Now, I wasn't at the game in Alexandria tonight, but I swear I heard a very distinct clicking sound in the 2nd period of tonight's game. Was that the sound of the Express shifting into high gear for the stretch run?? It very well might have been.
The Express beat the Blizzard 6-3 in Alexandria Saturday night to extend their winning streak to 4 games. Coupled with Bismarck's sweep of North Iowa this weekend, the 2 wins pulled the Express to within 4 points of first place in the Central Division.
- New forward Dan Cecka, had a huge night in his second game for the Express. He scored a goal, chipped in 3 assists, and finished +4 for the night. He was awarded the #2 star of the game by the Blizzard folks.
- Forward John Kruse tallied 2 assists, and finished a +4, playing in his first game since October 18th. He was out for nearly 3 months after having surgery on his wrist. Welcome back John.
- Forward Stephen Carew scored twice, and now has 6 goals in the last 3 games. He has been steadily climbing up the scoring charts, and is now tied for the most goals scored in the NAHL this season.
- There has been plenty of line shuffling this season by Coach Cullen, but it looks like the Express now have a surefire #1 line in Carew, Kruse, and Cecka. It will be fun to see what these guys can do from here on out.
- Forward Zach Vierling missed his first game of the season due to illness.
- Forward Michael Palmiscno was not in the lineup "because of the fight" according to Cullen. It was the first time out of the lineup for him this season.
- Defenseman Troy Puente was playing with a full face shield tonight after getting his nose broken and 6 stitches in Friday's game against Albert Lea. He was apparently hit in the face by a stick. There was no penalty called on the play, but that shouldn't surprise anyone that actually watched the game.
- Coach Cullen took a more diplomatic approach to Friday's officiating that I did, telling Roy Koenig in the pregame interview that "The method to his penalty calling was hard to understand."
- With Vierling and Palmiscno on the sidelines tonight, the Express are down to 6 players who have played in all 34 Express games this season. They are: Carew, McDonald, Thorson, Smith, Puente, and Carson.
Next up for the Express is a trip to Albert Lea this coming Friday night, followed by a huge game against the North Iowa Outlaws in Owatonna on Saturday night. There are only 10 home games left for the Express this season, so let's pack the 4 Seasons Saturday night, and make it loud in support of Owatonna's junior hockey team.
See you at the rink.
--Big Kahuna
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3 comments:
Watched the game on B2 and after the guys got rid of their "car legs" in the first period, they played exceptional hockey. The addition of Cecka and Kruse to the first line made a BIG difference. It also helped to better balance the other lines. If the Express can play at that level in each game, they can definitely go deep into the playoffs!!
I have a comment about the 3 stars of the game. I know the decision is left to the home team and the ones who do the stats but what Alexandria did for the 3 stars of the game last night was ridiculous. Everyone who attended the game, listened to the game or watched the game on B2 knew who the stars of the game were. The line of Cecka, Kruse & Carew had statistically the best game. For all to have a +4 night was simply awesome!
Why does it seem like our team/organization is the only one who actually does the 3 stars of the game the correct way? North Iowa & Alexandria are two examples of being home teams who are biased and want their fans going home happy with their players being the stars!
I guess it goes to show that our organization does have a lot of class in the league! Go Express!
I second your opinion, smnexpressfan. I couldn't believe they picked any of their players, let alone one of them as the #1 star!!
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