Port Huron Clinches 2nd North Division Championship
March 24, 2014 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Port Huron Fighting Falcons News Release
PORT HURON, MI - ÃÂ The Port Huron Fighting Falcons, proud members of the North American Hockey League, clinched their second North Division title in the last three seasons during their longest road trip in franchise history over the weekend. A Michigan Warriors loss Friday night gave the Fighting Falcons the division crown before they even stepped onto the ice to face the Wenatchee Wild in Washington.
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With five games to play at the time they had the division locked up, the Fighting Falcons' title came earlier than any other North Division team since they joined the NAHL for the 2010-11 season. The Fighting Falcons last won the North Division on the last day of the 2011-12 regular season.
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Port Huron (34-15-8, 76 points) earned a weekend split against the Wild, falling 4-1 Friday before a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday night. Wenatchee (29-22-7, 65 points) moved into sole possession of third place in the Midwest Division with three points on the weekend.
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The Wild scored the first three goals of Friday's game, with Vito Aluia scoring the lone Fighting Falcons goal in a 4-1 loss. Bryan Yim and Noah Batis assisted on Aluia's third period goal. Alex Blankenburg stopped 31 of 35 Wenatchee shots as his five-game winning streak was snapped.
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Joseph Kaszupski scored twice for Wenatchee, and Chase Perry turned away all but one of 23 Port Huron shots for his first win in three tries against the Fighting Falcons this season.
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The Fighting Falcons answered back and never trailed in Saturday's 4-3 overtime win. Noah Batis and Logan Lambdin scored two goals apiece to lead Port Huron to victory, with Lambdin's game-winner coming just over a minute into overtime. Vito Aluia assisted on both Batis goals, while Lucas Little, Niko Coffman, Reed Scahill, Bryan Yim, Nick Le Sage and Batis each had one helper.
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Wenatchee had a big edge in shots on goal for the second night in a row, but this time Max Milosek's 34 saves were enough to give his team the win. Chase Perry made 23 saves in net for the Wild.
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The four-point weekend leaves Noah Batis just one point shy of becoming the 11th Fighting Falcons player to reach 20 points on the season. The Latrobe, PA native has 11 goals and eight assists in his first NAHL season.
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Bryan Yim and Vito Aluia each extended their point streaks to four games, as Yim has three goals and three assists in his last four, and Aluia has one goal and four assists in the same stretch. Yim has points in ten of his last 11 games, and is just two points away from becoming the first player in Fighting Falcons franchise history to reach 50 points in a season.
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The second-place Michigan Warriors went 1-1-1 against the third-place Janesville Jets this weekend, which was good enough to make the Warriors the second North Division team to clinch a berth in the 2014 Robertson Cup Playoffs.
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Just four points separate the three teams battling for the last two playoff spots, as Janesville is in third place with 62 points, just ahead of the Johnstown Tomahawks at 61 and the Springfield Jr. Blues at 58. The Jets and Tomahawks play each other twice to end the regular season, leaving an opportunity for the Jr. Blues to jump into fourth place in the event of a sweep either way.
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The Soo Eagles were the first North Division team eliminated from playoff contention with a 1-1-1 record against Johnstown over the weekend.
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The Fighting Falcons take on the Michigan Warriors three times this week to conclude the2013-14 regular season. The Warriors host the Fighting Falcons Wednesday, March 26 and Saturday, March 29, with Port Huron's home finale at McMorran Arena Friday, March 28. The Fighting Falcons are four points away from setting a new franchise record for points in a season, with the current record of 79 points set during the 2011-12 season. A win Friday would also set a new team record for home wins in a season with 21.
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Tickets to the final Fighting Falcons home game of the 2013-14 regular season are available at the McMorran Arena Box Office, starting at just $7 for seniors, students and military. For more information, call the team's front office at (810) 966-3800.
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Tickets for the first round of the 2014 Robertson Cup Playoffs are also on sale now at the McMorran Arena Box Office. Dates and opponents are still yet to be determined, but tickets for game one and two of the first round are available at the box office, starting at just $8 for seniors, students and military.
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North American Hockey League Stories from March 24, 2014
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- Port Huron Clinches 2nd North Division Championship - Port Huron Fighting Falcons
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- Ohnsted Named MIAC All-Conference - Aberdeen Wings
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