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NAHL North American Hockey League

Stage set for Fairbanks

April 30, 2007 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release


The North Division champion Mahoning Valley Phantoms, South Division champion St. Louis Bandits, Central Division champion Southern Minnesota Express and tournament host Fairbanks Ice Dogs will compete for the Robertson Cup Championship from May 3-6 in Fairbanks, Alaska.

The Robertson Cup Championship crowns the NAHL's playoff champion (USA Hockey's Tier II Junior A national champion).

The Bandits defeated the three-time defending NAHL champion Texas Tornado, 6-1, in the decisive Game 5 of the South Division playoff finals on Friday night.

Six different players scored for St. Louis in the series finale, with Matt Zuke striking for a goal and three assists, including one on Nic Polaski's game-winning goal in the first period. Between the pipes, goaltender Pat Nagle turned aside 24 shots.

"It's an honor to represent the South Division this year in the Robertson Cup," said Bandits coach Jon Cooper. "There was obviously a changing of the guard this year in our division, and I'm proud that we were the team to knock off the defending champs. But Texas has made us a better team and we hope to carry on the tradition and keep the Cup in the south."

Dusty Jackson's goal in the third overtime lifted the Express to a 3-2 triumph over the Fargo-Moorhead Jets in Game 3 of the Central Division playoff finals on Friday, completing a three-game sweep for Southern Minnesota.

Down 0-2 in the third period, the Express rallied to tie the game on goals by Jesse Bryant and CJ Willms before Jackson buried the series-clincher. Goaltender Lars Paulgaard made 54 saves for Southern Minnesota.

"We're obviously excited to be heading back to the Robertson Cup," said Express coach Pat Cullen, whose team will be making its second straight trip to the tournament. "We knew that if we were going to make it, we would have to beat two very good teams (in the Central Division playoffs). Beating Fargo was a very difficult task and to do it in three straight was more than we could have imagined."

The North Division champion Mahoning Valley Phantoms secured their berth to the Robertson Cup Championship last week. Fairbanks receives an automatic bid as the tournament host.

Visit www.robertsoncup.com for more details on the Robertson Cup Championship.

ROBERTSON CUP PLAYOFFS - DIVISION FINALS

NORTH: Team USA vs. Mahoning Valley Phantoms

Game 1: Mahoning Valley 2 @ Team USA 1 (MV: Ringel, GWG)

Game 2: Team USA 2 @ Mahoning Valley 3 (MV: Boeckman, 2A)

Game 3: Team USA 2 @ Mahoning Valley 6 (MV: Boeckman-Winger, G, 2A)

Mahoning Valley wins series, 3-0

SOUTH: Texas Tornado vs. St. Louis Bandits

Game 1: Texas 4 @ St. Louis 3 (OT) (TEX: Flink, GWG, A)

Game 2: Texas 3 @ St. Louis 4 (OT) (STL: Dimmen, G, A)

Game 3: St. Louis 5 @ Texas 2 (STL: Dimmen, G, 2A)

Game 4: St. Louis 6 @ Texas 7 (TEX: Newton, GWG, A)

Game 5: Texas 1 @ St. Louis 6 (STL: Zuke, G, 3A)

St. Louis wins series, 3-2

CENTRAL: So. Minnesota Express vs. Fargo-Moorhead Jets

Game 1: Southern Minnesota 5 @ Fargo-Moorhead 1 (SM: Ruff, G, GWG)

Game 2: Southern Minnesota 4 @ Fargo-Moorhead 3 (SM: Kirby, G, A)

Game 3: Fargo-Moorhead 2 @ So. Minn. 3 (3OT) (SM: Paulgaard, 54 saves)

Southern Minnesota wins series, 3-0

LEADING PLAYOFF SCORERS

PLAYER TEAM POS GP G A PTS

Maroon, Pat STL F 8 5 11 16

Dimmen, Jeff STL D 8 2 8 10

Moreland, Matt FMH F 8 4 5 9

Inderieden, Andy SME F 8 4 5 9

Flink, Adam TXS F 10 3 6 9

Vaughan, Scooter STL D 8 3 6 9

Winter, Miles MVY F 6 3 6 9

Connolly, Chris FMH F 8 2 7 9

LEADING PLAYOFF GOALTENDERS

PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L GAA SPCT

Paulgaard, Lars SME 8 529:50 6-2 1.36 .958

Zapolski, Ryan MVY 6 360:00 6-0 1.67 .950

Moss, Robby NIO 4 255:36 2-2 2.35 .944

Lee, Austin FMH 7 487:23 3-4 2.46 .929

Nagle, Pat STL 8 483:30 6-1 2.48 .901

AROUND THE NAHL

ROBERSTON CUP GAMES ON B2 NETWORKS: All Robertson Cup Championship games will be broadcast live on the Internet via B2 Networks. The broadcasts, which will be available for purchase for $6 each, can be accessed through the Robertson Cup Web site, robertsoncup.com, b2livetv.com, as well as the official Web site of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, fairbanksicedogs.com.

MCCABE, MAROON ON NHL DRAFT LIST: Texas defenseman Brad McCabe (No. 199 overall among North American skaters) and St. Louis forward Pat Maroon (No. 208) were recognized by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau on its final rankings for 2007 draft-eligibles. Alumni ranked include forward Andrew Conboy (Wichita Falls, No. 149) and Carter Camper (Cleveland Jr. Barons, No. 200).

PARTYKA TO WAYNE STATE: Traverse City defenseman Phil Partyka, 21, has committed to Wayne State University (CHA) for the 2007-08 season. This year, the Washington, Mich., native totaled four assists in 57 regular-season games with the North Stars.

MARK JOHNSON TO SPEAK AT BANQUET: University of Wisconsin women's hockey coach and 1980 U.S. Olympian Mark Johnson will be the guest speaker at the Robertson Cup Championship banquet.

ROBERTSON CUP CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

Thursday, May 3

Southern Minnesota vs. St. Louis, 2:30 p.m.

Mahoning Valley vs. Fairbanks, 7:30 p.m.

Friday, May 4

Southern Minnesota vs. Mahoning Valley, 2:30 p.m.

Fairbanks vs. St. Louis, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 5

St. Louis vs. Mahoning Valley, 2:30 p.m.

Fairbanks vs. Southern Minnesota, 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, May 6

Bronze Medal Game, 12:00 p.m.

Championship Game, 5:00 p.m.

All times local. Alaska is three hours behind Central Standard Time.

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North American Hockey League Stories from April 30, 2007


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.


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