Nahl

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avalanche downs Junior Blues in NAHL Showcase




THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Posted Sep 17, 2009 @ 04:12 PM
Last update Sep 17, 2009 @ 04:26 PM

BLAINE, Minn. - The Alaska Avalanche scored three goals with less than five minutes left in the third period Thursday afternoon and beat the Springfield Junior Blues 5-4 in the North American Hockey League Showcase at Schwans Super Rink.

The loss dropped the Blues to 0-1-1 while the Avalanche improved to 4-1-0. The Blues and Traverse City play at 12:45 p.m. today in the Showcase.

Seth Johnson capped the Avalanche scoring spree when he scored the winning goal on an assist from Matthew Friese with two minutes left in the third period.

Braden Kinnebrew started the Avalanche scoring with a power-play goal at 15:10 of the third after Nick Curry was penalized for cross checking. Jake Parenteau followed Kinnebrew with an unassisted goal to even the score at 4.

The Blues scored three goals against Avalanche goalie Geoff Sadjadi to take a 4-2 lead midway in the third period.

Jared Rickord and Cory Belisle each had power-play goals and Mike Schaber scored even strength during the Blues streak.

Denys Petruhkno and Brian Prost assisted on Rickord's goal, Schaber assisted on Belisle's score and Rickord and Curry had assists on Schaber's goal.

Berkley Scott and Nardo Nagtzaam had a goal each in the first period as the Avalanche took a 2-0 lead to the locker room at the first intermission.

Scott scored with an assist from Kyle Pichler at 12:43 of the first and Nagtzaam scored after he was awarded a penalty shot following a tripping call against Petruhkno.
Petrukhno scored an unassisted goal at 10:00 of the second period to cut the Blues deficit to 2-1.

Alaska outshot the Blues 36-28. The Blues were penalized seven times for 14 minutes and the Avalanche had five penalties for 10 minutes.

At Schwans Super Rink
Junior Blues 0 1 3 - 4
Alaska 2 0 3 - 5
First period: 1. Alaska, Scott (Pichler) 12:43; 2. Alaska, Nagtzaam (penalty shot) 15:36.
Second period: 3. Jr. Blues, Petrukhno (unassisted) 10:00
Third period: 4. Jr. Blues, Rickord (pp) (Petruhkno, Prost) 3:47; 5. Jr. Blues, Belisle (pp) (Schaber) 8:06; 6. Jr. Blues, Schaber (Rickord, Curry) 9:34; 7. Alaska, Kinnebrew ((pp) (Nagtzaam) 15:10; 8. Alaska, Parenteau (unassisted) 16:13; 9. Alaska, Johnson (Friese) 18:00.
Shots on goal: Jr. Blues 5-14-9 28 ; Alaska 19-10-7 36. Goalies: Jr. Blues, Groh (36 shots, 31 saves) ; Alaska, Sadjadi (28 shots, 24 saves) . Penalties: Jr. Blues 7 (14 minutes); Alaska 5 (10 minutes) . Power play opportunities: Jr. Blues 2-5 ; Alaska 1-7. Referee: Boone Bruggman. Linesmen: Stephen Thomson, John McAfee.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Date: Sep 28, 2009

Avalanche building early momentum



http://alaskaavalanche.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/260/5608.jpg (http://alaskaavalanche.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/260/5608.jpg) For a team that finished a distant third in the NAHL’s West Division standings a season ago, the Alaska Avalanche couldn’t be happier with the start to its 2009-10 campaign.

The rejuvenated Avs hold an impressive 7-1-1 mark in the early goings, thanks in part to two more victories on the road last weekend against the Bismarck Bobcats.

“We’re pretty pleased with the guys so far, and obviously it feels good to get the season off on the right foot,” said Avalanche head coach Dave Boitz, whose team won 23 games last year. “But we know it’s only going to keep getting tougher.”

Berkley Scott’s hat trick lifted the Avs to a 5-2 win on Friday. Robb Haider http://www.nahl.com/news/0708/img/robb-haider_2.jpgadded a goal and an assist in the victory, and goaltender Kale Robertson turned aside 24 shots.

The next night, Kyle Pichler connected for a goal and an assist and Haider chipped in two more assists as Alaska doubled up Bismarck, 4-2. Between the pipes, Landon Peterson made 16 saves.

“We’re playing well, and we’re getting some good goaltending and key goal-scoring,” said Boitz.

And returning 11 players from last year’s club doesn’t hurt either.

“Having that many guys come back from the year before - and that’s never happened up here before - that’s key,” said Boitz.

The Avalanche is expecting big things from a handful of its returning forwards, and they haven’t disappointed early on. Haider, who finished last season with 25 points on 13 goals, already has five goals for 11 points after nine games.

Fellow Anchorage natives Kyle Pichler (two goals, eight assists), Zach Smith (five goals, four assists) and Matt Freise (goal, four assists), a University of Alaska-Anchorage (WCHA) recruit, along with Nardo Nagtzaam, from the Netherlands, are back and putting up points.

Blueliner Jake Parenteu, a Minnesotan who finished last season tied for the league-lead in goals scored by a defenseman (10), has also returned to Alaska’s lineup.

“They can all put up some big numbers,” Boitz said of his talented veterans.

Along with its strong veteran presence, the Avalanche has gotten a big boost between the pipes this season. Both Robertson, a Winnipeg native who’s only surrendered three goals in his first three starts, and Peterson, a Wisconsin native, have been a breath of fresh air.

“We have a lot better goaltending than we had a year ago,” said Boitz. “Both are first-year guys, but both have been terrific.”

Another newcomer, Scott also enters the season with a lot of promise. After a modest offensive showing at the NAHL Showcase Tournament the week prior - he delivered only one goal over the four games at the Minnesota event - the 18-year-old from Anoka, Minn., unleashed for four tallies against the Bobcats.

“Berkley was a little snake-bitten at the Showcase, but he made up for it last weekend,” said Boitz. “He’s a very skilled player and is fitting in very well for us.”

First-year forward Seth Johnson (Woodruff, Wis.) has also impressed early on, as have defensemen Ray Stenehjem (Anchorage), Chase Van Allen (Anchorage) and Jake Williams (Duluth, Minn.).

As a result of Alaska’s fast start, colleges have already started to pay close attention. A number of Division I schools were inquiring about Avalanche players at the recent Showcase, much to the delight of Boitz.

“That was a much better Showcase for us this year than last year as far as interest from schools,” said the coach. “We had a lot more programs interested in our guys.”

In the meantime, the Avs’ focus is on taking care of its business ahead, and that means staying competitive on a nightly basis in a tightly contested division.

“I think our division is outstanding, and it’s going to get tougher for us, obviously,” said Boitz, whose team plays nine of its next 11 games at home. “We’re grateful to have the start we’ve had, but the road will get tougher and we’ll have to keep getting good goaltending and keep battling to get wins.”

[Jan Nagtzaam]

New line produces in win over Bobcats

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, October 5, 2009 10:23 AM AKDT
WASILLA — Alaska head coach Dave Boitz decided to stick forwards Zach Smith, Matthew Friese and Nardo Nagtzaam on the same line for the first time Saturday night.

After seeing how the trio worked together, there’s a good chance fans will see that combination again.

The Smith-Friese-Nagtzaam line accounted for three of Alaska’s four goals during a 4-2 win over the Bismarck Bobcats at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena. http://www.frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/10/06/sports/doc4ac852027cabf685069072.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska Avalanche forward Kyle Pichler gets tangled up with Bismark Bobcat John Avino during Saturday's game at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.
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“That line played well tonight,” Boitz said. “They were just making good plays (and they were) forechecking hard.”

Smith scored a pair of goals and Alaska outshot the Bobcats 44-20, as the Avs improved to 8-1-1 overall.

“We were putting a lot of pressure on them down low, cycling the puck and making good plays,” Boitz said.

Smith, who is averaging more than a point per game this season, scored midway through the first to give the Avs the 1-0 lead. The Anchorage native pushed his team’s advantage to 4-2, scoring with 8:42 left in regulation.

“Zach works pretty good around the net, scoring those garbage goals,” Boitz said. “And he scored a couple more tonight.”

Friese broke a 1-1 tie midway through the second with an unassisted power-play tally. Berkley Scott, who was named the North American Hockey League West Division Player of the Week earlier in the week, continued his recent scoring surge a second-period goal.

Alaska goaltender Kale Robertson stopped 18 of the 20 shots he faced, and improved to 4-0-0 with the win. Robertson now has a goals against average of 1.25 and saves percentage of .954.

Alaska will continue its series against Bismarck today at 5 p.m. at the Menard. The teams will also drop the puck on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Alaska 4, Bismarck 2

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Alaska- Smith (Hildebrandt, Nagtzaam) 11:57.

Second period — 2. Bismarck- Dunne (Schmitt) 8:58, 3. Alaska- Friese (unassisted) pp 11:51, 4. Alaska- Scott (Pichler, Haider) 14:16, 5. Bismarck- Fabian (Jensen, Smrke) 14:42.

Third period — 6. Alaska- Smith (Friese, Pearson) 8:42.

Shots on goal: Bismarck 20, Alaska 44; Saves: Bismarck- Massa 40, Alaska- Robertson 18.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Bobcats strike back

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, October 5, 2009 6:44 PM AKDT
WASILLA — The Alaska Avalanche skated off the ice after the first period with a comfortable three-goal lead Sunday evening.

But after the second, the Avs hit the locker room facing an unsettling one-goal deficit.

Bismarck scored four times during a 2-minute and 19-second span midway through the second, and added a pair of goals in the third to steal a 6-4 win over the Avalanche at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla. http://www.frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/10/06/sports/doc4acaaabc9d46e289893922.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska blueliner Braden Kinnebrew takes a shot on goal during Saturday's game against the Bismarck Bobcats at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.
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“We’ve done that a couple of times,” Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said of his team’s occasional struggle with hanging on to the big lead. “In the first series against Kenai, we got a big lead and they came back to tie it up. And we did it again against Springfield. We dominated the first half of the game, and we had to come back and win.”

Alaska scored four unasnwered to post that 7-3 win over Kenai River, and three goals within the final five minutes to edged Springfield 5-4.

But on Sunday, with a third-period power-play goals and 14 saves during the final frame by reserve goalie Ryan Faragher, the Bobcasts thwarted any hope of an Avs comeback.

“We’ve been talking to the guys about, when you get someone down, you keep them down,” Boitz said. “We even talked about that after the first period, and we came out kind of flat.”

Bismarck notched all of its second-period scoring in a pair of short burst. Ryan Jacobson and Sam Rendle scored within a 12-second span. Jason Fabian recorded a pair of goals himself during a stretch of 23 seconds.

“It was the first night our goalies didn’t play that well, but it was (also) a combination of everything,” Boitz said. “Everybody let down.”

Devin Schmitt and Dominic Penetta scored with the man-advantage in the third period to help the Bobcats record their first win of the year and improve to 1-5-2 overall.

Alaska dropped ot 8-2-1 with the loss, and snapped a three-game winning streak.

The teams will meet again in the rubber match of the three-game series tonight at 7 p.m. at the Menard Arena.

“(Tonight) will be a little charecter test to find out what we’re all about, how we respond to a big let down,” Boitz said. “The first period we’ll be key. They’ll come out with some confidence.”

Alaska owned the first period Sunday, netting three goals in the final 17 minutes of the first.

Zach Smith scored on the power play to give Alaska the 1-0 lead at the 7:13 mark. Logan Rounds scored shorthanded four minutes later. With 2:30 left in the first, Nardo Nagtzaam recorded a goal assisted by Smith and Rounds.

Nagtzaam scored shorthanded midway through the third.

Random shots ... Alaska scored a pair of shorthanded goals during the loss Sunday. Last season, the Avs collected only a half-dozen shortys ... With a goal and an assist Sunday, Smith now has a team-high 13 points (8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points). Through nine games, he already has more than half of the 24 points (14-10-24) he posted in 44 games last season. He’s also at a team-high +8 plus-minus rating, compared to the -7 he logged in 2008-09. Smith has at least a point in each of the nine games he’s played this year.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Bismarck 6, Alaska 4

Sunday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Alaska- Smith (Parenteau) pp 7:13, 2. Alaska- Rounds (unassisted) sh 11:16, 3. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Smith, Rounds) 17:30.

Second period — 4. Bismarck- Jacobson (unassisted) 5:23, 5. Bismarck- Rendle (Jensen) 5:35, 6. Bismarck- Fabian (Panetta) 7:29, 7. Bismarck- Fabian (Dunne, Jensen) 7:52.

Third period — 8. Bismarck- Schmitt (Kleisinger) 5:18, 9. Bismarck- Panetta (Fabian, Kleisinger) 6:44, 10. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Kinnebrew) sh 12:11.

Shots on goal: Bismarck 8-13-8—29, Alaska 17-8-15—40; Saves: Bismarck- Masa 14-x-x—14, Faragher x-8-14—21; Alaska- Peterson 8-9-x—17, Robertson x-0-10—14; Power plays: Bismarck 3-for-8, Alaska 1-for-9; Penalties: Bismarck 13-for-34, Alaska 12-for-32.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Hallo allemaal,

Ik dacht ik hou jullie maar op de hoogte van de Nederlandse inbreng

[Ivo Willems]

thanks :)

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avs take down Wenatchee

By JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, October 17, 2009 1:57 AM AKDT
WASILLA ? Last season, Wenatchee wasn?t just a nemesis of the Alaska Avalanche. With 10 wins in 14 regular season meetings and another three during a best-of-5 first-round playoff series, the Wild seemed to be Alaska?s kryptonite.

But on Friday, it was the Avs who were super.

Alaska used a pair of Jake Paranteau goals and Landon Peterson?s 25-save shutout to post a 4-0 win over the North American Hockey League-leading Wild at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena on Friday evening. http://images.townnews.com/frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/10/17/sports/doc4ad96453edaa7273060259.jpg
(ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman) Alaska Avalanche forward Nardo Nagtzaam puts Wenatchee Wildcat defensman Chris Rumble into the board during the Avalanche's 4-0 win Friday in Wasilla.

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Parenteau and former Colony High School standout Blake Huppert each found the back of the net during a 65-second span early in the third period to help the Avs seal the win over the Wild, who entered the contest with a league-best 16-3-0 mark.

Huppert and Logan Rounds also scored for the Avs, who improved to 9-3-1 overall.

Peterson?s stopped all 25 shots he saw, and Alaska is the first team of the year to shutout the Wild.

Parenteau, who is now tied for the lead in goals by a defensemen, factored into both of Alaska?s third period scores.

Just more than four minutes into the third period, the Minnesota native blasted a shot from the slot. Parenteau?s attempt came off the back wall and bounced back up toward the right circle. Huppert crashed and slapped the puck past Wenatchee goalie Mac Curruth.

Just more than a minute later, Parenteau raced down the left boards, picked up a loose puck, skated through the Wenatchee defensive zone and lifted a quick shot over the shoulder of Carruth.

Parenteau gave the Avs the early lead, when flipped a quick wrist shot past Carruth. With Alaska skating on the power play, second-year forward Matthew Friese dropped a pass back to Parenteau, who walked the puck up through the right circle and fired a shot on the Wenatchee net.

In the second period, former Service standout Logan Rounds gave Alaska the 2-0 lead.

Nardo Nagtzaam, skating down the left size of the ice, led a 2-on-1 break. Nagtzaam passed the puck across the front of the crease to Rounds, who was at the right side of the net.

For more, see the Sunday edition of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Alaska 4, Wenatchee 0

Friday, Menard Arena

First period ? 1. Alaska- Parenteau (Friese, Rounds) pp 8:28.

Second period ? 2. Alaska- Rounds (Nagtzaam, Smith) 14:32.

Third period ? 3. Alaska- Huppert (Parenteau) 4:22, 4. Alaska- Parenteau (unassisted) 5:17.

Shots on goal: Wenatchee 10-8-7?25, Alaska 10-17-8?35; Saves: Wenatchee- Carruth 9-16-6?31, Alaska- Peterson 10-8-7?25; Power plays: Wenatchee 0-for-2, Alaska 1-for-3.

[Danny Jurgens]

Bedank Jan , Het is altijd leuk om tezien hoe de Ned jongens het doen over zee.Hallo allemaal,

Ik dacht ik hou jullie maar op de hoogte van de Nederlandse inbreng

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Former Avs blueliner comes back to haunt Alaska


Published on Saturday, October 24, 2009 1:05 AM AKDT
SOLDOTNA ?It didn?t take long for Braden Kinnebrew to strike back at his old team.

The defenseman, who was traded from Alaska to Kenai River earlier this week, recorded a regulation goal and slipped another puck into the back of the net during a shootout to lead his new squad, the Brown Bears, to a 3-2 shootout win over the Avs at the Soldotna Sports Center in Soldotna on Friday.

Kinnebrew recorded an even-strength tally to tie the score at 1 midway through the first, and was the first Kenai River player to beat Alaska netminder Landon Peterson during the shootout. http://images.townnews.com/frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/10/25/sports/doc4ae2c2ca77603759400236.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Former Alaska blueliner Braden Kinnebrew scored a goal against his old team on Friday. Kinnebrew, who now skates for Kenai River, helped the Brown Bears post a shootout win over Alaska.

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Former Kenai Central High School standout Jed McGlasson recorded the game-deciding score in the shootout.

Jake Parenteau, the North American Hockey League West Division Player of the Week, scored on the power play to give the Avs the 1-0 lead. Tyler Schwartz netted a shorthanded scored to give Alaska the 2-1 advantage.

Peterson finished with 42 saves in the loss. The teams meet again Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Soldotna Sports Center.

Kenai River 3, Alaska 2 (SO)

First period ? 1. Alaska- Parenteau (Nagtazaam) pp 7:51; 2. Kenai- Kinnebrew (Beck, Van) 10:57; 3. Alaska- Schwartz (Pichler) pp 13:27; 4. Kenai- Mingo (Royston, McGlasson) 19:55.

Shots on goal: Alaska 10-13-8-1?32, Kenai River 21-11-8-4-1?45.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avalanche exact revenge in 8-1 rout of Brown Bears


Published on Saturday, October 24, 2009 10:45 PM AKDT
SOLDOTNA ? On Friday night, Kenai River Jimmy Hamby was the hero during a 3-2 shootout win over the Avs.

But on Saturday, Alaska got its revenge.

The Avalanche knocked five pucks past the Brown Bears goalie during the first period, and skated to an 8-1 rout of Kenai River at the Soldotna Sports Center.

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Second-year forward Nardo Nagtzaam posted the hat trick to help the Avs improve to 10-3-3, and avenge that Friday night loss to the Brown Bears.

Logan Rounds scored twice for the Avs. Blake Huppert, Zach Smith and Raymond Stenehjem also found the back of the net for Alaska.

Defenseman Jake Williams led Alaska with three assists.

Goalie Kale Robertson turned away 17 of the 18 shots he faced to earn the win in net.

Nagtzaam scored two of his three goals in the first period.

The Nijmegen, Netherlands, native, gave the Avs the 1-0 lead eight minutes into regulation, and scored again with 1:11 left in the first.

Rounds and Huppert scored with a two-minute period midway through the first. Smith also lit the lamp during the first 20 minutes of play.

Alaska is now 4-0-1 in five games against Kenai this season.

The Avalanche return home to host the defending North American Hockey League West Division champion Fairbanks Ice Dogs Friday and Saturday at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.

Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m.

Alaska 8, Kenai River 1

Saturday, Soldotna Sports Center

First period ? 1. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Hildebrandt, Friese) 8:08; 2. Alaska- Rounds (Stenehjem, Williams) 12:16, 3. Alaska- Huppert (Stenehjem, Williams) 14:48, 4. Alaska- Smith (Pichler, Hildebrandt) 17:03, 5. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Scott, Friese) 18:49.

Second period ? 6. Kenai River- Strahle (Mingo, McGlasson) 19:13.

Third period ? 7. Alaska- Rounds (Williams) 3:02, 8. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Smith) 5:33; 9. Alaska- Stenehjem (Rounds, Scott) 11:59.

Shots on goal: Alaska 16-8-18?42, Kenai River 4-9-5?18; Saves: Alaska- Robertson 4-8-5?17, Kenai River- Hamby 11-x-x?11, Martin 8-15?23; Power plays: Alaska 0-for-5, Kenai River 0-for-2.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Sherwood/NAHL West Player of the Week
October 26, 2009

Josh Nelson - Fairbanks Ice Dogs

Fairbanks defenseman Josh Nelson registered three assists as the Ice Dogs skated to a two-game sweep over Wichita Falls. On Friday, the Wisconsin Rapids, Wis., native tallied a pair of assists in a 5-2 victory. The next night, the 20-year-old assisted on Kyle Politz?s game-winning goal as the Ice Dogs downed the Wildcats, 7-2. He was also a plus-4 on the weekend.

?Josh is a skilled defenseman who has the ability to be a game-changer,? said Ice Dogs head coach Josh Hauge. ?He?s really stepped up his defensive play, too.?

HONORABLE MENTION: ALASKA FORWARD NARDO NAGTZAAM

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Wat ik hieraan wil toevoegen is dat Nardo in het weekend een assist en drie goals had.
Dat lijkt me toch iets beter dan de drie assist van genoemde speler.

Maar goed,......that's life.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Ice Dogs need shootout to get past Avs


Published on Friday, October 30, 2009 10:44 PM AKDT

WASILLA ? The defending North American Hockey League West Division champion Fairbanks Ice Dogs needed a shootout to edge the Alaska Avalanche 5-4 at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla on Friday.

Johan Skinners and Jon Larson lifted pucks above the shoulder of Alaska goalie Landon Peterson during the tiebreaker to give Fairbanks the win.

Skating with the extra attacker, Alaska scored the game-tying goal with 1:27 left in regulation. Forward Nardo Nagtzaam squeezed a shot from the point past Fairbanks goaltender Jake Williams to net the score at 4.


Trailing 2-0 in the second, the Avs scored three times during a four-minute stretch to take the temporary lead. First-year forward Jacob Barber chased down a loose puck and scored a short breakaway to put the Avs on the scoreboard at the 10:16 mark of the second period. Berklley Scott and Blake Huppert knocked pucks in the net during a 56-second span midway through the period to give the Avs the temporary lead.

Fairbanks tied the score late in the second with Michael Juola?s power-play tally. Jared Larson scored on another Ice Dogs power play early in the third to give Fairbanks the lead.

Alaska had numerous chances late, but was unable to slip a fifth puck into the net. The Avs outshot the Dogs 45-27 in the game, 18-9 in the third and 9-0 during the overtime frame.

The teams meet again Saturday at 7 p.m.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Closing the gap

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, October 31, 2009 11:42 PM AKDT

WASILLA ? Last weekend, the Alaska Avalanche found themselves in a shootout on Friday night and posted a big victory on Saturday.

It looks like there might be a trend developing here.

A night after Fairbanks slipped away with a 5-4 shootout win, Alaska posted a 4-3 victory over the defending North American Hockey League West Division champion Ice Dogs.

ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska forward Andy Pearson takes control of the puck during Friday'��s game against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.


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?It?s sort of a theme for us. We?ll be OK one night and really good the next,? Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said.

But even better for the Avs, the weekend series which produced three points in the standings for Alaska, could help reverse another trend ? the Ice Dogs virtual domination of the Avs during the past several seasons.

Alaska scored three second-period goals for the second straight night en route to grabbing just its second win over its intrastate rival since the start of the 2008-09 season.

Last year, the Avs were just 1-11-2 against Fairbanks. In 2007-08, Alaska was nearly as poor against their neighbors to the north, posting just a 2-9-1 mark against the Dogs.

But things may be different this year.

?It?s going to be a good rivalry this season,? Boitz said Friday. ?No question.?

Jacob Barber, Robb Haider, Nardo Nagtzaam and Berkley Scott each scored to help the Avs improve to 11-3-4 overall, and keep hold of second place of the West Division with 26 points.

Barber scored for the second time in as many nights to tie the score at 1-1 early in the second period.

Haider and Nagtzaam each found the back of the net within a four-minute span midway through the second to give the Avs the 3-2 lead.

After Fairbanks tied the score early in the third, Scott used a power-play goal with 4:06 left to give the Avs the 4-3 lead.

Kale Robertson stopped 21 shots to earn the win in the Alaska net. The Avs outshout Fairbanks 47-24 in the win.

Alaska will host Fairbanks again next Friday and Saturday at the Menard Arena.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Alaska 4, Fairbanks 3

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period ? no scoring.

Second period ? 1. Fairbanks- Larson (Waggoner, Tolkinen) pp 1:28; 2. Alaska- Barber (Walker, Rounds) 4:03; 3. Fairbanks- Blaisdell (Krause, Orourke) 8:07; 4. Alaska- Haider (Johnson, Nagtzaam) 9:31; 5. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Haider, Parenteau) 13:59.

Third period ? 6. Fairbanks- Tolkinen (Juola, Pustin) 8:25; 7. Alaska- Scott (Rounds, Pichler) pp 15:54.

Shots on goal: Fairbanks 6-11-7?24, Alaska 14-15-18?47; Saves: Fairbanks- Taffe 14-12-x?26, Williams x-x-17?17, Alaska- Robertson 6-9-5?21; Power plays: Fairbanks 1-for-6, Alaska 2-for-9; Penalties: Fairbanks 11-for-22, Alaska 10-for-28.

[Chris van Lijden]

Nardo doet het hartstikke goed zo te lezen. Leuk hem zo te kunnen volgen.
Hier een laatste bericht over Julian:
Einen Tag später präsentierte sich das DNL-Team von einer wesentlich besseren Seite. Dank einer überragenden ersten Sturmreihe wurde beim EC Bad Tölz ein 6:3 (2:1,1:2,3:0)-Sieg eingefahren. Bis zur 28.Minute führte des KEV durch Tore von Marcel Noebels und zweimal Marc Schaub mit 3:1. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt passte diesmal alles auf dem Eis. Die Reihe Schaub/Noebels/van Lijden spielte ihre Gegner ein ums andere mal schwindelig und auch hinten hatte Krefeld alles unter Kontrolle. Doch dann schluderte die Krefelder Abwehr für einen Moment und Tölz kam innerhalb von 30 Sekunden zum 3:3-Ausgleich. Im letzten Drittel kam der Aufritt von Julian van Lijden, der die Tölzer mit seinen drei Toren quasi im Alleingang zum 6:3-Endstand abschoß.



Bertie van Lijden

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Nardo doet het hartstikke goed zo te lezen. Leuk hem zo te kunnen volgen.
Hier een laatste bericht over Julian:
Einen Tag später präsentierte sich das DNL-Team von einer wesentlich besseren Seite. Dank einer überragenden ersten Sturmreihe wurde beim EC Bad Tölz ein 6:3 (2:1,1:2,3:0)-Sieg eingefahren. Bis zur 28.Minute führte des KEV durch Tore von Marcel Noebels und zweimal Marc Schaub mit 3:1. Bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt passte diesmal alles auf dem Eis. Die Reihe Schaub/Noebels/van Lijden spielte ihre Gegner ein ums andere mal schwindelig und auch hinten hatte Krefeld alles unter Kontrolle. Doch dann schluderte die Krefelder Abwehr für einen Moment und Tölz kam innerhalb von 30 Sekunden zum 3:3-Ausgleich. Im letzten Drittel kam der Aufritt von Julian van Lijden, der die Tölzer mit seinen drei Toren quasi im Alleingang zum 6:3-Endstand abschoß.



Bertie van Lijden

Volgend jaar ook USA?

Of een forderlizens?

[Chris van Lijden]

In principe nog een jaar DNL. De DNL is namelijk met een jaar verlengd. Daarmee hopen ze te bereiken dat er een makkelijker doorstroming is (want een jaar ouder) van talent naar de oberliga. In december maken we een balans op en dan kijken we wel.

[Stefan Bouma]

Hartstikke mooi om dit allemaal te kunnen lezen!
Hoop dat er nog veel geplaatst word!

Keep up the good work!

Zeer knappe stats btw!


http://a.imagehost.org/0588/nagtzaa.jpg

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avalanche look to continue recent success against Ice Dogs

BY JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Thursday, November 5, 2009 11:11 PM AKST
WASILLA ? Last season, the Alaska Avalanche could only muster a single win over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. And there?s wasn?t much more success the season before, with only two wins against their chief rival during the 2007-2008 campaign.

But it?s a new season and a new season series. And after two games, the Avs are 1-0-1 against the Dogs.

After taking three of a possible four points during a two-game series last weekend, Alaska will have two more shots at Fairbanks when the Avs host the Ice Dogs in another two-game set that starts tonight at 8 p.m. at the Curtis C. Menard II Ice Arena in Wasilla.

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?The guys are looking forward to playing them again,? Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said earlier this week.

Boitz said there?s certainly a new-found confidence when it comes to playing Fairbanks.

?Especially the guys who have been there,? Boitz said. ?The new guys, it?s just another game.?

Now that it appears Alaska has the Fairbanks monkey off its back, Boitz said the game plan know centers around putting together a complete weekend. Recently, the trend has been to play not so great one night and really good the next.

?We?re still trying to figure out how to play two really good games in a row,? Boitz said.

Even though the Avs have had their fair share of sub-par performances early in the season, the good news is, Alaska is still finding way to earn points in the standings.

Alaska has secured at least three points in three straight weekends. That has helped Alaska stay firmly in second place of the North American Hockey League West Division standings. With 26 points and an 11-3-4 mark, Alaska still stands five points ahead of third-place Fairbanks (10-8-1).

Alaska outshot Fairbanks 92-49 during the series last weekend, and put away four power-play goals. Forward Nardo Nagtzaam recorded two goals and two assists, to push his team-high totals to 11-9-20. Forwards Jacob Barber and Berkley Scott also scored twice for the Avs.

Next week, Alaska returns to the road for a quick, two-game set against Kenai River at the Soldotna Sports Center.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avalanche rough up Ice Dogs

BY JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, November 7, 2009 11:41 PM AKST
WASILLA — The Alaska Avalanche made history Saturday night.

Alaska used a 4-3 win over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to record the first two-game series sweep of its intrastate rival during the team’s five-year stay in Wasilla.

“It’s great. They’ve been a hard team for us to beat the last couple years. It’s nice to finally get some wins agianst them,” Alaska forward Kyle Pichler said after a 4-2 win on Friday. http://images.townnews.com/frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/11/08/sports/doc4af6834546793370761319.jpg
Alaska forward Seth Johnson mixes it up at center ice with Fairbanks captain Jared Larson during Friday's game at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena. The Avs won a 4-2 decision. ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman

After posting just a total of three wins over the Dogs during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons combined, the Avs used three second-period goals to earn their third straight win over the Dogs this season.

Alaska is now 3-0-1 in four games against Fairbanks.

Forward Jacob Barber scored twice during a six-minute span in the third, and extended his streak of four straight games against Fairbanks with a goal.

All five of his goals this season have come agianst the Ice Dogs.

Logan Rounds and Tyler Svoboda also scored for Alaska.

Svoboda’s score was his first career goal with the Avalanche. Zach Smith led the Avs with a pair of assists, and Kale Robertson stopped 35 Fairbanks shots to earn the win in net.

Alaska improved to 13-3-4 overall. The Avs are in second place of the North American Hockey League West Division, and are now nine points ahead of the third-place Fairbanks (10-10-1) in the standings. Alaska will play fourth-place Kenai River in a two-game series that starts Friday in Soldotna.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Nardo had in de eerste wedstrijd een misconduct en een game ejection na 16 min en heeft daardoor direct de tweede wedstrijd moeten missen.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avs fight through loss of top scorers to record win

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, November 7, 2009 11:41 PM AKST
WASILLA — The Alaska Avalanche scored their second straight victory over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. And the Avs managed to do it without their top line for the final 44 minutes of the game.

Alaska scored three early goals, killed a key five-minute major and survived the loss of their top two leading scorers for the final two periods of the game during a 4-2 win over the Ice Dogs at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena on Friday.

“It was a big test of our character to have a short bench like that,” Alaska assistant captain Kyle Pichler said after the win. “It shows we can pull out wins when our backs are against the wall.” http://images.townnews.com/frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/11/08/sports/doc4af6836c7be74100937835.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska forward Logan Rounds move the puck out of the crease during Friday's game against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena.

Matthew Friese, Zach Smith and Jacob Barber each scored in the first period to give the Avs the early 3-1 lead.

Smith picked up a loose puck near the center line and slipped a breakaway goal under the glove hand of Fairbanks goalie Jake Williams to help give the Avs the early lead. But the Avs’ second-leading scorer’s night ended early after he and forward Nardo Nagtzaam, Alaska’s leading scorer, were handed game misconducts after a melee late in the first period.

The brawl also left Fairbanks with a five-minute power play.

The Ice Dogs skated with the man-advantage for the final 3:45 of the first period and first 1:15 of the second, but were unable to capitalize.

“That was huge,” Pichler said. “If Fairbanks would have scored on that, it would have tightened the game up and probably given them momentum. Any time you get a big penalty kill like that, it gives you momentum.”

Landon Peterson made 29 saves and stopped a Jared Larson penalty shot to earn the win in the Alaska net.

“He was really good all night,” Boitz said.

Friese gave the Avs the 1-0 lead when he tapped in the rebound of a Logan Rounds shot at the 4:18 mark of the first.

Exactly a minute after Smith gave Alaska the 2-1 lead, Barber added to the advantage when he crashed the net to knock in the rebound of an Andy Pearson attempt.

Jake Williams flipped a shot into the upper shelf of the Fairbanks net in the second period.

“When you lose your first line and your top two scorers, you just wonder,” Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said. “But we hung in there. Peterson made some great saves. We had some guys step up. We played a great hockey game.”

A bit of hockey madness led to the ejections and ensuing five-minute penalty.

With just less than four minutes left in the first, Alaska forward Robb Haider collided with Fairbanks defenseman Sean O’Rourke at mid-ice. Following the hit, which left O’Rourke lying on the ice, Fairbanks forward Will Aide smothered Haider with a fury of flying fists. In the chaos, Nagtzaam tied up with Fairbanks’ Zach Tolkinen, and Smith also found himself in a scuffle.

Nagtzaam, Smith, Aide and Tolkinen were all given fighting misconducts. Haider was also handed a five-minute major for fighting, the call that led to Fairbanks’ long power play.

Haider was not given a penalty for the hit, and O’Rourke returned to the ice later in the game. Boitz didn’t see the hit as an intentional cheap shot.

“Robby’s not that kind of player,” Boitz said. “That’s not how he plays.”

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Alaska 4, Fairbanks 2

Friday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Alaska- Friese (Rounds) 4:18; 2. Fairbank s- O’Rourke (Juola) 5:37; 3. Alaska- Smith (Parenteau) 13:43; 4. Alaska- Barber (Pearson, Schwartz) 14:43.

Second period — 5. Alaska- Williams (Rounds) 11:53; 6. Fairbanks- Krause (unassisted) 16:49.

Third period — no scoring.

Shots on goal: Fairbanks 13-11-7—31, Alaska 9-14-11—34; Saves: Fairbanks- Williams 6-13-11—30, Alaska- Peterson 12-10-7—31; Power plays: Fairbanks 0-for-3, Fairbanks 0-for-5; Penalties: Fairbanks 11-for-47, Alaska 9-for-56.

Alaska 4, Fairbanks 3

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period — 1. Fairbanks- Krause (Juola) 1:23; 2. Fairbanks- Pustin (Juola, Saintey) 4:04; 3. Alaka- Rounds (Parenteau, Smith) pp 10:44.

Second period — 4. Alaska- Svoboda (Smith, Huppert) 3:36; 5. Alaska- Barber (Rounds, Williams) 8:23; 6. Alaska- Barber (Schwartz, Van Allen) 14:07; 7. Fairbanks- Politz (Larson, Waggoner) ea 18:55.

Third period — no scoring.

Shots on goal: Fairbanks 15-12-11—38, Alaska 12-11-6—29; Saves: Fairbanks- Williams 11-8-6—26, Alaska- Robertson 13-11-11—35; Power plays: Fairbanks 0-for-2, Alaska 1-for-3; Penalties: Fairbanks 7-for-23, Alaska 7-for-31.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

De 4-3 win tegen Fairbanks.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=101191459904683&ref=mf

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avs come on strong to down Kenai River

By MIKE NESPER
Peninsula Clarion
Published on Saturday, November 14, 2009 11:20 PM AKST
SOLDOTNA ? Aided by two Zach Smith goals in the third period, the Alaska Avalanche defeated Kenai River 3-0 on Friday at the Soldotna Sports Center.

?It?s a big two points for us, that?s for sure,? said Avs head coach Dave Boitz. ?It?s a four-point game every time you play someone in your division.?

Coming into the game, Alaska was in second place in the West Division and Kenai River was in fourth.

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Smith notched his first goal toward the end of a power play 4:36 into the final period. With just 25 seconds remaining on the man advantage, Smith ripped a shot past Brown Bears net minder Mike Martin.

Just over five minutes later, Smith buried a close-range shot, giving his team a 3-0 lead.

Despite the loss, the Brown Bears remained upbeat, said interim head coach Oliver David.

?The bench was very positive,? he said. ?I never felt let down by our team.?

Two minutes after Smith?s second goal, Kenai River went on back-to-back power plays. However, Avs goalie Landon Peterson and his penalty killers kept the shutout through the four minutes.

Special teams was positive on the night, especially killing off the consecutive power plays in the third period, Boitz said. The two power-play goals were a plus, too, he said.

On Kenai River?s first of the back-to-back man advantages, Jed McGlasson slid a pass to Derek Bayagich, who just put the puck wide of the goal. On the second power play, Bayagich found an open Kegan Kiel in the high slot. Kiel ripped a hard wrist shot but struck the cross bar and the puck caromed out of play.

Peterson turned away all 27 shots faced in the contest. Though three of the 40 shots Martin faced got past him, the score could have been more lopsided if not for his solid play.

?Both goalies were good,? Boitz said. ?It could have been an 8-4 game.?

?He?s definitely rising to the challenge,? David said about Martin. ?Losing or winning doesn?t affect him. He?s really, really stable and secure.?

Both the Avalanche and Brown Bears goaltenders came up with big saves in the opening period to keep the game scoreless heading into the second.

In the first, Alaska?s Robb Haider broke free and was hit with a pass just past the red line. He skated in on Martin untouched. However, Kenai River?s net minder denied the breakaway opportunity. Haider moved right to left and Martin flashed his right leg pad to make the save.

Peterson equaled Martin?s tremendous save when he denied Brown Bears newcomer Jesse Ramsey. Ryan Townsend chipped the puck into Alaska?s zone, beating three Avs to the biscuit. He came behind the back of the goal and found Ramsey in the slot. But Peterson made the save and smothered the rebound.

Martin then bailed out defenseman Braden Kinnebrew. Kinnebrew had a turnover in his own zone, passing the puck right to an Avalanche player. But Martin made the save to keep the score knotted at 0.

Five new Brown Bears skated Friday. David said he was pleased with Ramsey?s performance. He came to Kenai River from the Wenatchee (Wash.) Wild in the trade for Dajon Mingo.

?Ramsey was steady at center,? David said.

EJ Gann, who came from the San Jose (Calif.) Jr. Sharks Midget 18AAA team, also had a solid first game with the Brownies.

?EJ did exactly what I asked of him,? David said.

?It is a very tough reality to face changing a third of the way into the season as much as we have,? David said. ?The reason for the change is to present a product that will eventually mature into something this town can be proud of.?

Without Mingo and with Doug Beck out of the lineup Friday, Kenai River displayed a new top line of McGlasson, Bayagich and Brad Duwe. Duwe, Bayagich and Beck were working well together as a trio, David said. So, it was natural to throw a veteran like McGlasson into the line.

Duwe is a top prospect in the league, David said. ?Jed is nonstop and very consistent,? he added. Putting those two with a smart hockey player like Bayagich, David said he knew the line would have success.

?They definitely played some smart, elite hockey tonight,? he said.

The Avalanche came away with a 1-0 lead after two periods of play, courtesy of a power-play goal. With Josh Royston in the box for cross checking, it took the Avs just 31 seconds to make the Bears pay for the penalty.

The puck was kicked out to Jake Parenteau inside the blue line but above the circles. He ripped a shot from the middle of the ice over Martin?s glove for the goal. Parenteau?s goal came nearly nine minutes into the period.

Kenai River had two good scoring chances just prior to the Avs goal. On the man advantage, Duwe slid a pass to McGlasson, who ripped a one-timer. But Peterson denied that chance and McGlasson?s rebound attempt.

The Brown Bears goaltender made several important saves in the period to keep his team from falling further behind on the scoreboard.

One such save came when the Avalanche?s Tyler Schwartz picked up a loose puck and let a slap shot go. Martin denied the shot and the rebound shot from Schwartz.

Martin was up to the task again when Raymond Stenehjem ripped a wrist shot from the high slot. Kenai River?s net minder squared up to the shooter, making the save with ease.

Though he was happy with the win, Boitz said his team was too sloppy.

?We were hoping to come out a little sharper,? he said.

Alaska 3, Kenai River 0

Friday, Soldotna Sports Center

First period ? 1. Alaska, Parenteau (Smith, Scott), pp, 8:45. Penalties ? none.

Second period ? No scoring. Penalties ? 3 for 6:00; Kenai River, 4 for 8:00.

Third period ? 2. Alaska, Smith (Scott, Parenteau), pp, 4:36; 3. Alaska, Smith (Nagtzaam, Scott), 9:55. Penalties ? Alaska, 2 for 4:00; Kenai River, 2 for 4:00.



Shots on goal ? Alaska, 11-17-12 ? 40; Kenai River, 8-10-9 ? 27; Goalies ? Alaska, Peterson (27 shots, 27 saves); Kenai River Martin (40 shots, 37 saves); Power plays ? Alaska, 2 for 5; Kenai River, 0 for 4.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avs sweep Brown Bears

Friday
Avalanche 3, Brown Bears 0
Alaska 1 0 2 -- 3
Kenai River 0 0 0 -- 0
First period -- 1. Alaska, Parenteau (Smith, Scott), pp, 8:45. Penalties -- none.
Second period -- No scoring. Penalties -- 3 for 6:00; Kenai River, 4 for 8:00.
Third period -- 2. Alaska, Smith (Scott, Parenteau), pp, 4:36; 3. Alaska, Smith (Nagtzaam, Scott), 9:55. Penalties -- Alaska, 2 for 4:00; Kenai River, 2 for 4:00.
Shots on goal -- Alaska, 11-17-12 -- 40; Kenai River, 8-10-9 -- 27.
Goalies -- Alaska, Peterson (27 shots, 27 saves); Kenai River Martin (40 shots, 37 saves). Power plays -- Alaska, 2 for 5; Kenai River, 0 for 4.

Saturday
Avalanche 5, Brown Bears 2
Alaska 1 2 2 --5
Kenai River 0 0 2 --2
First period -- 1. Alaska, Smith (Nagtzaam), 0:50. Penalties -- None.
Second period -- 2. Alaska, Nagtzaam (Scott, Van Allen), 3:40; 3. Alaska, Friese (Pichler), 5:21. Penalties -- Alaska 2 for 7:00; Kenai River 3 for 9:00.
Third period -- 4. Scott (Nagtzaam, Williams), 0:37; 5. Kenai River, Kinnebrew (Amin), 1:24; 6. Kenai River, Fusaro (un), 3:56; 7. Alaska, Mahailovich (Nagtzaam, Maly), en, 18:06.
Shots on goal -- Alaska 4-10-7--21; Kenai River 8-9-19--36.
Goalies -- Alaska, Robertson (36 shots, 34 saves); Kenai River, Hamby (13 shots, 10 saves), Martin (7 shots, 6 saves).
Power plays -- Alaska 0 for 3, Kenai River 0 for 2.

[Stefan Bouma]

Gaat super dus!
Nog steeds team points leader zag ik :)

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Gaat super dus!
Nog steeds team points leader zag ik :)

Wat dacht je van het volgende?!

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Sherwood/NAHL West Player of the Week November 16, 2009

Nardo Nagtzaam - Alaska Avalanche

http://www.nahl.com/news/0809/img/potw/nardo_nagtzaam_headshot_1.jpg
Alaska forward Nardo Nagtzaam connected for a goal and four assists as the Avalanche skated to a two-game sweep over Kenai River. On Friday, Nagtzaam, from the Netherlands, recorded an assist in a 3-0 victory. The next night, the 19-year-old tallied a goal and three more assists as the Avalanche bested the Brown Bears, 5-2. He was also a plus-5 on the weekend.

?Nardo has been an incredibly improved player this season,? said Avalanche head coach Dave Boitz. ?While he?s always had outstanding offensive skills, he?s made tremendous improvements in the defensive end.?

[Stefan Bouma]

Ik keek er vanochtend nog naar, toen stond het er nog niet op! Maar echt geweldig, zit hier ook een prijs bij? Sherwood sponsort dit?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Sherwood sponsort het, maar ik geloof niet dat hij hier iets voor krijgt.
Het gaat om de eer, denk ik.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

AVS RUN WILD

BY JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, November 21, 2009 10:33 PM AKST
WASILLA ? Kale Robertson?s teammates call him Ron Hextall.

And on Friday, Robertson showed he has more in common with Hextall than just Manitoba roots.

The Alaska goaltender came off the bench to stop 24 shots and made three consecutive Hextall-like game-saving stops during the final minute of regulation to lead the Avalanche to a 3-2 overtime win over the Wenatchee Wild at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla. http://www.frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/11/22/sports/doc4b08e886c48d06888095702.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska forward Zach Smith moves the puck up down the ice during an overtime win over Wenatchee on Friday.
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(Use arrows above to view more photos)


?We make a joke in practice that he?s like Ron Hextall,? Alaska defenseman Jake Parenteau said, comparing Hextall ? a Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, native and former Philadelphia Flyers standout ? to Robertson, the 18-year-old netminder who hails from Sanford, Manitoba. ?And he showed it out there. He definitely kept us in the game.?

Parenteau fired a shot into the upper shelf of the Wenatchee net with 40 seconds left in overtime to give Alaska the win, its second over the Wild in three meetings this season.

But it was Robertson who saved the day for the Avs when he made a trio of ridiculous stops late in the game, and a jaw-dropping glove save of a Nathan Sliwinski offering.

As the North American Hockey League rivals skated into the final minute of regulation, Wenatchee quickly moved the puck up the ice with an odd-man rush.

Wenatchee forward Jeff Jubinville put a hard shot on net, and Robertson made the save.

Defenseman Kyle Brodie swept up the rebound and fired a shot on the right side of the net.

Robertson made the save again, but the puck deflected out in front of the net to give the Wild another chance on the rebound.

Sliwinski skated in and took a whack at the loose puck and set a quick shot to the left side of the net. Robertson appeared to be out of position, but the 5-foot-11 goalie used all of his reach to stretch, turn and snag the puck with his glove hand.

?That was top-10 ESPN SportsCenter for sure,? Parenteau said. ?Kale?s an unreal goalie.?

Robertson stopped each of the 22 shots he saw during regulation and two more in overtime to earn his ninth win of the season and lower his league-leading goals against average to 1.86.

Robertson came in at the start of the second period to help the Avs recover from an early 2-0 deficit.

Landon Peterson, who typically is Alaska?s Friday night goaltender, earned the start, but let two of Wenatchee?s 13 first-period shots slip into the net.

Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said Peterson was ill before he even took the ice, and sickness prevented him from finishing his start.

?He?s sick, and I think he tried to play through it,? Boitz said of Peterson, who stands at fifth in the league in saves percentage and seventh in goals against average.

While Robertson kept Wenatchee off the scoreboard for the final 45 minutes of play, Alaska scored in the second, third and overtime periods to grab the gritty win.

?We?ve got a gutsy bunch of guys,? Boitz said. ?They don?t get down, they find a way to win.?

Kyle Pichler cut to the right side of the goal to deflect a Jake Williams pass into the Wenatchee net midway through the second period to cut the Wild lead in half. Logan Rounds blasted a lose puck into the net from just north of the right circle midway through the third to tie the score at 2.

Parenteau took advantage of a late power-play opportunity to give Alaska the win. As the Avs skated with the man-advantage, Williams sent a quick pass to Parenteau, who took the puck, skated forward between the circles and put a quick wrist shot into the top of the net.

?We were moving it really good up top, I got a great pass right in the slot and took it top cheese,? Parenteau said.

Duncan McKellar and Chris Rumble scored for the Wild during the first period.

McKellar slipped a puck past Peterson at the 9:11 mark.

Rumble scored on the power play to give the Wild the two-goal advantage.

After an Alaska forward was tripped up in the right corner near the Avalanche net, the man advantage turned into a quick 5-on-3 for the Wild. Tyler Mort skated down the left side of the ice, and got the puck to Rumble, who scored.

?They?re tough, when you make mistakes against them, they capitalize,? Boitz said.

The win marked Alaska?s second in three chances against the Wild this season. Alaska managed just one victory over the Wild in 14 regular-season meetings last season.

Contact Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.

Alaska 3, Wenatchee 2 OT

Friday, Menard Arena

First period ? 1. Wenatchee- McKellar (Deswardt, Rumble) 9:11, 2. Wenatchee- Rumble (Mort) pp 14:38.

Second period ? 3. Alaska- Pichler (Williams, Rounds) 9:34.

Third period ? 4. Alaska- Rounds (unassisted) 8:03.

Overtime ? 5. Alaska- Parenteau (Pichler, Williams) pp 4:20.

Shots on goal: Wenatchee 13-13-9-2?37, Alaska 10-8-12-6?36; Saves: Wenatchee- Jaeger 10-7-11-5?33, Alaska- Peterson 11-x-x-x?11, Robertson x-13-9-2?24; Power plays: Wenatchee 1-for-6, Alaska 1-for-6.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Smith scoort tegen Bismarck Bobcats.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=101576719866157

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avs confident against league-leading Wild

By Jeremiah Bartz

Published on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 11:07 PM AKST
WASILLA ? Alaska head coach Dave Boitz calls the Town Center in Wenatchee, Wash., ?an exciting place to play.?

Boitz doesn?t see the home rink of the North American Hockey League-leading Wenatchee Wild as intimidating, even though the Wild draw in NAHL-high 3,100 fans per night.

Regardless, Boitz and the Avs are excited about the potential of having some success at the Town Center, which also happens to be the site of the 2009-10 NAHL championships.


Alaska will have its first shot of beating the Wild on their home ice when the Avs hit the Town Center for a pair of games this weekend.

?There?s a lot of big hockey being played in Wenatchee this year,? Boitz said. ?We need to rise to the challenge.?

The weekend series marks the first of three regular-season trips to the central Washington town that sits about halfway between Seattle and Spokane.

If the Wild maintain its comfortable lead at the top of the NAHL West standings, the division series of the playoffs would come through Wenatchee. The Wild also are hosting the Robertson Cup, which decides the country?s Junior A Tier II national title.

The Avs would love to start a tradition of winning in Wenatchee. But Boitz also knows the series is part of a key stretch of the season.

?This is a pretty crucial stretch for a lot of reasons,? Boitz said.

Following the games at Wenatchee on Friday and Saturday, 6:05 p.m. AST, the Avs will head north for a three-game set at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks in early December.

During the second week of December, the Avs meet Kenai River for a home-and-home series.

Then the Avs are on break until after the New Year.

And then there?s third-place Fairbanks, which sits 10 points behind Alaska in the West Division standings. Seven of the Ice Dogs? next 10 are against the Brown Bears, who have permanently resided in the West Division cellar this season.

?They?re looking to take care of business,? Boitz said of the Ice Dogs.

The Avs have certainly taken care of business during October and November. Alaska has gained at least a point in the standings in 12 straight games, and has not lost a contest in regulation since a 4-0 loss to Bismarck on Oct. 6.

The Avs are 9-0-3 during that stretch, and Boitz feels the Avs have still not played to their full potential.

?The good thing is, we have not played our best hockey,? Boitz said.

Alaska?s play in net has been stellar. Kale Robertson is second among league goalies with a 1.95 goals against. Landon Peterson is seventh with a 2.21 GAA.

Alaska has also had steady play on its back line, and its penalty kill unit sports the league?s fourth-best percentage, 87.9.

The Avs are averaging 3.6 goals per game, but Boitz said Alaska is still looking for more consistency from its forwards.

Alaska scored at least eight goals in three straight series, but lit the lamp five times in two games against Wenatchee. Two of those goals came from defensemen.

?We need to get some consistency up front,? Boitz said. ?Guys are having big weekends against Kenai River and then are shutout against Wenatchee. That?s not a trend we want to stick with. I challenged those guys to have big weekends.?

But once again, even though the Avs may not be playing their best hockey, Alaska continues to add to its point totals.

Alaska already has more points in the standings than it did during the entire 2007-08 season, and are well on its way to eclipse the franchise record of 51 set last season.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Stellar second period leads Wild to win
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By Brent Stecker
World staff writer
Friday, November 27, 2009

112709 World photo/Mike Bonnicksen
Wenatchee Wild players react after Kyle Brodie scores a goal late in the second period to give Wenatchee a 2-1 lead. The Wild went on to beat the Alaska Avalanche 3-1 Friday night.


112709 World photo/Mike Bonnicksen
Wenatchee?s Jeff Jubinville slaps the puck past Alaska Avalanche?s Jake Parenteau during the Wild?s 3-1 victory Friday.

PHOTOS

19 of 19
Alaska Avalanche vs. Wenatchee Wild hockey. Wenatchee won 3-1.
View full gallery: Wenatchee Wild vs. Alaska Avalanche
WENATCHEE ? Being two weeks removed from their last home game, the Wenatchee Wild had a little trouble getting comfortable in front of a raucous crowd of 3,727 Friday night. But that?s all it was ? a little trouble.

The Wild bounced back from a lackluster first period to defeat the Alaska Avalanche 3-1 at the Town Toyota Center, improving their North American Hockey League-leading record to 24-4-1.

?For whatever reason, we looked nervous in the first period,? Wild coach Paul Baxter said. ?We didn?t handle the puck very well.?

Those butterflies put Wenatchee in an early hole. Alaska jumped out to a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into the contest, when Jake Parenteau tipped Nardo Nagtzaam?s shot past Wild goaltender Brendan Jensen during a powerplay.

Wenatchee sent a flurry of shots at the Avalanche late in the period, but nothing went through.

During the first intermission, Baxter rallied his troops.

?I said that we?re a lot better team than that,? said Baxter. ?You have to be prepared to play loose and driving, not uptight and stumbling.?

The Wild took their coach?s words to heart and found the back of the net three times in the second period.

?In the second, we were opportunistic,? Baxter said.

Less than two minutes into the period, Michael Di Puma slipped the puck by Avalanche goalie Landon Peterson off assists by Jeff Jubinville and Shawn Pauly.

Near the middle of the period, Alaska couldn?t capitalize on a pair of shorthanded opportunities ? including a shot by Zach Smith that banged off the pipe.

Wenatchee took the lead at the 17:00 mark on a laser from the blue line by Kyle Brodie. A shot deflected off Peterson?s leg pads and landed right in front of Brodie, who corralled the puck and hammered it home.

Just 1:27 later, Chris Rumble extended the Wild?s lead to two goals with a slap shot of his own.

After being outshot 10-9 in the first, Wenatchee took 28 shots to Alaska?s 20 in the final two periods.

Jensen was the star of the night for Wenatchee, saving 28 of 29 shots.

?I thought our goaltender was excellent,? Baxter said. ?I don?t think he let out a rebound in the second and third periods.?

No skirmishes broke out Friday, but there was plenty of rough play between the Wild and Avalanche, who trail Wenatchee by 12 points in the West Division.

?We were very physical. I thought we initiated a lot of body contact,? said Baxter.

Though Wenatchee was 0-for-3 on powerplays, the Avalanche were just 1-for-5.

The two teams wrap up their series at 7:05 p.m. Saturday

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avalanche pluck forward from United States Hockey League

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, November 28, 2009 10:27 PM AKST

WASILLA ? The Alaska Avalanche coaching staff had no intention of tinkering with the roster at this point in this season.

But that was until a touted prospect fell into their laps.

Alaska has added forward Colton Warner to the roster, Avalanche head coach Dave Boitz said late last week.


Warner, a 6-foot-3 and 215-pound forward, will add size and a physical presence up front, Boitz said.

?He?s a real big kid. He?s got good skills and he skates well,? Boitz said. ?He?s one of those guys who can really develop into a great player.?

The Avs tendered the Apple Valley, Minn., native in the offseason, but Warner opted to play for Waterloo of the Junior A Tier I United States Hockey League.

Warner skated in six games for the Blackhawks before the USHL program started to make significant changes to its roster.

?We were not looking, but when he became available, we knew eventually we?d have to take him,? Boitz said.

Boitz said the Avs didn?t want to see Warner land on another NAHL roster, and he felt the Avs could use another tough forward to battle the more physical teams in the league, such as Wenatchee.

Warner met the team in Wenatchee, Wash., and made his debut with the Avalanche against the Wild on Friday.

Warner posted a team-high 17 goals and nine assists as a senior at Apple Valley High School last season. Warner was originally one of the first handful of tenders discovered by first-year Avs assistant Brian Huebel.

Warner is now the biggest player on the Alaska roster. Before the addition of Warner, only a half-dozen Avs players stood at 6-1 or taller, and only three tipped the scales at 200 pounds or more.

Boitz said he?s not concerned with the overall size of the team, as long as his players bring energy and toughness to the ice.

[Paul van Heertum]

Heeft je zoon het goed naar zijn zin daar? Hockey schijnt sws wel goed te gaan :)

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Heeft je zoon het goed naar zijn zin daar? Hockey schijnt sws wel goed te gaan :)


Dank je Paul, hij heeft het zeer goed naar zijn zin en ontwikkelt zich goed.
Inmiddels staat hij ook in de belangstelling van een aantal colleges en speelt hij waarschijnlijk het NAHL topprospect toernooi in januari.
Dit is normaal alleen voorbehouden aan de Amerikaanse spelers, dus dat zou leuk zijn voor hem als hij hierbij aanwezig is.

Hij moet nog wel werken aan een aantal zaken, maar dat komt wel. Hij mag tenslotte nog 1 jaar in de juniors spelen.

[Paul van Heertum]

Eventueel kan hij toch ook al vanaf volgend seizoen voor een college spelen?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Eventueel kan hij toch ook al vanaf volgend seizoen voor een college spelen?

ja, klopt dat kan.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

AROUND THE NAHL
ALASKA AVALANCHE: Forward Nardo Nagtzaam (Netherlands) added to his team-leading point total (27) with two assists in a pair of Avalanche losses to Wenatchee.

ALBERT LEA THUNDER: Forward Alex Niestrom (Darien, Ill.) connected for a pair of goals and an assist in the Thunder?s 6-1 triumph over Owatonna on Saturday. He was also a plus-3. "Alex had a stellar night,? said head coach Chuck Linkenheld. ?His consistent three-zone play this season hasn?t been overlooked by his team and coaches.?

ALEXANDRIA BLIZZARD: Forward Tommy Westmark (Appleton, Wis.) scored both goals in the Blizzard?s pair of 2-1 losses to Bismarck.

ALPENA ICEDIGGERS: Goaltender Marco Wieser (Austria), who?s expected to serve as Austria?s No. 1 goaltender at the upcoming World Junior Championships, backstopped the IceDiggers to two wins over Traverse City, stopping 73 of 81 shots in three starts.

BISMARCK BOBCATS: Goaltender Ryan Faragher (Fort Frances, Ontario) turned aside 85 of 89 shots in regulation and overtime and three of four in a shootout in three starts (2-0-1). ?Ryan has responded nicely to being given the starting position and his numbers speak for themselves,? said head coach Byron Pool. ?He?s truly one of the top goaltenders in the NAHL.?

FAIRBANKS ICE DOGS: Defenseman Zach Tolkinen (Lino Lakes, Minn.) recorded a goal and three assists in the Ice Dogs? three-game sweep over Kenai River.

JANESEVILLE JETS: With last weekend off, the Jets will travel to Motor City this weekend for a three-game set against the Metal Jackets beginning on Thursday.

MARQUETTE RANGERS: Forward Scott Henegar (Trenton, Mich.) recorded two goals, including the game-winner, in the Rangers? 4-1 win over Motor City on Friday. ?Scott?s a strong kid who plays with passion every night,? said head coach Kenny Miller. ?He?s a physical force every time he steps on the ice.?

MOTOR CITY METAL JACKETS: Forward Steve Brancheau (River Rouge, Mich.) tallied a pair of goals and an assist as the Metal Jackets split a two-game set with Marquette.

NORTH IOWA OUTLAWS: Forward Ryan Bohrer (St. Paul) put home a goal in regulation and the only goal of the shootout as the Outlaws ended Bismarck?s seven-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory on Saturday.

OWATONNA EXPRESS: Forward Dan Cecka (Woodbury, Minn.) tallied three goals and an assist as the Express went 2-1 last weekend.

SPRINGFIELD JR. BLUES: Forward Ross Anderson (River Falls, Wis.) notched three goals and two assists as the Jr. Blues split a pair of games with Topeka. He was also a plus-5 on the weekend.

ST. LOUIS BANDITS: With last weekend off, the Bandits ready for a three-game series in Wenatchee beginning on Friday. St. Louis defeated the Wild in the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament finale last season in overtime.

TEXAS TORNADO: In his second start with the team, goaltender Freddy Edwards backstopped the Tornado to a 6-2 victory over Wichita Falls on Saturday, turning aside 34 shots. ?Freddy was huge in the net,? said head coach Tony Curtale. ?He showed excellent rebound control and made some phenomenal saves to keep the momentum going our way.?

TOPEKA ROADRUNNERS: Forward Erik Higby (New Braunfels, Texas) struck for three goals, including the game-winner in the RoadRunners? 5-2 victory on Saturday, and an assist in a two-game split against Springfield. "Erik has been working hard in every zone and it?s paid off on the scoresheet lately,? said assistant coach R.J. Enga. ?His work ethic is second to none.?

TRAVERSE CITY NORTH STARS: Forward Garrett Thompson (Traverse City) connected for the game-winning goal and an assist in the North Stars? 4-1 win over Alpena on Saturday.

WENATCHEE WILD: In only his second start with the team, goaltender Brendan Jensen (El Granada, Calif.) made 28 saves in the Wild?s 3-1 triumph over Alaska on Friday. A 1993-born, he?s the youngest player on Wenatchee?s roster.

WICHITA FALLS WILDCATS: Forward Brian Sheehan (St. Louis), the team?s leading scorer with 26 points, tallied two goals and an assist as the Wildcats dropped a pair of games to Texas.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Dames, heren, let u even op Brendan Jensen de goalie van Wenatchee, deze jongen wordt op dit moment als het grootste keeperstalent van heel Noord Amerika genoemd (dus incl. Canada).

Ik heb hem aan het werk gezien, Top, top ,top. (voor wat betreft mijn bescheiden mening)

Hij begon ooit eens als forward.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Avs eager to silence surging Dogs


Published on Monday, November 30, 2009 9:07 PM AKST

WASILLA ? The Alaska Avalanche have spent virtually all of the first-half of the 2009-10 North American Hockey League season cemented in second place of the West Division standings.

But for the first time in weeks, maybe even months, Alaska?s second place standing could be in jeopardy thanks to the surging Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

The third-place Ice Dogs, who now sit only four points behind the Avs in the West standings, will host the Avalanche in a key three-game series that starts Thursday at the Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks.


?This is a pretty crucial stretch for a lot of reasons,? Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said late last week.

The three-game set in the Interior is part of a six-game road trip. The Avs started the stretch with a pair of losses to the Wenatchee Wild in Wenatchee, Wash., over the weekend, and will cap the six-game span with a game at Kenai River on Dec. 8.

The Avs had been consistently padding their point total for much of the last two months. Prior to their 3-1 loss to Wenatchee on Friday, the Avs had gained at least a point in the standings in 12 straight games.

Alaska was 9-0-3 during that stretch.

But Wenatchee swept both games, giving Alaska it?s first losing streak since Oct. 23.

Meanwhile, Fairbanks is the hottest team in the NAHL with six straight wins.

The Ice Dogs capped a a three-game sweep of Kenai River with a 3-2 shootout win on Sunday. Five of the last six Fairbanks wins have come against the fourth-place Brown Bears.

?They?re looking to take care of business,? Boitz said.

Fairbanks boasts the league?s top two scorers. Forward Michael Juola leads the league with 41 points (11-30-41). His 30 assists are also a league best.

Forward Mark Pustin has 36 points (14-22-36).

Fairbanks also is the top team on the power play in the league, with units clicking at nearly 22 percent.

Alaska has had the advantage in the season series so far this season, posting a 3-0-1 record against the Dogs.

Forward Jacob Barber leads the team with five goals against the Ice Dogs this season. Forward Logan Rounds has a goal and six assists against Fairbanks this year.

Forward Nardo Nagtzaam continues to lead the team with 27 points (12-15-27). Nagtzaam, who bagged a pair of assists during the losses to Wenatchee, is fifth in the league in scoring.

Forward Zach Smith (14-10-24) and defenseman Jake Parenteau (8-13-21) have also eclipsed the 20-mark point for Alaska.

Goalies Kale Robertson (.931) and Landon Peterson (.926) are in the top-six in the league in saves percentage.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

NAHL: Fairbanks knocks Avs out of second place


Published on Saturday, December 5, 2009 11:17 PM AKST

FAIRBANKS ? Fairbanks completed a three-game sweep of Alaska with a 5-2 win on Saturday.

With the wins, Fairbanks jumps ahead of Alaska in the North American Hockey League West Division standings.

Fairbanks 5, Alaska 2


Saturday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period ? 1. Fairbanks- Pustin (Juola, Saintey) 13:29.

Second period ? 2. Fairbanks- Juola (Politz, Pustin) pp 9:12, 3. Alaska- Friese (Williams) pp 11:50.

Third period ? 4. Fairbanks- Politz (unassisted) 0:39, 5. Fairbanks- Pustin (Juola) 8:09, 6. Fairbanks- Larson (Juola) 12:13, 7. Alaska- Nagtzaam (Williams, Haider) pp 15:30.

Shots on goal: Alaska 3-11-6?20, Fairbanks 13-11-6?30; Saves: Alaska- Peterson 12-10-3?27, Fairbanks- Taffe 3-10-4?18; Power plays: Alaska 2-for-3, Fairbanks 1-for-3.

Fairbanks 3, Alaska 2 SO

Friday, Big Dipper Ice Arena

First period ? 1. Alaska- Walker (Svoboda) 7:44, 2. Fairbanks- Pustin (Politz, Larson) pp 12:07.

Second period ? no scoring.

Third period ? 3. Fairbanks- Politz (Juola, O?Rourke) 16:58, 4. Alaska- Scott (McGlasson, Pichler) ea 19:04.

Overtime ? no scoring.

Shootout ? Brock.

Shots on goal: Alaska 9-6-9-4-0?28, Fairbanks 10-9-9-2-1?31; Saves: Alaska- Peterson 9-9-8-2-0?28, Fairbanks- Taffe 8-6-8-4-0?26; Power plays: Alaska 0-for-3, Fairbanks 1-for-3; Penalties: Alaska 6-for-12, Fairbanks 6-for-12.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

NAHL expands West Division

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Thursday, December 17, 2009 10:11 PM AKST
WASILLA ? The Alaska Avalanche will have a couple of new foes next season.

Teams from Dawson City, British Columbia, Canada, and Fresno, Calif., will be added to the 19-team NAHL for the 2010-11 season, according to press releases issued by the league earlier this week.

Both will be added to the West Division, Alaska head coach Dave Boitz said on Thursday. http://images.townnews.com/frontiersman.com/content/articles/2009/12/19/sports/doc4b2b29bab25fe644258083.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska forward Nardo Nagtzaam skates the puck down the ice during a game earlier this season. Nagtzaam, a native of the Netherlands, is playing for Team Netherlands in the International Ice Hockey Federation U20B Championships in Estonia. As of Thursday, Nagtzaam was the top scorer in the tournament with 14 points (eight goals, six assists). He posted a hat trick during a 5-3 win over Estonia during the first day of the tourney. Nagtzaam will return to the Avalanche in January as Alaska'��s team leder in scoring with 28 points.


?I think it?s good,? Boitz said.

The four-team West currently includes the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, Kenai River Brown Bears, Wenatchee (Wash.) Wild and the Avalanche. Travel costs are always a concern for teams in the league, especially the three Alaska-based squads, but Boitz said expansion could lead to a way to help keep total travel costs down.

?Financially, it should work out and be a better situation than we have now,? Boitz said.

Expansion will also give the Avalanche more teams to play within the region.

Currently, the bulk of Alaska?s 58-game schedule is made up by games against teams from within the West Division. The Avs play Kenai River 18 times this season, Fairbanks 14 times and Wenatchee 12 times.

?It?ll feel good not playing as many teams as often as we do,? Boitz said. ?Hopefully we?ll get away from that a little.?

The NAHL accepted a membership application for the Dawson City Rage, according to the announcement issued by the league on Wednesday, and will play its home games at the 5,000-seat EnCana Events Center in Dawson Creek, a town in northeastern British Columbia most known for being Mile 0 of the Alaska Highway.

The Rage are currently the lone Canadian team in the NAHL. The league first expanded to Canada early in this decade. The Fernie (BC) Ghostriders competed during the 2003-04 season.

On Tuesday, the NAHL granted conditional approval to the Fresno Monsters to begin play at the Selland Arena in Fresno, Calif., beginning next season, according to a press release.

The Monsters, who currently compete in the Tier III Junior A Western States Hockey League, will be the first California team in the 34-year history of the league.

Avs forward standing out in international tournament

Alaska Avalanche forward Nardo Nagtzaam is currently the top scorer of the International Ice Hockey Federation U20B Championships in Estonia.

As of Thursday, Nagtzaam had a tournament-best 14 points (eight goals, six assists) during the first four games for Team Netherlands.

The native of Nijmegen, Netherlands, recorded three goals and an assist during a 5-3 win over Estonia during the first day of the tournament.

Team Netherlands is 3-1 and concludes round-robin play today against Team Romania.

Nagtzaam is also the leading scorer for the Avalanche. He has 28 points (13-15-28) in 27 games, and 51 points (22-29-51) in 73 career games with the Avs.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Top Prospects roster positions finalized


With seven players already committed to Division I schools, a number of other Wild players will get plenty of exposure at next month's Top Prospects Tournament.

Read the full NAHL Weekly Release.

For a number of teams, last weekend?s games meant a whole lot more than heading into the holiday break on a high note; they also dictated how many players each could send to next month?s prestigious Sherwood/NAHL Top Prospects Tournament.

This year?s event, which annually attracts over 100 college and professional coaches and scouts, will be held January 18-20 at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich., and again feature all-star teams from the NAHL's Central, North, South and West Divisions competing in a three-game, round-robin tournament.

The number of invites each team gets to Top Prospects is based on each team?s winning percentage as of December 20, with higher percentages translating into more representation. The NAHL Top Prospects Tournament Selection Committee will announce the rosters, which will be comprised of 20 players each, on December 29.

For the West Division-leading Wenatchee Wild, which finished the first half of its season with a NAHL-best 25-5-2 record, the selection process was a definite motivator heading into the holidays.

?I think this was important to everybody on our team, whether they thought they?d be selected for the event or not, because they want to see their teammates get the opportunity to be noticed,? said Wild associate head coach Ryan McKelvie. ?The Top Prospects Tournament is another excellent showcase event for college and pro scouts to see some of the top players in our league."

With the wildcard pick - the selection committee will choose one from each of the four divisions to round out the rosters - the Wild, which already has a league-high seven players from this year?s team committed to Division I schools, will send seven players to Top Prospects - all of whom should have bright futures in the collegiate ranks, according to McKelvie.

?I feel that all of them are legitimate Division I prospects,? said the coach.

Bismarck Bobcats head coach Byron Pool, whose team also put a lot of emphasis on the Top Prospects roster deadline, will send at least six players to Ann Arbor thanks to his club's first-place standing in the Central.

?One of the goals we set for ourselves was to be in first place at Christmastime - the sole reason being the amount of players we?d be able to send to the Top Prospects Tournament,? said Pool, whose Bobcats hold an 18-8-6 record (42 points) in their division.

Nearly 30 players who competed in last year?s Top Prospects Tournament committed to Division I schools after the event - a stat not lost on Pool, who already has three players on this year?s team with college deals in place.

?Just look at the number of players who?ve played in the tournament the last two years who?ve went onto play Division I college hockey and you realize it?s an outstanding opportunity for our players to showcase their skills to coaches at the next level,? said the coach. ?We?re extremely excited and proud that we?re able to send six players to this prestigious tournament.?

As are the Marquette Rangers, who locked down the top spot in the North Division with two wins last weekend. They?ll also send a division-high six players to Top Prospects with the possibility of a seventh as the wildcard.

?It's quite an honor for entire our organization to be where we?re at in the standings heading into the holiday break,? said Rangers head coach Kenny Miller, whose team sits atop the division with an 18-10 record, good for 36 points. ?Although only a handful of our guys will play in the event, every player from our club deserves credit for this accomplishment.

?I?m proud of all our guys, the coaching staff and the support staff we have in place for their hard work up to this point in the season.?

With two current Rangers committed to Division I schools, Miller is confident Top Prospects will open a lot more doors for a handful of his deserving student-athletes.

?Because this event is so popular with the college scouts, it?ll be a great opportunity for our players to showcase their talents,? said Miller.

Annually one of the NAHL?s leaders in grooming Division I players, the St. Louis Bandits, thanks to two wins last weekend which resulted in a division-leading .796 winning percentage, sealed up the top spot in the South.

?Finishing with the highest winning percentage at the cutoff was a priority for our organization, because getting our young men to the next level is our main responsibility,? said Bandits assistant coach Rocky Russo.

Three Bandits who competed in last year?s tournament are playing college hockey this season, including league MVP Keith Kincaid (Union College). Four players from this year?s team already have their college plans charted.

?The Top Prospects event has given so many players the opportunity to play at the Division I level, and the ability to put six of our players in that situation is fantastic,? said Russo.

In the Central Division, the second-place Owatonna Express will send five players to Top Prospects; the North Iowa Outlaws (third place) and Alexandria Blizzard (fourth place) three apiece; and the fifth-place Albert Lea Thunder two.

The second-place Janesville Jets will send five players in the North, followed by the third-place Traverse City North Stars and fourth-place Motor City Metal Jackets, who will send three players each, and the fifth-place Alpena IceDiggers, who will send two.

In the South, the second-place Topeka RoadRunners will send five players; the Texas Tornado (third place) and Springfield Jr. Blues (fourth place) three apiece; and the fifth-place Wichita Falls Wildcats two.

The second-place Alaska Avalanche will send five players in the West, followed by the third-place Fairbanks Ice Dogs and fourth-place Kenai River Brown Bears, who will send four apiece.

With the December 20 date also came the announcement of the Top Prospects Tournament coaches: Pool will serve as head coach of the Central Division team with Owatonna head coach Pat Cullen assisting; Miller (head coach) and Janesville head coach Dane Litke (assistant coach) will lead the North; St. Louis head coach Jeff Brown (head coach) and Topeka head coach Scott Langer (assistant) will coach the South; and Wenatchee head coach Paul Baxter (head coach) and Alaska head coach Dave Boitz (assistant) will guide the West team.??

In conjunction with the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, the fourth event of the North American Prospects Hockey League (NAPHL) season will also be played at the Ice Cube from January 15-18.

After the season?s third showcase, the Southern California Titans hold the lead in the U18 division, while the Florida Panthers Alliance sit atop the U16 standings.

It?s the final event before the NAPHL Championship Tournament Series, which will be played in San Jose from February 12-15.

For more information on the NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, visit NAHLTopProspects.com.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

PROGRESS REPORT

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, January 2, 2010 10:10 PM AKST

WASILLA ? In many ways, the first four months of the 2009-10 campaign represented the best half of a season in the five-year history of the Alaska Avalanche junior hockey organization.

Alaska posted a 17-8-6 mark through the first 31 games of the season.

Those 17 victories are already better than the total number of wins the local Junior A club managed to collect during two of the first three seasons in Wasilla. The organization had only 16 victories in 2006-07 and 2007-08.

ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman file photo Alaska Avalanche forward Nardo Nagtzaam scored a team-high 28 points during the first 31 games of the season and is a major reason why the Avs are on pace to break a franchise mark for the average number of goals scored per game.


(Use arrows above to view more photos)


The Avs are seven wins away from breaking the franchise record for wins in a season. The team hit 23 wins during the first season in Wasilla, 2005-06, and reached 23 again last year.

Alaska also has 40 points in the standings, just 11 shy of the franchise record of 51 reached last season.

The Avs are on pace to shatter franchise marks for the average number of goals scored and goals allowed.

Through 31 games, Alaska is averaging 3.29 goals per game. During the first four seasons, the franchise failed to finish a season with at least three goals per game.

The Avs are also allowing a mere 2.68 goals per contest through 31 games. That?s clearly better than the record 3.22 average set in 2005-06, and a dramatic improvement of a franchise-worst total of 4.65, recorded during the 2007-08 campaign.

Alaska is also on pace to set franchise marks in power-play percentage and penalty kill percentage.

All of the above helped the Avs finally find some success against North American Hockey League West Division rivals Fairbanks and Wenatchee. After posting just a pair of wins combined against the two foes, the Avs have five wins over the Wild and Ice Dogs during the first half of the year.

Despite the first-half success, Alaska head coach Dave Boitz knows there?s a ton of hockey left to be played. And if the Avs hope to extend their season into the NAHL playoffs in April, Boitz knows the Avs will have to take their game to another level.

During the midseason break, Boitz graded the work of the Avs through the first 31 games of the year.

Offense:

Alaska has 102 goals and averaged 3.29 goals per game through the first half of the season. Five players have hit the 20-point mark, and forward Nardo Nagtzaam leads that list with 28.

The production is statistically better than years past, but Boitz sees room for improvement.

?We were a little inconsistent in that area,? Boitz said. ?A lot of guys need to put up more points and score more goals.?

Nagtzaam paced the Alaska offense for much of the first half of the season. The forward recorded at least a point in 16 of his first 19 games, posting 12 goals and 13 assists during that span, but has only three points in his last eight games.

?Nardo was doing really well, but fell off a little bit,? Boitz said.

Zach Smith, who is often on the same line as Nagtzaam, also started off hot, opening the season with a nine-game point-scoring streak. He scored in 10 of his first 11 games, and 15 of his first 19 contests.

Smith is second on the squad with 24 points (14 goals, 10 assists), his exact total from last season.

Defenseman Jake Parenteau, who led NAHL defenseman in goals last season, already has a career-high 22 points (9-13-22). Forward Logan Rounds (8-11-19) is two points shy of his career best for scoring in a season.

Second-year forward Matthew Friese (7-10-17) has more than twice as many points as he scored last season.

First-year forward Berkley Scott has 21 points (11-10-21) in 31 games.

Boitz also praised the work of another first-year forward, Blake Huppert, who had 12 points (7-5-12) during the first half.

Alaska added Kenai River?s leading scorer Jed McGlasson in a trade in December to add more punch to the offense.

And Boitz said the team will also need more production from first-line forwards such as Kyle Pichler (6-17-23) and Robb Haider (6-10-16).

Pichler took a streak of five games without a goal into the break, while Haider is looking for his first goal since Halloween.

Overall, Boitz stressed consistency on the offensive end of the ice.

?We?ve kind of done it by committee,? Boitz said. ?From night to night, we?re not really sure where the offense is going to come from.?

Grade: C+

Defense:

The organization?s priority during the offense was to solidify the team from the blue line back. Boitz and assistant coach Brian Huebel knew they had a solid nucleus of front-line talent coming back, but the Avs needed to be stronger in back.

The strong and steady Logan Maly and the skilled Jake Parenteau returned after spending their first season in Wasilla as one of the six regulars on defense. Daniel Hildebrandt, another defenseman the coaches have been excited about, also returned.

Alaska added young defensemen Jake Williams and Chase Van Allen to the mix, and acquired blueliners Micki Mahalovich and Kyle Van through trades with Kenai.

?The defense, I?m pretty happy with overall,? Boitz said. ?It?s been really good.?

Hildebrandt missed much of the final month of the first half due to a shoulder injury, and that hurt the Avs on defense, Boitz said.

But the coaches have been thrilled with the play of the back-liners, and the emergence of defenseman such as Williams.

Parenteau (+13) and Williams (+11) lead the Avs in plus-minus rating, and are two reasons why Alaska sports a +40 rating rather than the absolutely awful -195 the Avs claimed last year.

Parenteau also leads the NAHL in goals by a defenseman, and is fourth in league in scoring by a blueliner.

Grade: B+ (Team defense B)

Goaltenders:

Boitz and Huebel went into the 2009-10 season thinking junior hockey veteran Geoff Sadjadi would be the regular starter between the pipes, and either one of team?s first-year goalies ? Kale Robertson or Landon Peterson ? would be kept as a reserve.

But something happened.

?They won me over,? Boitz said of Robertson and Peterson. ?We couldn?t trade either one of those guys.?

Both goalies spent most of the first half of the season ranked in the league?s top-five in both goals against average and saves percentage.

Robertson finished the first half with a 9-5-2 mark, a 2.41 goals against, .918 saves percentage and one shutout.

Peterson was 6-2-4, with a 2.38 GAA, .923 saves percentage and two shutouts.

To compare, the franchise record for goals against is 3.06 and the franchise best for saves percentage is .915. Both were recorded by Andrew Volkening during the 2005-06 season.

Volkening also had the only four shutouts in franchise history, before this season.

?They?ve both been really good,? Boitz said of his two goalies.

Grade: A-

Special teams:

Alaska is on pace to set franchise marks in both special teams categories.

The Avs recorded a power-play percentage of 16.2 through the first 31 games, and their penalty kill percentage stood at 87.7.

?The penalty kill has been outstanding,? said Boitz, who noted the Avs were without arguably their best man on the penalty kill, Hildebrandt, for the last eight games of the first half. ?The power play was really bad early on, but definitely heading in the right direction.?

Boitz credited Huebel, who takes the lead coaching the special teams. He also noted the work of forwards such as Seth Johnson and Andy Pearson for their work with the penalty kill units.

Grade: Penalty kill- B+; power play- B-

Overall, Boitz said finding some success in the eight straight road games that start the second half of the season is very important. The Avs also need to stay healthy. Hildebrandt, Johnson and Pearson all missed time in December.

?We just need to get back healthy and get back to the way we were playing,? Boitz said.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Wild deal Avs first loss of 2010
WENATCHEE, Wash. ? The Wenatchee Wild scored four times in the third period to post a 6-1 win over the Alaska Avalanche at the Toyota Town Center in Wenatchee, Wash., on Saturday.

Anchorage native Nolan Youngman scored twice for the Wild.

Alaska?s Beau Walker recorded the lone goal for the Avalanche, who were outshot 45-17 in the contest. Alaska, off since Dec. 9, took the ice for the first time in nearly a month. The Avs dropped to 178-9-6 with the loss.

The teams meet again today [Sunday, Jan 3] at 4:05 p.m. AST.

Wenatchee 6, Alaska 1

Saturday, Wenatchee, Wash.

First period ? 1. Wenatchee- Sliwinski (McKenzie, Hilbrich) pp 2:11.

Second period ? 2. Wenatchee- Youngmun (Christ, McLean) 10:12.

Third period ? 3. Wenatchee- Jubinville (Mingo) 1:44; 4. Alaska- Walker (Van Allen, Parenteau) 3:03; 5. Wenatchee- Youngmun (Christ, Rumble) 10:34; 6. Wenatchee- Deswardt (McLean, McKellar) 11:35; 7. Wenatchee- McKenzie (Pauly, Hilbrich) 16:20.

Shots on goal: Alaska 3-7-7?17, Wenatchee 17-19-9?45; Saves: Alaska- Robertson- 16-18-5?39; Wenatchee- Jensen 3-7-6?16; Power plays: Alaska 0-for-5, Wenatchee 1-for-3; Penalties: Alaska 5-for-18, Wenatchee 6-for-12.

[Paul van Heertum]

Hoeveel mensen komen er ongeveer naar de wedstrijden van de Aces? Ben je zelf ook al geweest Jan?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Hoeveel mensen komen er ongeveer naar de wedstrijden van de Aces? Ben je zelf ook al geweest Jan?

Even een nuance aanbrengen, Paul.

Mitch speelt voor de Seawolves in de D1 NCAA
Nardo voor de Avalanche in de NAHL.

De Alaska Aces spelen ECHL en hebben gemiddeld 4700 toeschouwers.
De Alaska Avalanche hebben er gemiddeld ongeveer 8-900
Hoewel de twee wedstrijden van afgelopen weekend in Wenatchee bezocht zijn door gemiddeld 3500 toeschouwers.

Nee, ik ben er nog niet geweest, we kijken nog of we gaan en als we gaan dan gaan we waarschijnlijk, indien zijn team het haalt, naar de Robertson Cup kijken( Amerikaans NAHL kampioenschap).

gr. Jan

[Paul van Heertum]

Ik heb inderdaad de teamnamen door elkaar gehaald en bedoelde de Avelanche

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Ik heb inderdaad de teamnamen door elkaar gehaald en bedoelde de Avelanche

Dat maakt op zich niet uit, Paul, maar hopelijk heb je wel een idee nu van de toeschouwersaantallen.

[Roy Derkse]

leuk om te lezen hoe onze nederlandse jongens het doen over de verre oceaan.
hoop dat Nardo nog een keer op het hoge nivo kan schitteren.

roy

[Stefan Bouma]

Waarom speelt Nardo niet mee in de All Star game?

Of is dit een niet Europees onderonsje?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Alaska pulls trigger on trade

By Jeremiah Bartz
Frontiersman
Published on Monday, January 25, 2010 7:53 PM AKST
WASILLA — For the last several weeks, Alaska head coach Dave Boitz has known the Avalanche would need to acquire a blueliner to strengthen the defense in preparation for the final two months of the North American Hockey League regular season.

Boitz also knew he’d probably have to give up a high-end forward to snag that defenseman.

And as it turns out, that forward was one of his team’s leading scorers, Nardo Nagtzaam. http://images.townnews.com/frontiersman.com/content/articles/2010/01/25/sports/doc4b5e73f5502b8889951820.jpg
ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska Avalanche forward Nardo Nagtzaam, left, has been traded to the Alexandria Blizzard for defenseman Trent Johnson.


Late last week, the Avs traded Nagtzaam to the Alexandria Blizzard for defenseman Trent Johnson.

“I felt like we needed help back there,” Boitz said of adding Johnson, Alexandria’s top blueliner, to the Alaska defense.

In 33 games, Johnson posted a team-high +9 plus-minus rating for Alexandria. He handed out six assists and had only 32 penalty minutes.

“He’s not going to come out and score a bunch of goals, but he had the best plus-minus on their team,” Boitz said. “He’s steady.”

And steady was exactly what Boitz and the Avs were looking for.

Boitz said Johnson, a Duluth, Minn., native immediately jumps into Alaska’s group of to-four defenseman, and solidifies a group that includes the likes of Jake Williams, Jake Parenteau, Daniel Hildebrandt, Chase Van Allen and captain Logan Maly.

“He understands how to play defense,” Boitz said of Johnson. “He makes good decisions with the puck.”

Even though it’s hard to give up a player like Nagtzaam — who posted 13 goals and 16 assists in 30 games — Boitz said his team is much more deep at forward than on defense.

“We may not have anyone who’s going to lead the league in scoring, but we’ve got a bunch of guys who can score on any given night,” Boitz said.

Boitz also didn’t’ want to trade any of his players who hail from the 49th state.

Anchorage native Zach Smith currently leads the team with 29 points (17-12-29).

Fellow Anchorage products Kyle Pichler (7-20-27), Logan Rounds (11-12-23) and Robb Haider (6-15-21) are also among team leaders. Former Wasilla High standout Matthew Friese (10-11-21) is sixth on the team in scoring.

Nagtzaam is also a player the Blizzard targeted throughout the negotiations.

“He was the guy they wanted,” Boitz said.

Nagtzaam played in 78 games during his two-year stay in Wasilla. He posted 25 goals and 31 assists, and had an even rating.

Nagtzaam is an import player — he’s a native of Nijmegen, Netherlands — and considering his options in hockey, Boitz said he would have been surprised if Nagtzaam returned to Alaska for a third season.

Nagtzaam made an immediate impact for the Blizzard. He tallied two points in each of his first two games with Alexandria over the weekend. But Johnson was also exactly as advertised, recording a +4 rating in two wins over Kenai.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Scoring in Bunches!



http://www.ijshockeyforum.com/img/news_article_images/286/10017.jpg (http://www.ijshockeyforum.com/img/news_article_images/286/10017.jpg)
Great weekend for Blizzard Hockey sweeping through the Owatonna Express! On Friday night January 29th the Blizzard traveled to Owatonna to take on the 2nd place Express. The Blizzard out shot the Express with 12 shots on goal compared to Owatonna who had 0 aftern the first period. They went on to route Owatonna 8-1.
Saturday night the Blizzard were back in Alexandria to face the Express who would seek to repay the Blizzard for work done in the previous game. This was a big night for the Blizzard organization as we work working for more than on the ice. The night was designated as "Hockey for Haiti" with ticket proceeds going to benefit the American Red Cross. The arena was full and there would be no paybacks! The Blizzard outskated the Express for the 2nd consecutive night with an impressive 4-1 victory!
Nardo Nagtzaam had 5 points (2 G - 3 A) and was the leading scorer over the two game sweep over the Owatonna Express.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

SHERWOOD/NAHL CENTRAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
FEBRUARY 1, 2010

Nardo Nagtzaam - Alexandria Blizzard

Alexandria forward Nardo Nagtzaam struck for two goals and three assists as the Blizzard skated to a two-game sweep over Owatonna. On Friday, the Netherlands native registered a pair of assists in an 8-1 triumph. The next night, the 19-year-old, who was recently acquired from the Alaska Avalanche, potted two goals, including the game-winner, as the Blizzard downed the Express, 4-1. He was also a plus-3 on the weekend.

“Nardo has been a good fit for our team, on and off the ice,” said Blizzard head coach Doc DelCastillo. “He'll definitely be able to contribute offensively at the college level.”

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Ook Nijmegen nog eens te zien:

http://www.alexandriablizzard.pointstreaksites.com/view/alexandriablizzard/news/news_10016

Nice shirt.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Blizzard take two

Saturday's win put an exclamation mark on the "Hockey for Haiti" fundraiser

Alexandria. (http://www.echopress.com/event/details/loc_id/107466)




Nagtzaam (http://javascript<b></b>:void(0);)<A title=Nagtzaam>http://www.inforum.com/media/story/jpg/2010/02/04/blhk_nagtzaam_013010_0195.jpg (http://www.echopress.com/event/image/id/7370/headline/Nagtzaam/)
Echo Press photo by Eric Morken Nardo Nagtzaam (10) scored a pair of goals for the Blizzard in their win over Owatonna Saturday night during the “Hockey for Haiti” event at the Runestone Community Center. The Blizzard picked up a pair of wins over the Express, with more than 700 spectators on hand for Saturday’s game.

It was certainly a step in the right direction.

The Alexandria Blizzard picked up a pair of wins over the weekend in a home-and-home contest against Owatonna, making inroads in their battle to move into second place in the North American Hockey League Central Division standings.
The Blizzard now sit at 18-16-4, four games and eight points back of the Express, who are 22-15-4. The Bismarck Bobcats sit firmly in the driver’s seat with a 27-9-7 mark.
Alexandria 8,
Owatonna 1
The Blizzard seemed to skate circles around the Express in Friday night’s road game, winning 8-1 as they held Owatonna without a shot on goal through the first period. In the end, they kept the Express to just 11 shots on goal for the entire night, with Robert Tadazak stopping all but one shot sent his way.
And, as strong as the Blizzard defense proved to be, the offense was just as high powered, peppering the Express goal with a total of 32 shots.
Steve Zierke accounted for three of the eight Blizzard goals, one on a power play, while Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, Alex Altenbernd, Chris Annunziato, Brett Wall and Michael Pieper all added one each. Both Annunizato and Wall saw their goals come on power plays.
Former Blizzard goalie Matt Hemingway started in goal for the Express, giving way to Eric Wobschall after allowing five goals on 22 shots in two periods.
Alexandria 4, Owatonna 1
Returning home for a special night at the Runestone Community Center, the Blizzard continued their hot play Saturday night, defeating the Express 4-1 before a crowd of nearly 700 on “Hockey for Haiti” night.
Saturday night, both goalies spent a lot of time with their eyes on the puck as the two teams blasted away at the net, totaling 69 shots on goal between them.
Tadazak emerged the winner in the duel as he stopped all but one of the 33 shots by Owatonna, while Hemingway picked up his second loss in as many nights, making 37 saves in 41 tries.
In all, Alexandria sent 73 shots at goal between the two games.
Kyle Clay scored the first goal of the night on a play featuring an extra attacker, with Nardo Nagtzaam scoring on a power play in the second period.
In the third, Michael Benedict and Nagtzaam both scored for the Blizzard.
GAME STATISTICS
ALEXANDRIA 2 3 3 8
OWATONNA 0 0 1 1
(FIRST PERIOD)
ALEX – Simon Cederborg-Nilsson (Nardo Nagtzaam, Kyle Clay) 4:30, ALEX – Steve Zierke, power play (Chris Franks, Simon Cederborg-Nilsson) 10:50.
(SECOND PERIOD)
ALEX – Alex Altenbernd (Chris Annunziato, Steve Zierke) 7:27, ALEX – Chris Annunziato, power play (Brett Wall, Mike Krieg) 14:37, ALEX – Steve Zierke (Alex Altenbernd, Chris Annunziato) 17:13.
(THIRD PERIOD)
ALEX – Brett Wall, power play (Nardo Nagtzaam, Michael Pieper) 2:12, OWA – Jake Suter (Charlie Thauwald) 6:31, ALEX – Steve Zierke (Chris Annunziato, Billy Miller) 11:54, ALEX – Michael Pieper (Zach Fulton, Grant Dye) 12:04.
SHOTS ON GOAL – Alexandria 12-10-10-32; Owatonna 0-8-3-11.
GOALIE SAVES – Robert Tadazak, Alex, 10; Matt Hemingway, Owa, 17; Eric Wobschall, Owa, 7.
PENALTIES – Alexandria 8 minutes on 4 infractions, Owatonna 18 minutes on 9 infractions.
1ST STAR – Steve Zierke, Alex. 2ND STAR – Chris Annunziato, Alex. 3RD STAR – Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, Alex.

OWATONNA 0 1 1 1
ALEXANDRIA 1 1 2 4
(FIRST PERIOD)
ALEX – Kyle Clay, extra attacker (Nardo Nagtzaam, Chris Franks) 2:24.
(SECOND PERIOD)
ALEX – Nardo Nagtzaam, power play (Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, Chris Franks) 19:16.
(THIRD PERIOD)
OWA – Jake Youso (Dan Cecka, Brian McGinty) 1:15, ALEX – Michael Benedict (Brett Wall, Grant Dye) 2:03, ALEX – Nardo Nagtzaam (Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, Kyle Clay) 16:50.
SHOTS ON GOAL – Owatonna 11-7-15-33, Alexandria 16-13-12-41.
GOALIE SAVES – Matt Hemingway, Owa, 37, Robert Tadazak, Alex, 32.
PENALTIES – Owatonna 8 minutes on 4 infractions, Alexandria 4 minutes on 2 infractions.
1ST STAR – Robert Tadazak, Alex. 2ND STAR – Nardo Nagtzaam, Alex. 3RD STAR – Steve Zierke, Alex.


Players of the week
Robert Tadazak, goalie, and Nardo Nagtzaam, forward, were named the Sherwood/NAHL players of the week. (Nagtzaam was central player of the week, Tadazak was goalie of the week).

Nardo Nagtzaam - Alexandria Blizzard
Alexandria forward Nardo Nagtzaam struck for two goals and three assists as the Blizzard skated to a two-game sweep over Owatonna. On Friday, the Netherlands native registered a pair of assists in an 8-1 triumph.
The next night, the 19-year-old, who was recently acquired from the Alaska Avalanche, potted two goals, including the game-winner, as the Blizzard downed the Express, 4-1. He was also a plus-3 on the weekend.
“Nardo has been a good fit for our team, on and off the ice,” said Blizzard head coach Doc DelCastillo. “He’ll definitely be able to contribute offensively at the college level.”

Robert Tadazak - Alexandria Blizzard
Alexandria goaltender Robert Tadazak backstopped the Blizzard to a two-game sweep over Owatonna, turning aside 42 of 44 shots. On Friday, the Lapeer, Mich., native made 10 saves in an 8-1 victory. The next night, the 19-year-old stopped 32 shots as the Blizzard downed the Express, 4-1.
“Robert was exceptional last weekend,” said Blizzard head coach Doc DelCastillo. “He came up with the all the saves he needed to make, as well as a few big ones, and played a key role in our success.”

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Bobcats Rally, Blast Blizzard 5-2
Date: Mar 06, 2010



BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats rode a four-goal third period rally to a 5-2 win Saturday, sweeping the visiting Alexandria Blizzard out of the VFW Sports Center in front of a capacity crowd.

The win gives the Bobcats a decisive 12-1-0 win in their now-complete season series with Alexandria.

Trailing 2-1 after the second period, the Bobcats wasted no time in mounting their comeback as Tim Serratore evened the score at 2-2 just 20 seconds into the third, poking a loose puck through the legs of Alexandria netminder Jimmy Hamby.

Serratore’s first goal was the first of four straight for the Bobcats, and the Colorado Springs, Colo., native credited the home team’s physical tenacity for triggering the rally.

“[Saturday] was our most physical game of the year,” said Serratore. “A lot of our players, especially our bigger guys, played their role to perfection and made a huge impact on the outcome of the game.”

The equalizer stood as the lone goal of the third period for just over 13 minutes until Bobcats second-leading scorer Casey Kleisinger finished a strong forechecking play by jamming a Sean McKenzie rebound into the Blizzard net to boost the Bobcats to a 3-2 lead.

After killing off late penalties to John Avino and Sean McKenzie, the ‘Cats extended their lead to 4-2 with 44 seconds left and Hamby pulled for the extra attacker as Jason Fabian stole the puck in the Alexandria zone and swatted it into the empty net.

Serratore capped the scoring 34 seconds later with his second of the night, finding a wide-open lane to the front of the Blizzard net and beating Hamby to cap the four-goal explosion, giving the Bobcats the final 5-2 margin.

The Bobcats opened the scoring 6:05 into the game when Ryan Jacobson took a give-and-go pass from Tyler Klein and rocketed a snap shot into the top corner of the Alexandria net for the 1-0 edge.

“We were coming down 3-on-2 and Tyler drew the ‘D’ and got the puck back to me, making it a 2-on-1 with me and Timmy [Serratore],” recalled Jacobson. “The other defenseman went right to Tim and I had a great look for the shot.”

Alexandria evened the score seven and a half minutes later as forward Logan Romano grabbed the puck off a broken entry play into the Bobcats zone and lined a turn-around shot under Bismarck goalie Ryan Faragher’s glove for a 1-1 tie.

The Blizzard took the lead late in the second with a 5-on-3 power play goal from Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, who buried an easy one-time shot off a touch pass from Kyle Clay past a spawling Faragher with 5:14 remaining in the second.

Before Saturday’s furious rally, the Bobcats had only come back to win when trailing after two periods once—a 4-3 overtime win over North Iowa on New Year’s Day.

Faragher made 31 saves and pulled to within one of the league lead in wins with his 21st victory of the year.

Hamby dropped his first start as a Blizzard, stopping 22 shots but falling to 4-10-1 overall on the 2009-10 campaign.

The win extends the Bobcats’ (34-10-8, 76 pts) first place lead over the Owatonna Express (29-21-4, 62 pts) to a full 14 points; the Bobcats have already clinched the top spot in the Central Division playoffs by virtue of Friday’s 3-2 overtime win over the Blizzard.

The Bobcats will continue their four-game March homestand on Friday when they welcome the Owatonna Express to the VFW Sports Center for the first of two games at 7:15 PM.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Blizzard drop two of three in NAHL hockey action
Alexandria fell to the Avalanche twice in a three-game series

The Alaska Avalanche proved why the West Division is one of the toughest in the North American Hockey League by taking two out of three games against the Blizzard.

The Avalanche are in third place in the west, despite being 10 games over .500 and collecting 60 points so far. They inched closer to Fairbanks with a 4-2 win over Alexandria on Saturday after picking up a 4-1 win in the series opener last Wednesday night. The Blizzard made sure they would not get out of town with a clean sweep by taking the middle game 6-2 last Friday.

Alexandria positioned itself to take the final two games of the series on Saturday night. The Blizzard got a power-play goal from Zach Fulton at 12:06 in the second period. That gave his team a 1-0 lead that would last heading into the second intermission.

Alaska responded by controlling the third. The Avalanche scored three unanswered goals in the period, started by Zach Smith 1:16 in. Steve Zierke halted Alaska’s run with 1:29 left in the game.

That gave Alexandria some life heading into the final minute. The Blizzard pulled Robert Tadazak from goal with less than a minute remaining. That led to an empty netter for Alaska’s Jed McGlasson as the Avalanche secured the series win.

The middle game of the three-game set was all Alexandria from the start. The Blizzard got goals from Kyle Clay, Chris Franks and Zierke in the opening period. Matthew Friese scored on a power play to make it 3-1 heading into the first intermission.

That wasn’t enough to propel an Avalanche comeback. Brett Wall scored the only goal of the second at 7:40. Zach Fulton then made it 5-1 with less than four minutes off the clock in the third.

Alaska added another power play goal later in the period, but Nardo Nagtzaam put the finishing touches on the win for Alexandria with a goal with 32 seconds remaining. Tadazak got the win in goal, finishing with 28 saves.

It was the Avalanche who would jump out early in the opener. Tyler Svoboda and Blake Huppert gave them a 2-0 lead before Nagtzaam got Alexandria on the board a little more than 12 minutes in.

That would be the last time the Blizzard would light the lamp all night. The Avalanche added two more goals in the second period to take the 4-1 lead into the third.

Landon Peterson and the Avalanche defense took over from there. Peterson finished with 24 saves and just the one goal allowed. His defense helped him out by limiting Alexandria to just six shots on goal in the final frame.

The Blizzard moved to 24-20 after the weekend. They now head back on the road this weekend for a two-game trip to Bismarck. The opener comes tonight, Friday, with the series wrapping up tomorrow night. Both games are scheduled to start at 7:15.

It is an opportunity for the Blizzard to make a statement against the Central Division leaders. The Bobcats head into the series with a 32-10 record. They are 10 points ahead of Owatonna in the division standings.

GAME STATISTICS

ALASKA 0 0 4 – 4

ALEXANDRIA 0 1 1 – 2

SCORING SUMMARY
– FIRST PERIOD
– No scoring

SECOND PERIOD
– Alexandria – Zach Fulton (PP) (Alex Altenbernd, Simon Cederborg- Nils son), 12:06

THIRD PERIOD
– Alaska – Zach Smith (Blake Huppert), 1:16;
Alaska – Blake Huppert (Jed McGlasson, Trent Johnson), 14:34;
Alaska – Seth Johnson (Logan Rounds), 16:08;
Alexandria – Steve Zierke (Nardo Nagtzaam, Kyle Clay), 18:31;
Alaska – Jed McGlasson (empty net) (Zach Smith, Jake Parenteau), 19:16

GOALTENDING – Alexandria – Robert Tadazak – 28 saves, 31 shots faced; Alaska – Kale Robertson – 32 saves, 34 shots faced

PENALTY TOTALS – Alexandria – 13 minutes on five infractions; Alaska – 15 minutes on six infractions

ALASKA 1 0 1 – 2

ALEXANDRIA 3 1 2 – 6

SCORING SUMMARY
– FIRST PERIOD –
Alexandria – Kyle Clay (Dylan Wizner, Nardo Nagtzaam), 6:23;
Alexandria – Chris Franks (Tyler Resch, Brett Wall), 7:33;
Alexandria – Steve Zierke (Alex Altenbernd, Simon Cederborg-Nilsson), 7:54;
Alaska – Matthew Friese (PP) (Jake Parenteau, Kyle Pichier), 9:25

SECOND PERIOD –
Alexandria – Brett Wall (Kyle Clay, Nardo Nagtzaam), 7:40

THIRD PERIOD –
Alexandria – Zach Fulton (Dylan Wizner, Kyle Clay), 3:36;
Alaska – Logan Maly (PP) (Jake Parenteau, Matthew Friese), 16:52;
Alexandria – Nardo Nagtzaam (Steve Zierke, Dylan Wizner), 19:28

GOALTENDING – Alexandria – Tadazak – 28 saves, 30 shots faced; Alaska – Landon Peterson – 23 saves, 29 shots faced

PENALTY TOTALS – Alexandria – 32 minutes on 12 infractions; Alaska – 14 minutes on seven infractions

ALASKA 2 2 0 – 4

ALEXANDRIA 1 0 0 – 1

SCORING SUMMARY
– FIRST PERIOD –
Alaska – Tyler Svoboda (Tyler Schwartz), 7:14;
Alaska – Blake Huppert (Jake Parenteau, Zach Smith), 8:42;
Alexandria – Nardo Nagtzaam (Mike Krieg, Dylan Wizner), 12:12

SECOND PERIOD –
Alaska – Matthew Friese (Jake Williams, Andy Pearson), 2:37;
Alaska – Berkley Scott (Robb Haider, Trent Johnson), 10:03

THIRD PERIOD – No scoring

GOALTENDING – Alexandria – Chris Kamal – 30:03, 16 saves, 20 shots faced; Robert Tadazak – 29:57, 12 saves, 12 shots faced

PENALTY TOTALS – Alexandria – 10 minutes on five infractions; Alaska – 10 minutes on five infractions

[Jan Nagtzaam]

CAUGHT IN A BLIZZARD

By JEREMIAH BARTZ
Frontiersman
Published on Saturday, March 20, 2010 11:21 PM AKDT
WASILLA — Following a second consecutive loss to the Alexandria Blizzard Saturday night, the Alaska Avalanche faced some good news and some bad news.

The good news?

Alaska’s hopes for home ice during the first round of the playoffs are still alive.
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ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Alaska Avalanche defenseman Logan Maly falls on top of the puck during Friday’s game against the Alexandria Blizzard at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena in Wasilla.
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The bad news?

The Avs may have to win at least three of their last four to get it.

The Alexandria Blizzard used a 5-1 whitewashing of the Avs Saturday at the Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Ice Arena to make Alaska’s quest for first-round home ice advantage for the first time in franchise history a bit more difficult.

The Blizzard stunned Alaska with a 3-2 overtime win on Friday.

The extra-periods loss, a game that was helped decided by a controversial call, did give a point in the standings to third-place Alaska, which trails second-place Fairbanks by three points in the North American Hockey League West Division. Alaska forward Seth Johnson and Alexandria front-liner Nardo Nagtzaam ran into each other near the circle left of the Avalanche goal just more than three minutes into the overtime frame. The hit left Nagtzaam temporarily on the ice and sent Johnson to the box.

“It was just a collision,” said Alaska head coach Dave Boitz, obviously baffled by the late call made in a fairly physical hockey game.

Simon Cederborg-Nilsson took advantage of the overtime gift, packaged a shot from the point and sent it right inside the right post of the Avalanche goal 4:04 into overtime. Nilsson’s overtime power-play tally and Tyler Swanson’s goal late in the third helped the Blizzard blow an Avalanche lead right away.

Alaska forwards Robb Haider and Blake Huppert scored during a 36-second span midway through the third to give the Avs the 2-1 advantage. With just less than 10 minutes left in regulation, Zach Smith put a shot on the Alexandria goal. Blizzard netminder Chris Kamal left the puck right in front of the crease, and Haider skated in and used the back of his blade to knock the puck in the net and put the Avs on the scoreboard.

Thirty-six seconds later, Huppert crashed the net and popped a Trent Johnson rebound into the net.

Kyle Clay opened the scoring with an Alexandria power-play goal early in the third.

Alaska outshot Alexandria 37-27 in the game and 18-7 in the second period.

“Their goalie played really well,” Boitz said. “In the second period, he kept him in it.”

On Saturday, Alexandria outshot Alaska 52-28 en route to the four-goal win over the Avs. Forward Jed McGlasson beat Kamal shorthanded four minutes into regulation, but Alexandria used four unanswered scores to post the win.

Grant Dye tied the score for the Blizzard when he picked up a lose puck between the circles and sent it past Alaska goalie Kale Robertson. Early in the second, Robertson got tied up in traffic and Billy Miller knocked another loose puck into the net. In the third period, Alexandria caught another break when Robertson went out of the crease to play the puck. The puck took a bad bounce, right to Nagtzaam, who buried the shot.

With the overtime loss and the regulation defeat, Alaska sits in third place with a 29-18-7 mark and 65 points. The Fairbanks Ice Dogs, who are off this weekend, remain in second with a 32-20-4 record and 68 points.

Alaska has four games left in the regular season, compared to the Ice Dogs’ two. The Avs entertain West Division-leading Wenatchee (42-9-3, 87 points) Tuesday and Wednesday at the Menard Arena. Kenai River (12-38-6, 30) visits the Menard on Friday and Saturday.

Fairbanks closes its regular season next weekend with two home games against Wenatchee. Wenatchee has already locked up the West Division regular title and will host Kenai River in the first round of the NAHL playoffs. Fairbanks and Alaska will play in the first round, but the home team has not been decided.

Alexandria 5, Alaska 1

Saturday, Menard Arena

First period —
1. Alaska- McGlasson (Johnson) sh 4:11;
2. Alexandria- Dye (unassisted) 17:00.

Second period —
3. Alexandria- Miller (unassisted) 4:11.

Third period —
4. Alexandria- Nagtzaam (Resch, Clay) 1:48;
5. Alexandria-Nagtzaam (Resch) 11:28;
6. Alexandria- Nagel (Kamal) 11:53.

Shots on goal:
Alexandria 22-10-20—52,
Alaska 9-11-8—28;
Saves:
Alexandria- Kamal 8-11-8-27,
Alaska- Peterson 21-9-17-47;
Alexandria 0-for-7, Alaska 0-for-3; Penalties:

Alexandria 3, Alaska 2

Friday, Menard Arena

First period — no scoring.

Second period — no scoring.

Third period —
1. Alexandria- Clay (Fulton, Nagtzaam) pp 6:25;
2. Alaska-Haider (Smith, Huppert) 10:08;
3. Alaska- Huppert (Johnson, Haider) 10:44;
4. Alexandria- Swanson (Dye, Nagel) 17:15.

Overtime —
5. Alexandria- Cederborg-Nilsson (Wall) pp 4:04.

Shots on goal:
Alexandria 5-7-12-26,
Alaska 8-18-9-2-37;
Saves:
Alexandria- Kamel 8-18-7-2-35,
Alaska- Peterson 5-7-10-2-24;
Power plays: Alexandria 2-for-5, Alaska 0-for-3; Alexandria 3-for-6, Alaska 5-for-10.

[Rob Donkers]

bedankt weer Jan voor het op de hoogte houden

Rob

[Jan Nagtzaam]

De competitieronde is voorbij, play offs beginnen denk ik a.s. weekend.
Alexandria zal uitkomen tegen Owatonna, respectievelijk de nr.s 3 en 2 in een best of 5.

Voor diegene die interesse hebben in de eindstand topscorerlijst (zonder play offs) zie:

http://nahl.stats.pointstreak.com/scoringleaders.html?leagueid=164&seasonid=4527

[Jan Nagtzaam]

De competitieronde is voorbij, play offs beginnen denk ik a.s. weekend.
Alexandria zal uitkomen tegen Owatonna, respectievelijk de nr.s 3 en 2 in een best of 5.

Voor diegene die interesse hebben in de eindstand topscorerlijst (zonder play offs) zie:

http://nahl.stats.pointstreak.com/scoringleaders.html?leagueid=164&seasonid=4527

Play offs:

Owatonna Express vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Owatonna, 7 p.m.#
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Owatonna, 7 p.m.#
Game 3: Friday, April 9 @ Alexandria, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, April 10 @ Alexandria, 7 p.m.*
Game 5: Sunday, April 11 @ Owatonna, 5 p.m.*#
# at Shattuck-St Mary’s

[Rob Donkers]

[QUOTE = Jan Nagtzaam; 201917] Play offs:

Owatonna Express vs Alexandrië Blizzard
Game 1: vrijdag 2 april @ Owatonna, 7 p.m. #
Game 2: zaterdag 3 april @ Owatonna, 7 p.m. #
Game 3: vrijdag 9 april @ Alexandria, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Zaterdag 10 april @ Alexandria, 7 p.m. *
Game 5: Zondag 11 april @ Owatonna, 5 p.m. * #
# Aan Shattuck-St Mary's [/ QUOTE]
wat worden game 3&4&5 in een kort tijdsbestek gespeeld
ben heel benieuwd wat het gaat worden

gr. Rob

[Paul van Heertum]

Topscoorders van vorig jaar zo ver ik het kon vinden

Brock - 25 wedstrijden - 3 punten in NCAA D1
Gaffney - Geen club
George - NCAA D1 - 36 wedstrijden - 34 punten
Brodhag - NCAA D1 - 31 wedstrijden - 17 punten
Paul - Geen club
Pietila - NCAA D1 - 34 wedstrijden - 4 punten
Juola - Geen club
Hamburg - NCAA D1 - 26 wedstrijden - 14 punten
Bonis - NCAA D1 - 23 wedstrijden - 6 punten
Carlson - NCAA D1 13 wedstrijden - 1 punt
Bleismuth - NCAA D1 14 wedstrijden - 1 punt

Ik ben natuurlijk niet de kenner, dat is Jan, dus hij zal me wel verbeteren maar als je het goed doet in de NAHL dan zit er met wat geluk wel een scholarship in maar zul je in elk geval in het eerste jaar misschien niet al te veel aan spelen toekomen

[Ivo Willems]

Play offs:

Owatonna Express vs. Alexandria Blizzard
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Owatonna, 7 p.m.#
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Owatonna, 7 p.m.#
Game 3: Friday, April 9 @ Alexandria, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, April 10 @ Alexandria, 7 p.m.*
Game 5: Sunday, April 11 @ Owatonna, 5 p.m.*#
# at Shattuck-St Mary’s

Wens Nardo maar succes :)

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Topscoorders van vorig jaar zo ver ik het kon vinden

Brock - 25 wedstrijden - 3 punten in NCAA D1
Gaffney - Geen club
George - NCAA D1 - 36 wedstrijden - 34 punten
Brodhag - NCAA D1 - 31 wedstrijden - 17 punten
Paul - Geen club
Pietila - NCAA D1 - 34 wedstrijden - 4 punten
Juola - Geen club
Hamburg - NCAA D1 - 26 wedstrijden - 14 punten
Bonis - NCAA D1 - 23 wedstrijden - 6 punten
Carlson - NCAA D1 13 wedstrijden - 1 punt
Bleismuth - NCAA D1 14 wedstrijden - 1 punt

Ik ben natuurlijk niet de kenner, dat is Jan, dus hij zal me wel verbeteren maar als je het goed doet in de NAHL dan zit er met wat geluk wel een scholarship in maar zul je in elk geval in het eerste jaar misschien niet al te veel aan spelen toekomen

Het klopt inderdaad niet, maar ik ga je niet verbeteren, want jij bent niet te verbeteren

[Paul van Heertum]

Het klopt inderdaad niet, maar ik ga je niet verbeteren, want jij bent niet te verbeteren

Het gaat over de informatie in die posting maar knap dat je weer je kennis hebt kunnen laten zien

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Het gaat over de informatie in die posting maar knap dat je weer je kennis hebt kunnen laten zien

hahaha

[Paul van Heertum]

hahaha

Je hebt zelfkennis

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Je hebt zelfkennis

Gelukkig maar, want da's bij jou ver te zoeken.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Important weekend looms after Blizzard take two from Alaska
The Blizzard gained a little more momentum and stayed within reach of second place in the Central Division heading into their final homestand of the regular season by picking up two more wins over Alaska last weekend.

The Blizzard gained a little more momentum and stayed within reach of second place in the Central Division heading into their final homestand of the regular season by picking up two more wins over Alaska last weekend.

Alexandria needed overtime on the Avalanche’s home ice last Friday before picking up a 3-2 win on Simon Cederborg-Nilsson’s game winner. The Blizzard followed by putting away Alaska with a big third period on Saturday night to complete the sweep with a 5-1 victory.

Nardo Nagtzaam continues to shine for Alexandria down the stretch. He picked up two more goals, both in the third period, during Saturday’s win. The Blizzard led by just one heading into the final frame before Nagtzaam added goals at 1:48 and 11:28 in the third. Nick Nagel then put the finishing touches on the win with a goal just 25 seconds later.

That capped off five unanswered goals for Alexandria as the Blizzard outshot Alaska 52-28 throughout the game. Jed McGlasson gave the Avalanche a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal a little more than four minutes into the first.

It is a lead that would prove to be short-lived. Grant Dye got that back with an unassisted goal with three minutes left in the first. Billy Miller then added the only goal of the second period at 4:11 to give the Blizzard a lead they would not relinquish.

Chris Kamal was solid in net for Alexandria. He picked up the win by turning aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced. His two wins in net last weekend earned him the North American Hockey League (NAHL) Goalie of the Week Award after he turned aside 62 of the 65 shots he faced against Alaska.

“We were looking for Chris to step up and he did in a big way,” Blizzard assistant coach Jeff Crouse said. “He made some huge saves on Friday, and it was nice to see us give him some scoring support on Saturday after making some key saves early.”

Things did not come as easy in the opener for Alexandria. Neither team would score until a wild third period saw each squad score twice.

The Blizzard got things going on a power play at the 6:25 mark. Kyle Clay scored off assists from Zach Fulton and Nagtzaam to give his team the 1-0 lead.

The Avalanche would respond with two goals less than 40 seconds apart later in the period. Robb Haider evened things up at 10:08 before Blake Huppert gave his team the lead at 10:44 off assists from Trent Johnson and Haider.

It’s a lead that would last deep into the final period before the Blizzard struck again to force overtime. This time, it was defenseman Tyler Swanson who turned into the unlikely hero with just his second goal of the season. Swanson connected with less than three minutes left in the game off assists from Grant Dye and Nick Nagel.

That set up the heroics for Cederborg-Nilsson. Alaska’s Seth Johnson gave the Blizzard an opportunity with an interference penalty at 3:13 in the extra frame. That gave Alexandria the man advantage it was looking for, and Cederborg-Nilsson took advantage 51 seconds into the power play by connecting on the game winner.

It was two more wins for the Blizzard over a quality opponent as they try to gain some momentum heading into the playoffs. They up their overall record to 28-22-5 with the two wins.

Second place in the Central Division is still within reach for Alexandria. Owatonna held that position after a 7-4 win over Albert Lea gave it a 31-22-4 record last Saturday. The Express were scheduled to play North Iowa in their regular-season finale last night, Thursday. A loss by the Express and three straight wins for the Blizzard would secure second place for Alexandria.

They will kick off their final homestand of the regular season tonight by hosting North Iowa for two games. The second game comes tomorrow night, with both games getting started at 7 p.m. They then wrap up the regular season on the road with a game in Albert Lea on Sunday.

The Blizzard continue to give back to the community by hosting another fundraiser at tonight’s game. Alexandria and Tastefully Simple will hold an “End Childhood Hunger Night” at the Runestone Community Center against the Outlaws. Kids get in free with a non-perishable food item and adult ticket purchase. The food shelf will be at the game, taking any donations and non-perishable food items.

The game jerseys of the Blizzard players will be auctioned off live after the game. Money raised will go to the Outreach Food Shelf and all donations will be matched in the month of March.

GAME STATISTICS

ALEXANDRIA 1 1 3 – 5

ALASKA 1 0 0 – 1

SCORING SUMMARY –
FIRST PERIOD
Alaska – Jed McGlasson (shorthanded) (Seth Johnson), 4:11;
Alexandria – Grant Dye (unassisted), 17:00

SECOND PERIOD –
Alexandria – Billy Miller (unassisted), 4:11

THIRD PERIOD –
Alexandria – Nardo Nagtzaam (Tyler Resch, Kyle Clay), 1:48;
Alexandria – Nagtzaam (Resch), 11:28;
Alexandria – Nick Nagel (Chris Kamal), 11:53

GOALTENDING –
Alexandria – Chris Kamal – 60 minutes, 27 saves, 28 shots faced;
Alaska – Kale Robertson – 60 minutes, 47 saves, 52 shots faced

TOTAL PENALTIES –
Alexandria – 13 minutes on five infractions;
Alaska – 21 minutes on nine infractions

ALEXANDRIA 0 0 2 1 – 3

ALASKA 0 0 2 0 – 2

SCORING SUMMARY –
FIRST PERIOD –
No scoring

SECOND PERIOD –
No scoring

THIRD PERIOD –
Alexandria – Kyle Clay (Zach Fulton, Nardo Nagtzaam), 6:25;
Alaska – Robb Haider (Zach Smith, Blake Huppert), 10:08;
Alaska – Blake Huppert (Trent Johnson, Robb Haider), 10:44;
Alexandria – Tyler Swanson (Grant Dye, Nick Nagel), 17:15

OVERTIME –
Alexandria – Simon Cederborg-Nilsson (power play) (Brett Wall), 4:04

GOALTENDING –
Alexandria – Chris Kamal – 64:04 minutes, 35 saves, 37 shots faced;
Alaska – Landon Peterson – 64:04 minutes, 24 saves, 27 shots faced

TOTAL PENALTIES –
Alexandria – six minutes on three infractions;
Alaska – 10 minutes on five infractions

[Piet Jansen]

Hij gaat lekker dus :)

Vindt het wel top dat een Nederlandse jongen het zover schopt.
Maar jullie zullen er ook wel heel wat voor gedaan hebben.

Succes ermee en wees er trots op

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Playoffs loom large for Blizzard

Alexandria opens tonight against Owatonna in best-of-five series


The Alexandria Blizzard will head into the Robertson Cup Playoffs as a team that looks capable of making some noise.

The Blizzard open the playoffs tonight, Friday, with the first game of the best-of-five series against Central Division rival Owatonna at Shattuck-St. Mary’s School in Faribault at 7 p.m.

They head into that game winners of two of their last three games after wrapping up the home portion of the regular season with a sweep over North Iowa before falling to Albert Lea in overtime this past Sunday.

Albert Lea 6,

Alexandria 5

Even in that loss, the Blizzard gave themselves a reason to be optimistic. They showed a lot of resilience after falling behind 4-1 less than two minutes into the second period.

Alexandria responded by scoring four unanswered goals before falling 6-5 in overtime. Steve Zierke got the Blizzard the early lead with a power play goal just 38 seconds into the game. The rest of the period was all Thunder as they scored three goals before the first intermission. Luke Jenkins then took advantage of a power play at 1:28 to make it a 4-1 game.

Instead of folding, the Blizzard showed the confidence they have been playing with the entire second half. Alex Altenbernd was the catalyst of that charge. He scored two straight goals to cut the Thunder lead to one before the end of the second.

That gave Alexandria some momentum heading into the final period. Nardo Nagtzaam added to that with a goal at 3:16 to tie things up at four. Kyle Clay then gave Alexandria the lead less than a minute later on a power play goal.

It was a lead that did not last long. Matt Johnson scored for Albert Lea a little more than two minutes later to tie things up at five.

That is how things would go into overtime. Once there, the Thunder wasted no time posting the game winner. Brett Meyers provided the heroics with an unassisted goal just 42 seconds into the extra frame.

Robert Tadazak took the loss in net for Alexandria. He finished with 37 saves on the 43 shots he faced.

Alexandria 4,

North Iowa 2

The Blizzard wrapped up a dominating weekend sweep over North Iowa with a 4-2 win on Saturday night.

Alexandria scored three in the opening period to take a commanding lead that it would not relinquish. Nagtzaam, Steve Fulton and Zierke all took advantage of power-play opportunities in the first period.

After a scoreless second, Altenbernd added to that lead with a goal at 5:26 in the third. The Outlaws responded with two goals but it was not enough to overcome the early struggles.

Chris Kamal continued to shine in net for Alexandria. After winning the NAHL Goalie of the Week Award last week, Kamal turned aside 57 of the 62 shots he faced in the two wins over the Outlaws.

Alexandria 5,

North Iowa 3

The series opener followed a similar path last Friday night with the Blizzard jumping out to an early lead and never looking back.

Alexandria led 3-0 before three minutes had run off the clock. Zierke, Dylan Wizner and Simon Cederborg-Nilsson all got in on the scoring as the Blizzard dominated the opening period, outshooting the Outlaws 23-8.

It was much of the same in the final two frames as Alexandria outshot North Iowa 34-19 the rest of the way. Zierke and Cederborg-Nilsson both added their second goals of the night to provide some security for Kamal in net.

The Outlaws cut their deficit to two on three different occasions. They weren’t able to get any closer as the Blizzard kicked off their final regular-season homestand with a win.

Alexandria heads into the playoffs with a 30-22-6 record.

The Blizzard do not have home ice in the first round against Owatonna, but they should enter the series with a lot of confidence. They went 6-2-3 against the Express during the regular season.

The first two games of the series will be played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Game two comes tomorrow.

The Blizzard will be back home next Friday to host game three. If necessary, game four will follow at the Runestone Community Center on Saturday and game five would be played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s on Sunday. The first four games have 7 p.m. start times with a 5 p.m. drop of the puck for game five, if necessary.

GAME STATISTICS

ALEXANDRIA 1 2 2 0 – 5

ALBERT LEA 3 1 1 1 – 6

SCORING SUMMARY – FIRST PERIOD –
Alexandria – Steve Zierke (PP) (Alex Altenbernd), 0:38;
Albert Lea – Chris Cass (Harry Quast), 15:39;
Albert Lea – Anthony Iaquinto (unassisted), 15:53;
Albert Lea – Brett Meyers (PP) (Derek Docken, Zack Smoot), 18:14

SECOND PERIOD –
Albert Lea – Luke Jenkins (PP) (Niko Kapetanovic), 1:28;
Alexandria – Alex Altenbernd (Steve Zierke), 9:43;
Alexandria – Altenbernd (Zierke, Simon Cederborg-Nilsson), 16:18

THIRD PERIOD –
Alexandria – Nardo Nagtzaam (Tyler Resch, Kyle Clay), 3:16;
Alexandria – Kyle Clay (PP) (Brett Wall, Nardo Nagtzaam), 4:09;
Albert Lea – Matt Johnson (Anthony Iaquinto, Brandon Lubin), 6:29

OVERTIME – Albert Lea – Brett Meyers (unassisted), 0:42

GOALTENDING –
Alexandria – Robert Tadazak – 60:42, 37 saves, 43 shots faced;
Albert Lea – Joe Rogers – 60:42, 40 saves, 45 shots faced

TOTAL PENALTIES –
Alexandria – eight minutes on four infractions;
Albert Lea – 16 minutes on eight infractions

NORTH IOWA 0 0 2 – 2

ALEXANDRIA 3 0 1 – 4

SCORING SUMMARY – FIRST PERIOD –
Alexandria – Nagtzaam (PP) (Zach Fulton, Clay), 1:27;
Alexandria – Fulton (PP) (Chris Franks, Brett Wall), 10:47;
Alexandria – Zierke (PP) (Cederborg-Nilsson), 5:26

SECOND PERIOD – No scoring

THIRD PERIOD –
Alexandria – Altenbernd (Zierke, Cederborg-Nilsson), 5:26;
North Iowa – Ryan Bohrer (PP) (Connor Gaarder, Derek Loisel), 8:24;
North Iowa – Nick Booth (Ryan McElhone), 12:32

GOALTENDING –
Alexandria – Chris Kamal – 60:00, 33 saves, 35 shots faced;
North Iowa – Paul Moberg – 60:00, 23 saves, 27 shots faced

TOTAL PENALTIES –
North Iowa – eight minutes on four infractions;
Alexandria – 14 minutes on seven infractions

NORTH IOWA 0 1 2 – 3

ALEXANDRIA 3 1 1 – 5

SCORING SUMMARY – FIRST PERIOD –
Alexandria – Zierke (Cederborg-Nilsson, Altenbernd), 0:54;
Alexandria – Dylan Wizner (Grant Dye, Nick Nagel), 1:54;
Alexandria – Cederborg-Nilsson (Altenbernd, Zierke), 2:56

SECOND PERIOD –
North Iowa – Zac Frischmon (Ryan Bohrer, Joe Frechette), 3:30;
Alexandria – Zierke (Billy Miller, Chris Franks), 8:07

THIRD PERIOD –
North Iowa – Derek Loisel (Joe Frechette), 11:02;
Alexandria – Cederborg-Nilsson (Mike Krieg), 12:23;
North Iowa – Cole Meyer (Loisel, Ryan McElhone), 19:38

GOALTENDING –
North Iowa – Paul Moberg – 52:45, 44 saves, 49 shots faced;
Keegan Asmundson – 7:15, 8 saves, 8 shots faced;
Alexandria – Kamal – 60:00, 24 saves, 27 shots faced

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Express lead series 1-0 off Smith OT goal


FARIBAULT — Tim Smith didn’t even see the puck hit his skate, but he sure saw it slide over the goal line.

Smith’s goal put the cap on a crazy game. He scored the winning goal at the 9:30 mark in overtime to give the Owatonna Express a 7-6 win over the Alexandria Blizzard and a 1-0 lead in their Central Division semifinal series Friday night at Shattuck-St. Mary’s.

The goal came as a result of good hustle and blind luck. Zach Vierling put a shot on goal for Owatonna, and Alexandria goalie Robert Tadazak stopped it and slapped his glove down to trap the puck as all five Express players rushed the net. Somehow the puck slipped out of the glove. Smith was right on top of the play and seemingly hit the puck with his skate by accident, sending it over the goal line at a slow crawl.

“Usually overtime goals are garbage goals like that,” Smith said. “I saw one of the Alex guys knock it out of the goalie’s glove, and I put on the brakes to retreat. I felt the puck go off my skate, and I looked and saw it barely make it over the goal line.”

With the win, Owatonna takes the lead in the best-of-five series and will have a chance to take control with a win in Game 2 at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Shattuck.

“It’s a heck of a lot more fun to be up 1-0 than down 1-0, but we know we’re lucky,” Express coach Pat Cullen said. “We could just as easily be down.”

Smith’s goal sent the crowd into a frenzy, but it wasn’t the first time the Owatonna faithful were on their feet. The game featured one lead change and four ties. The final tie came as a result off the Blizzard’s goal with 28 seconds left in regulation with an extra attacker on the ice. On the play, Alexandria won the draw in its own zone, and Chris Franks ripped a slap shot past Owatonna goalie Matt Hemingway to tie the game.

“That was frustrating,” said Smith, who also had an assist Friday night. “I’m just glad we won. Even though we gave up a lot of goals, I felt like we deserved to win. It’s good for morale to win a game you’re supposed to.”

If the overtime period was crazy, the first 12 minutes of the game was absolutely insane. The teams combined for five goals with Owatonna taking a 3-2 lead on a short-handed goal by Dylan Porter. Chris Darnell and Cory Thorson also scored early in the game.

Jake Youso gave Owatonna a 4-2 lead 22 seconds into the second period and chased starting goalie Chris Kamal from the game, but the Blizzard cut the lead back to one three minutes later. Youso assisted on Dan Cecka’s score later in the second to make it 5-3, but Alexandria answered again with a short-handed tally of its own to make it 5-4 after two.

After the Blizzard tied the game in the third, Jake Sloat scored a power-play goal for Owatonna to put the Express up 6-5 with 13:54 to go.

Owatonna had a chance to extend the lead with another power play later in the third, but the Express couldn’t finish it off. That set up Franks’ goal in the final minute.

“That’s not how we want to play playoff hockey,” Smith said. “We definitely have to play better defensively before we can move on from the first round.”

Alexandria controlled the overtime period when it was even strength, but two penalties less than four minutes apart gave the Express nearly back-to-back power plays. Owatonna converted just one of nine power-play chances.

Youso finished with a goal and three assists, while Porter had a goal and two helpers. Darnell, Smith and Cecka finished with two points each.

First period—
1, A, Grant Dye (Billy Miller, Nick Nagel) 5:53;
2, O, Chris Darnell (Jake Suter) 6:15;
3, O, Cory Thorson (Dan Cecka, Nick Widing) 11:02;
4, A, Alex Altenbernd (Mike Krieg, Steve Zierke) 10:43;
5, O, Dylan Porter, 11:54 (sh).

Second period—
6, O, Jake Youso (Porter, Marco Fiala) :22;
7, A, Simon Cederborg (Altenbernd) 3:05;
8, O, Cecka (Tim Smith, Youso) 10:35;
9, A, Michael Benedict, 16:46 (sh).

Third period—
10, A, Nardo Nagtzaam (Krieg, Chris Franks) 3:59 (pp);
11, O, Jake Sloat (Youso, Porter) 6:06 (pp);
12, A, Franks (Altenbernd) 19:04.

Overtime—
13, O, Smith (Zach Vierling, Youso) 9:30

Shots on goal—
Alexandria 5-9-10-7—31;
Owatonna 12-9-6-4—31.
Power-play opportunities—Alexandria 1 of 7; Owatonna 1 of 7.
Goalies—Alexandria, Chris Kamal (13 shots-9 saves), Robert Tadazek (18-15); Owatonna, Matt Hemingway (31-25).

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Boxed In



http://expressjrhockey.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/284/12089.jpg (http://expressjrhockey.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/284/12089.jpg)
Story and photo by Owatonna People's Press, Ian Stauffer (http://www.owatonna.com/news.php?viewStory=115873)
FARIBAULT — One night after the Express and Blizzard combined to fail on 16 of 18 power-play chances, both sides picked it up with the advantage Saturday night.

Alexandria scored two power-play goals and Owatonna scored one, but it was an even strength goal by the Blizzard’s Billy Miller in the third period that proved to be the difference as the Blizzard evened the series with a 3-2 victory.

“We expected them to come out a little bit harder than (Friday) night,” said Zach Vierling, who scored Owatonna’s first goal Saturday night. “We knew it would be a tough game after we beat them in the first game. It’s the playoffs and you have to give your best effort.”

The series is now tied 1-1 and the teams will head to Alexandria for Games 3 and 4 on Friday and Saturday. If a fifth game is necessary, it will be played at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault on April 11.

“We wanted to go up there up two-zip, but that’s playoff hockey,” Vierling said. “We have to go up there with a nice work ethic and prove to them that we can beat them.”

The Blizzard took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period with a power-play goal by Mike Krieg and Alexandria took the lead into the intermission.

Vierling tied it up with his first goal of the playoffs 39 seconds into the second period. He took two hacks at the puck right in the crease. The first shot bounced off goalie Robert Tadazak’s pad, but the second one found its way over the line.

The Blizzard went back up by one with a power-play goal by Zach Fulton with 10:41 left in the second.

“(The power play) is obviously a big factor in the playoffs,” Vierling said. “It’s going to be tough to score goals five on five because it’s so competitive. When you have an edge like that, you have to bear down and complete the chance.”

Less than three minutes later, Owatonna answered with a power-play goal of its own. Marco Fiala charged in from the blue line and flicked a wrist shot from the slot past Tadazak to tie the game.

Alexandria controlled the third period and peppered Owatonna goalie Matt Hemingway with 18 shots on goal compared to just six for the Express. Miller’s goal three minutes into the period ended up being the game-winner.

The Blizzard won the shot battle 36-25. Hemingway finished with 33 saves and Tadazak stopped 23.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Blizzard playoff series deadlocked
Alexandria split a pair with Owatonna and will host the Express this weekend

In the best-of-five series, neither the Alexandria Blizzard nor the Owatonna Express could grab an early advantage as the two teams split their first two games at Shattuck-St. Mary’s Arena last weekend as the Central Division semifinals got underway.

Alexandria will now host Owatonna Friday and Saturday night at the Runestone Community Center beginning at 7 p.m. as the road to the Robertson Cup continues.

The Blizzard reached the Cup finals in 2007-2008

The winners of the eight divisional semifinals will match up in the best-of-five series divisional finals, with the division playoff champion advancing to the five-team Robertson Cup championships tournament May 4-9 at the Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington.

The final game, if necessary, will be played on Sunday at the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Arena.

Owatonna 7,

Alexandria 6 OT

After three wild regular periods, it was a garbage goal that gave Owatonna the win in the Central Division playoff opener Friday night.

Blizzard goalie Robert Tadazak had the puck gloved, but somehow it was knocked loose, allowing the Express’ Tim Smith to skitter the puck across the goal line for the win as it deflected off his skate.

This game had one lead change and four ties as both squads were hot on offense.

The final tie came on a Blizzard goal with 28 seconds remaining in regulation play as Chris Franks took the pass from Alex Altenbernd off the draw and blasted a shot past former Alexandria goalie Matt Hemingway.

Altenbernd, Grant Dye, Simon Cederborg-Nilsson, Nardo Nagtzaam and Michael Benedict all added goals for the Blizzard as they trailed 3-2 after the first period and 5-4 after two.

Nagtzaam’s third period goal came on a power play.

Tadazak was tagged with the loss for Alexandria after taking over for starter Chris Kamal.

Alexandria 3, Owatonna 2

The Blizzard weren’t about to let another game slip away.

One night after allowing Owatonna to grab the playoff series lead, Alexandria took advantage on two of its power play opportunities with goals by Mike Krieg and Zach Fulton, then secured a win with a third period goal by Billy Miller.

A flurry of activity in the second period allowed the Express to score both of its goals and tie the game before Miller gave the Blizzard its game-winner.

In the goalie battle, it was Alexandria’s Tadazak coming out on top as he made 23 saves in goal for the win. Hemingway took the loss despite stopping 33 shots as the Blizzard outshot the Express 36-25.

OWATONNA 7, ALEXANDRIA 6 OT

ALEXANDRIA 2 2 2 0 6

OWATONNA 3 2 1 1 7

(FIRST PERIOD)

ALEX – Grant Dye (Billy Miller, Nick Nagel) 5:53,
OWA – Chris Darnell (Jake Suter) 6:16,
OWA – Cory Thorson (Dan Cecka, Nick Widing) 8:58,
ALEX – Alex Altenbernd (Mike Krieg Steve Zierke) 9:17,
OWA – Dylan Porter, shorthanded (Chris Darnell) 11:54.

(SECOND PERIOD)

OWA – Jake Youso (Dylan Porter, Marian Fiala) 0:22, ALEX – Simon Cederborg-Nilsson (Alex Altenbernd) 3:05, OWA – Dan Cecka (Jake Youso, Tim Smith) 10:35, ALEX – Michael Benedict, shorthanded (unassisted) 16:46.

(THIRD PERIOD)

ALEX – Nardo Nagtzaam, power play (Mike Krieg, Chris Franks) 3:59,
OWA – Jacob Sloat, power play (Jake Youso, Dylan Porter) 6:06,
ALEX – Chris Franks, empty net (Alex Altenbernd) 19:04.

(OVERTIME)

OWA – Tim Smith (Zach Vierling, Jake Youso) 9:30.

SHOTS ON GOAL – Alexandria 5-9-10-7-31; Owatonna 12-9-1-9-31.

GOALIE SAVES – Chris Kamal, Alex, 16; Robert Tadazak (L), Alexandria, 8. Matt Hemingway, Owatonna, 25.

PENALTIES – Alexandria 22 minutes on 11 infractions; Owatonna 14 minutes on 7 infractions.

3RD STAR – Chris Franks, Alex.

ALEXANDRIA 3, OWATONNA 2

ALEXANDRIA 1 1 1 3

OWATONNA 0 2 0 2

(FIRST PERIOD)

ALEX – Mike Krieg, power play (Alex Altenbernd, Simon Cederborg-Nilsson) 12:41.

(SECOND PERIOD)

OWA – Zach Vierling (Dylan Porter, Jake Suter) 0:39,
ALEX – Zach Fulton, power play (Michael Pieper, Alex Altenbernd) 9:19,
OWA – Marian Fiala, power play (Brian McGinty, Jacob Sloat) 11:51.

(THIRD PERIOD)

ALEX – Billy Miller (Steve Zierke) 3:16.

SHOTS ON GOAL – Alexandria 9-9-18-36; Owatonna 8-11-6-25.

GOALIE SAVES – Robert Tadazak, Alex, 23; Matt Hemingway, Owa, 33.

PENALTIES – Alexandria 8 minutes on 4 infractions, Owatonna 8 minutes on 4 infractions.

1ST STAR – Billy Miller, Alex.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

ALEXANDRIA — The Express are up against a wall now.

Owatonna lost 6-2 to the Alexandria Blizzard in Game 3 of a Central Division semifinal series on Friday and now trail the series 2-1. Game 4 is at 7 p.m. Saturday in Alexandria, and the Express need a win to keep their season going.

“We know what we’re up against,” Owatonna coach Pat Cullen said. “It’s pretty clearly defined. If we don’t win (Saturday), our season is over. It’s that simple.”

Owatonna fell behind in the first period with the first of two goals by Alex Altenbernd, who has three goals and four assists in the series. Altenberned scored again in the second to put Alexandria up 2-0.

The Express got within one with Brian McGinty’s first goal of the playoffs, but Brett Wall scored twice in the final five minutes of the second period to put the Blizzard up 4-1. Wall’s second goal came with just 37 seconds left before intermission.

Jake Sloat got the Express back into the game with his second postseason goal, but Owatonna couldn’t capitalize on the momentum. Steve Zierke netted his first goal of the series to make it 5-2 with nine minutes to go, and the Blizzard tacked on one more in the closing minutes for good measure.

Owatonna’s Michael Webb made his first postseason start and stopped 37 shots in the loss. The Blizzard nearly doubled the Express’ shots on goal. Robert Tadazak stopped 21 shots for the Blizzard.

“We just didn’t play very well as a team,” Cullen said. “It just wasn’t our night. We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be.”

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Alexandria Blizzard to division finals

In the Central, the Alexandria Blizzard advanced to the divisional finals with a 5-2 win over the Owatonna Express in Game 4 of their series.

Forward Simon Cederborg-Nilsson connected for a goal and three assists in the victory, and forwards Alex Altenbernd (game-winning goal, two assists) and Steve Zierke (two goals, assists) each delivered three-points nights. In goal, Robert Tadazak turned back 24 shots.

The Blizzard will face off against the Bismarck Bobcats, who swept the Albert Lea Thunder in their semifinals series, in the Central Division finals.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Divisional finals playoff schedule announced

April 13, 2010
http://www.nahl.com/nahl/img/0910/topstory45.gif
The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced the schedule of the four, best-of-five divisional finals series of the 2010 Robertson Cup Playoffs.

CENTRAL DIVISION
Alexandria Blizzard vs. Bismarck Bobcats
Game 1: Friday, April 16 @ Bismarck, 7:15 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, April 17 @ Bismarck, 7:15 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, April 23 @ Alexandria, 7:05 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, April 24 @ Alexandria, 7:05 p.m.*
Game 5: Monday, April 26 @ Bismarck, 7:15 p.m.*

NORTH DIVISION
Motor City Metal Jackets vs. Traverse City North Stars
Game 1: Friday, April 16 @ Traverse City, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, Apri l7 @ Traverse City, 7 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, April 23 @ Motor City, 7 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, April 24 @ Motor City, 7 p.m.*
Game 5: Monday, April 26 @ Traverse City, 8 p.m.*

SOUTH DIVISION
St. Louis Bandits vs. Topeka RoadRunners
Game 1: Thursday, April 15 @ Topeka, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Friday, April 16 @ Topeka, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, April 23 @ St Louis, 7:05 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, April 24 @ St Louis, 7:05 p.m.*
Game 5: Monday, April 26 @ Topeka, 7:05 p.m.*

WEST DIVISION
Fairbanks Ice Dogs vs. Wenatchee Wild
Game 1: Friday, April 16 @ Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, April 17 @ Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m.
Game 3: Friday, April 23 @ Fairbanks, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: Saturday, April 24 @ Fairbanks, 7:30 p.m.*
Game 5: Saturday, May 1 @ Wenatchee, 7:05 p.m.*

* if necessary

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Power Play Dominates as Bobcats Bomb Blizzard


Date: Apr 16, 2010

http://bismarckbobcats.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/253/12387.jpg (http://bismarckbobcats.pointstreaksites.com/img/news_article_images/253/12387.jpg) BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats came out firing to open the Central Division Finals, riding a scorching-hot power play to a 9-1 laugher over the visiting Alexandria Blizzard in Game One of the second round of the 2010 Robertson Cup Playoffs.

Jason Fabian got the Bobcats rolling early in the first, running free for a breakaway off a long outlet pass from Gavin Hartzog and firing a rising shot over the glove of Blizzard netminder Robert Tadazak for a 1-0 lead 7:31 into the game.

“The first goal has always been the most important one for us all year, and [Friday] everything snowballed after that first one went in,” said Fabian, who is second on the Bobcats in postseason points with three goals and five assists. “Alexandria is a strong, physical team and we had to match their intensity from the start, which we were able to do.”

Leading playoff scorer Dominic Panetta followed 2:23 later, ripping a high power play snap shot over Tadazak off a centering feed from Sam Rendle to boost the lead to 2-0.

Panetta helped linemate Ryan Jacobson make it a 3-0 game eight and a half minutes later, finding Jacobson in front of the Blizzard net for a backhander that found the back of the net off the crossbar with 1:33 left in the opening frame.

The Bobcats weren’t done in the first period, however, as Panetta tallied his second of the night with 13 seconds left in the frame, rattling a one-time shot off replacement netminder Chris Kamal and in for a 4-0 Bismarck edge heading into the first intermission.

“All year, I don’t think our team was recognized as one of those elite power play units,” said Panetta, who leads all playoff scorers now with five goals and eight assists in four games, “so we’ve wanted to go out and show what our ‘PP’ can do here in the playoffs.”

It was the Blizzard power play, though, that answered the bell in the second frame as Alexandria forward Steve Zierke rifled a low power play snap shot past Bobcats goalie Jake Williams just 1:51 into the second to cut the lead to 4-1. Zierke’s tally marked the first goal the ‘Cats have given up on the penalty kill this postseason.

Casey Kleisinger responded with a power play goal of his own late in the second, ripping a slap shot over Tadazak—who played the second period before being lifted again for Kamal in the third—to restore the four-goal lead at 5-1 with 4:29 left in the middle stanza.

In the third, Alexandria piled up ten penalties that resulted in five Bobcat power plays, including four 5-on-3 man advantages.

The ‘Cats made the most of their 5-on-3 chances, as they converted three of the four two-man-advantage opportunities with scores from Brett Bower, Matt Shost and Aaron Quick.

Sean McKenzie capped off the Bobcats’ scoring explosion with yet another power play goal, powering a Hartzog rebound past Kamal with 42 seconds left for the final 9-1 margin.

On the night, the Bobcats finished with a 7-for-11 mark on the power play. The nine goals scored is a season-high for the ‘Cats.

“Nine goals in a playoff game is great,” said Fabian, “but that game is over now—[Saturday] the game will start 0-0. The score on Friday has no bearing on Saturday’s game so we need to come out and match Alexandria’s intensity again in Game Two.”

Williams made 22 saves to improve to 3-0 in net for the Bobcats during the 2010 playoffs.

Tadazak was eventually saddled with the loss, dropping him to 3-2 in the postseason. Kamal made 12 saves on 17 shots in relief.

The Bobcats and Blizzard will continue the Central Division Finals on Saturday with a 7:15 Game Two start at the VFW Sports Center.

Saturday’s contest will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.com via B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts at 6:45 PM.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

BISMARCK, ND – The Bismarck Bobcats made the most of a couple lucky bounces and locked down late defensively to pull away for a 5-2 win over the Alexandria Blizzard in Game Two of the Central Division Finals Saturday at the VFW Sports Center.

The win gives the ‘Cats a commanding two-games-to-none lead in their best of five series with a trip to the 2010 Robertson Cup Tournament in Wenatchee, Wash., on the line.

Facing a 2-2 tie after two periods, the Bobcats sparked a three goal rally with a little good fortune when Tyler Klein ripped a low transition snap shot that was initially saved by Blizzard goaltender Robert Tadazak 8:24 into the third. Tadazak, however, lost control of the saved puck, which rolled behind him and over the goal line before the Alexandria backcheck could pull it from danger.

“At first look, I thought [Tadazak] had it held for a whistle,” recalled Klein, “but I heard the crowd rise up like something was about to happen and I caught a look at it through his legs then turned to the ref [Tom Chmielewski] and saw him signaling the goal.”

Chmielewski conferred with the goal judge to discuss the apparent goal, which whipped the crowd of 1,283 into a frenzy when confirmed.

Thirty seconds after Klein gave the Bobcats the lead, Gavin Hartzog continued the home side’s run of good luck when his transition centering feed—intended for Nick Jensen—bounced off the shin guard of Alexandria defenseman Chris Franks and into the net for a 4-2 advantage.

Jason Fabian capped the surge for the Bobcats with 7:54 left, deflecting a power play shot from Dominic Panetta over Tadazak and in to make it 5-2.

Bobcat netminder Jake Williams made the late rally stand up, making several key saves down the stretch to preserve his fourth postseason win of 2010 on 23 stops.

“The guys in front of me took over in the third, just like they always do,” said Williams, who came to the Bobcats in a trade with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs after Christmas. “Alexandria seemed to only send out about two-and-a-half lines all third period—and with our conditioning that’s a pretty big gamble—and we were able to finish strong.”

The ‘Cats built an early 2-0 lead on first period goals from Sean McKenzie and Sam Rendle, but Nardo Nagtzaam notched a late first-period score to pull the Blizzard to within 2-1 at the end of the opening frame.

Simon Cederborg-Nilsson’s power play goal with 6:55 left in the second tied the game heading into intermission number two, but the Blizzard were never able to pull ahead.

Tadazak made 22 saves but was saddled with his second straight loss, dropping the Alexandria netminder to 3-3 in the 2010 playoffs.

The Bobcats now have another elimination game upcoming in Game Three on Friday at the Runestone Center in Alexandria. A win would send the ‘Cats to their second straight Robertson Cup Tournament and secure Bismarck consecutive Central Cups.

Puck drop is scheduled Friday for 7:05 in Alexandria.

Game Three will be broadcast locally on the radio home of Bobcat Hockey, Super Talk 1270, KLXX-AM, and worldwide at BismarckBobcats.com via B2 Networks. The pre-game show starts at 6:45 PM.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

NAHL announces All-Divisional Teams
APRIL 23, 2010


The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced its All star-Central, -North, -South and -West Division Teams for the 2009-10 season, as selected by the league’s coaches and general managers.

All star-Central Division Team
Forward: Jason Fabian, Bismarck Bobcats
Forward: Nardo Nagtzaam, Alexandria Blizzard
Forward: Cory Thorson, Owatonna Express
Defenseman: Derek Docken, Albert Lea Thunder
Defenseman: Sam Rendle, Bismarck Bobcats
Goaltender: Ryan Faragher, Bismarck Bobcats

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Nagtzaam poised to lead Alexandria's charge
AUGUST 9, 2010
BY MATT MACKINDER | NAHL.COM

Nardo Nagtzaam, from the Netherlands, finished sixth in NAHL scoring in 2009-10 with 61 points.

Just because it’s called the North American Hockey League (NAHL), that doesn’t mean the 26-team circuit only has players from North America.

Texas Tornado forward Jack Prince, for one, hails from the United Kingdom, while Alexandria Blizzard forward Nardo Nagtzaam came from an even greater distance to play in the NAHL - the Netherlands.

Nagtzaam played his second season in the NAHL this past year and came to Alexandria mid-season in a trade with the Alaska Avalanche. He averaged better than a point per game the past two years and was among the league’s top 10 scorers all season, finishing sixth overall with 24 goals among 61 points.

“Just being here another year helps with the adjustment and I know what to expect in certain situations,” said the 19-year-old. “I’ve always been an offensive player, even when I was younger. I think of myself as an offensive player, but saying that, I know I have to work on my defensive game. As my coach says, I must learn to compete over the whole ice.”

In his younger years, Nagtazaam traveled Europe to play hockey at a high level.

“I only played in the Netherlands until I was 11 years old,” explained Nagtzaam. “After that, I played in Krefeld and Cologne in Germany in the junior elite leagues. There are quality players there, just not as many as here. With the Krefeld Pinguins, I won a championship and during my years in Germany, and I was always among the top 20 scorers.”

With the Blizzard, Nagtzaam did nothing but produce last season.

"Nardo made a great offensive impact with our team in a short amount of time with us," said Blizzard head coach Doc DelCastillo. "He works extremely hard and is determined to make himself a better player. Nardo is a good fit for our team, on and off the ice. He'll definitely be able to contribute offensively at the college level.”

Going to Alexandria was a struggle at first, but Nagtzaam said it ended up being the perfect fit.

“I stepped into the right circumstances here in Alexandria,” said the 6-foot-1, 185-pound Nagtzaam. “Coming from Alaska, where I made a lot of friends and where the club gave me time to adjust and develop, I only can say thank you for the very nice time I had there. But also, in Alexandria, the coaching staff, the club and the players have made me feel at home.”

Alexandria assistant coach Jeff Crouse, however, doesn’t recall Nagtzaam, who made the NAHL All-Central Division team, struggling on the ice.

“When we first got him, he started out absolutely on fire,” Crouse said. “We were able to get him on our top line with some highly offensive players and they were able to produce points at a high rate. It also allowed us to put together a very good offensive second line, which just made our team deeper and harder to shut down.”

Nagtzaam, who said he tries to emulate NHL star Evgeni Malkin’s style of game, is a talent who “can make players around him much better,” according to Crouse.

“With his vision and the way he sees the ice, Nardo makes it hard for other teams to defend him,” noted Crouse. “With those abilities, this makes him for sure a D-I hockey player.”

Looking ahead to this coming season, Crouse added that the Blizzard will be building the team around Nagtzaam and that can only mean positives in Alexandria.

“Nardo finished the regular season on a high note for us,” Crouse said. “He was the mainstay for us offensively. He went into the playoffs as kind of a marked man and other teams knew they had to shut him down because has the capabilities to take over games and put up points at will.

“We’re really looking forward to Nardo making the next step in his game and really become a complete all-around player. This year, we should have the offense to help take the focus off of him and let him relax and produce even more.”

www.nahl.com

[Paul van Heertum]

Dus de stap naar College gaat volgend jaar niet komen? Kan dat eventueel ook nog voor 2011-2012?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Dus de stap naar College gaat volgend jaar niet komen? Kan dat eventueel ook nog voor 2011-2012?

Paul, de bedoeling was sowieso dat het voor 2011 - 2012 was.
Dus ja dat kan voor volgend jaar ook nog.

[Jorgen Overdijk]

Zo te lezen gaat het top Jan... geweldig om te lezen!

Veel succes Nardo in de aankomende seizoenen, en stiekum hoop ik je toch weer te kunnen bewonderen in een Nijmegen shirtje ;)

Gr. Jorgen

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Hoi Jurgen, ben daar maar niet bang voor, dat zal best nog wel gebeuren.

[Paul van Heertum]

Wat zijn bijvoorbeeld spelers die (recentelijk) in Nederland speelden/spelen en die hun carrière zijn begonnen in de NAHL?

[Ro Herregraven]

Jason Tejchma is de eerste die me tebinnen schiet.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Wat zijn bijvoorbeeld spelers die (recentelijk) in Nederland speelden/spelen en die hun carrière zijn begonnen in de NAHL?

Van Nederland weet ik niet zo, maar bij de olympische spelen waren van het Amerikaanse team er ongeveer 9 die in de NAHL begonnen zijn. (wellicht zelfs 14)


Bert van de Braak heeft in de NAHL in Texas gespeeld.

[Andy Clifton]

Misschien een stomme vraag.Maar tot/vanaf welk jaar doe je mee aan de Drafts van de NHL AHL ECHL?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Misschien een stomme vraag.Maar tot/vanaf welk jaar doe je mee aan de Drafts van de NHL AHL ECHL?

Andy, volgens mij was/ is dit jaar geboortejaar 1992 aan de beurt voor wat betreft de NHL., betreffende de jongste lichting.
Maar.........., je kunt natuurlijk op latere leeftijd altijd nog worden gedraft.

De een ontwikkelt zich sneller als de ander.

Het zou leuk zijn als een Mike of Mitch vanuit college gedraft zou worden, dat zouden denk ik de eerste zijn die dan gedraft worden.

Of bedoel je iets anders?

Er zijn ook spelers die pas op hun 25e gedraft worden.

Maar men rekent ieder jar vanuit de jongste leeftijd, omdat ouderen dan altijd in aanmerking komen voor de draft.
Zo moest John Tavares een jaar wachten op de draft, terwijl men hem al een jaar eerder had willen draften. Dus ik denk vanaf 17 of 18 jaar.

[Paul van Heertum]

Heb effe geteld maar er zijn volgens mij 7 spelers dit jaar gedraft die college speelden. Meeste komen toch uit het Amerikaanse/Canadese junior leagues of Europa

[Rob Boumans]

Heb effe geteld maar er zijn volgens mij 7 spelers dit jaar gedraft die college speelden. Meeste komen toch uit het Amerikaanse/Canadese junior leagues of Europa

Gefeliciteerd!!
mvg Rob

[Andy Clifton]

Andy, volgens mij was/ is dit jaar geboortejaar 1992 aan de beurt voor wat betreft de NHL., betreffende de jongste lichting.
Maar.........., je kunt natuurlijk op latere leeftijd altijd nog worden gedraft.

De een ontwikkelt zich sneller als de ander.

Het zou leuk zijn als een Mike of Mitch vanuit college gedraft zou worden, dat zouden denk ik de eerste zijn die dan gedraft worden.

Of bedoel je iets anders?

Er zijn ook spelers die pas op hun 25e gedraft worden.

Maar men rekent ieder jar vanuit de jongste leeftijd, omdat ouderen dan altijd in aanmerking komen voor de draft.
Zo moest John Tavares een jaar wachten op de draft, terwijl men hem al een jaar eerder had willen draften. Dus ik denk vanaf 17 of 18 jaar.


Hoi Jan,

Dit was inderdaad de bedoeling met mijn vraag.Ik was erg benieuwd vanaf welke leeftijd bijvoorbeeld Mike Dalhuisen gedraft kon worden en wanneer je ervan uit mag gaan dat hij er niet meer voor in aanmerking komt.

Bedankt voor je info..

[Paul van Heertum]

Gefeliciteerd!!
mvg Rob

Bedankt voor de opbeurende woorden

[Paul van Heertum]

Volgens mij is Mitch Bruijsten de enigste Nederlander(de laaste jaren) die op de lijst van de central scouting agency stond

[Ron Aalbers]

Hoi Jurgen, ben daar maar niet bang voor, dat zal best nog wel gebeuren.

Maak me blij Jan! Wanneer??

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Hoi Jan,

Dit was inderdaad de bedoeling met mijn vraag.Ik was erg benieuwd vanaf welke leeftijd bijvoorbeeld Mike Dalhuisen gedraft kon worden en wanneer je ervan uit mag gaan dat hij er niet meer voor in aanmerking komt.

Bedankt voor je info..

ik weet het niet zeker, maar volgens mij is Holmstrom (red wings) ook pas op latere leeftijd gedraft evenals Datsyuk?

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Maak me blij Jan! Wanneer??

Ja, Ron als ik je dat kon vertellen zou ik het doen, maar het zal nog wel ff duren.
Hij heeft wel altijd gezegd daar te eindigen waar hij ooit begonnen is, dus wie weet.

[Ron Aalbers]

Ja, Ron als ik je dat kon vertellen zou ik het doen, maar het zal nog wel ff duren.
Hij heeft wel altijd gezegd daar te eindigen waar hij ooit begonnen is, dus wie weet.

Ik vindt het wel super van hem die ie zijn roots niet vergeten is. Wens hem veel sucses Jan!

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Ik vindt het wel super van hem die ie zijn roots niet vergeten is. Wens hem veel sucses Jan!

Zal ik zeker doen, hij vertrekt maandag.
Zijn roots is hij niet vergeten en zal hij ook nooit vergeten.

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Dames, heren, let u even op Brendan Jensen de goalie van Wenatchee, deze jongen wordt op dit moment als het grootste keeperstalent van heel Noord Amerika genoemd (dus incl. Canada).

Ik heb hem aan het werk gezien, Top, top ,top. (voor wat betreft mijn bescheiden mening)

Hij begon ooit eens als forward.

Zie onderstaand, al zeg ik het zelf, ik had er toch een beetje kijk op! HAHAHA

Jensen at Vancouver Canucks Rookie Camp

Will Participate In Young Stars Tournament

September 11, 2011
http://www.nahl.com/nahl1112/news/img/Jensen-web2_2.jpg
WENATCHEE, Wash. – Former Wenatchee Wild goaltender Brendan Jensen is used to denying opportunities. Now the El Granada, Calif., native will try to seize the opportunity before him.
Jensen is participating in the Vancouver Canucks’ rookie camp, which began yesterday and concludes on Sept. 15.
The camp will provide the 18-year-old netminder, who is 6 feet 1 inch tall and 193 pounds, with exposure to some of game’s best young talent and coaching. Camp will consist of on-ice practices and competition in the 2011 Young Stars Tournament in Penticton, British Columbia.
“This is a great opportunity for Jensen, and one I’m sure he will take full advantage of,” said Wenatchee Wild assistant coach Chris Clark. “Brendan has a terrific work ethic and we are very happy it has paid off for him. He has the tools and mental toughness to play the position for a long time.”
Jensen went 10-3-2 with the Wild during the 2009-10 regular season with a goals-against average of 2.09 and a save percentage of .917. He was even better in the 2010 playoffs, going 3-0 with a goals-against average of 1.63 and save percentage of .942.
Jensen went 8-13-1 with the WHL’s Vancouver Giants last season with a goals-against average of 3.76.
All eight of the Young Starts Tournament games will be streamed live on Canucks.com (http://www.canucks.com/). Vancouver’s 4-game tournament schedule is below.
Game 1: vs. Edmonton – Sunday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: vs. Calgary – Monday, Sept. 12, 4 p.m.
Game 3: vs. San Jose – Wednesday, Sept. 14, 4 p.m.
Game 4: vs. Winnipeg – Thursday, Sept. 15, 11:30 a.m.

[Sebastiaan Reniers]

Hoi Jan, leuke posting!

Ik heb in '95-'96 een jaar in Wenatchee gewoont en nooit geweten dat er ook een ijshockeyclub in de stad zat.

Groet, Sebas

[Jan Nagtzaam]

Hoi Jan, leuke posting!

Ik heb in '95-'96 een jaar in Wenatchee gewoont en nooit geweten dat er ook een ijshockeyclub in de stad zat.

Groet, Sebas

Hoi Sebas, dat kan kloppen, want Wenatchee is een redelijk nieuwe franchise en bestaat pas 3-4 jaar.
Het is direct ook een van de topteams in de Nahl, zeker toen Paul Baxter ( ex nhl) daar de trainer was. Paul Baxter zit nu bij Wichita.
Leuk om te lezen dat je daar bent geweest.

gr. jan

[Sebastiaan Reniers]

Ben op mijn zestiende een jaar naar de usa geweest en heb daar veel aan sport gedaan, met name basketbal en voetbal. In de zomer is het daar boven de 40 graden. In de winter vaak 20 graden onder nul. Vanuit wenatchee was je met 3 uur in Seatlle of Spokane. Heb echt een hele mooie tijd gehad en hoop er ook nog een naar terug gaan.