they netted three goals in the 1st period, which chased Keystone starting goalie Alex Blankenburg from the game. Brad Pung scored the opening goal and Matt Menta added the next two to make it 3-0 after one period. The lead swelled to 4-0, thanks to an early goal in the 2nd period from Darren Brady. Keystone would get on the board later in the period with their only tally of the night from LordAnthony Grissom. In the 3rd period, two more Soo goals from Sandis Zolmanis and Raymond Brice would secure the 6-1 win and series lead. Chad Catt was very good in the win, making 34 saves. Blankenburg took the loss, making three saves and Nick Kossoff made 13 saves in relief.
Game 2: Soo Eagles 1, Keystone Ice Miners 0 (0T) - Saturday, April 11, 2015
In a classic playoff goaltending duel, Soo Eagles goalie Chad Catt bested Keystone Ice Miners goalie Nick Kossoff, thanks to a 32-save shutout as the Eagles grabbed a commanding 2-0 lead, with a 1-0 overtime win in Game 2 on Saturday. You can see that goal here. The game featured just three minor penalties, as neither team nor goalie yielding anything through regulation. However, it did not take long for the game-winner to emerge in overtime as Trevor Cope skated his way through the Keystone defense and let go a shot from the slot that got past a screened Kossoff for the overtime-winner. Sandis Zolmanis and Dan Weaver picked up assists on the winner.
Game 3: Soo Eagles 3, Keystone Ice Miners 1 - Friday, April 17, 2015
The Keyston Ice Miners never had an answer for Eagles goalie Chad Catt, as once again the net minder stifled his opponent with 38 saves, in a 3-1 win in Game 3 at Pullar Stadium, sweeping the series for the Eagles and ending the season for Keystone. The Soo jumped ahead first with a 1st period goal from Keegan Miller. The Ice Miners answered midway through the 2nd period to tie the game at 1-1 on a strike from Cameron Smith. However, just four minutes later, it was Leo Lumm scoring what would be the eventual game-winning goal. Trevor Cope added another goal early in the 3rd period to make it 3-1. For good measure, Catt stopped a penalty shot later in the 3rd period to cement the win and the series for the Soo. Nick Kossoff made 24 saves in the loss. The Eagles now move onto the North Division Finals, where they will face the Janesville Jets.
Janesville sweeps Michigan, advance to North Division Finals
Game 1: Janesville 8, Michigan 1
Six goals in a six-minute span in the 3rd period broke open a tight game as the Jets claimed Game 1 of their series with Michigan, 8-1. Things were tight after two periods as the Jets held onto a 2-1 lead. Adam Winborg scored in the 1st period for the Jets to make it 1-0. Winborg would add his second goal of the game early in the 2nd period to make it 2-0. Ryan Burr scored a power play goal for Michigan to make it 2-1 and after a save by Chase Munroe on the penalty shot late in the period, things stood at 2-1 entering the 3rd period. At the 11:39 make the Jets exploded for six goals in six minutes to put the game away, including a hat-trick from Cullen Munson and others from Brandon Schultz, Aleksi Ainail and Zach Solow. Matt Jurusik made 23 saves in the win, while Munroe took the loss, making 29 saves.
Game 2: Janesville 6, Michigan 2
The Jets blew a tight game open in the 2nd period with five goals, as they grabbed a commanding 2-0 series lead against the Warriors, with a 6-2 win in Game 2. Michigan led 1-0 after the 1st period as Garrison Sanipass scored a goal in the 1st period. The 2nd period was all Jets. Janesville took a 2-1 lead with early goals from Dan Kucerovy and Grant Hutton. Michigan tied the game briefly with a power play goal from Alex Berardinelli, but the Jets managed three more goals in the next five minutes as Adam Winborg scored the eventual game-winner on the power play, Kucerovy added his second of the game and Brandon Schultz also scored. Zach LaValle would complete the scoring in the 3rd period with a power play goal. Matt Jurusik made 27 saves in the win, while Ryan Wischow took the loss, making 31 saves.
Game 3: Janesville 7, Michigan 4
Once again, the Janesville Jets offense could not be stopped, as they scored seven more goals in a 7-4 win in Game 3, sweeping the series with Michigan. The Jets scored 21 goals in the three wins. The game was fairly even through the first two periods. Janesville led 4-3 after two periods thanks to goals from Cullen Munson, Drew Callin, Brandon Schultz and Zach Yoder. The Warriors were able to keep pace behind goals from Derek Frentz and AJ Marcinek in the 1st period and Cody Kuster in the 2nd period. After Alex Berardinelli tied the game with a goal early in the 3rd period, the Jets scored three more times in the 3rd period including the game-winner from Zach LaValle on the power play and empty-net goals from Schultz and Zach Solow. Janesville finished the series 10 for 15 on the power play. Matt Jurusik made 29 saves in the win, while Chase Munroe took the loss, making 36 saves. The Jets now advance to the North Finals to face the Soo Eagles.
Robertson Cup Playoff - Division Semifinal updates
Midwest Division:
(1) Fairbanks vs (4) MN Magicians - Fairbanks win series 3-0
(2) MN Wilderness vs (3) Coulee Region - Series tied 2-2
South Division:
(1) Lone Star vs (4) Wenatchee - Lone Star wins series 3-1
(2) Topeka vs (3) Wichita Falls - Topeka wins series 3-1
Central Division:
(1) Austin vs (4) Aberdeen - Austin wins series 3-0
(2) Minot vs (3) Bismark - Minot wins series 3-0
Robertson Cup Semi-Finals (Best of 3)
The four remaining teams shall be seeded 1-4 based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. If necessary, the tie-breaking policy adopted in the NAHL Rules and Regulations will be applied to determine the final order of finish. The Club seeded first will compete in a best-of-three series with the fourth seeded Club. The Club seeded second will compete in a best-of-three-series against the Club seeded third. The Robertson Cup Semi-Finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, May 7, 2015 and shall conclude no later than Monday, May 11, 2015. The higher seeded team will host all three games. The first club to win two games in the Robertson Cup Semi-Final series will be declared the winner and advance to the Robertson Cup Finals. The first club to lose two games in the Robertson Cup Semi-Final series will be eliminated from further playoff competition.
Robertson Cup Finals (Best of 3)
The two winners of the Robertson Cup Semi-Final series will advance to the Robertson Cup Finals and will be seeded #1 or #2 based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. If necessary, the tie-breaking policy adopted in the NAHL Rules and Regulations will be applied to determine the final order of finish. The Robertson Cup Finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, May 14, 2015 and shall conclude no later than Monday, May 18, 2015. The higher seeded team will host all three games. The first Club to win two games in a Robertson Cup Finals will be declared the winner of the Robertson Cup National Championship. To be announced.
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from April 21, 2015
- Crowley Commits to SUNY Cortland - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Eagles Travel to Janesville to Open North Division Finals - Soo Eagles
- IceRays Alumni Report - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Johnstown Hockeyville: Final Four Voting Is Underway - Johnstown Tomahawks
- NAHL Draft Scheduled for June 9 - Aberdeen Wings
- Bjorn Lands, Scores, Named MVP - Aberdeen Wings
- Former Wings Defenseman Signs Pro Contract - Aberdeen Wings
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.
