Outlaws Suffer Three Straight Losses at Showcase
September 22, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
North Iowa Outlaws News Release
Mason City (IA) Earning the franchises' first-ever season opening win could've proven to be the catalyst for a great start to the season, but instead it was the only positive outcome for the North Iowa Outlaws who went 1-3-0 at the annual North American Hockey League Showcase in Blaine, MN last week. Three straight losses followed a come-from-behind victory in the season's lid lifter as the Outlaws find themselves in their first losing streak of the young season.
The optimum word being "young" not only in the season's schedule, but also with the team in general. With only seven players returning from the regular season divisional championship squad of a year ago, a slower start -while not accepted - wasn't something the Outlaws' coaching staff was caught off guard with.
"We can compete with all the teams we lost to at the Showcase, the difference right now is gaining that precious experience" said head coach Jeff Crouse. "The players we have right now are very capable of getting the job done; it's just going to take some extra work and game experience."
After defeating Marquette, a team that returned all four of its leading scorers from last season, 5-4 on Wednesday September 16th, the Outlaws were beaten by two of the most veteran teams in the entire NAHL. Mahoning Valley, with 12 veterans from a team that reached the Robertson Cup Finals, defeated the Outlaws 4-1 on Sept. 16th, followed by a 4-0 win by Topeka a team with 16 veterans and viewed by many to be the NAHL's top team on paper.
The week ended with an 8-4 loss to the Under 18 Team USA entry, a team comprised of the top players 18 and younger in the country and a team loaded with future Division I talent.
A problem for the Outlaws was falling behind early, as North Iowa allowed the first goal in each of their four games, and was outscored 6-1 in the opening 10 minutes of those games, something that Crouse wants to see immediate improvement on.
"There is no excuse for having the kind of starts that we did and it was a problem you can't always overcome when you're playing very good teams like we did at the Showcase."
The Outlaws are now 7-8-1 at the annual NAHL family reunion dating back to the team's fist season in 2005-2006.
Boys are Back in Town
With the NAHL Showcase now behind them, the Outlaws will focus on the more traditional portion of the regular season schedule starting with the team's home opener this Friday night at 7:30 versus the Owatonna Express. In years past, the sight of the Express jersey brought shivers to the Outlaws who had their hands full against their rivals from an hour away. Over the last three seasons the Outlaws went just 8-24-6 versus the Express. Even last season, when the Outlaws dominated the Central Division, it was the Express who handed North Iowa three of its five regular season home losses.
However, Outlaws' fans can rest assured that at the very least, this isn't the same Express franchise. Gone are the Southern Minnesota Express replaced by the Owatonna Express. The team's home location and rink are the same and the logo remains virtually intact from before, but it's a different franchise as the previous one moved to Detroit to become the Motor City Machine this summer. The new Owatonna Express is an expansion team, though its head coach Pat Cullen was behind the bench for Southern Minnesota's first two seasons.
Still, the Outlaws are hoping that with departure of the original Express, so goes the dominance the Owatonna based team had over them for the last three seasons.
North Iowa will also be trying to recapture the home magic it had last season when the team went 21-5-1 in the regular season at the Fairgrounds Arena. This included a pair of 10-game winning streaks on home ice. All-time the Outlaws are 45-31-8 at the Fairgrounds Arena during the regular season.
Outlaws Last Week (all games in Blaine, MN)
Wed. Sept. 16 vs. Marquette 5-4 Win
Thurs. Sept. 17 vs. Mahoning Valley 1-4 Loss
Fri. Sept. 18 vs. Topeka 0-4 Loss
Sat. Sept. 19 vs. Team USA (U-18) 4-8 Loss
Outlaws This Week
Fri. Sept. 26 vs. Owatonna 7:30pm
The North Iowa Outlaws Hockey Club is in its fourth season as members of the North American Hockey League. The NAHL is the nation's largest Junior A hockey league and is now in its 33nd year of operation. For more information, visit northiowaoutlaws.com or call (641) 424-5468.
Outlaws home games are played at the North Iowa Ice Arena in Mason City, IA. All games will be broadcasted on northiowaoutlaws.com and video broadcast through B/2 Network.
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from September 22, 2008
- Blaine Showcase Review; Season Preview - Springfield Jr. Blues
- Outlaws Suffer Three Straight Losses at Showcase - North Iowa Outlaws
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
