I'm still here and still a fan of our favorite junior hockey team. I do realize it has been 6 weeks since my last update. It's not that there hasn't been any newsworthy to post on the blog, but I have just grown really bored with the blogging thing. When it comes down to it, my time is valuable, and my day job along with following the Express have taken me away from the blog. Someday I hope to get back my thirst for updating the blog, and maybe this will get the ball rolling once again.
So what is going on with the Express:
- 2nd year forward Cory Thorson has committed to play his college hockey at St Cloud State University. It's been a genuine pleasure watching Cory play the last two seasons, and he is on the short list of the best players in the 5 year history of the Express. Good luck with the Huskies, and we'll be rooting for you (except against the Gophers). Cory's departure will allow somebody else to win some prizes during the Chuck-A-Puck contest at home games, as his father, Ben, has dominated in recent history. Chalk up another Division 1 WCHA alumni for Coach Cullen and the Express.
- Defenseman Jake Sloat committed to Bowling Green University. Yet another Express player going Division 1. Sloat is in his 2nd year with the team, and has been a stalwart on the blueline. Congratulations Jake, and make sure you say hello to my close personal friend Ryan Peltoma.
- Forward Brian McGinty committed to Canisius College for next season, so you can add 1 more alum to the college hockey ranks. You might recognize Canisius from there sporadic trips to the NCAA basketball tournament over the years, but the Golden Griffins also play Division 1 hockey. Congratulations Brian, and good luck down the road.
- Forward Chris Bournazos is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Chris was in his 2nd year with the Express before being derailed. He would be eligible to play another season with the Express, but time will tell if old #9 will be back in Owatonna.
- Forward Jason McAloon was traded to the Wichita Falls Wildcats. Hill-Murray alum Jeff Westerhaus was added to the Express roster to replace McAloon.
- The Austin Bruins and the Aberdeen Wings will join the NAHL next season as expansion teams (presumably in the Central Division). The North Iowa Outlaws franchise is giving up on Mason City, and moving to Onalaska, Wisconsin where they will take the ice as the Coulee Region Chill. The Albert Lea Thunder franchise is still alive for the time being. There is still a chance that they could be around for next season, but I'll believe it when I see it.
- It will be an interesting off-season, as the NAHL decides how to fit Austin and Aberdeen, along with Chicago, Fresno, and Dawson's Creek into a divisional alignment that makes sense. From a geographical standpoint, it would make sense to have the Express in a 6 or 7 team division with Bismarck, Alexandria, Aberdeen, Austin, Coulee Region, and Albert Lea (if they are still in the NAHL). In an ideal world, they would kick the Bismarck Bobcats out of the league, and replace them with the Janesville Jets. Just kidding Bobcat fans, the Express need somebody to beat in the playoffs to prepare for the Robertson Cup, and you guys are a good candidate.
- I don't normally get very controversial with my blog topics, but this topic might fill that category: Good riddance North Iowa Outlaws. As nice as it has been the last 5 years to have you serve as the whipping boys for my favorite team (The Express are 46-19-2 lifetime versus the Outlaws), it isn't worth having to play half a dozen games in Mason City each season. It's okay that a majority of Outlaw fans think cross-checking is something you do at church, that hooking involves the exchange of money in a back alley, and that butt-ending is something that you........well....insert your own joke here, it is a family blog. However, cheering when an opposing player is injured is not acceptable in any level of hockey, nor is not announcing the opposing teams goal scorers. Also, you probably didn't think I noticed that you turn up the volume of your music when the opposing team calls a time out, and that you don't play any music when the Outlaws call time out. Well done, you really stuck it to us with that tactic. In 5 years you have managed an under .500 overall record in the regular season (136-137-24). You have also failed to win a single playoff series, including the year you won the division. Look at the bright side, Outlaw fans can now spend more time taking in the glorious, high-quality high school hockey programs in their state.
- The Bismarck Bobcats clinched their 2nd straight Central Division Championship last weekend. Would I like the Express to win the championship every year?? Absolutely, but the 58 game regular season only sets up the seeding for the playoffs. When the Express sweep the Central Division finals series with the Bobcats, it means that the boys in blue get to celebrate on home ice, before packing their bags for Wenatchee.
- The magic number for the Express to clinch the 2nd seed in the playoffs is 8. Any combination of 8 points that the Express earn, or that the Blizzard fail to earn, will have the Express playing at home the first weekend in April.
Next up for the Express is a 2 game weekend in Bismarck against the Bobcats, followed by a single game weekend (@Albert Lea on the 20th), and the season finale on Thursday the 25th in Mason City. In my opinion, winning or losing these last four games isn't as important as how the boys play. Do we see the team that beat and thoroughly outplayed Topeka, the top team in the NAHL, 2 weeks ago, or do we see the team that lost to Kenai River, the worst team in the league, 6 days later??
The Express have always been built for the playoffs, and this year is no exception. After coming up agonizing short of the Robertson Cup last season, I hope the boys are primed for a nice long month of April this season.
See you at the rink.
--Big Kahuna
