For those who didn't make it to tonight's scrimmage with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, let me just say this: It sure was nice to see a team on the ice with "Owatonna" printed on their jerseys, and Coach Cullen behind the bench.
I estimate the crowd was close to 200, which I thought wasn't a bad turnout for a Friday night scrimmage in September, given that there was a Huskies football game tonight as well. As is typical with Express games, the scrimmage was well organized, and went off without any hitches. A big Big Kahuna thank you to the volunteers, off-ice officials, and Express staff.
The game itself was about what I expected, being the first time the guys took the ice other than for practice. Both the Express and the Ice Dogs were pretty sloppy. The first 2 periods were each 30 minutes long with the clock running. By my count, the Ice Dogs scored twice (one on each Express goalie) and the Express scored once. The last period was alternating 5 on 4 power play opportunites for each team, and then 5 on 3 power plays. The Ice Dogs scored once during a 5 on 4 advantage, and the Express scored once on a 5 on 3 advantage. The Express took a while to get going on the power play, while the penalty kill looked decent.
Both Express goalies were solid in goal. Buegler looks like he will be the number one goalie entering the regular season, and Arnason made a couple of really nice saves when Fairbanks was on the power play. The defensive corp didn't give up much as far as breakaways. A few times they had trouble clearing the zone, but that should come as the guys learn to play with each other. The Express struggled to generate offensive chances for most of the game, but again, it's the first time on the ice against real competition. The Ice Dogs have some veterans back, and they didn't look much (if any) better offensively than the Express.
In a perfect world, the Express would have come out tonight and looked sharp in all facets of the game. This isn't a perfect world, it's a preseason scrimmage. There are plenty of things for the team to work on, but nothing that raised a huge red flag in my mind. There seems to be plenty of individual talent on the team, they just need some time to put that together into a strong team-wide effort on the ice, and we've got the guy calling the shots that will make that happen. Now that the guys have got a taste of game action tonight, look for a much stronger performance Saturday night in Rosemount.
Odds & Ends from the scrimmage:
- Forward John Kruse was in street clothes with a soft cast on his right wrist. Hopefully it's nothing serious.
- Former Express defenseman Rob Spalding was at the game. Apparently he will be playing for the Odessa Jackalopes in the CHL this season.
- I heard that CJ Willms, the all-time leading scorer in Express history, will not be attending Wisconsin-River Falls this season.
- Former Express/Alaska Avalanche/North Iowa Outlaw player Kevin Anger was in attendance.
--BK
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12 comments:
Thanks BK
i heard bournazos had a break away and got triped...would of been a penalty shot in a real game. hopefully they show more of that speed in the real scrimmage
Offense will come. Once the players pick up the system and they play together, they'll score. I heard that one of Fairbank's goals was a fluke. It hit off the glass at a weird angle and landed in front of our net. Any idea who scored for us?
Pappy
"Any idea who scored for us?"
- Unfortunately I don't. The Express wore their white practice jerseys, so the number on the back of the jersey didn't match the number on their game jerseys. The only way to definitively tell was to get the number off the back of their helmets which was hard to do from the opposite side of the rink.
--BK
Alex Niestrom scored
Thank goodness we had a few cold ones before the game. It was such a jumpy game and every time the puck hit the ice I was nervous. Hope the teams jitters calm down tonight.
"Alex Niestrom scored"
- Thanks for the info.
--BK
I think Dane Erickson had the other Goal.
The team was not matched up in the right lines.
Our billet son was so nervous before the game and a little upset after the game.
One game at a time!
"Our billet son was so nervous before the game and a little upset after the game."
- That's good, I want the guys to be upset if they don't play well, it should make them work that much harder the next time. I don't care if it was just a scrimmage.
One of my all-time favorite quotes is "Hate to lose more than you want to win". That's the kind of attitude I would love to see from the Express this year.
--BK
Any news on the game results? Had to work.
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