Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary
Published on October 6, 2004 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Alexandria Blizzard News Release
(Alexandria, MN) In week two of the regular season, the Minnesota Blizzard Junior "A" Hockey team played one game, and skated away with their second consecutive win, to even the season record at 2 wins, 2 defeats, and 0 overtime/shootout losses.
Friday, October 1st: The Blizzard enjoyed their biggest offensive outburst of the young season, with a four-goal second period serving as the catalyst, for a 6-3 win over the defending Borne Cup Champions of the NAHL Western Division, the Bismarck Bobcats. The two teams came out flying at the start, with end-to-end action and several scoring opportunities. Blizzard goalie Marcus Paulson (Eden Prairie, MN) made a number of quality saves in the first 20 minutes, to keep the game scoreless. Then, two goals in the first 44 seconds of the middle period opened the flood gates for the Blizzard. Defenseman Paul Henderson (Menomonee, WI) lit the lamp at 24 seconds, with an assist to Ryan Hawkins (Eden Prairie, MN). Only 20 seconds later, Hawkins and Shawn Bitzan (Alexandria, MN) set up a scoring chance for Jake Nelson (Superior, WI), who scored on a rebound of a blocked shot, to put the Blizzard up by two goals. After Bismarck's Richard Huna halved the lead early in the period, the Blizzard struck again, as Nelson notched his second goal of the night on the power play at 6:26, with Hawkins and Tim Manthey (Anoka, MN) assisting. Andrew Olson (Alexandria, MN) then got into the scoring act, with an even-strength goal at 14:06 of the second period, to pad Minnesota's cushion to 4-1. The Blizzard led 4-2 going into the final period, when goals by Olson and Bitzan in the first 11 minutes of the period put the game out of reach. Dan McCauley (Blaine, MN) assisted on the Olson goal, which stretched the Minnesota lead to 5-2, while Nelson and Hawkins assisted on the Bitzan score. Overall, Hawkins had a four-point night, and Nelson collected three points, on the two goals and an assist. In the nets for the Blizzard, Paulson faced pucks from all over the ice, but still managed to keep 46 of the 49 Bismarck shots from finding the back of the net.
Ahead, for the Blizzard: A road trip this coming Saturday, October 9th into the Red River Valley, as the Blizzard will face the Fargo-Moorhead Jets, at the John E. Carlson Coliseum in Fargo. The arena is on the grounds of Fargo North High School, and is only about four blocks east of the Fargodome. Game time is set for 7:05.
D-Mac's wisdom nugget of the week: The Blizzard transportation vehicle will make an earnest attempt, to avoid any sugar beets that may fall onto the road, during the annual beet harvest. If you are traveling into the Red River Valley over the next couple of weeks, drive with care, as it is no picnic, to run over a sugar beet with your car, or to avoid hitting them, if they are lying on the road. Also, allow the beet hauling trucks their space, to do their work. Like many that are combining and harvesting at this time of the year, the beet haulers are putting in endless hours transporting the beets to various plants, such as the American Crystal plants in Moorhead, or Hillsboro, ND. It is common for the haulers to put in 16-20 hour work days, while the harvest is going on. If you do happen to collect a sugar beet during your travels (if for no other reason than the novelty value), do not let the sugar beet stay in your vehicle too long. I remember a good friend mentioning to me that he placed a sugar beet in the back seat of a fellow co-worker's car. The incident was forgotten for several days, then the beet started to get mushy in the back seat, in the process of rotting. Plus, a very pungent odor developed, because of the rotting sugar beet.
Whether you are harvesting beets, or other grains/crops, we hope that you are able to get a sufficient amount of rest, while having a good harvest this fall. Thanks to all of the agricultural producers, for everything you do, to put food on all of our tables!
See what happens when you read the Blizzard weekly summary? You never know what you may stumble upon! Check back here next week, for the scoop on Game #5 for the Blizzard, as they attempt to go over the .500 mark for the first time, in franchise history.
North American Hockey League Stories from October 6, 2004
- Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary - Alexandria Blizzard
- Dog Pound Weekly - Bozeman Icedogs
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