Tornado Weekly: Fan Appreciation Friday, Belfour stars in Pros vs. Prospects Sunday
March 17, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Texas Tornado News Release
Tornado host Fan Appreciation Night on Friday against IceRays
It is the final regular season home game as the Texas Tornado host the Corpus Christi IceRays at the Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco at 7:30pm on Friday, March 18th. It is Tornado Fan Appreciation Night as theTornado team up with JACK-FM and Harley Davidson of Dallas for a chance to win a Harley Davidson motorcycle during the game. No purchase necessary. For complete rules, regulations and tickets, contact the Tornado at 972-335-9800. There will also be plenty of prize giveaways and free chuck-a-pucks during the night courtesy of Liberty Mutual. Following the game, there will be a post-game Tornado party at Aloft Hotel in Frisco.
Belfour, Lehtinen and Keane star in Pros vs. Prospects on Sunday
The Texas Tornado hockey team announced the pros roster for the fifth Pros vs. Prospects charity classic game at the Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco on Sunday, March 20th at 5pm, which will benefit the Boys & Girls Club of Collin County and the Boy Scouts Circle Ten Council. The pros team roster is highlighted by former Dallas Stars greats Ed Belfour, Jere Lehtinen and Mike Keane, who will all be skating in the game that matches a group of former pro players against the current players of the Texas Tornado. Prior to the game, members of the Allen, Irving and McKinney police and fire departments will take on police officers and firefighters from Richardson and Dallas in the annual Guns & Hoses game. Tickets to the Tornado game will also allow entrance to the Guns & Hoses game beginning at 2:30pm (doors open at 2pm). Tickets for the event are available by calling the Texas Tornado office at 972-335-9800. During the game, there will be a silent auction for all the jerseys worn by the pros. The Tornado are also happy to announce that the game can be viewed online for free at www.fasthockey.com. For a complete list of pros players, visit tornadohockey.com
Tornado announce front office moves
The Texas Tornado are pleased to announce that Ben Weber has joined the organization as Vice President, responsible for day-to-day operations. Ben will work closely with Tornado Head Coach Tony Curtale, the Tornado staff, the NAHL and the Dallas Stars to continue to build the franchise as one of the premier operations in junior hockey. Ben brings 12 years of hockey business experience, most recently with the Phoenix Roadrunners of the ECHL where he served as Vice President and Alternate Governor. Weber has also worked in the sports industry for the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL, the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and the Houston Aeros and Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, both of the AHL. The Tornado also announced that Shannon Smith has been promoted to Manager of Ticket Sales and Operations.
Tornado to face Amarillo in South Semi-Finals, but where'
The Texas Tornado know their first round opponent in the South Division Semi-Finals beginning the first weekend in April. The Tornado will face the Amarillo Bulls in the best of five series, however what is not known is where the series will begin and which team will have home ice advantage. Texas Tornado ticket packages for the 2011 Robertson Cup playoffs are on sale now. Playoff ticket packages are good for four home playoff games and packages are $32 for End Zone seats and $60 for Premium level seats. Individual tickets for all home playoff games will go on sale March 29th.
Dallas Stars and Texas Tornado Hockey Heroes package
The Texas Tornado have teamed up with the Dallas Stars for the Hockey Heroes Package. For just $45 fans can get a ticket to the following three Dallas Stars/Texas Tornado home games: March 18th-Corpus Christi IceRays @ Texas Tornado, March 19th-Philadelphia Flyers @ Dallas Stars, March 20th-Pros vs. Prospects Charity Classic. That ¬â¢s three games for just $45, all in the same weekend! To purchase visit www.dallasstars.com/hockeyheroes, password: Stars.
Upcoming Tornado promotions
Friday, March 18 vs. Corpus Christi ¬" Tornado Fan Appreciation Night. It is the last regular season home game of the year as the Tornado team up with JACK-FM and Harley Davidson of Dallas for a chance to win a Harley Davidson motorcycle during the game. No purchase necessary. For complete rules and regulations, contact the Texas Tornado at 972-335-9800. There will also be plenty of prize giveaways and free chuck-a-pucks during the night courtesy of Liberty Mutual. Following the game, there will be a post-game Tornado party at Aloft Hotel in Frisco.
THE WEEK THAT WAS ¬Â¦
Saturday, March 12 ¬" Wichita Falls Wildcats 4 @ Texas Tornado 3 (shootout)
The Texas Tornado got goals from six different goal scorers on Tuesday night in Frisco en route to a convincing 6-1 win over the visiting Wichita Falls Wildcats. JD Howard had a goal and two assists, Nate Sliwinski had the game-winning goal and an assist and goaltender Jimmy Kruger stopped 23 of 24 shots in the win, which moved the Tornado back into 2nd place, a point ahead of the Amarillo Bulls. The Tornado dominated the opening period, but had to wait until the final seconds to get the first goal which came off the stick of David Rigatti after he received a nice pass from the corner by JD Howard for a 1-0 Tornado lead. Wichita Falls would tie the score at 1-1 early in the 2nd period as leading scorer Dakota Klecha got his own rebound and put home a power play goal to tie the game. However, just a minute later the momentum swung back to the Tornado for good as Nate Sliwinski pounced on a rebound in front after a redirection by Jack Prince to put the Tornado ahead for good at 2-1. The 3rd period was all Texas as they scored four goals. Texas made it 3-1 as Marc Biggs tapped home a goal on an open net after a great pass out of the corner again by Howard. Jackson Leef scored his 23rd goal of the season on the power play as he sent a pass out front from behind the net, which redircted off a Wildcats defenseman and in behind goaltender Tyler Green. The onslaught continued as Taylor Herndon got a great pass from Mico Solorzano to break in along on Green and fire a snap shot through Green's right arm for a 5-1 lead. The Tornado concluded the scoring as Howard scored his first of the night after a nifty pass from behind the net by linemate Marc Biggs. The Tornado outshot Wichita Falls 44-24 for the game.
Friday, March 11 ¬" Texas Tornado 7 @ Corpus Christi IceRays 6 (shootout)
In one of the more wild and back and forth games of the season, the Texas Tornado outlasted the Corpus Christi IceRays on Friday night in a shootout by a score of 7-6. Nate Sliwinski and Brett Hebel had two goals each and Ralfs Freibergs added two assists and the shootout-winning goal. The win gave the Tornado a sweep of the IceRays, which also included Thursday ¬â¢s 5-1 win. It would not take the IceRays long to score less than two minutes into the game as a pass from behind the net found the stick of Cody Milligan, who slid a backhand shot underneath Tornado goaltender Jake Stafford for a 1-0 IceRays lead. The Tornado would equalize just minutes later as Nate Sliwinski got a pass in the low slot from Jackson Leef and deked ¬ËRays goaltender Mason Murovich for the first Tornado tally of the night. The ¬ËRays regained the lead as a 2 on 1 rush by Petr Stlokal dropped the puck to Jordan Miller, who wristed a shot past Stafford for a 2-1 lead. The Tornado would again answer right after killing a penalty on a face-off win got the puck back to Ralks Freibergs who dished to Brett Hebel in front from a wicked wrist shot that beat Murovich to tie the game at 2-2. The IceRays regained the lead at 3-2 as Seth Blair got loose behind the net and stuffed a wrap-around past Jake Stafford. It would not take the Tornado long in the 2nd period to tie the game for a third time as Jimmy Murray converted on the power play as a shot from the high slot by Walker Hyland went wide, but the rebound bounced off of Marc Biggs right to Murray to deposit on the open net. Just a minute later the IceRays pressure saw them grab their 4th lead of the night, as some pressure in the Tornado end kept the puck alive in the offensive zone, and Joe Smereck was able to get free and sent a sharp angle drive over the right shoulder of Stafford to give Corpus Christi a 4-3 lead. However, the Tornado would tie the game yet again as a pass from Mike Fleming to Brett Hebel down the left wing saw him take a slapshot which was stopped by Murovich, but the rebound redirected off the left of IceRays defenseman Mychal Monteith and in behind Murovich to tie the game at 4-4. That would be the end of the night for Murovich, who was pulled in place of Pheonix Copley. The IceRays would regain the lead yet again, as a bouncing puck would end up on the stick of Beau Walker, who fired a wrist shot past Stafford to give the ¬ËRays and 5-4 lead and chase Stafford from the net in favor of Jimmy Kruger. But, the never-say-die Tornado tied the game yet again as Jackson Leef put home a rebound drive from the point off a Taylor Herndon shot with help from Ralfs Freibergs to tie the game at 5-5 heading into the 2nd intermission. The Tornado would finally regain their first lead of the night after some opening saves by Jimmy Kruger, as Nate Sliwinski scored his second goal of the night as a pass from behind the net by Taylor Herndon found Sliwinski in the high slot, who ripped a shot off an IceRays defenseman and past Copley for a 6-5 Tornado lead. However, with less than five minutes remaining in the 3rd period and on a power play, Colton Saucerman fired a slapshot that beat a screened Jimmy Kruger to tie the game at 6-6. Texas controlled the overtime, outshooting the ¬ËRays 8-3 in the extra session, but the game would go to a shootout. After two goals from Marc Biggs and JD Howard put the IceRays on the brink, two consecutive goals by Saucerman and Beau Walker evened the shootout up. The 8th shooter for Texas, Ralfs Freibergs, picked the upper corner to put the Tornado up in the shootout, then Jimmy Kruger stopped Josh Obregon to give the Tornado the wild 7-6 shootout win.
Thursday, March 10 ¬" Texas Tornado 5 @ Corpus Christi IceRays 1
Three, 3rd period goals fueled the Texas Tornado to a dominating 5-1 on Thursday in Corpus Christi against the IceRays. Mico Solorzano had two goals, Jimmy Murray had a goal and two assists and goaltender Jimmy Kruger made 26 saves in the win. The Tornado dominated the majority of the 1st period outshooting the IceRays 15-8. The first good chance for Texas came off the stick of Justin Jones, who was hooked on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. On the penalty shot, Jones beat ¬ËRays goaltender Pheonix Copley, but the shot rang off the right post and settled underneath Copley ¬â¢s pad. The Tornado would keep the pressure on and would strike on their second power play of the opening period, as a shot from the point by Tyler Rostenkowski was saved by Copley after a redirect from Marc Biggs, but the loose rebound was poked home by Jimmy Murray for a 1-0 Tornado lead that they would take to the lockerroom. As the 2nd period began, Tornado goaltender Jimmy Kruger would heat up, making several saves to keep the Tornado ahead. With eight minutes to go, the Tornado would increase the lead as Rostenkowski again would set up a goal, this time finding Murray down the left wing for a 2 on 1. Murray raced in with Mico Solorzano and slid the puck on the back post to Solorzano who tapped the puck in for a 2-0 Tornado lead. The lead would be cut in half after Tornado head coach Tony Curtale was given back-to-back bench minor penalties for unsportsmanlike conduct. On the second of those power plays for the ¬ËRays a cross-ice pass from Mychal Monteith to Seth Blair saw Blair score his first NAHL goal, as he one-timed a drive past a helpless Kruger. The ¬ËRays outshot the Tornado 11-9 in the 2nd period thanks in large part to four consecutive power plays. The Tornado wasted little time in the 3rd period increasing the lead back to two, as on the power play Ralfs Freibergs scored his 7th goal of the season on a blast with assists to Jack Prince and Nate Sliwinski. Things got heated after that as Seth Johnson dropped the gloves with the IceRays Sam Cheraso, while Justin Jones tangled with Kyle Hughes. After things settled down, it was more offense from the Tornado as Jimmy Murray registered his third point of the night, sliding a pass to linemate Justin Jones for a one-time blast and a 4-1 Tornado lead, with Tom Rizzardo also assisting on the goal. The Tornado dominance continued as Marc Biggs got the puck to the front of the net. After two saves by Copley, Mico Solorzano parked himself in front to poke home a loose rebound for his second goal of the game and third in the last two games as the Tornado lead increased to 5-1. Kruger held the fort the rest of the way out stopping 26 of 27 shots for the game, as the Tornado outshot the IceRays 16-8 in the 3rd period and 40-27 for the game.
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North American Hockey League Stories from March 17, 2011
- Rental Skate Giveaway March 25th - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Tornado Weekly: Fan Appreciation Friday, Belfour stars in Pros vs. Prospects Sunday - Texas Tornado
- Bulls Comeback Stopped by Wildcats 5-4 - Amarillo Bulls
- Wild Concludes 8-Game Trip With Loss to New Mexico - Wenatchee Wild
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