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NAHL Minnesota Magicians

Minnesota Magicians Weekly

November 17, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minnesota Magicians News Release


Team Leaders

Goals: Lukas Laub (10)

Assists: Marc Michaelis (19)

Points: Marc Michaelis (27)

Plus/Minus: Thomas Delaney (+10)

Wins: Vaughan Ahrens (5)

GAA: Vaughan Ahrens (2.82)

SV%: Vaughan Ahrens (.918

The Magicians arrived in Alaska on Wednesday evening (Nov. 12th) to kick off an 11-day road trip to the 49th state. Following a disappointing weekend in which they were swept on home ice by the Minot Minotauros, the Magicians were all business as they prepared to do battle with the Midwest Division cellar dwelling Kenai River Brown Bears in Soldotna, Alaska on November 14th and 15th.

Powerplays were the story of the weekend, as the Brown Bears were able to score pivotal goals with the man advantage in both games. The Magicians, on the other hand, we a combined 0 for 7 on the powerplay in Soldotna. Ultimately, the end result was another disappointing weekend that currently puts the Magicians losing streak at 4 games as they head into a series with the division leading Fairbanks Ice Dogs on November 21st and 22nd at Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks.

Friday:

Final Score: Magicians 2 - Kenai River - 4

Star of the Game: Tony Uglem - The Moorhead, Minnesota native had an assist on Thomas Delaney's first period goal. He also had 6 shots on goal and was +2 in the game.

Venue: Soldotna Sports Center - Soldotna, Alaska

The Magicians hit the ice in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday night at 10:30 PM Minnesota time (7:30 PM in Alaska) against the Kenai River Brown Bears. The Brown bears entered the weekend in last place in the Midwest Division, giving the Magicians ample opportunity to gain valuable points in the standings and create momentum heading into an important series in Fairbanks next weekend.

The road trip started as good as could be imagined for the Magicians, as less than a minute into the first period Luki Laub hit the back of the net with an unassisted goal to give the boys a 1-0 lead. The Brown Bears answered back at the halfway point of the period after Magicians defenseman Curtis Simonson took a slashing penalty and Ben Campbell capitalized with a powerplay goal. Shortly thereafter, Amiens, France native Maurin Bouvet gave Kenai a brief lead only to have it erased on a goal by Magicians defenseman and captain Thomas Delaney (Assisted by Marc Michaelis & Tony Uglem). The period was scoreless the rest of the way and the teams entered period #2 in a 2-2 deadlock.

Following a scoreless 2nd period, the Brown Bears and Magicians entered the final frame tied at 2 goals apiece. At the 3:37 mark of the period, Magicians forward Kelly O'Brien was given a 5-minute major and ejected from the game after making head contact with a Brown Bear player. On the ensuing powerplay, Kenai River defenseman Austin Chavez scored the go-ahead, and ultimately game-winning goal. The Magicians had a chance to tie the game late on a powerplay opportunity with goaltender Chris Amsdenpulled, but a shorthanded, empty net goal by Ben Campbell ended any hope of a Magicians comeback. The final score on Friday night was Brown Bears-4, Magicians-2. In net, Magicians goaltender Chris Amsden made 31 saves in the defeat.

Saturday:

Final Score: Magicians 2 - Kenai River-3

Star of the Game: Brady Heppner - The Crookston, Minnesota native had a first period goal for the Magicians to go along with 3 shots on goal and a +1 rating for the evening.

Venue: Soldotna Sports Center - Soldotna, Alaska

The Magicians entered Saturday in desperate need of a win after having lost their previous 3 games and at risk of losing ground in the Midwest Division standings. Despite a quality effort, the Magicians were their own worst enemies once again, giving up two key powerplay goals to the Brown Bears in a closely contested game.

The first Kenai River powerplay goal on Saturday came early in the first period. After Kane Durment was called for Checking from Behind only 21 seconds into the game, Brown Bears defenseman Tyler Andrews scored his 3rd goal of the season to make the score 1-0. Magicians forward Brady Heppner evened the score later in the period (Assist by Braxton Collins), and the teams entered the first intermission tied at one.

In the second, the Magicians took their only lead of the game after Kane Durment added his 5th goal of the season on a play set up by Jack Christensen and Marc Michaelis. It looked as though the Magicians might take their 2-1 lead into the third period but Brown Bear forward Maurin Bouvet tied the game with only 37 seconds remaining in the 2nd.

The first 18 minutes of the third period were scoreless, and overtime looked like a forgone conclusion before Thomas Delaney's Slashing penalty put the Magicians down a man late in the game. Consistent with what has become troubling theme for the Magicians of late, Kenai River capitalized once again on the powerplay with a goal by Jack Gessert to take a 3-2 lead with just over a minute to play. The Magicians were unable to answer with a goal of their own and they concluded the weekend series against the Brown Bears with their 4th consecutive loss. Rookie goaltender Cole Weaver made his third start of the season, making 29 saves and taking the loss.

Up Next:

Friday, November 21st vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs - 7:30 PM @ Fairbanks

Saturday November 22nd vs. Fairbanks Ice Dogs - 7:30 PM @ Fairbanks

Next Home Game:

Saturday November 29th vs. Coulee Region

7:05 PM at Richfield Ice Arena

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