Express knock off two first place teams in a row
November 13, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Owatonna Express News Release
OWATONNA, MN - It was a weekend of firsts for the Southern Minnesota Express. The NAHL expansion team knocked off two first-place teams, recorded the first shutout in franchise history, and won in a shootout for the first time. Can first-place be far behind? Saturday night on home ice, the Express defeated the first-place Minnesota Blizzard 3-0 with Nick Hopper (Culver City, CA) earning the shutout. By Sunday, the Fargo-Moorhead Jets had taken over first place in the Central Division, setting up another couple of firsts and a 4-3 Express triumph.
Southern Minnesota led 1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 but penalties put the home team in one precarious situation after another. In one stretch midway through the game, the Express were called for six of seven penalties in a row so it was no surprise when F-M forward Ryan Cramer cashed in on a two-man advantage early in the third period to tie the game at 3-3. Hopper's heroics enabled the Express to reach overtime where they survived yet another shorthanded situation.
In the shootout, Fargo-Moorhead scored twice in its first three attempts and appeared well on the way to a perfect weekend. But Sean Murphy (Owatonna, MN) and Ryan Guentzel (Woodbury, MN) scored consecutive goals for the Express to pull the home team even. When Hopper foiled the Jets' Phil Fox, that left the heroics up to Jason Wiley. The Bloomington, MN native demonstrated once again why he is Southern Minnesota's most dangerous player one-on-one, beating Jets' netminder B.J. O'Brien with a gutsy shot to the top shelf.
Jamie Ruff (Rochester, MN) scored twice in regulation play for Southern Minnesota, his 9th and 10th of the year, while Alex Coles (Apple Valley, MN) notched his league-leading 17th of the season. Hopper made 28 saves to record his 8th win in 10 starts. The victory raised Southern Minnesota's record to 11-7-2, just three points behind the Blizzard.
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