| Express try to keep Thunder silent |
By: IAN STAUFFER
istauffer@owatonna.com
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Posted: Thursday, November 13, 2008 11:01 pm
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Owatonna Express players Cory Thorson, top, and Jake Sloat skate up the ice against the Bismarck Bobcats during a game on Nov. 7 in Owatonna.
Thom Caya/People's Press
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OWATONNA — When the Owatonna Express hit the ice Friday, there will be a lot of familiar faces on the other bench.
The Express take on the Albert Lea Thunder at 7 p.m. Friday at the Four Seasons Centre. It will be the fifth meeting this season and the fourth between the teams in Owatonna’s last six games. They also play Saturday night at the Four Seasons Centre.
“It’s just two more of probably 10 or 12 times we play them this season,” Express coach Pat Cullen said. “We know we have quite a few more games with them, and we just need to keep doing our thing.”
Owatonna’s thing so far has been beating the Thunder. The Express (8-7-1, 19 points) have won all of the teams’ previous meetings, including a 6-2 win last Sunday in Owatonna. In that game, the Express scored three times in the first period and chased Thunder starting goaltender Mat Rabin from the game. Back-up Tom Lescovich didn’t fare much better and gave up three goals in the final two periods.
Albert Lea took 21 penalty minutes in the loss, including a 5-minute major for fighting for Steve Nykolajcuyk in the third period. Oddly, that fighting penalty was not accompanied by any penalty for Owatonna.
“That was pretty wild,” Express utility player Joe Beaudette said. “It was getting pretty chippy in the third period. They were probably getting pretty frustrated.
“Like our coach said, ‘they are probably going to be pretty undisciplined’. They like to throw their weight around and get into scrums if they can.”
If the Express players can avoid getting into those scrums with the Thunder, Friday’s game will likely turn out just like the other four games. The Thunder have the worst record in the NAHL at 1-14-1, and their 28 penalty minutes per game is a large part of that. Albert Lea has the fourth-worst penalty killing percentage in the league (80).
Albert Lea’s leading scorer is forward Danny Wood, who has six goals and seven assists. The Thunder have lost five straight games since picking up their only win of the season over Bismarck on Oct. 25.
“I’m not going to downplay them,” Cullen said. “We don’t want to take a step back right now. If you look at the standings, every point of every game is critical.”
Cory Thorson and Stephen Carew are tied at the top of Owatonna’s scoring list with 13 points each. Carew has a team-high 10 goals while Thorson has seven. The Express have won four of their last five with the only loss being a 2-1 defeat in a shootout last week.
Owatonna is in fourth place in the Central Division, just two points behind Bismarck (9-8-1, 19). The Bobcats have two games this weekend at first-place Alexandria, so the door could be open for Owatonna to take over third place with two wins over the Thunder.
After this weekend, Owatonna will go on a two-game road trip with contests at Alexandria on Friday, Nov. 21 and at North Iowa on Wednesday, Nov. 26. |
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