A great crowd saw Mike Palmiscno bank the puck into the net off of Outlaw goalie Keegan Asmundson's leg pad on a shot from the left corner midway through the second period to give the Express a 2-1 lead. Express goalie Freddy Bergman made that margin stand up, stopping 36 Outlaw shots, including 18 in the 3rd period, as the Express closed out the Outlaws in their first round playoff matchup, 3 games to 1.
The Express atoned for a lackluster performance in game #3 with a much better showing Saturday night. Cory Thorson scored the first Express goal, and the boys in blue took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at the first intermission. The Outlaws came out in the 2nd period and outskated the Express for the first 4 or 5 minutes, getting the game tying goal from former Express forward Brandon Brodhag. However it didn't take long for the Express to get that goal back as Palmiscno scored his goal just 4 minutes later. The third period was face paced, with a lot of end to end action, but the Express clamped down defensively, including killing off a late Outlaw powerplay opportunity. Freddy Bergman made a few key saves, and once again a Pat Cullen coached Express team wins a playoff series.
Next up for the Express is the Central Division Finals versus the Bismarck Bobcats who closed out the Alexandria Blizzard in their first round playoff series. The schedule for that series has yet to be finalized, so check back later for the specifics. Hey, we get at least 2 more weeks of hockey!!
See you at the rink.
--BK
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