Jets Clinch Central Division
March 19, 2007 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Fargo-Moorhead Jets News Release
Fargo (ND) Call it anti-climatic, or backing in, but in either case the Fargo-Moorhead Jets can still check off another task on the season "to-do" list. Sometime early in their bus ride back home from Marquette on Saturday night, between passing around a batch of homemade cinnamon buns and putting the BORAT movie in the DVD player, the FM Jets clinched the North American Hockey League's Central Division regular season title.
That is because, Southern Minnesota lost at home to the Bismarck Bobcats, making it mathematically impossible for the Express to catch the FM Jets in the season's final two weeks. Southern Minnesota has 70 points, while the FM Jets have 75 points. The Express have only two games remaining on their schedule.
This is the second regular season division title in team history as the FM Jets' won the West Division crown in 2004-2005 on their way to a Robertson Cup Finals appearance. In their four-year history the FM Jets haven't finished lower than second place during the regular season.
The FM Jets had a chance to lock-down the division on their own roughly an hour earlier, but lost 3-2 in overtime at the Marquette Rangers. On Friday, the FM Jets also failed to secure the division on their own with a 5-3 loss at the hands of Marquette, and with Southern Minnesota winning that night the division race continued for another day.
"We would've liked to have won and had a chance to celebrate on the ice, but at the same time it's a good lesson for the players. We are in a slump and this will serve as a wake-up call" said head coach Chad Johnson. "If not for getting some help from the league, we'd still be in a race for the division."
Since going on a seven-game unbeaten streak, the FM Jets are only 2-6-2 in their last ten games. A stretch that featured a franchise-record five-game winless streak and has seen the team allow an average of 3.5 goals per game.
"There are two weeks until the playoffs and that is enough time for us to turn it around and return to the basics that made us successful until this brief slide" added Johnson. "The best part of locking down the top spot early is that we can really evaluate who is here to play hockey and who is along for the ride."
This weekend, the FM Jets went up against a determined Marquette team that clinched a playoff spot in the North Division with their two wins, bit of which came in historic fashion for the first-year franchise.
On Friday night, the FM Jets took a 2-1 lead into the third period only to see Marquette score four times in the final frame to win 5-3 for that franchise's first-ever win when trailing after two periods.
Then on Saturday night, Derek Grogan's goal with a minute left in overtime lifted Marquette to the 3-2 victory, their first in overtime. Grogan -a former Alexandria Blizzard player- also had the game winner in Friday's game.
A pair of former FM Jets had success against their former teammates. Defenseman Tom Jensen was on the ice for what seemed like the entire weekend and assisted on a goal during Friday's game. Goaltender Beau Christian made 33 saves for the win on Saturday.
For the FM Jets, Andrew Harrison (Temperance, MI) and Tyler Hawkins (Rosemount, MN) had good weekends. Harrison had a goal and an assist on Friday, and also won a fight against Neeco Belanger on Saturday night.
Hawkins went toe-to-toe with Jake Saville for bouts on Friday and Saturday and won them both.
The five FM Jets' goals scored during the weekend came from five different scorers. The Central Division scoring leaders Jesse Echternach (Bemidji, MN), Chris Connolly (Duluth, MN) and Matt Moreland (Grand Forks, ND) were held to 2 points (1 goal)with Connolly held off the board both nights, marking one of the few times that has happened in his two-year career.
Moreland Sets Record
With his second period goal on Saturday night against Marquette, third-year veteran Matt Moreland (Grand Forks, ND) notched his 68th career goal putting him first on the team's career goal list. He passes former FM Jet Phil Fox who played from 2004-2006 and was actually in attendance on Saturday at Marquette since he attends Northern Michigan University.
Weird Second Period
Saturday night's game will always be remembered as the game that was played in two different rinks. After the first period of Saturday's game, a patch of ice was deemed unplayable on Marquette's Lakeview Arena's surface and after a 40-minute delay to the start of the second period, officials and coaches decided to move the second period to an adjacent practice rink.
So 1,000 fans, along with players, coaches and game staff moved to the adjacent rink for the second period. Meanwhile, rink staff continued to work on the main rink's ice and was able to fix the problem in time for the third period to be moved back.
Who's In?
Though the FM Jets and Southern Minnesota Express have locked up the top two spots in the Central Division, the four remaining teams are still battling for the final two playoff spots. Only two points separates third place from sixth place in the Central Division.
The Central Division is the only one in the North American Hockey League that doesn't have all of its playoff teams determined.
Going for the Century Mark
Second year veteran Jesse Echternach (Bemidji, MN) has 93 career points, and is closing in on the century-club. He has at least four regular season games, plus a minimum of three post-season games to reach the mark.
Franchise Attendance Mark
25,560 fans have come to the FM Jets' 25 regular season home games, setting a new franchise record for total fans in a season.
The total attendance this season doesn't include Team USA game.
Last Week
Mar. 16 @ Marquette Rangers 6:05pm (CST)
Mar. 17 @ Marquette Rangers 6:05pm (CST)
This Week
Mar. 23 @ Alexandria Blizzard 7:30pm (CST)
Mar. 24 @ Alexandria Blizzard 7:00pm (CST)
The FM Jets Junior A Hockey Club is in its fourth season as members of the North American Hockey League. The NAHL is the nation's largest Junior A hockey league and is now in its 31st year of operation. For more information, visit fmjets.com or call (701) 235-2354.
Jets home games are played at the John E. Carlson Coliseum in Fargo, ND. All games are broadcasted on Today's Hot New Country 103.9 THE TRUCK and audiosportsonline.com.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2007
- Jarboe named player of the week - Alpena IceDiggers
- Jets Clinch Central Division - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Bobcats update - Bismarck Bobcats
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.
