Saturday Night - Express vs Thunder......Maybe??....Probably??

The Express scored a big win Friday night against the Outlaws. The second in as many nights, and most importantly, they won both games in regulation. 4 points in the standings for the good guys, and 0 points for the other guys. Had these two games gone the other way, the Express could have been relegated to 3rd place in the standings, but now they have opened up a 7 point lead over the Outlaws. Unfortunately, the 1st place Bismarck Bobcats also won twice, and still lead our favorite junior hockey team by 4 points. However, the Express have 5 games in hand on the Bobcats and actually have a better winning percentage. I'll have more to say about the Bobcats in the next couple of days.

Next up for the Express is a Saturday match up with the beleaguered Albert Lea Thunder. (If you're not up to speed on the Thunder situation, read down a few posts and catch up.) The Thunder organization had until midnight Friday evening to pay the $400,000 fine imposed by the NAHL, or possibly get the death penalty. This article from americanjuniorhockey.com, makes it sound like Saturday night's game will be played no matter what happened at the midnight deadline:
http://www.americanjuniorhockey.com/2009/11/commish-to-thunder-coach-circle-wagons.html . So grab your horns and cowbells, and come cheer the Express to another victory and a 6 point weekend.

The Thunder situation should probably be settled before next weekend. From what I have gathered, these are the possible outcomes:

1. Thunder owner Barry Soskin gets out the checkbook and scribbles out a number with quite a few zeroes behind it. The Thunder continue to play, and a search for new ownership starts. My take: Whether or not Soskin pays the fine, there is no way the league should allow him to remain as the owner of the Thunder (or any other team for that matter). Big Kahuna's probability: 5%

2. The league swings the death penalty ax, and disbands the team. The current Thunder roster is broken up via a dispersal draft, and the season goes on without the Thunder. My take: This option would have to be viewed as a last resort for the league. The ramifications of disbanding a team mid season are far-reaching. It's not fair to the opponents still on their schedule, it's not fair to the people of Albert Lea, and it's not fair to the Thunder players who earned their spot on the roster the right way. Not to mention that it is a big black eye to the NAHL as a whole. I don't like this option at all, but there is a few Thunder players I wouldn't mind seeing in an Express sweater. Big Kahuna's probability: 30%

3. The NAHL kicks Soskin to the curb, and takes over the Thunder organization for the rest of the season. My take: Probably the most appealing solution for everybody involved. I am not a great NAHL history mind, but it's my understanding that this has happened before. This would allow the players to finish out the season, and buy some time for a local ownership group to get organized. Big Kahuna's probability: 65%


Anyway you slice it, if the Thunder franchise has any hope for success in Albert Lea, they need to completely clean house, and start over. Let's hope the league finds a way to do that. To the fans of the Thunder and the people of Albert Lea: Keep your chins up, put your heads together, and fight to keep junior hockey in your town. Junior hockey in Owatonna was in dire straights a year and a half ago, but we fought and persevered, and are now beginning to reap the fruits of our labor. Off the ice, I'm rooting for you. On the ice, step off the tracks, because the Express train is coming through!!

See you at the rink.

--Big Kahuna

Brian Schack Article from the Star Tribune

There is a nice little article on former Southern Minnesota Express player Brian Schack in Friday's Minneapolis Star Tribune. You can read it here: http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/70578992.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr .

Schack was a member of the expansion Express team back in 2005-06, and a big contributor during the run to a third place finish at the Robertson Cup.

--BK

Roster Movement Today

The Express made a couple of roster moves today. Forward Chris Westin was released, and his roster spot (along with his jersey number) were filled by the addition of defenseman Patrick Borer.

Borer comes to the Express after spending the early part of this season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. He is 5'8" and 170 lbs, a 1990 birth year, and is from Golden Valley, Minnesota. He played high school hockey at Benilde-St Margaret's, and is already committed to play his college hockey at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

The Express have been a little shorthanded defensively this season. Injuries to Ben Montgomery and Joe Schmitz have limited Coach Cullen's options on the blueline to the point that forward Jordan Tredinnick has been playing as a defenseman recently.

Welcome to Owatonna Pat, I look forward to seeing you in action this weekend.

--BK

The Excrement has hit the Ventilator in Albert Lea - **Updated**

To begin with, I realize it has been almost a month since I have updated the blog. Quite honestly, I have become really bored with the whole process, and there really hasn't been anything worth writing about...................Until last night!!

First of all, read the following articles to get up to speed:

http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/nov/19/league-finds-albert-lea-thunder-allowed-pay--play/

http://www.americanjuniorhockey.com/2009/11/minnesota-meltdown-nahl-roster-spots.html

There have been whispers of improprieties swirling around the Thunder franchise since their inception early in the summer of 2008. Anybody that was paying attention knew that something wasn't right with our neighbors to the south. So, it's not a surprise that this happened, but what is a surprise is the NAHL's response. The league is throwing the book at the Thunder, and I would speculate the future of the franchise is in grave danger.

This story broke less than 24 hours ago, so I'm sure plenty more details will come out in the coming days.


My take: I just don't see a scenario where this gets resolved in a way that keeps the Thunder in Albert Lea. I hope I am wrong, but I think it's just a matter of time until the team folds. Do they make it through the rest of this season, or have we seen the last of the Thunder??

By the way, the Express are scheduled to play the Thunder Saturday night in Albert Lea. Should be an interesting night at the rink.


The article from the Albert Lea Tribune has been updated with a bunch more information, so click on the link above and re-read the article. It names the players involved, and the parents who blew the whistle to the league officials.

I am not sure what was more idiotic, instituting a pay-for-play system, or actually putting it in writing in the form of a contract. I am not a lawyer, nor do I play one on TV, but this looks like a pretty cut and dried case.

We have had a lot of fun at the Thunder's expense over the last year and a half, but I really feel bad for everyone not directly involved in this scandal: The fans of the Thunder, the people of Albert Lea, Coach Brad Zangs, and the players who earned their spot the correct way. You deserved much better than this. If the hammer falls, and the Thunder fold, feel free to jump on the Express bandwagon, we'll make room. Wouldn't it be nice to root for a winning team for a change, plus we have one big thing in common: a dislike for the North Iowa Outlaws.

I hope to see the Express get a win Saturday night in Albert Lea, but I will be disappointed if any of the pay-for play guys are in uniform.

--BK