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D2 Loons Game #13 Loons 4, Flying Hellfish 5

 

A D2 Fighting Loons game is often like a cheap tire:  either you have a blowout or you get home after some tense moments toward the end.  The latter was the case in last Sunday's game against the Flying Hellfish, as the Loons lost 5-4. In many ways the Loons dominated the contest, almost doubling the Hellfish shot total (the final tally was 29-15).  But the Birds never had the lead, and in the end it came down to the simple fact that they couldn't keep the puck out of the back of their own net.

The scoring started on an unassisted shorthanded goal by the Hellfish about halfway through the first period.  But a short time later, defenseman Todd Ferrara answered back for the Loons with his own goal, also unassisted. Starting in his own zone, Ferrara carried the puck up ice unabated and made a nifty move to fool the Hellfish goaltender and tie the score at one apiece.

A few minutes later the Hellfish took the lead to end the first period ahead by one, then added another at 5:39 of the second to make it 3-1.  The Loons came storming back when Dutch Sauer fed a beautiful pass to Brad Bosker in the slot, who chipped it in with a backhand to cut the lead to 3-2.  The Flying Hellfish then went up by two again with a minute and a half before the buzzer to end the second.

But asking a Fighting Loon to merely roll over and give up is like asking Paris Hilton not to... do... whatever she does.  The Loons managed to draw within one goal of the Hellfish when Kevin Stoll scored his own unassisted goal, his first of the year.  "I tipped the puck to a defenseman," said Stoll as he related the details in the locker room interview.  Stoll applied relentless pressure on the defenseman who, apparently rattled, "turned and fired the puck into his own net."  Because Stoll was the last to touch the puck, he was credited with the goal.

Inspired by Stoll's heroics, the Loons turned up the heat even further, as the stalwart Loons defense held the puck in the Hellfish zone.  Defenseman Netter Westerlund shuttled a pass to winger Brad Bosker who set up behind the goal.  He found Sauer in the slot, who one-timed it in for the game-tying goal.

The Loons continued to dominate the third period, but that domination didn't translate into goals.  The Flying Hellfish took the lead with less than 4 minutes to play in the game.  The Loons pulled goalie Todd Goetze with under two minutes left, but they were never able to mount a solid attack and ended up dropping the match 5-4.
 

 

D2 Loons Game #12 Loons 0, Marauders 13

When the D2 Fighting Loons first faced the Mill City Marauders back in November, the Loons were practically a brand new team.  By contrast, the Marauders had been playing together since the last decade, and it showed.  The Marauders owned the Loons that game like Siegfried owns Roy, resulting in a 13-0 blowout.  Going into their second matchup last weekend at St. Louis Park, the Loons weren’t expecting to leave with a victory, but they also weren’t anticipating a repeat performance.  In many ways they avoided the latter, despite losing once again to the Marauders 10-0.

 

The game’s first five minutes were scoreless, an auspicious start for the Loons as they held with the Marauders skate for skate and possession was pretty even.  Then at 4:48 the Mill City boys finally got on the board.  The seal was broken at that point, as the Loons almost immediately lost their energy and allowed the Marauders to string together 4 more goals, making it what ultimately proved to be the most productive period of the game.

 

After a brief pep talk on the bench during the break, the Loons reorganized and held off the Marauders for over seven minutes to start the second period.  But once again the Loons couldn’t keeping the finger in the dike, letting the Marauders fire off another 4 goals in the second to make it 9-0.  “It was like we’d build up a full head of steam and then halfway through the period run out of water,” said Loons center Steve Fait after the game.

 

But whether it was the Marauders easing off or the Loons getting more fired up than before, the third period proved to be the litmus test for persistence. The Loons seemed determined not to let any more goals in, and with the exception of an early fluke goal that seemed to pinball off of half the skaters on the ice, the third period was all defense.  “We held them to 5 shots on goal in the 3rd and kept the pressure on even though we started the period down 9-0,” noted alternate captain Brad Bosker. 

 

The Loons did indeed have some scoring chances late in the period, but there wasn’t enough pressure to force a goal past the steady Mill City goalie.  “We still need to get more shots on goal,” commented Fait.  “We’ve had some pretty goals this season, but to do better on the scoreboard we have to put the puck on the net and give ourselves more chances to pick up some garbage goals.”

 

Still, many of the Fighting Loons felt that Saturday’s game was one of their better performances, Bosker being one of them.  “Overall, I was impressed with our play, especially in the 3^rd period.  No matter what, the Loons never give up.  I hope we take that drive and hunger to the next game [against the Flying Hellfish].  If we do, we’ll walk out with a win.”

 

D2 Game #11 Loons 4, Northern Horde 11

 

Just when it seems like the D2 Fighting Loons might have it figured out.  Perhaps they were still reeling from their drubbing by the Wailers the previous week.  Maybe it was a low pressure system, or the team was consumed by the Academy’s snub of Steven Spielberg for this year’s Oscars.  Whatever the case, the outcome of their contest with the Northern Horde wasn’t entirely anticipated, as the Loons experienced another tough loss at Wakota last Thursday, losing 11-4. 

                                                                                                                                                                           

Such an eventual scoring disparity was hard to foresee during the opening period.  The Horde started the scoring off early, just over a minute into the first.  But a few minutes later the Loons took advantage of a lapse in the Northern Horde defense when an errant pass was deflected and ended up on the stick of Corey “Dutch” Sauer, who rocketed a shot over the glove of the Horde goalie to knot the score at 1-1.  For the next seven minutes play remained scoreless until the Northern Horde found the back of the Loons net again, then two minutes later added another to end the first period with a 3-1 lead. 

 

The two teams then spent the entire second period alternating jabs.  After the Horde notched another goal about three minutes in, the Loons rejoined the fray when Sauer found fellow winger Brad Bosker on the weak side post to cut the lead to 4-2.  A minute later the Horde scored again, but the Loons kept it a two-goal game when winger Vaughn Meyer put in his own rebound after captain Bill Berg’s initial shot from the right circle was kicked out by the Northern Horde goalie.  Meyer’s persistence resulted in his first goal of the year.  “Vaughn was in the right spot at the right time,” noted Berg later.  “It was great positioning on his part.”

But from then on it was all Northern Horde, as they ran off a string of six unanswered goals, including a pair that occurred a mere 10 seconds apart in the third.   The Loons managed to finish off the scoring for the day when Sauer added his team-leading 6^th goal of the season, but by then it was obviously no longer a battle to win but rather to salvage some pride.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Of course pride has never been an issue with the Fighting Loons.  Every time they hit the ice they see their team develop and grow. On Thursday they tied their highest scoring output of the season..  “I thought we played much better than we did against the Wailers,” said Loon Patrick Bibro, referring to the aforementioned contest from the previous weekend.  “It helped that the Horde are a clean team and not a bunch of goons.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Obviously some bad blood still lingers from that match, but the Loons will need to put that behind them for now and focus on next Saturday when they face the first place Marauders at St Louis Park.

 

Hockey Day Minnesota

D1 Loons game #10, Buccaneers 3, Loons 4

 

It was a busy Hockey Day Minnesota! It seemed every arena in the state was packed to watch all of the big games that the great state of hockey had to offer. Dallas Stars were taken down by the mighty Wild at the Excel, and both the men and women’s Gopher teams played at home filling the campus arenas. The Fighting Loons teams were on the ice as well. D1 Loons Faced the Buccaneers at Aldrich arena in Maplewood, and the Loons were excited to meet a new team on the ice. These two teams hadn’t met before and the Loons didn’t want to take any chances, especially down two key players with injuries. The Loons came out fast and strong controlling the puck through the first two periods. Kevin Dummer #19, putting the first two points on the board in a gladiator fashion from his wingmen McGreevy #7, and Alger #4, each getting an assist. The 2^nd period would end the Loons getting one more on the board with a couple of nice passes and a wrister from Derrek Hoffman #12. With the Loons up 3-0, the guys seemed to let their guard down and the Buccaneers stepped up in a big way. The third period was all the privateers when they held the Loons to only three shots in the third period. The Buccaneers got 3 more goals on the board, but that wouldn’t be enough with another goal from Hoffman getting the go ahead and the win.     

 

D2 Loons Game 10, Loons 1, Wailers 12

 

 

 

 

 

D2 loons Game 9, Loons 2, Wolf-Rayets 1

 

Back in November, the D2 Fighting Loons kicked off what would be an unexpectedly rough start to the 2011-2012 AHA season, going winless in their first 8 games.  But after a steady improvement on the ice, the Loons felt they were bound to win.  And win they did, finally notching a mark in the "W" column last Saturday with a 2-1 victory over the Wolf-Rayets at Breck-Anderson Arena.

 

For the second week in a row, the Birds started the scoring, and did so in spectacular fashion.  In the 2nd period, defenseman Danette "Netter" Westerlund banked a pass up the left side to winger Corey "Dutch" Sauer who carried it into the Wolf-Rayets zone and deposited a beautiful wrister over the goalie's left shoulder.  "It was definitely a rush," Sauer commented after the game.  " It wasn't the garbage kind.  Netter made a great pass."

 

But true to fashion for the Loons this year, the opposition came back to tie it 1-1.  Toward the end of the 2^nd period, Loons goalie Todd Goetze appeared to have covered up a loose puck in front of the net.  Like most of the skaters from both sides, Goetze thought the play was dead and left the puck on the ice for the faceoff.  The referee however didn't see things the same way and refrained from blowing the whistle.  An alert Wolf-Rayet saw this lapse and tapped the puck in to knot up the score.  After some discussion the controversy subsided and the game headed into the third frame.

 

Any fears of another tie for the Loons were soon vanquished however by forward Michael Jendrysik.  Jendrysik, skating the puck out from his own zone, maneuvered through the Wolf-Rayets defense like the proverbial hot knife through butter, and scored unassisted beating the goalie glove-side.  "He simply outskated the defenders," said Loons captain Bill Berg.  "It was just a great individual play by him."

 

Equally key to the win was netminder Goetze, who stopped a Wolf-Rayet breakaway toward the end of the game.  "I could tell where he was looking to shoot the whole time," Goetze said of the threat.  Along with snuffing out that attempt to tie the game late, Goetze stopped 21 of 22 shots in Saturday’s tilt.  It could easily be considered his best performance yet for the Loons. 

                                                                                                                                          

With the win, the Loons have managed to spring out of the bottom of the D2 standings, and now have sole possession of 8th place.  Momentum is on their side as they meet the Wailers for the second time next Saturday.

 

 

D2 Loons Game 8, Loons 3, Knights 4

Don’t call it a comeback…  because it wasn’t.  But it was darn close.  After being down 3 goals to the Knights on Saturday night at Drake Arena, the D2 Fighting Loons came storming back and made a game of it, almost knotting it up in the final exciting seconds before ultimately succumbing to the enemy 4-3.
 
The Loons started out the scoring when Don Neary #13 took a Brad Bosker #96 pass down an open seam on the right side and scored from 15 feet out in the slot.  A short time later the Knights answered back with their own goal, then proceeded to take a 3-1 lead by the middle of the 2nd period.  At that point the momentum started to go to the Birds, who outshot the Knights 13-3 in the second and then 11-7 in the 3rd period (the Loons finished with a season high 35 shots on goal).  In the third, Winger Michael Jendrysik #32 scored unassisted on a breakaway, then shortly thereafter Bosker scored on a wrister from the slot off a pass from winger Corey Sauer #5.
 
The continued pressure eventually triggered somewhat of a scuffle between the Knights goalie and Sauer, who was trying to jam a loose puck home.  “We rattled their goalie,” said winger Matt Maruska later.  “There is nothing better than a goalie losing his cool.”  And the heat never let up from there.  Down one with less than a minute to go, the Loons pulled goalie Todd Goetze #31 in favor of an extra skater. Yet despite an impressive job of holding the puck in the zone and getting some shots on goal, the Loons weren’t able to sneak one in.
 
Still, spirits were high retreating from the ice to the friendly confines of the fishhouse-esque locker room at Drake, where the team was generally feeling good about their performance.  Goalie Goetze apparently shook off the British pub haze that plagued his last outing, picking up where he left off at the end of the 1-1 scrimmage between the Loons and the Wailers earlier in the week.  “I had some good saves and felt confident in net.  It was also nice to see our defense help to clear rebounds and limit the number of shots on goal.”  For the second consecutive week, the Loons bested their lowest shots against of the season, with 21.
 
“Chemistry is starting to build now on our lines,” noted Maruska #28.  That chemistry will have another chance to develop when the Loons play the Wolf-Rayettes next weekend.

 

D2 Loons suffers loss, but hold the Maroons to their lowest shots on goal of the season.

D2 Loons Game #7, Maroons 7, Loons 0

It was a tough return to Aldrich Arena for the D2 Fighting Loons Sunday night where they were blanked by the Maroons 7-0.  The Loons had several scoring chances, especially in the first period when they outshot the Maroons 8-6.  But the Dark Red ones capitalized on their chances and took control of a game that got away from the Loons early.
 
“I knew the Maroons would be a tough team to beat going into the game,” newly anointed alternate captain Brad Bosker observed, at the same time admiring the Maroons’ playing spirit.  “They were not only a good performing team, but also a great bunch of players that were out there having fun playing the game.”
 
Yet despite the lopsided loss, the Loons once again saw positive gains in their collective performance.  And they weren’t the only ones.  "The team has definitely improved since the beginning of the season,” noted Jay Westerlund, husband of Loons defender Danette “Netter” Westerlund and skater for the C2 Chaos Black.  Even some Maroons players were overheard during the game that the contest was much closer than the score indicated.  The Birds defense held the Maroons to 24 shots on goal, a season low for the Maroons as well as a Loons season low for shots against.
 
After the game, coach Casey O’Brien kept the players in the locker room for a brief team meeting, in which he addrest the room about staying positive about their progress as a team.  Confidence remains high as the Loons head into their extended holiday break before hitting the ice against the Knights on January 7th.

 

Stolen Jerseys WE WANT THEM BACK

Late last week, one of our captains had his car broken into and several of our team Jerseys were stolen. We Please ask that the jerseys be returned. These jerseys mean a lot to the persons who wear them and are very difficult to replace. They can be returned to any Ice arena in the Twin Cities and we will be able connect with them.

 

Weekend update from the Loons.

D1 Loons Game #6, Loons 2, Silverbacks 4.

 

D2 Loons Game #6, Loons 3, Polar Bears 3.

 

 

 

Stolen Jerseys WE WANT THEM BACK

 

Late last week, one of our captains had his car broken into and several of our team Jerseys were stolen. We Please ask that the jerseys be returned. These jerseys mean a lot to the persons who wear them and are very difficult to replace. They can be returned to any Ice arena in the Twin Cities and we will be able connect with them.

 

 

It was a busy weekend for the Loons. Each team squared off against good teams. The D1 Squad played Saturday night against the infamous Silverbacks. This wasn’t the first time this group faced the Silverbacks. They last saw them in the championship game of last seasons Playoffs, when the Loons lost taking 2^nd at D2. It was clear early in Saturday’s game that the Loons were there egger to win. The Loons closed out the 1^st period down 1-0, but it only go worse. Letting in 3 more unanswered goals. It wasn’t until late in the 3^rd period until the Loons got on the board.

Loons close out the game down 2-4, but will get a chance to face off against the Silverbacks before the seasons end.

 

D2 Loons faired a little better tying the Polar bears.

D2 Loons update coming soon!

 

 

D1 Loons Fire back after facing a loss

D1 Loons Game #5, Yetis 2, Loons 14

 

The guys had a long break after their tough 1-5 loss to the Blade runners, to examine the improvements needed to be successful this year. It was clear early into the first period that the Loons squad wasn’t interest in facing the same outcome, and hit the ice, eager to hunt some Yetis. The strategy was simple; take shots. Lots of shots, and be there to pick up the rebound. It paid off. The Loons had three early goals by bringing the puck to the net, and getting rebounds. Yetis got their first goal and it looked to be their only one with red and black dominating the ice.  The rest of the game was all Loons, Shane McDonald #14, a new recruit this year as a sub for injured Stu Alger, had 4 goals and an assist. Making his début as a loon’s sub, Dan Ginter #39, got his first goal. Don Neary #13, with a hat trick on the night. Des Jay #17, Lars Byrlev #3, Kevin Dummer #19, and Todd LeGare #77, each added one more goal to the total. Overall, the Loons out shot the timid Yetis 44-12, and went on to a 14-2, victory.        

        Loons take down Yetis!

 

 

D2 Loons struggle against 1st place Wildcats, but continue to improve

D2 Loons Game #5, Wildcats 8, Loons 0.

 

Already heading into the night at a disadvantage with only 10 skaters, the D2 Fighting Loons fell victim to the Wildcats 8-0 last Saturday night in New Hope.  The game gave the D2 Fighting Loons the dubious distinction of leading the AHA in goals against as well as securing its place as the lowest scoring team in the league.  Mark Johnson of the Northern Horde filled in for regular Loons starting tender Todd Goetze #31, who was unavailable for Saturday’s contest.  Johnson faced 44 Wildcats shots, while the Loons registered 12.

 

But despite the ongoing score disparity, the D2 Loons’ optimism continues to grow with each week.  Interim coach Todd Ferrara #16, currently off the ice with a hamstring injury, sees improvements with his team.  “Our changes are getting better and quicker,” Ferrara commented in his post-game press conference.  “When you don’t have that many skaters available, you need to keep the legs fresh.  They did a good job switching out and keeping the energy as high as they could, all the way to the end.”

 

Center Steve Fait #67, also sees a silver lining growing.  “Despite the scores, I think we’re really starting to gel as a team.  There are some fundamentals that need work, but some that we’re starting to master.  We’re getting there.”

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The D2 Loons are now looking more like a team as well, as every player sported the red home jersey for the first time this year.  “No more of that taped-on number s***,” Fait was noted as saying after the game.  “Now that we have our jerseys we look good out there.  Things are looking up.”

 

 

3^rd strait loss, but head held high.

D2 Loons Game #3 Marauders 13, Loons 0

 

The D2 Loons suffered an embarrassing loss Thursday night to the Marauders. The Loons continue to have a great attitude and it showed throughout the game.  Although, this was the Loons 3^rd “blowout” as stated by the AHA, it looks like at least one team was over looked in the AHA’s decisions to move teams up from the previous year. The marauders, a solid D2 team from the previous year, are clearly on a playoff run to pad stats and to pillage and plunder all the booty they can. D2 Loons have a tough road ahead, but seem eager to fire back.

 

Last second win over infamous Chaos

D1 Loons Game#3 Chaos 2, Loons 3

 

D1 Loons win their 2^nd strait with a win over the Chaos.  “ Those F*ing Loons” Matt Web, the godfather of the evil empire, commented when he was trying to avoid interview at his lavish evening at a high end restaurant in Minneapolis.

The D1 Loons gave a great performance. Allowing 2 goals in the 2^nd period, which would tie it up until Don Neary #13, pick up a loose puck in front of the net with only 10 seconds left in the game for the win. Up next the Blade Runners, 11-22, Wakota 1, wear white.  

 

 

Loons win their first D1 game over the Gold Rush

D1 Loons Game #2 Loons 4, Gold Rush 1

 

Loons take their first victory of the season and as a new D1 team.  The Loons were the first on the board with a goal from Don Neary #13, well into the first period. The Gold Rush looked to be digging for gold they way they rushed the net for the loose puck they snuck past Loons’ goaltender Scholten. The Loons didn’t get down, the fired right back a minute later with the go ahead goal from Mike Alter #35, that would also be enough for the win. Although, the Loons put two more in the net for good measure, one more from Neary #13, and one from Derek Hoffman #12.   

 “The score doesn’t reflect the game very well, gold rush were a good team, and they never let up!, but we won’t either,” said Jim McGreevy #7, in an impromptu interview from the penalty box . McGreevy was appointed to Alt. Capt. for the D1 team. “I will help the team anyway I can, in fact, I love getting the chance to participate in our tactics,” responded McGreevy in a later follow up interview. Looks like it’s going to be a fun year! Next up for the D1 squad is the infamous Chaos crew at BIG, Sunday at 10:30PM.

 

D2 Loons suffer loss, but are not deterred.

D2 Loons game #1, Wailers 9, Loons 1.

 

 

 

This was the first game for our Loons playing together as a D2 team; there were only 3 players from last year’s team on the short bench. The only goal came from Brad Bosker # 96, late in the game. The fresh faces have some work ahead of them, but show a lot of promise.

 

 

 

 

 

D1 Loons Tie after OT!

D1 Loons Game #1 Icedogs 2, Loons 2

 

The first game of the season started off in tragedy. Moments into the warm-ups, Loons defensemen, Stu Alger #4, was blown off balance by a gust of wind, lost his footing and fell to the ice braking his arm. We later found out the severity of the break. He had to have surgery the next day to place hardware to help hold the bones in his forearm in place, and will be out 4-6 weeks. The Loons will greatly miss their tall, power defensemen.

 

The D1 Loons start their first game of the winter season with an impressive first period. Ken Kunisaki #11, strikes first with an early goal showing that Loons mean business. The Loons second goal comes from Jim McGreevy #7, just a few short minutes later, that where the 1^st period would end. The 2^nd period was a different story. The Icedogs obviously didn’t share the same feelings as the Loons. With the start of the 2^nd, the Icedogs came out strong and aggressive. The Icedogs answered back to the Loons 1^st period domination with 2, unanswered goals. By the end of regulation time, the Icedogs managed to hold off 5, Loon power plays, and went to out shoot the Loons. The Game would end in tie, after 5 min of OT, But the Loons now have a better idea of what it will take to compete at the D1 level, and have already begun strategizing the changes needed to be a contender.

 

With the loss of a key defensemen, for at least a month, the Loons will be relying on the new faces that have joined the team. Stu’s son, Jack Alger #22, is a promising recruit who show’s a lot of natural talent on the ice. “We’re all excited about the new recruits we have this year for D1, I can’t wait to see what we can do when we all get on the same page!” exclaimed Patrick Bibro #6, in a post game interview.  “It is true, there are a few new faces this year, but we are going to also miss the players we lost. They helped make this team great, and more than just a hockey team.” Patrick’s heart felt remarks would be in regards to the D2 Loon’s, from last season split and advanced to form D1 and D2 teams. The Loons also lost a few players, for other reasons. One of the key players lost may have been responsible for keeping franchise together and for what the Loons have become today. Ben Seipel, who was an original Loon, took an associate professor position at Cal State, Chico. The Fighting Loons wish you the best of luck, and your leadership will be missed.

 

Check back throughout the season for current and past players bio’s. 

 

 

 

AHA Winter season is underway. D1 first game is Wednesday 11/2, against the Icedogs. D2 opener is Saturday 11/5, against the wailers. Good Luck Loons!

 

 

 

 

The first team practice was underway to kick off the winter season for both of the Fighting Loons D2 and new D1 teams. A lot of new faces and ambition to get on the ice. This is a very exciting time for the Loons and a lot of work goes into planning the season and finding new Loons. If you want to Join, its not to late! AHA Deadline for the discounted individual fee is Sept, 30th.