Jets Weekly
September 26, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Fargo-Moorhead Jets News Release
Fargo (ND) By the time the FM Jets take the ice Thursday to face the Alaska Avalanche, it will have been 173 days since the team last played a game at the Carlson Coliseum. That drought will come to an end this weekend with three straight home games to open the team's 2006-2007 home portion of its schedule.
The FM Jets face Alaska on Thursday and Friday at 7:35pm, before a 7:05pm face-off on Saturday. It'll be the first time the FM Jets' will have played a game at the Carlson Coliseum since the 2006 North American Hockey league playoffs ended in gut-wrenching fashion.
April 22 was the last time the FM Jets played before the home crowd at the Coliseum and it was anything less than sweet, as Southern Minnesota completed a four-game sweep in the Central Division Finals with a 4-3 overtime decision. It was a loss that capped what was an overall disappointing season for the FM Jets on the small confines of the Coliseum ice.
After being nearly unbeatable at home in 2004-2005, the good vibes the Coliseum gave the FM Jets, turned into the occasional cold shiver down the spine. The home record wasn't horrible at 17-13-1 with playoffs included, but the FM Jets were only 12-13-1 at home after October.
"We got the job done of the road, but home was sometimes more of a struggle then it should've been" said head coach Chad Johnson. "I think at times the players may have tried to hard and would try to be fancy with their plays."
The FM Jets will have more then a couple of chances early in the season to reestablish a home dominance at the Coliseum, where the franchise is still 57-30-2 all-time. This weekend begins a season-long seven game home stand.
Starting this weekend, the FM Jets will be at the Coliseum 11 of the next 12 weeks, lasting through mid-December. In fact, 17 of the next 23 games (not including TEAM USA exhibition) will be played at the Coliseum.
"Its safe to say we have a chance to establish ourselves early and set a tone" added Johnson.
Chris Connolly (Duluth, MN) is the FM Jets' leading home scorer after producing 29 points (6 goals) for the home fans last year. David Larson (Warroad, MN) is next with 15 points (4 goals).
However, much like the team in general, most of the scoring punch at the Coliseum came from a group of veterans that have since moved on to collegiate hockey.
One area the FM Jets' did take advantage in was the power play at home with a 20% effective rating, which was the sixth highest in the NAHL.
Long Layoff
Not only is this weekend signaling the return of the FM Jets to home ice, it'll almost have the feel of a second season opening weekend. The FM Jets have been off since starting the season by splitting four games at the North American Hockey League Showcase in suburban Minneapolis two weeks ago.
However, the team has been off for 11 days, the longest scheduled layoff of the season.
"It'll almost be like opening the season all over again, but the team is much more prepared then it was two weeks ago" noted Johnson.
Lengthy Road Trip
This weekend is a continuation of a month-long road trip, which started at the NAHL Showcase, for the Alaska Avalanche. Based out of Anchorage, the Avalanche haven't been at home since the first week of September, but will be heading back north after this weekend.
Long road trips aren't uncommon for the Avalanche or the Fairbanks Ice Dogs who regularly have month-long home stands and road trips.
In a Previous Life
While the FM Jets have never faced the Alaska Avalanche, they have faced the franchise before in a prior location. The Avalanche were based in Springfield (MO) from 2001-2005 and known as the Springfield Spirit. The FM Jets defeated the Spirit in a game at the 2004 NAHL Showcase.
The spirit moved to suburban Anchorage last year and went by the Wasilla Spirit moniker before changing their name.
Last Week
No Games
This Week
Sept. 28 Alaska Avalanche 7:35pm
Sept. 29 Alaska Avalanche 7:35pm
Sept. 30 Alaska Avalanche 7:05pm
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 September 26, 2006
- Express Drop Final Tuneup Game 4-3 - Owatonna Express
- U.S. National Under-18 Team Travels To Alaska To Commence NCAA Portion of 2006-07 Schedule - U.S. National Team
- Stars' Pietila wins NAHL honor - Traverse City North Stars
- NAHL weekly - NAHL
- Hunwick named Sherwood/NAHL Defensive Player of the Week - Alpena IceDiggers
- Jets Weekly - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
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.
