Tornado brewing down South

January 1, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL) News Release

Wins haven't been easy to come by for the Texas Tornado this season, making its two-game sweep over the Topeka RoadRunners last weekend all the more meaningful.

"We've been working towards this outcome for quite awhile," said Tornado coach-GM Dwight Mullins, whose team improved to 9-22-3 on the season. "We've played well, but haven't earned the win at the end of the night, so to get these two, hard-fought wins will go a long ways as far as regaining some confidence."

On Friday, the Tornado bested the RoadRunners in a shootout, 3-2. Justin Lee and Ben Van Lare tallied for Texas in regulation, with Gustav Bengtson and Andrew Blazek notching shootout goals. Between the pipes, Thomas Callaghan turned aside 30 shots.

Five different players rang up goals for Texas the next night at it skated to a 5-3 in over Topeka. Adam Mitchell recorded the game-winning goal, with Sam Goodwin and John Bullis each adding two assists. Callaghan picked up the win in net with 26 saves.

"I thought we competed hard physically, and we've been able to insert a few guys into our lineup that like to get involved and that's contagious," said Mullins.

The Tornado was energized by the return of Bullis. In his first weekend back since missing 13 weeks with an injury, the 20-year-old from Frisco, Texas, responded with spark and enthusiasm.

Blazek, a 19-year-old from Pittsburgh who saw his first weekend of action after being traded from Des Moines of the USHL, also paid immediate dividends.

"Being able to add John and Andrew to our lineup gives us instant impact in terms of speed and grit," said Mullins. "Both players have added a fresh feel and energy and really give us depth upfront."

The Tornado is also benefiting from the acquisition of Bengtson. He was picked up in a trade from Cedar Rapids of the USHL at Thanksgiving and has four goals for seven points in 13 games with Texas.

"He's really added an offensive spark that we were lacking early on in the season," said Mullins.

Callaghan, 19, also played a big role in Texas' success last weekend. The New Wilmington, Pa., native has been in net for six of the Tornado's wins this season and now holds a save percentage over .900.

"You can have a lot of good players, but your goaltender needs to be one of the best every night and we got that last weekend," said Mullins. "Tommy has continued to work hard at this game and is really maturing into a difference-maker."

Despite their record and last-place positioning in the league's South Division standings, the Tornado isn't done yet. With 24 games left on the schedule - 16 at Dr Pepper StarCenter - there's still plenty of time for Texas to right the ship.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for the players in our locker room," said Mullins. "They're dealing with the adversity and pressure that comes with playing here (with the Tornado) the right way. They've continued to work hard and believe they can battle to the playoffs, and that can make us dangerous.

"There's great parody in this league and you need to take care of the little things that make a difference every night. I think we've had to fight through a difficult schedule, and we've missed a couple of key personnel that might have changed some of the outcomes early."

The Tornado's record hasn't scared colleges away. Mullins reports that a number of his players are getting significant Division I attention, namely forwards Sean Roadhouse and Tyler Bowman, defenseman Matt Tennyson and Callaghan.

"I expect more names to follow," said the coach.

With two morale-boosting wins to close out 2007, the Tornado is optimistic, but set on taking its revival one game at a time.

"If we can continue to take steps forward everyday and compete at the level we're capable of, we can put ourselves in a position to be there in the end," said Mullins.

STANDINGS/LEADERS

North Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

St. Louis 31 25-5-1 51 .823 138 81

Mahoning Valley 31 19-9-3 41 .661 126 94

Marquette 31 19-10-2 40 .645 115 108

Alpena 31 17-12-2 36 .581 99 94

USNTDP 32 15-15-2 32 .500 113 118 Traverse City 31 11-14-6 28 .452 88 110 South Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

Wichita Falls 32 21-10-1 43 .672 113 94

Fairbanks 30 19-9-2 40 .667 84 62

Topeka 27 15-8-4 34 .630 83 66

Alaska 31 14-15-2 30 .484 92 117

Kenai River 32 8-18-6 22 .344 89 137 Texas 34 9-22-3 21 .309 85 123

Central Division

TEAM GP W-L-OTL PTS PCT GF GA

North Iowa 28 20-7-1 41 .732 106 66

Springfield 34 17-14-3 37 .544 123 119

So. Minnesota 30 14-11-5 33 .550 115 116

Fargo-Moorhead 30 12-16-2 26 .433 105 110

Bismarck 31 12-17-2 26 .419 83 114

Alexandria 26 9-15-2 20 .385 92 120

LEADING SCORERS

PLAYER TEAM P GP G A PTS

Cardwell, Adam WIC F 30 19 31 50

Walters, Shea NIO F 28 12 38 50

Graham, Derek MVY F 31 23 24 47

Salazar, Luke WIC F 32 20 24 44

Warda, Ben STL F 31 10 31 41

Everett, Grant WIC F 31 13 26 39

Patterson, Cory SPR F 33 17 20 37

Bozoian, Sam STL F 30 13 24 37

(three players tied with 36)

LEADING GOALTENDERS

PLAYER TEAM GPI MINS W-L-OTL GAA SPCT

Reichard, Cody FBX 26 1540:50 16-9-0 1.95 .936

Moss, Robby NIO 20 1197:57 16-3-1 1.95 .938

Merriam, Bryce TPK 24 1455:14 12-8-4 2.23 .903

Johnson, Mike STL 15 848:30 11-2-1 2.40 .909

Bartus, Garrett MVY 18 1070:38 12-3-2 2.52 .917

GOALS

PLAYER TEAM P GP G Graham, Derek MVY F 31 23

O'Kane, Kyle STL F 26 21

(two players tied with 20)

ASSISTS

PLAYER TEAM POS GP A

Walters, Shea NIO F 28 38

Cardwell, Adam WIC F 30 31

Warda, Ben STL F 31 31

PLUS/MINUS

PLAYER TEAM POS GP +/-

Merrifield, Mike STL F 31 +19

(three players tied at +18)

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

North Division: Beau Christian - Marquette Rangers

Marquette goaltender Beau Christian recorded two wins last week as the Rangers skated to a three-game sweep over Traverse City. On Thursday, the 19-year-old turned aside 29 shots in a 4-1 win. The Moorhead, Minn., native followed that up with a 29-save performance on Saturday as the Rangers edged the North Stars, 3-2.

"Beau has been playing very well for us. He competes as hard as anyone on our team and puts us in position to win games," said Rangers coach Randy Enders. "He was steady all weekend and made the big save when we needed it, and that's all you can ask of your goaltenders and he didn't disappoint."

HONORABLE MENTION: Alpena forward Russell Anderson

Central Division: Luke Nesper - Alexandria Blizzard

Alexandria forward Luke Nesper rang up three goals and three assists last weekend as the Blizzard skated to a two-game sweep over Southern Minnesota. On Saturday, the 20-year-old scored the game-winning goal and an assist in a 3-2 triumph. The next day, the Eagle River, Wis., tallied two goals and two assists as the Blizzard derailed the Express, 9-6. He was also a plus-3 for the weekend.

"Luke is a very talented offensive player and he showed that last weekend," said Blizzard coach-GM Brad Willner. "We're looking forward to big things from him in the second half of the season."

South Division: Thomas Callaghan - Texas Tornado

Texas goaltender Thomas Callaghan backstopped the Tornado to a pair of wins over Topeka last weekend, turning aside 61 of 66 shots. On Friday, the 19-year-old made 32 saves in a 3-2 shootout win. The next night, the New Wilmington, Pa., native stopped 29 shots as the Tornado downed the RoadRunners, 5-3.

"With the type of goaltending we're getting from Tommy right now, he allows us to make a few mistakes and still have chance to win the game," said Tornado coach-GM Dwight Mullins. "He's maturing into a very reliable netminder."

LAST WEEK'S SCORES/HIGHLIGHTS

Thursday, December 27

Traverse City 1 @ Marquette 4 (MAR: Christian, 27 saves)

Friday, December 28

Fargo-Moorhead 1 @ Bismarck 5 (BIS: Maggard, GWG, 2A, +1)

Traverse City 4 @ Marquette 6 (MAR: Weight, G, GWG, +1)

Wichita Falls 3 @ St. Louis 5 (STL: Warda, G, A, +1)

Topeka 2 @ Texas 3 (SO) (TEX: Lee, G, A)

Saturday, December 29

Fargo-Moorhead 8 @ Bismarck 1 (FM: Klein-Collins, 2G, 2A, +2)

Springfield 5 @ North Iowa 4 (SPR: Greco, 2G, A)

Alexandria 3 @ Southern Minnesota 2 (ALX: Nesper, GWG, A, +1)

Wichita Falls 1 @ St. Louis 3 (STL: Miller, G, GWG, +1)

Topeka 3 @ Texas 5 (TEX: Goodwin-Bullis, 2A, +3)

Marquette 3 @ Traverse City 2 (MAR: Kesler, GWG)

Sunday, December 30

Springfield 3 @ North Iowa 5 (NI: Ring-Jarvi, G, GWG, +1)

Alexandria 9 @ Southern Minnesota 6 (SM: Freismuth, 2G, 2A, +3)

Monday, December 31

Traverse City 2 @ Alpena 3 (SO) (ALP: Anderson, 2G, SOG, +1)

Fargo-Moorhead 6 @ Bismarck 0 (FM: Philipp, 3G)

Springfield 4 @ North Iowa 6 (NI: Walters, 5A, +2)

AROUND THE NAHL

WINTER TO QUINNIPIAC: Second-year Mahoning Valley forward Miles Winter, 19, has committed to Quinnipiac University (ECACHL) for next season. After 31 games this year, the Horsham, Pa., native has 16 goals for 31 points.

TWO ROADRUNNERS COMMIT: Second-year Topeka forward Corey Jendras, 20, has committed to the University of Connecticut (Atlantic Hockey) for next season, while defenseman Eric Artman, 18, will attend the Air Force Academy (Atlantic Hockey) for 2009-10.

FORMER 'RUNNER TO BEMIDJI STATE: Former Topeka forward Ben Kinne (2006-07) has committed to Bemidji State University (CHA) for next season. Last year with the RoadRunners, the St. Paul native scored 20 goals for 37 points in 59 games.

FIT TO BE TIED: With six points in three games last week, including a five-assist effort in a 6-4 win over Springfield, North Iowa forward Shea Walters, 19, is now tied with Wichita Falls' Adam Cardwell, 20, as the league's top scorer (50 points).

DYNAMIC DUO: St. Louis goaltenders Cal Heeter, 19, and Mike Johnson, 18, continue to impress, backstopping the Bandits to a pair of wins over Wichita Falls last weekend. Heeter made 23 saves in a 5-3 victory on Friday, while Johnson turned aside 26 shots in a 3-1 triumph the next night.

RENEAU ANSWERS CALL: In his first weekend of NAHL action, North Iowa goaltender Zak Reneau, 19, picked up a pair of wins over Springfield, turning aside 66 of 73 shots.

STILL STREAKING: With four more points last weekend, Alexandria forward Luke Nesper, 20, extended his scoring streak to 11 games (23 points).

OFFICIALS RECOGNIZED BY IIHF: One current NAHL official (Craig Hanson) and three former officials (Paul Carnathan, Keith Kaval and Tom Sterns) were appointed by the International Ice Hockey Federation to work IIHF-sanctioned events this season.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, January 4

Marquette @ Alpena, 7:00 pm

Alexandria @ Bismarck, 7:05 pm

Alaska @ Fairbanks, 7:30 pm

Fargo-Moorhead @ North Iowa, 7:30 pm

St. Louis @ Springfield, 7:30 pm

Wichita Falls @ Texas, 7:30 pm

Southern Minnesota @ Topeka, 7:05 pm

Saturday, January 5

Alexandria @ Bismarck, 7:05 pm

Alaska @ Fairbanks, 7:30 pm

Fargo-Moorhead @ North Iowa, 7:30 pm

St. Louis @ Springfield, 7:00 pm

Wichita Falls @ Texas, 7:30 pm

Southern Minnesota @ Topeka, 7:05 pm

Marquette @ Traverse City, 7:05 pm

Sunday, January 6

Traverse City @ Alpena, 5:00 pm

(all times local)

• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...

North American Hockey League Stories from January 1, 2008

• Christian Named North Player Of The Week - Marquette Rangers
• Jr. Blues Drop Two Close Ones to North Iowa - Springfield Jr. Blues
• U.S. National Under-17 Team Falls to Germany, 4-2 - U.S. National Team
• Tornado brewing down South - NAHL
• Diggers outlast TC - Traverse City North Stars

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