Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary
September 28, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Alexandria Blizzard News Release
(Alexandria, MN) Hello again, sports fans! The regular season for the Minnesota Blizzard Junior "A" Hockey team is underway. So, in the weeks to come, you can look forward to receiving detailed game summaries and other related material, about the "Fastest Game Around"....Minnesota Blizzard Junior "A" Hockey!
Just a primer for you....the Blizzard is in its second season of existence, and is based in Alexandria, Minnesota. The roster of the Blizzard consists of 25 players that were born between 1984 and 1987. Players are allowed to participate in Junior "A" Hockey until they turn 21 years of age. If they turn 21 while the season is in progress, they can finish out the season, but after the season is complete, their Junior Hockey playing days will be complete, as well. There is no age minimum, for participating in Junior "A" Hockey. Some individuals may be 16 years of age or younger. The majority of those playing Junior "A" Hockey are between the ages of 18 and 20. Many players have completed their High School Hockey careers. Some elect to forego their last year or two of High School eligibility, to play Junior Hockey. Players in Juniors are not paid, for they would lose their eligibility to play hockey in College, which is a goal of most Junior Hockey individuals. Players with the Blizzard that do not have family living in Alexandria stay with host families in the area, who offer room and board, in exchange for compensation from the Blizzard organization. Entering the 2004-05 season, the Blizzard features 11 returning veterans (persons who played with the Blizzard in 2003-04), mixed in with 14 new faces on the roster. Dave Boitz is back, as the Blizzard Head Coach, with Jeff Crouse as his assistant. 25 of the 26 home games for the Blizzard will be played at the Runestone Community Center, which is on the western edge of Alexandria, on the Douglas County Fairgrounds. The 26th home game, on November 6th, will be played at the Fergus Falls Fairgrounds Arena. Single game and season tickets are available at the Runestone Center in Alexandria, or by calling (320) 763-1413.
The 56-game regular season schedule for the Blizzard began, with a three-game set near the "Top of the World"....Fairbanks, Alaska. The Ice Dogs hosted the Blizzard September 23rd through the 25th. The game-by game details follow, as part of this weekly summary.
Thursday, September 23rd: A strong second period, in which the Ice Dogs scored four times to build a comfortable lead, helped to propel Fairbanks to a 6-1 triumph over the Blizzard. The Ice Dogs jumped to a 5-0 start, much to the delight of more than 1500 fans, at Fairbanks' home arena, the Big Dipper. The first three Fairbanks goals were scored on the power play. Leading the charge for Ice Dogs were Matt Case and Jameson Lundquist, with two goals each, and Matt Jolly, who tallied three assists. The lone Minnesota goal for the night was scored by Scott Motz (Maplewood, MN) on the power play late in the second period. A nice highlight for Scott, playing his first game in a Blizzard uniform. Returning Minnesota veterans Tim Manthey (Anoka, MN) and Jake Nelson (Superior, WI) assisted on the Motz goal. Marcus Paulson (Eden Prairie, MN) was in the nets, for the first two periods for Minnesota, and Clay Nestor (Glenwood, MN) handled the work in the third period. The Ice Dogs outshot the Blizzard for the game, 38-29.
Friday, September 24th: While the effort by Minnesota was dramatically better than the night before, the Blizzard continued to have difficulty finding the back of the net, as Fairbanks skated to a 4-1 victory. Blizzard forward Aaron Castle (Roseau, MN) scored late in the opening stanza, to tie the game at one. Assists were credited to defensemen Karl Larsen (Princeton, MN) and Paul Henderson (Memomonie, WI). Minnesota's early-game momentum was halted shortly after the first intermission, when the Ice Dogs Blake Twardowski stole a pass in the neutral zone, skated in, and slipped a shot past Clay Nestor. Twardowski's short-handed score gave Fairbanks the lead for good, at 2-1. The Ice Dogs' potent power play hurt the Blizzard for the second consecutive night, as Fairbanks went 3-for-5, on the man-advantage. The shots advantage showed a 30-27 edge for the Ice Dogs.
Saturday, September 25th: Fairbanks aimed to complete a three-game sweep of Minnesota, on the opening weekend of play, for both teams. The Blizzard played with poise and determination in front of a crowd of more than 2100, earning a 4-2 decision, for the first win of the year. Minnesota's power play was effective early on, as the Blizzard scored less than two minutes into the contest. Sean Fish (Ramsey, MN) converted with just 98 seconds gone, to give Minnesota its first in-game lead of the season. Assists on the Fish goal were given to Rylan Galiardi (Calgary, AB, Canada) and Paul Henderson. Galiardi got into the scoring act early in the middle period, with a power play goal of his own, which was assisted by Fish and Sam Windsor (Plymouth, MN), to give Minnesota a 2-0 lead. After the Ice Dogs halved that margin, the Blizzard took advantage of a turnover in the Fairbanks zone. Joey Bacon (Cambridge, MN) fed a pass from the corner, and defenseman Nick Peters slammed a shot past Ice Dogs goalie Bryce Christianson, to put Minnesota up, 3-1, entering the third period. The score did not change in the first 17 minutes of the third, but boy, did things get exciting down the stretch! Fairbanks, trailing by two, pulled Christianson, with 2:20 to go in the game, to make an extra attacker available. Keeping the puck in the Minnesota end, and putting pressure on near the net, the Ice Dogs Seth Reda popped in a rebound, with 2:02 to go, to cut the Blizzard lead to 3-2. Shortly thereafter, Fairbanks worked the puck into the Minnesota end once more. Backed by the partisan crowd, which was worked into a frenzy, Fairbanks was relentless, with the pressure in the Minnesota zone. However, with just under a minute to go, the Blizzard was finally able to clear the puck into the neutral zone. Aaron Castle tipped a pass ahead to Shawn Bitzan (Alexandria, MN), who looped a shot into the empty Fairbanks net, to clinch the Minnesota victory. After the empty netter, one of the few persons still making noise in the building was the Blizzard radio guy, who had now become accustomed to calling games in the "wee smalls", and signing off the broadcasts by wishing the remaining listeners of the broadcast: "Thanks for listening, and Good Morning from Fairbanks, Alaska!" Closed circuit, to Coach Boitz: Was it the radio man you were trying to "shoosh", once the victory had been sealed? On an evening when the Fairbanks Hockey Hall of Fame was dedicated at the Big Dipper Arena, the visitors from the Gopher State spoiled the party, and left the building with a good feeling. Marcus Paulson had a spectacular night in goal for the Blizzard, stopping 44 Fairbanks shots. The Ice Dogs nearly doubled up Minnesota on the shot chart, with a 46-24 margin. But the Blizzard scored two points in the Western Division standings, with the 4-2 victory.
Look for a special segment, D-Mac's Diaries (the "Way Up North" edition), coming soon. It will be available, exclusively on the Minnesota Blizzard web site: www.centralminnesotajuniorhockey.com.
Ahead, for the Blizzard: Another road trip, though this will be a day-tripper. Friday evening, October 1st, Minnesota will play the Bismarck Bobcats, at the VFW Sports Center in Bismarck. Game time is 7:00 PM Friday, and if you can't make it to the game, catch it on the radio, if you are in Central or West Central Minnesota. KMGK, 107.1 FM, will have the broadcast, with the pre-game coverage at 6:40.
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North American Hockey League Stories from September 28, 2004
- U-17 team falls to IceDiggers - U.S. National Team
- Tough weekend for the Barons - Cleveland Barons
- Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary - Alexandria Blizzard
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