Express sticks with winning ways

Published on March 6, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release

Winners of seven of its last 10 games, the Southern Minnesota Express punched its ticket to the postseason last weekend with a pair of victories over the North Iowa Outlaws.

"Clinching a playoff spot is what we've been working towards for quite some time," said Express coach-GM Pat Cullen, whose team improved to 32-21-3.

The Express opened its weekend with a 4-2 win over the Outlaws on Friday. Four different players scored for Southern Minnesota, with Jesse Junkermeir (pictured left) and Dusty Jackson each potting a goal and an assist. Defenseman Gabe Guentzel chipped in two assists, while goaltender Lars Paulgaard turned aside 20 shots.

The next night, Paulgaard stopped all 26 shots faced at the Express skated to a 3-0 triumph. Junkermeir netted two more goals, including the game-winner, with Ben Beaudoin connecting for the other Southern Minnesota tally, his second of the weekend.

The wins leave the Express only five points behind Fargo-Moorhead in the chase for the Central Division title.

"Catching Fargo is still something we hope to do, and that's helped us stay focused because we don't have much margin for error," said Cullen.

Special teams fueled Southern Minnesota's success against North Iowa, as the Express scored two power-play goals and one shorthanded tally on Friday while limiting the Outlaws to only one marker with the man-advantage the entire weekend (1-for-12).

"Overall, we played good team defense and both our power play and penalty kill were very good," said Cullen. "We limited quality scoring chances and, at this time of the year, your special teams need to be effective and ours were."

The Express is hoping for more of the same out of Junkermeir down the stretch. The second-year forward is starting to blossom offensively and now has 19 goals for 35 points on the season.

"He's definitely raised his level of play and is a guy that we need to have on the scoresheet if we're to continue to play well," said Cullen of the 19-year-old from Minnetonka, Minn.

With four assists last weekend, Guentzel, an 18-year-old from Woodbury, Minn., continues his steady play on both sides of the puck.

"He's been very solid for us, both offensively and defensively, for quite some time," said Cullen. "His game has also stepped up to another level."

One player who has helped solidify the defensive corps is Jesse Downey, who returned to the lineup last weekend after suffering an injury right before the Christmas break.

"He's provided us with depth and has played solid," said Cullen.

With six games left on the regular-season schedule and not too much to complain about, the Express is committed to keeping the game plan simple.

"I think there's still room for improvement, but we're playing with consistency right now and we need that to continue," said Cullen. "Our focus for the rest of the season is to be playing our best hockey when the playoffs start."

STANDINGS/LEADERS

North Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

yMahoning Valley 53 41-11-1 83 .783 247 140

xAlpena 54 31-19-4 66 .611 193 176

USNTDP 52 23-25-4 50 .481 180 178

Marquette 54 21-29-4 46 .426 163 200

Traverse City 54 17-32-5 39 .361 160 241

South Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

xSt. Louis 53 38-12-3 79 .745 195 125

xSanta Fe 52 34-14-4 72 .692 175 122

xTexas 53 31-16-6 68 .642 174 148

xFairbanks 55 32-20-3 67 .609 210 182

Wichita Falls 54 22-27-5 49 .454 155 185

Alaska 51 14-31-6 34 .333 126 195

Central Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

xFargo-Moorhead 53 34-15-4 72 .679 196 169

xSo. Minnesota 56 32-21-3 67 .598 177 152

Bismarck 55 23-26-6 52 .473 173 196

Springfield 54 22-28-4 48 .444 150 167

North Iowa 53 21-27-5 47 .443 143 178

Alexandria 52 20-29-3 43 .413 136 176

x - clinched playoff berth

y - clinched division title

LEADING SCORERS

PLAYER TEAM P GP G A PTS

Maroon, Pat STL F 49 30 51 81

Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 55 45 30 75

Echternach, Jesse FMH F 52 34 41 75

Shean, Joe FBX F 55 20 55 75

Rudasill, Todd ALP F 51 26 48 74

Connolly, Chris FMH F 53 18 53 71

Cloutier, Dustin MVY F 44 37 33 70

Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 50 35 24 59

Pierson, Drew ALP F 54 25 33 58

(two players tied with 58)

LEADING GOALTENDERS

PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L-OTL GAA SPCT

Hopper, Nick SFE 41 2379:27 26-10-3 2.09 .913

Nagle, Pat STL 30 1791:13 21-6-3 2.14 .925

Zapolski, Ryan MVY 45 2637:02 36-8-1 2.34 .928

Nagle, Pat STL 30 1791:13 21-6-3 2.14 .925

Zapolski, Ryan MVY 45 2637:02 36-8-1 2.34 .928

GOALS

PLAYER TEAM P GP G

Schmidt, Kyle FBX F 55 45

Cloutier, Dustin MVY F 44 37

Kutalek, Tibor SFE F 50 35

ASSISTS

PLAYER TEAM P GP A

Shean, Joe FBX F 55 55

Connolly, Chris FMH F 53 53

Maroon, Pat STL F 49 51

Sherwood Players of the Week

NORTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Marquette forward Jake Hauswirth struck for two goals and four assists last weekend as the Rangers posted a 1-2 record against Mahoning Valley. On Friday, the 19-year-old scored two goals, including the game-winner with seven seconds left in regulation, and an assist as Marquette handed the Phantoms their first home loss of the season, 5-4. The next night, the Merrill, Wis., tallied a goal and an assist in a 5-3 defeat. Hauswirth recorded another assist on Sunday as the Rangers fell, 6-4.

SOUTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Wichita Falls goaltender Cal Heeter backstopped the Wildcats to a pair of wins in his two starts last weekend, turning aside 71 of 75 shots. On Friday, the 18-year-old made 29 saves in Wichita Falls' 4-2 victory over Santa Fe. On Sunday, the St. Louis native stopped 42 shots as the Wildcats skated to a 4-2 triumph at Texas.

CENTRAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Bismarck goaltender Tim Krystosek backstopped the Bobcats to three wins over Central Division-leading Fargo-Moorhead last week, stopping 92 of 96 shots. On Thursday, the 20-year-old made 28 saves in a 4-2 victory. The next night, the Maple Grove, Minn., native stopped all 28 shots as the Bobcats blanked the Jets, 3-0. On Saturday, Krystosek made 36 saves in Bismarck's 3-2 overtime triumph.

HONORABLE MENTION: Alpena forwards Erik Peterson and Jimmy McCusker and goaltender Shawn Hunwick; Bismarck forward Shawn Skelly; Mahoning Valley forward Dustin Cloutier and defenseman Trent Bonnett; Marquette forward Neeco Belanger and goaltender Beau Christian; Southern Minnesota forward Jesse Junkermeir and defenseman Gabe Guentzel; Texas forward Stephane da Costa and defenseman Jake Newton; Wichita Falls forward Luke Salazar

LAST WEEK'S SCORES/HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, March 1

Fargo-Moorhead 2 @ Bismarck 4 (BIS: Hooker, GWG, A)

Friday, March 2

Bismarck 6 @ Fargo-Moorhead 0 (BIS: Krystosek, 28 saves)

Alexandria 3 @ Fairbanks 5 (FBX: Hamway, G, GWG)

St. Louis 5 @ Springfield 2 (STL: Maroon, 3G, 2A)

Southern Minnesota 4 @ North Iowa 2 (SM: Beaudoin, GWG)

Santa Fe 2 @ Wichita Falls 4 (WF: Josepher, 2G)

USNTDP 3 @ Alpena 8 (ALP: Peterson, 3G, GWG)

Marquette 5 @ Mahoning Valley 4 (MAR: Hauswirth, G, GWG, A)

Saturday, March 3

Alexandria 2 @ Fairbanks 5 (FBX: Schmidt, 2G, A)

Santa Fe 4 @ Texas 3 (SO) (SF: Kinne, G, A)

Fargo-Moorhead 2 @ Bismarck 3 (OT) (BIS: Calhoun, G, 2A)

Southern Minnesota 3 @ North Iowa 0 (SM: Paulgaard, 26 saves)

USNTDP 3 @ Alpena 2 (SO) (USA: Clemente, 47 saves)

Marquette 3 @ Mahoning Valley 5 (MV: Longpre, 2G)

St. Louis 1 @ Springfield 4 (SPR: Mattila, G, GWG)

Sunday, March 4

Alaska 6 @ Fairbanks 2 (ALA: Nordenson, G, 2A)

Wichita Falls 3 @ Texas 2 (WF: Salazar, G, GWG)

Marquette 4 @ Mahoning Valley 6 (MV: Cloutier, 2G)

AROUND THE NAHL

NAHL EXPANDS TO KENAI PENINSULA: The NAHL's Board of Governors has approved the membership application of the Kenai River Brown Bears. The team, which will make its home in Soldotna, Alaska, will commence play in the 2007-08 season.

HADDAD COMMITS TO UAA: Third-year Fairbanks forward Nick Haddad, 20, has committed to University of Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA) for next season. The Fairbanks native ranks 12th in league scoring with 25 goals for 56 points after 50 games.

ALUM COPS HOCKEY EAST HONOR: Northeastern University freshman forward Kyle Kraemer (Wichita Falls, 2004-06) was named Hockey East Rookie of the Week for the week ending March 4 after scoring two goals, including the game-winner, as the Huskies ended their regular season with a 4-2 upset of No. 5-ranked Boston University on Feb. 28.

GILL NAMED TO CCHA ALL-ROOKIE TEAM: Western Michigan University freshman goaltender Riley Gill (Texarkana-St. Louis, 2003-06) was named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team after posting a 10-5-1 record in conference play and placing third among netminders with a .656 winning percentage. Gill's .908 save percentage was fifth best in the CCHA.

BIG MAC: With a goal and five assists in two games against the U.S. U-17's last weekend, Alpena forward Jim McCusker's efforts are starting to pay off. "Jimmy has stepped in and been a big part of our hockey club," said IceDiggers coach Kenny Miller of the 17-year-old. "He's one of the hardest-working kids on our team. He is - and will be - a big part of this team until he moves onto the next level."

SANTA FE SETS FRANCHISE RECORD: Santa Fe's 4-3 shootout win over Texas on Saturday marked the RoadRunners' 34th win of the season, setting a new franchise record. The old record of 33 was set in 2004-05, the RoadRunners' first year in New Mexico.

KINGS OF THE NORTH: With two wins over Marquette last weekend, Mahoning Valley clinched the North Division title for the first time in its four-year history. The Phantoms hold a league-best 41-11-1 record with nine games remaining.

FRENCH CONNECTION: Texas forward Stephane da Costa, 18, who netted a goal in the Tornado's 4-3 shootout loss to Santa Fe on Saturday, is creating some buzz in the pro circles. "From everything we've heard from NHL scouts, Stephane should be an NHL draft pick this summer," said Tornado coach-GM Tony Curtale of the France-born de Costa.

LINE OF FIRE: Marquette's top line of Neeco Belanger (four goals, three assists), Nic Weight (goal, two assists) and Jake Hauswirth (two goals, four assists) combined for 16 points in three games against Mahoning Valley last weekend. "They were our best line," said Rangers coach Randy Enders. "They scored timely and important goals."

ALUM COMMITS TO NORTHERN MICHIGAN: Former NAHL goaltender Ian Keserich (Cleveland, 2002-04) has committed to Northern Michigan University (CCHA) for next season. In his two years with the Barons, Keserich went 22-19-7 with a 3.24 goals-against average and .909 save percentage, including an 18-3-3 record with a 3.22 GAA and a .898 save percentage in 2003-04.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Thursday, March 8

Bismarck @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:35 pm

Alexandria @ Alaska, 7:30 pm

Friday, March 9

Fairbanks @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:35 pm

Alexandria @ Alaska, 7:30 pm

Southern Minnesota @ Springfield, 7:30 pm

Santa Fe @ St. Louis, 7:30 pm

Wichita Falls @ Texas, 7:30 pm

North Iowa @ Bismarck, 7:05 pm

Mahoning Valley @ Alpena, 7:00 pm

Traverse City @ USNTDP, 7:00 pm

Saturday, March 10

Alexandria @ Alaska, 7:30 pm

Santa Fe @ St. Louis, 7:30 pm

North Iowa @ Bismarck, 7:05 pm

Fairbanks @ Fargo-Moorhead, 7:05 pm

Texas @ Wichita Falls, 7:05 pm

Mahoning Valley @ Alpena, 7:00 pm

Southern Minnesota @ Springfield, 7:00 pm

Traverse City @ USNTDP, 7:00 pm

Sunday, March 11

Wichita Falls @ Texas, 6:00 pm

(all times local)

North American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2007

• Heeter Named NAHL South Division Player of the Week - Wichita Falls Wildcats
• Brett Hull and The Hanson Brothers added to Pros/Prospects Lineup - Texas Tornado
• U.S. National Under-18 Team Returns to NAHL Competition - U.S. National Team
• Jets To Set Attendance Record This Weekend - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
• Express sticks with winning ways - NAHL
• Kraemer named Rookie of the Week - Wichita Falls Wildcats

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