Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary
February 7, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Alexandria Blizzard News Release
(Alexandria, MN) The Minnesota Blizzard Junior "A" Hockey team began February with its second road trip through Montana, with games against division rivals Billings and Helena. The Blizzard picked up one point in the team standings, by virtue of a Saturday game that ended in a shootout. Minnesota remains in fourth place, in the NAHL Western Division standings, with 13 regular season games remaining.
On Wednesday, February 2nd, the Blizzard could not overcome a slow start, falling to the resurgent Billings Bulls, 7-3. The result was Minnesota's first defeat at MetraPark Arena in Billings this season, in three games. Billings built a 4-1 lead after one period, on the strength of two power-play goals and a short-handed score. Josh Frider (Moorhead, MN) netted the only Minnesota goal of the opening stanza, on assists from Ryan Hawkins (Eden Prairie, MN) and Dan Swanson (Menomonie, WI). Swanson scored early in period two, with assists from Hawkins and Karl Larsen (Princeton, MN). Later in the period, Brian Baker (Brooklyn Park, MN) tallied his second goal of the year, getting the Blizzard to within 6-3 after two periods. Jake Nelson (Superior, WI) and Aaron Castle (Roseau, MN) assisted on Baker's score. However, Minnesota would not make a dramatic third period comeback, as the Bulls emerged a 7-3 winner.
Two nights later, the Blizzard invaded the Helena Ice Arena, to meet the Bighorns. Through the first half of the season, these two teams battled Fargo-Moorhead, for top honors in the Western Division. After stumbling during January, Helena has rediscovered its groove, defeating Minnesota 5-2 for its fourth straight triumph. Trailing 2-0 in the middle period, Aaron Castle scored on the power play, with assists from Andrew Olson (Alexandria, MN) and Sam Windsor (Plymouth, MN). Then, in the third period, the leading scorer on the Blizzard, Ryan Hawkins, buried the puck past Bighorns' goalie Chad Beiswenger, to tie the game. Jake Nelson and Nick Peters (Eden Prairie, MN) assisted on the game-tying score. However, back-to-back penalties by the Blizzard seven minutes into the third proved to be costly. It put the Bighorns on a 5-on-3 power play, and they cashed in, with two goals in an 18-second span to grab the lead for good. An empty-netter in the closing seconds clinched the win for Helena. Beiswenger proved to be a hot goalie, stopping more than 40 Minnesota shots to earn the win, in the nets.
The game on Saturday, February 5th at the Helena Ice Arena proved to be a see-saw affair. Three times, the Blizzard took the lead on the scoreboard. Three times, Helena came back, before prevailing, 5-4 in a shoot-out. Sam Windsor provided the only goal of the opening period. His sixth goal of the year was assisted by Sean Fish (Ramsey, MN) and Scott Motz (Maplewood, MN). Shawn Bitzan (Alexandria, MN) tallied his ninth goal of the season early in the second period, on assists from Dan Swanson and Andrew Olson. The Bighorns rallied to tie the game. A little more than midway through the middle period, Ryan Hawkins scored his team-leading 19th goal of the year. Helena rallied to tie the game late in the second. Blizzard Defenseman Nick Peters came onto the ice for a line change with about eight minutes remaining in regulation, and immediately capitalized on a scoring opportunity. He blasted a shot from the high slot area into the net, to put the Blizzard back on top, 4-3. Josh Frider and Brian Baker assisted on the Peters score. The lead would not hold up, though, as Helena intensified its pressure in the Minnesota zone, eventually tying the game with about four minutes to go. Neither team was able to score in the five-minute sudden-death overtime. In the shoot-out, the Blizzard failed to score in any of its four chances against Chad Beiswenger. Meanwhile, the Bighorns scored on their first two chances in the shoot-out against Blizzard goalie Marcus Paulson (Eden Prairie, MN). So, the Bighorns triumph, 2-0 in the shoot-out, which results in a 5-4 game victory for Helena.
Ahead, for the Blizzard: Three home games, in as many nights, at the Runestone Community Center in Alexandria. Thursday evening, February 10th, the Blizzard will host Fairbanks, in a special 8:30 PM start. The reason for the later start time is that the contest will follow a High School Boys' Hockey game, featuring the Alexandria Cardinals versus River Lakes. The Cardinals' game will begin at 6:00 PM. Fans who purchase a ticket for the Alex-River Lakes game Thursday evening are invited to stay for the Blizzard game, at no extra charge. Minnesota will host the Billings Bulls, in 7:00 starts Friday and Saturday nights.
They say it's your birthday (Copyright: The Beatles)! Blizzard Forward Sean Fish entered the world of "twentysomething" this past weekend, with birthday number 20 on Super Sunday (February 6th). Other Minnesota Blizzard players with February birthdays include Clay Nestor (on February 18th) and Josh Frider (on February 26th). During the recent trip to Montana, Blizzard Forward (and NAHL All-Star) Ryan Hawkins was saluted at the Applebee's Restaurant in Helena for having a birthday on February 3rd. One suspects that a Blizzard teammate, who earlier pulled a good-natured prank on Ryan, used the birthday salute as some sort of peace offering. So, Ryan got a free dessert, along with a birthday serenade, from the gang at Applebee's. Ryan's actual birthday is September 23rd. Blizzard Coach Dave Boitz also gets a little older (though not any grayer) on Sunday, February 13th. Rumor has it that the scribe of this summary is also from the "Age of Aquarius" (Copyright: The Fifth Dimension).
Hey now, You're an All-Star (Copyright: Smash Mouth)! As introduced in the previous paragraph, Minnesota's Ryan Hawkins is representing the club, at the NAHL All-Star Festival, February 7th and 8th, in Frisco, Texas. "Hawk" leads the Blizzard in scoring, with 19 goals, and 51 points, overall, in 38 games played. Ryan, and a group of League All-Stars from 18 other teams, will challenge the defending League Champs, the Texas Tornado, in the NAHL All-Star Game February 8th. Congratulations, Ryan, on your well-deserved honor!
Hope to see you soon, for more exciting Minnesota Blizzard hockey, with three home games at the Runestone Center in Alexandria this weekend. Take care, and thanks for looking over the weekly summary!
North American Hockey League Stories from February 7, 2005
- Minnesota Blizzard weekly summary - Alexandria Blizzard
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