Season Ends with Division Finals Loss
Published on April 24, 2006 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Fargo-Moorhead Jets News Release
Fargo (ND) This wasn't the way most people had envisioned the Fargo-Moorhead Jets season ending when the campaign began in September, but truth be known the better team is more than likely moving on in any case.
The Southern Minnesota Express completed a four-game sweep of the FM Jets in the North American Hockey League Central Division Finals this weekend and will advance to the Robertson Cup Tournament May 10-13 in Youngstown, OH. Meanwhile, the FM Jets' season ends short of their goal of returning to the league finals.
Southern Minnesota took Game Three 2-1 in overtime on April 21, and Game Four 4-3 on April 22 in another overtime to bring a crushing end to the FM Jets' season.
"They will represent the Central Division proudly at the finals" said FM Jets' head coach Chad Johnson. "I've always said, I think they are probably the most skilled team in the entire league. They more then earned their trip."
While only in their first-year, once the calendar turned to 2006 it became evident that Southern Minnesota was a legitimate contender in the NAHL Central Division and would be more than a worthy challenger to the FM Jets.
As the second half rolled on, the FM Jets' slipped while Southern Minnesota continued to improve eventually finished with the fifth-best second half record in the NAHL. On the other hand, the FM Jets played sub .500% hockey unable to fully recapture their early season glory. The end result was Southern Minnesota overtaking the FM Jets' for first place in the division heading into the playoffs.
Nevertheless, the anticipation was for a close series, with the FM Jets possibly viewed as a slight favorite because of their prior playoff experience and a reputation for wins in big games still in tact. No one expected a four-game sweep, but then again, sports are a part of life and life is of course impossible to correct predict most of the time.
Southern Minnesota used a quick, aggressive fore-check, spectacular goaltending, clutch special teams and an aura of on-ice confidence to take down the FM Jets. If the Express' formula looked familiar to fans at the Carlson Coliseum its because it was like watching the 2004-2005 FM Jets' reincarnated in Black, Blue and Silver uniforms.
Try as they might, the FM Jets were unable to crack through the armor of Southern Minnesota. Bounces and referee calls never seemed to go their way, pucks hopped off sticks and Express' goaltender Eric Largen was magnificent.
The four-game sweep suffered by the FM Jets' didn't happen due to a lack of effort by any means. Fans received proof of that during the second period of Game Four as the FM Jets rallied to take a lead by playing some of their best hockey of the entire year. Trailing 2-0, the FM Jets took a 3-2 lead and for a while looked as though they would be able to extend their series to at least a fifth game.
"I really liked the character our team showed in the series. We weren't ready to have our season end. A few bounces here or there and maybe things would've been different" added Johnson.
Overtime Losses End Season
Entering this weekend the FM Jets trailed this Best-of-Seven Division Series 2-0, but with games at the Carlson Coliseum on April 21 and 22, the mood had been fairly upbeat around the arena. The optimism was spurred by having home ice and a chance to even the series. However, that would never materialize.
Southern Minnesota ended this series with consecutive overtime victories. In Game Three on April 21, James Gaulrapp finished a two-on-one breakaway two minutes into overtime to send Southern Minnesota to victory.
The next evening, the team's went 12:38 into the extra session, making it the second longest game in the NAHL this season, and the longest in both team's short franchise history. The wait was worth it for fans in Owatonna as the result was the same, another Southern Minnesota victory. This time Jason Wiley was the star, scoring off his own rebound after FM Jets' goaltender B.J. O'Brien (Lakeville, MN) had just made a spectacular stop to briefly save the season.
The FM Jets are now 1-2 all-time in postseason overtime games, with all of them coming at the Carlson Coliseum. The lone win came in Game One of last season's NAHL West Finals against Billings. Meanwhile, Southern Minnesota improves to 4-1 in overtime during their first-ever postseason run.
Southern Minnesota has had five of their nine playoff games go into overtime.
The FM Jets had leads in both Games Three and Four but were unable to hold on. On April 21, in Game Three, the FM Jets scored only three minutes in off a shot from Phil Fox (Stillwater, MN). That would be the only goal the FM Jets would score the entire night as Southern Minnesota's Sean Murphy tied the game early in second, eventually leading the Express win in overtime.
Game Four saw the FM Jets score three goals midway through the second period to overcome a 2-0 first intermission deficit. The heart-warming comeback, which at the time looked as though it would save the FM Jets' season, was nullified when Southern Minnesota scored with only 3:40 left in regulation to send the game back into overtime.
The FM Jets also two separate leads in Game One of the series but couldn't keep them as well, meaning that three of Southern Minnesota's wins in this series came via comebacks.
"Give them all the credit in the world, they work very hard and never gave up at any point" commented Johnson on the Express' ability to rally numerous times in this series.
The only game in which the FM Jets never had a lead was Game Two, which Southern Minnesota won 6-0.
Individual Stars
Game Four saw two FM Jets' score their first Junior A postseason goals. Dane Bushey (Duluth, MN) and Kyle Graalum (Fargo, ND) each scored during the FM Jets' second period flurry to notch their first postseason goals.
Joe Schuster (Grand Rapids, MN) was the FM Jets' leader in the series with 3 points (1 goal).
Southern Minnesota was lead by Sean Murphy's 7 points (3 goals) and Ryan Guentzel's 6 points (3 goals). All but four of the Express skaters who dressed in the series recorded a point, while ten players had multiple point series.
Largen Makes A Difference
Though Southern Minnesota's offense controlled play, it was goaltender Eric Largen who likely won the series for the Express. Trusted into the starting goaltending position when head coach Pat Cullen pulled regular starter Nick Hopper during Game One, Largen stood on his head.
A junior hockey journeyman from Fairbanks, AK, Largen had by far the highlight of his hockey career in this series. He finished with a .974% save percentage, one shutout and a miniscule 1.07 GAA.
Largen had faced the FM Jets' once during the regular season, as a member of the North Iowa Outlaws, losing a game in a shootout on Nov. 12 in Mason City, IA.
FM Jets' goaltender B.J. O'Brien played well in defeat facing plenty of quality chances. His stats won't look great, but when the quality of the shots he faced is factored in, its easy to realize he wasn't the reason for the FM Jets loss in the series.
Special Teams Were Key
Southern Minnesota was able to do something many other teams hadn't been able to do since January and that was beat the FM Jets' penalty kill. The Express went 7/32 (22%) on the power play in the series, including two goals in Game Four.
The FM Jets went 1/28 on the power play.
What Happens Now
Southern Minnesota is off until May 10 when they begin the Robertson Cup Finals in Youngstown, OH.
As for the FM Jets, the season is over. Most players will have left the area by Wednesday of this week while a handful will stick around for another week or so due to school or work obligations. Head coach Chad Johnson and assistant coach Aaron Kinslow are already two months into the recruiting process for next season and now all of their attention will be focused on that.
Fans should be on the look out in the coming days and weeks for news on FM Jets' college commitments.
NAHL Central Division Finals (Best-of-Seven)
Southern Minnesota Wins Series 4-0
Game 1 Fri. April 14 @ Southern Minnesota Express 2-4 Loss
Game 2 Sat. April 15 @ Southern Minnesota Express 0-6 Loss
Game 3 Fri. April 21 Southern Minnesota Express 1-2 OTL
Game 4 Sat. April 22 Southern Minnesota Express 3-4 OTL
The FM Jets Junior A Hockey Club recently completed their third 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 30th year of operation. For more information, visit fmjets.com or call (701) 235-2354.
Jets home games are played at the John E. Carlson Coliseum in Fargo, ND. All games are broadcasted on Today's Hot New Country 103.9 THE TRUCK and sportsjuice.com.
North American Hockey League Stories from April 24, 2006
- Season Ends with Division Finals Loss - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
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