Minnesota Magicians Weekly
November 14, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minnesota Magicians News Release
Recap of the Week:
The Magicians made a midweek trip up the Cloquet to face the Wilderness on Wednesday, defeating their rivals to the north for the first time this season. They then returned home for a series vs. the Minot Minotauros for their final home stand before a two-week trip to Alaska in the middle of November. Playing in front of the two biggest crowds of the season at Richfield Arena, the Magicians were unable to solve the well-coached Minotauros, losing both games and being swept for the first time this season.
Wednesday 11/5
Final Score: Magicians 4 - Wilderness 3
Star of the Game: Nathan Krusko - The rookie forward from Alpharetta, Georgia had 2 goals and assisted on the game-winning goal by Lukas Laub.
Venue: Northwoods Credit Union Arena - Cloquet, MN
The Minnesota Magicians had a rare midweek game on Wednesday in Cloquet at the Northwoods Credit Union Arena. It was the third time the Magicians made the trip up north this season, and the previous two games ended in defeat for the Red & Black.
Intent on reversing their fortunes against the Wilderness, the Magicians came out fast and were rewarded with an unassisted goal by rookie forward Nathan Krusko less than 5 minutes into the game. Recently called up goaltender Cole Weaver, who was starting in his first North American Hockey League (NAHL) game, was perfect in net in the first period and the Magicians entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead.
In the second, Magicians lead was increased on another goal from Nathan Krusko (Assists by Marc Michaelis & Ryan Solomon) less than 2 minutes into the period. The Wilderness responded with two goals of their own, first by forward Darian Romanko to even the score and then Brett Heikkila to knot up the score. Shortly after relinquishing the lead, the Magicians answered on a goal by Kane Durment (Assist by Denis Shevyrin) to once again gain the advantage. The lead was short lived, however, as Billy Exell tied the game for the Wilderness on a goal with less than a minute to play in the period.
With the score tied in the third, the teams dug in defensively and the clock starting ticking towards overtime. With under 7 minutes remaining in the game, however, Lukas Laub made a fantastic play and scored the go ahead goal (Assists by Nathan Krusko & Marc Michaelis). In net, goaltender Cole Weaver was rock solid as he backstopped his team the rest of the way and the Magicians walked out of Cloquet with a key victory.
Friday 11/7
Final Score: Magicians 3 - Minot 6
Star of the Game: Kris McKinzie - The veteran forward and assistant captain of the Magicians tallied his first goal of the season on Friday night.
Attendance: 887
The Magicians entered a weekend series with the Minot Minotauros riding high from their victory over the Wilderness on Wednesday in Cloquet. The Minotauros sat in 2nd place in the Central Division behind Austin, desperately needing a win after being swept at home by Aberdeen the previous weekend.
In the first, Minot tallied the period's lone score on a powerplay goal by Luke Davison. Early in the second, Magicians forward Kris McKinzie tied the game on a goal assisted by Kelly O'Brien and Denis Shevyrin. The remainder of the period was all Minot, however, as three unanswered goals from John Snodgrass, Jon Lizzotte, and Jacob Howie gave the Minotauros a commanding lead heading into the third. In the final frame, goals from Magicians forwards Brandon Loven (Assists by Sam Becker and Brady Heppner) and Tony Uglem (Assists by Matt Colford and Kane Durment) would not be enough, as Howie added two more goals of his own to complete the hattrick. Rookie goaltender Cole Weaver made 19 saves in the defeat.
Saturday 11/8
Final Score: Magicians 2 - Minot 5
Star of the Game: Matt Colford - The veteran forward from Champlin had a goal and an assist in the loss to Minot on Saturday.
Attendance: 928
On Saturday, the Magicians were unable to solve Minot once again as the Minotauros played suffocating defense and capitalized on their scoring chances with frustrating precision. In the first, it was Moscow native Alexander Kasitsyn scoring for the Minotauros in the only goal of the period. Christian Mohs added a powerplay goal for Minot in the second and the Magicians entered the third period of play in a 2-goal deficit. The Minotauros got additional help on goals by Jon Lizotte, Blake Lizotte, and Casey Johnson in the third, as late Magicians goals by Spencer Kuhlman (Assists by Marc Michaelis and Matt Colford) and Matt Colford (Assists by Marc Michaelis and Kane Durment) would not be enough. Goaltender Chris Amsden made 34 saves in the loss, and the Magicians were swept for the first time this season.
Up Next :
Friday November 14th @ Kenai River
Saturday November 15th @ Kenai River
Next Home Game:
Saturday November 29th vs. Coulee Region
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