Tornado win 40 games and division for sixth straight season
March 18, 2005 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Texas Tornado News Release
With an 8-0 win this past Saturday night at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, the Texas Tornado won their sixth straight North American Hockey League regular season division title, and also hit the 40-win mark.
To appreciate how tough this accomplishment really is, consider that the Tornado has been the team to beat all season long coming off their National Championship in 2003-04.
Consider the Tornado lost half their players from that Championship team.
Consider that no matter where they went this year, a big target on their backs followed.
Yet, game in and game out the Tornado proved once again that they are still the team to beat throughout the regular season.
The scoring began early with a goal from Nick Mazzolini as he scored on a wrap-around just 1:05 into the first period. It would be the game-winning goal. Captain Tom Train added the second goal on a one-handed tip in after a shot from the point from Austin Miller.
The second period started with Brad Cooper scoring on the power play, giving him a record 84 points on the season, breaking the old record of 83 held by Jason Guerriero. Brett Blatchford scored on a nice pass from Mazzolini to make it 4-0. Ryan Fuller and Ben Grotting both scored late in the period to make it 6-0 going into the third period.
Karl Sellan scored early in the third, giving the Tornado a 7-0 lead and giving Sellan a league-leading 42 goals, the highest single-season NAHL goal total in the last four years. Matt Krug capped of the night with the eighth goal, as he converted on a rebound in front.
Mazzolini was the first star and finished with a goal and four assists. Krug was the second star after his two-point night and bone crushing hits. Tornado goaltender Ben Bishop stopped all 16 shots for his fifth shutout of the season, and third star honors. Miller and Jordan Mowbray both ended up with two assists each, and Sellan had a three-point night.
The division title and the 40-win season marks the sixth straight season in which the Tornado has won both, an ongoing NAHL record.
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from March 18, 2005
- U-18s roll past Toledo, 13-0 - U.S. National Team
- Wildcats Dan DiLeo will Attend Cornell - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Bozeman vs Fargo-Moorhead Tonight, Bismarck Tomorrow - Bozeman Icedogs
- Van Culin Named Ferris' CCHA Scholar-Athlete of the Year - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Voice of Bighorns to call 500th game next Saturday - Helena Bighorns
- Indians-U18s battle was hockey at its best - Soo Indians
- Tornado win 40 games and division for sixth straight season - Texas Tornado
- Bishop earns NAHL Defensive Player of the Week - Texas Tornado
- Bulls reclaim top spot after blanking Blizzard - Billings Bulls
- Jr. Blues Gumaer headed to Bentley - Springfield Jr. Blues
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.
