Weekend wins put Tornado atop NAHL once again
November 18, 2004 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Texas Tornado News Release
With two road wins this past weekend, the Texas Tornado sit atop of the NAHL with a 16-4-0 record.
Friday in Texarkana, Brad Cooper started the scoring early and didn't stop until less than one minute remained in the game as the Tornado defeated the Texarkana Bandits 4-2.
Cooper started the scoring on a nice pass from Tom Train, who centered the puck from behind the net. Karl Sellan made it 2-0 after he used Cooper as a decoy and faked out the Bandits goalie and defenseman to convert on a 2 on 1. The Bandits scored early in the second period, but that was answered by Cooper's second goal on a 5-on-3 power play advantage to make the score 3-1.
The Bandits scored late in the second period from the point with Mike Olmstead in the box serving a penalty.
The third period was the Ben Bishop show. The Tornado goaltender stopped all 15 shots in the frame and Cooper finished his hat-trick on an empty net goal with 20 seconds remaining to give the Tornado a 4-2 win.
Saturday, the Tornado made their first trip of the season to Central Texas and it took until the third period before they broke through. Using three goals in the final frame and some strong goaltending, they defeated the Central Texas Marshals 3-0 and moved their overall record to 16-4-0.
Sellan scored the first two goals, both of which came on the power play, and both of which were assisted by Austin Miller and Nick Mazzolini.
Mazzolini then added the third goal with less than three minutes to go in the game to seal the victory.
Bishop posted his first shutout of the season, stopping all 17 shots he faced.
Tornado Collect 1,142 lbs. Of Food For Charity: During the Tornado home game on October 29, the National Champion Texas Tornado teamed up with Frisco Family Services Center for their annual Canned Food Drive. Tornado fans were asked to bring their canned goods to the game in exchange for a voucher for a future game. The fans responded with 1,142 lbs. of canned goods that were then given by the Tornado to the Frisco Family Services Center this past week.
"We were very impressed with the amount of canned goods given," said Jill Cumnock, executive director of Frisco Family Services Center. "This canned food drive was one of our best this year, and we are very appreciative of the Texas Tornado, who is a wonderful community partner."
More News: Godsmack bassist Robbie Merrill skated with some players from the Texas Tornado on Wednesday, November 16, at 10:00 a.m. at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco. Merrill, a former AAA Midget player, participated in an informal scrimmage and then was presented with an official Tornado jersey. Later that evening, Merrill was expected to wear the jersey during Godsmack's performance at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, as they were the opening act for Metallica.
North American Hockey League Stories from November 18, 2004
- One-goal losses plague Icedogs - Bozeman Icedogs
- Barons grab three points over rival Phantoms - Cleveland Barons
- Two Blizzard wins help create logjam atop NAHL West - Alexandria Blizzard
- Former IceDigger Zeman leading NCAA Division III in scoring - Alpena IceDiggers
- Wildcats light lamp, but drop two close contests - Wichita Falls Wildcats
- Jets move into first place tie - Fargo-Moorhead Jets
- Weekend wins put Tornado atop NAHL once again - Texas Tornado
- Phantoms' win streak snapped at five - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Bobcats blast Bulls twice at home - Bismarck Bobcats
- NAHL names players of the week - NAHL
- NAHL races burning at the two-month mark - NAHL
- Bulls Campaign in West Division Parity - Billings Bulls
- Phantoms Could Take Over First Place - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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