Tornado Weekly
December 5, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Texas Tornado News Release
The Texas Tornado hit the road for the second straight weekend with games on Friday and Saturday against the New Mexico Mustangs. The two teams split a pair of games on the Tornado's last trip to Rio Rancho, and did so again last weekend, though Texas needed overtime on Saturday to salvage that split. The Tornado now sit at 17-4-6, good for 40 points and second in the South Division coming into a three-game weekend series against Corpus Christi.
Friday December 2nd- Texas turned aside 44 times in 2-0 loss to New Mexico The Texas Tornado have had their troubles with opposing goaltenders recently and Friday night was no exception, as New Mexico Mustangs goalie Randy Graham made 44 saves en route to a 2-0 Mustangs victory. Reid Mimmack saw less than half of Graham's workload, but his 19 stops on 21 shots were not enough to match Graham, who halted the Tornado's streak of games with at least one point at 12. Charles Baldwin's first-period goal opened the scoring and turned out to be the game-winner, while Mustangs captain Patrick Anderson added an insurance goal late in the second period. 17 of Graham's 44 saves came in the third period, as the Tornado had their chances but were unable to get one past the Mustangs goaltender. Texas also went 0-for-4 on the power-play in Friday's game. Saturday, December 3rd- Tornado stave off Mustangs in shootout, 5-4
Both the Texas Tornado and New Mexico Mustangs scored four straight goals on Saturday, and although the Tornado blew a four-goal lead, they eventually prevailed in a shootout by a score of 5-4. Reid Mimmack was the Tornado goaltender for the second straight night, and made 29 saves to pick up his sixth victory of the season. Texas scored the first four goals of the game, with the first coming from Justin Greenberg at the 7:31 mark of the first period. Conner Burton added his second goal of the season just a little more than two minutes later, while Jack Prince scored on the power-play with six minutes left in the opening period. Then, 2:30 into the second, Jake Strazlakowski picked up his first goal as a member of the Tornado to give Texas a 4-0 lead. From there, however, it was all New Mexico. The Mustangs scored three goals to close out the second period, then managed to score with the extra attacker and 27 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime. Neither team scored in overtime, but the Tornado came away victorious in a shootout thanks to Greenberg's shootout game-winner in the fifth round.
Upcoming Games and Promotions
The Tornado will have just three home games in December, with the first two coming December 9th and 10th against the Corpus Christi IceRays. Texas will play Corpus Christi 10 times in 2011-2012, though the IceRays currently lead the season series 2-0. The Tornado will also be hosting their holiday party on the 10th and will give out holiday ornaments to the first 1500 fans in attendance. There will also be a postgame skate with the players, Ike the Polar Bear, and a special appearance from Santa Claus. Texas will then travel to Wichita Falls for a pair of games on December 16th and 17th before the Tornado host their New Year's Eve Party Before the Party on December 28th against Corpus Christi.
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North American Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2011
- Kerr Named NAHL's First Star of the Week - Wenatchee Wild
- 'Runners Sweep 'Rays with 4-1 Win - Topeka Pilots
- NAHL Announces Combat Hockey 3 Stars of the Week - NAHL
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- Tornado Weekly - Texas Tornado
- Jr. K-Wings Weekly - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Rays Report: Two Losses - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Kerr-Tain Call: Kerr, Pauly Make History - Wenatchee Wild
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