Postgame Report: Express lose 4-2

The Express made it 4 for 4 Friday night at the 4 Seasons Centre. 4 years of Express hockey in Owatonna, and 4 years of a disappointing result for the home-opener. I won't bother with a detailed recap of the game, as you can read one here: http://owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=29701

...or check out the boxscore here: http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=763849

My take: I will never be happy with a loss, but I'm not all that disappointed with last night's result. I thought the Express played well for the bulk of the game. They passed the puck well, and had success controlling the puck in the offensive end. They had their best game this season in regards to taking penalties, although once again they had to kill off an extended 5 on 3. A couple of defensive breakdowns, and the Blizzard out hustling our guys led to the deciding goals late in the 3rd period.

Big Kahuna's Stars of the Game:
1. Dylan Porter - Played hard all night long. Really impressed me with his hustle on both ends of the ice. Layed a nice hit on 6'7" Blizzard defenseman Taylor Vickorek.

2. Troy Puente - He is so calm on the ice and plays really smart. He broke up a couple of odd-man rushes for the Blizzard. He just doesn't get rattled.


Prediction Results:
I missed on the Express game, but nailed the other 4 games to finish 4-1 (35-20 on the year)

Predictions for tonight's games:

Traverse City over Alpena
Mahoning Valley over Motor City
Bismarck over North Iowa
Alexandria over Albert Lea
Wichita Falls over St Louis
Fairbanks over Kenai River


Next up for the Express is a pair of games next weekend. Friday night the Express travel to Mason City for a game against the North Iowa Outlaws, and Saturday night the Express get their first look at the Bismarck Bobcats at the 4 Seasons Centre in Owatonna.

See you at the rink.

--BK