***Breaking News***

The St Louis Bandits are good.

Okay, that's not really breaking news, but it's hard work coming up with catchy headlines for every post. The Bandits have been playing well most of the season, but after seeing them in person Thursday night, all I can say is they look scary good. I thought they Express didn't play all that bad, they generated plenty of scoring chances, but they just couldn't get anything past the Bandit goalie.

If you want a more detailed recap of the game you can read the OPP article here: http://owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=31964 , or see the boxscore here: http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/boxscore.html?gameid=764051 .


What is ticking me off today, is the fact that we are playing the Bandits at all this season. Actually I don't have a problem playing them, I have a problem with the rest of the Central Division not playing them. I think there are lessons to be learned from getting beat by a really good team. The Express now know where they need to get to as a team if they want to compete for the Robertson Cup. In addition, it was nice to see a different opponent on the ice. What I don't like is the fact that with the exception of Alexandria's game versus the Bandits at the Showcase, no other Central Division teams will play St. Louis this season. After this weekend's games, half the season will be in the books, and it looks like no more than 6-7 points will separate 1st place from 4th place. Every point is critical, but only the Express get 4 games against the 2-time defending champions.

Maybe I wouldn't be so fired up about it, except this has happened before. In 2006/07, the Express played the Bandits 8 times during the regular season, while the Fargo-Moorhead Jets played the Bandits a grand total of 0 times. At the end of the season Fargo finished 6 points in front of the Express to claim the Central Division Championship, and home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. As it turned out, home-ice advantage didn't matter as the Express swept the Jets in the second round of the playoffs, but it could have made a huge difference.


Anyways, see you at the rink.

--BK