Tornado Weekly: Tornado Rolling Heading into Playoffs
March 30, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Texas Tornado News Release
Texas to begin South Semis in Amarillo
The South Division Semi-Final series between the Texas Tornado and the Amarillo Bulls will begin in Amarillo on Thursday, March 31st with Game #1 at 7:00pm at the Cal Farley Coliseum. Games 3 & 4 will be played at the Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco on Friday, April 8th and Saturday, April 9th. The games can be seen at www.fasthockey.com or heard online at www.tornadohockey.com.
South Division Semi-Finals Schedule (*if necessary)
Game #1: Thursday, March 31st, Texas @ Amarillo, 7:00pm
Game #2: Friday, April 1st, Texas @ Amarillo, 7:00pm
Game #3: Friday, April 8th, Amarillo @ Texas, 7:30pm
Game #4: Saturday, April 9th, Amarillo @ Texas, 7:30pm*
Game #5: Monday, April 11th, Texas @ Amarillo, 7:00pm*
Robertson Cup Playoff Tickets now on sale
Texas Tornado ticket packages and single game tickets for the 2011 Robertson Cup playoffs are now on sale. Playoff ticket packages are good for four home playoff games and packages are $32 for End Zone seats and $60 for Premium level seats. Single-game tickets for Games 3 & 4 are also on sale. To order, call the Tornado office at 972-335-9800.
Information for Tornado fans traveling to Amarillo
Tornado fans that are traveling to Amarillo for Games 1 and 2 of the South Division Semi-Finals have been offered a special package by the Amarillo Bulls. Tickets for the games are just $8. To order, call Cody Johnson with the Amarillo Bulls at 806-242-1122. The host hotel for the Bulls is the Ambassador and is offering rooms for $89.00 a night if you ask for the Amarillo Bulls discount. Website: www.ambassadoramarillo.com, phone number: 806-358-6161. The Ashmore Inn & Suites has a rate for $79.00 a night, if you mention the Amarillo Bulls. Website: www.ashmoresuites-amarillo.com, phone number: 806-374-0033.
South Semi-Finals Insider: Texas vs. Amarillo
Both Texas and Amarillo finished with the same amount of points (78), but Amarillo ended up with the #2 seed thanks to one more win in the regular season than the #3 Tornado. The playoffs will be completely new to the first-year Amarillo Bulls. Their 36 wins ranked 5th in the NAHL this season and their line-up is filled with veteran players that head coach Dennis Williams is going to rely on for success in the series. One big factor may be goaltender Nikifor Szczerba, who tied for the most wins in the NAHL this season with 30 and was 3rd in minutes played. His numbers against Texas were very good with a 1.97 goals against average and a 94.1% save percentage. Amarillo edged Texas in the regular season series 5-3, with two of the wins coming in overtime and a shootout, however Texas defeated the Bulls 3-1 on the final day of the regular season in Amarillo. The playoffs are nothing new for the four-time Robertson Cup Champion Tornado, who have made the post-season in all 11 years of their existence. The Tornado have advanced out of the first round in nine of those 11 years. If the Tornado have anything going for them besides playoff history it was their stretch of games to end the regular season. The Tornado were unbeaten in regulation in their final eight games of the regular season, going 6-0-2, which was the best stretch of hockey since winning a league-high 15 games in a row in October and November. Ralfs Freibergs, who led all NAHL defensemen in scoring and assists this season, will be relied on heavily on the backend and the line of Jack Prince, Jackson Leef and Nate Sliwinski have been red-hot. However, the biggest difference for Texas during their recent run to end the regular has been depth at scoring and goaltending. Over their last 10 games, the Tornado have eight players that have averaged a point or better per game and goaltender Jimmy Kruger was lights out in the month of March posting a 5-1-2 record with a 1.69 goals against average and a 94.2% save percentage.
Tornado announce 2011 tryout camps
The Texas Tornado have announced the dates and locations for their 2011 tryout camps for the 2011-12 season.
Camp #1: May 12-15, 2011. Dr Pepper StarCenter-McKinney, Texas. Camp #2: June 3-5, 2011 Burnsville Ice Center-Burnsville, Minnesota. Camp #3: June 9-12, 2011. Farmington Hills Ice Arena-Farmington Hills, Michigan. To register and for more information go to www.tornadohockey.com
THE WEEK THAT WAS ¬Â¦
Saturday, March 26 ¬" Texas Tornado 3 @ Amarillo Bulls 1
Behind 38 saves from goaltender Jimmy Kruger, the Texas Tornado won their regular season finale on Saturday night with a 3-1 in Amarillo against the Bulls. JD Howard, Tyler Rostenkowski and Mico Solorzano scored in the win for Texas, who went 6-0-2 in their final eight regular season games. With their top three leading scorers Jack Prince, Jackson Leef and Ralfs Freibergs out of the line-up for the night, resting for the playoffs, the Texas Tornado were able to withstand a furious attack by the Amarillo Bulls to start the game. Tornado goaltender Jimmy Kruger was under attack from the start, but after Amarillo found the post twice and some big saves from Kruger, the Tornado settled down. Although they did not score on the power play, the Tornado offense started to get some shots on Amarillo goaltender Nikifor Szczerba late in the period. After a game misconduct on the Bulls Eric Millisor for elbowing Nate Sliwinski, the Tornado offense got going, ultimately scoring in the last minute of the period as Sliwinski chipped the puck to an open JD Howard, who raced in on a breakaway and beat Szczerba with a backhand. Despite being outshot 13-6 in the 2nd period, it was the Tornado who increased the lead. The Tornado made it 2-0 as Tyler Rostenkowski ¬â¢s shot from the point went wide, but the rebound came off the end boards and off of Szczerba ¬â¢s leg and into the back of the net. Assists on the goal went to Justin Jones and Jimmy Murray. Just :27 seconds later a nice passing play from Mike Fleming to Brett Hebel saw Hebel come down the left wing and lay a pass to an open Mico Solorzano, who fired a shot past the glove of Szczerba for a 3-0 lead. The rest of the period was the Jimmy Kruger show as the Tornado goaltender stifled the Bulls time after time, clearly showing he was in playoff form. The 3rd period was all Jimmy Kruger, as he again shut the door on the Bulls time after time. Amarillo managed to get on the board with less than seven minutes remaining, as TJ Sarcona got loose in front of the net to rattle a loose puck home. But, it wouldn ¬â¢t be enough as the Tornado won the regular season finale, 3-1. Kruger was the game ¬â¢s first star, stopping 38 of 29 Bulls shots.
North American Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2011
- Wenatchee Wild Hockey Team Supports Emergency Workers - Wenatchee Wild
- Michigan Warriors Playoff Games and Dates - Michigan Warriors
- Tornado Weekly: Tornado Rolling Heading into Playoffs - Texas Tornado
- Monsters Weekly - Fresno Monsters
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.
