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Avs Try to Regroup after Wild Tie Series at 2

Colorado-Avalanche-LogoENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Avalanche coach Patrick Roy has shown all sorts of patience with his youthful squad this season.

That certainly won’t waver now just because the Colorado Avalanche are in an offensive slump.

The Minnesota Wild have outshot the Avalanche 78-34 in the last two games to tie the first-round series at two-apiece heading into Game 5 at Pepsi Center on Saturday night.

Roy does take some comfort in the fact that home teams in the Western Conference playoffs are a combined 15-1 so far.

Chief among them, more production, especially on a power play that’s scored just once in 15 chances. The Wild have actually found a way to slow down the high-flying Avalanche by clogging up the neutral zone and making it hard to get quality shots in the offensive end.

For that, Roy finds himself guilty. All season long, he’s preached shooting the puck with a purpose.

In playoff hockey, though, sometimes shooting with a rebound or a lucky bounce in mind works just as well.

The only thing keeping the Avalanche in these last two road games has been the play of Semyon Varlamov (var-LAH’-mawf), who seems to be getting better with every shot he faces.

And the Avs are banking that being back in their building will be an advantage.

Wild Even Series at 2 with 2-1 Win vs. Avalanche

Colorado-Avalanche-LogoST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Charlie Coyle scored his third goal of the series for Minnesota, and the Wild dominated the Colorado Avalanche for the second straight game on their way to a 2-1 win Thursday night that evened the first-round matchup at two apiece.

The Wild outshot the Avalanche a stunning 32-12, establishing a franchise record for fewest allowed by Minnesota. Colorado has been outshot 78-34 in the last two games, with Ryan O’Reilly getting the only goal.

Jared Spurgeon used a slap shot to get a puck past Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov just 3:47 into the game, much quicker than the 65:08 the Wild needed to score the last time. Game 5 will be in Denver on Saturday night.

Baer To Be Inducted In Omaha Sports Hall of Fame

10-10-09 Tri-City Storm Indiana IceKEARNEY, Neb. – The man who brought hockey to the heartland will be enshrined in the Omaha Sports Hall of Fame Thursday night.

Ted Baer, the original owner of the Tri-City Storm from 2000-06, will be a member of the eighth class of inductees. Baer is credited with starting the Storm franchise, and maintaining ownership for seven years.

The Omaha businessman got his start in the USHL when he purchased the Lancers in 1987. During his ownership, he moved the team to the Ak-sar-ben Coliseum and won six Clark Cup championships, four Anderson Cup titles and one national championship.

Baer was also recognized by the USHL with the Distinguished Service Award in 2007.

Although he has had success in hockey, Baer is also a bowling enthusiast, and is a member of three bowling Halls of Fame, including the Council Bluffs Bowling Hall of Fame, Omaha Bowling Hall of Fame and State of Nebraska Bowling Hall of Fame.

The induction ceremony and banquet for the class of 2014 takes place at the Scott Conference Center on the campus of the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Baer is one of 11 inductees, including former NFL players Chris Bober and Rik Bonness, gymnasts Phil Cahoy Sr. and Phil Cahoy Jr., former UNO hockey coach Mike Kemp, former NBA player Mike McGee, Creighton basketball star Christy Neneman, soccer standout Heather Taggert-Long, NCAA All-American basketball player Dean Thompson Jr. and the 1963-65 Omaha Ryan/Pepsi Baseball Team.

For more information, head to omahasportshalloffame.com.

The Storm are now preparing for the USHL Entry Draft, which takes place from May 5-6. A two phase, multiple-day event, the draft will allow the team to reload with new players for the upcoming 2014-15 season.

Avalanche, Wild Brace for Absence of Barrie, Cooke

Colorado-Avalanche-LogoST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Cooke has been summoned for a hearing at the NHL office in New York regarding his kneeing penalty that injured Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie.

The league said Cooke’s meeting will be Wednesday afternoon. Game 4 is Thursday night, but Cooke likely will be suspended for that one and more. The Avalanche lead the series 2-1.

The incident occurred in the second period on Monday night on the open ice, as Cooke’s knee clipped Barrie’s. Barrie, who led Avalanche defensemen this season with 13 goals, will need four to six weeks to recover from a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

Cooke has a long history of punishment for rough play, but none of his suspensions has come in the last three years.

Granlund Gives Wild 1-0 Win in Game 3 over Avs

Colorado-Avalanche-LogoST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mikael Granlund’s diving swing at his own rebound 5:08 into overtime gave the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 win over Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 on Monday to pull within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Varlamov stopped 45 of 46 shots, a franchise playoff record number of shots on goal for the Wild.

Granlund cut toward the net for a wrist shot, and as he was falling forward took a stab at the puck to finally put one past Varlamov.

Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves, but the Wild goalie in his first career playoff start was just as good as his counterpart.

Game 4 is at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday.

Landeskog Leads Avs to 4-2 Win over Wild

Colorado-Avalanche-LogoDENVER (AP) — Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots, lifting the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night and a 2-0 series lead.

The Wild were unable to contain the quickness of teenager Nathan MacKinnon, who had a goal and three assists. Stastny, the star of Game 1, also had a goal and three assists. His empty-netter sealed the win after Marco Scandella made it a one-goal game with 1:19 remaining.

Charlie Coyle also scored early for the Wild.

Game 3 is Monday in Minnesota.

Johnson Rescues Avs with Big Save Against Wild

Colorado-Avalanche-LogoDENVER (AP) — Erik Johnson saved the night for the Colorado Avalanche with his quick feet and thinking.

The defenseman raced from the blue line to the goal line and swatted away a puck just three inches shy of sliding in for a game-sealing, empty-net goal by Minnesota late in regulation.

His stop during a 5-4 overtime win may have been overshadowed by the theatrics of Paul Stastny, who tied the game with 13.4 seconds left and then scored the OT winner.

But Johnson’s play certainly wasn’t lost on the Avalanche as they take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series into Game 2 on Saturday.

Stastny said: “If that doesn’t happen, that hustle out of E.J., we’re not here in this moment.”

Storm End 2013-14, Set Sights On Next Season

tcstormKEARNEY, Neb. – The Tri-City Storm finished the 2013-14 regular season in seventh place in the USHL’s Western Conference with an overall record of 21-35-4, failing to qualify for the 2014 Clark Cup Playoffs.

The conclusion of the 60-game regular season schedule now allows Storm head coach and general manager Jim Hulton to continue to mold the roster and create the identity he believes will lead to success. Hours before the final weekend of the regular season, Hulton signed a contract extension that will keep him at the helm through next season.

Hulton, who was hired 15 games into the season, reflected on the struggles his team faced.

“Jumping in mid-stride was a real eye-opener and it took a while to get my feet on the ground and get a proper read on the group,” Hulton said. “Once there was some familiarity, the players understood what our staff was trying to implement and the identity we were trying to create. But unfortunately when we came back from Christmas break we had a pretty strong task at hand and we didn’t reach the number we had to have to realistically make a run for a playoff spot.”

Hulton decided to make trades before the early February deadline which would position the team for success in the future.

“With the trades we made, a lot of experience and talent went out the door,” Hulton said. “As a coach, you try to put kids in a position to succeed, and unfortunately due to our numbers situation I think the opposite was happening. There were nights we were putting kids into spots when we knew they were going to fail. That’s a tough pill to swallow as a coach but hopefully the kids can learn from the adversity and be better players down the road.”

Chris Wilkie, the Storm’s first pick and the No. 2 overall selection in the 2013 Phase II Draft last May, finished the season as the team’s leading scorer with 17 goals and 19 assists for 36 points. The Omaha native was the first player from the state of Nebraska to wear a Storm sweater in the 14 years of the franchise and appeared in 57 of 60 games.The team’s leading goal scorer was Austin Poganski, who finished with 19 tallies in 55 games. Poganski also led the team in power play and shorthanded goals with 11 and three respectively.  The St. Cloud, Minn. native finished his first USHL season with 31 points, which was tied for fourth on the team.

Veteran forward Garrett Gamez led Tri-City in helpers during 2013-14, racking up 28 assists. After a slow start to the season, Gamez turned it on in the second half of the year and finished with 34 points in 57 games.

Four members of the roster are scheduled to play in college next season including forward Dan Labosky at Colorado College, defenseman Cutler Martin at the University of Michigan, forward Drew Mayer at Ferris State and forward Ryan McMurphy at Bentley.

Goaltender Jacob Johansson, who played in 42 total games and finished with a record of 14-22-3, had a goals against average of 3.07 and a save percentage of .910 with three shutouts. Johansson has decided to pursue a professional career, signing a two-year deal with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

The Storm started the season by playing six of their first seven contests in Kearney, going 2-3-2. Tri-City only won two of their next eight games and the team ushered in change as Hulton took the reins on Nov. 19.

In the team’s first seven games with their new coach, they managed just one win. A win in Cedar Rapids on Dec. 7 served as a turning point; the team went on to win seven of their next nine games and turned a positive page as they entered 2014. But four consecutive losses forced Hulton to make trades and look towards 2014-15.

Tri-City played their best stretch of hockey from Jan. 21-Feb. 1, winning a season-high five consecutive contests. But in the final two months of the season, the Storm managed just four wins.

Johansson set a Storm record for saves in a single game, making 53 stops on Oct. 12 against Waterloo. Forward Joel L’Esperance also established a new team record for goals in a game, scoring four times on Dec. 7 in Cedar Rapids.

19 players from the roster will be eligible to try out for next season’s team.

Tri-City is preparing for the two annual USHL Entry Drafts, which will take place May 5-6. The Storm will have the No. 3 overall pick in both drafts.

The Phase I Draft will include eligible players with a 1998 birth year and the Phase II Draft will include multiple birth years from 1994-1997.

Wahlin Commits To St. Cloud State

Jake Wahlin Tri-City Storm HockeyKEARNEY, Neb. – Storm affiliate player Jake Wahlin has announced his commitment to play college hockey at St. Cloud State in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

Wahlin, who played in the Storm’s final 10 games last season, is expected to be with Tri-City full-time during the 2014-15 campaign.

The forward said he is excited to be able to play at the collegiate level close to home.

“I wanted to play closer to home and the campus is like an hour and 15 minutes from my house which is perfect,” Wahlin said. “My family will be able to see me play and I have a lot of friends that go to St. Cloud.”

While playing for White Bear Lake High School in Minnesota last season, Wahlin put up 70 points in 25 regular season games.

St. Cloud State plays in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, an eight-team league which began play last season. The Huskies finished at the top of the standings in 2013-14, finishing with a conference record of 15-6-3 along with an overall record of 22-11-5.

“When I met coach [Bob] Motzko at St. Cloud and we had a long visit,” Wahlin said. He showed me around campus, the rink, and offered me the scholarship. I felt it was an offer I couldn’t pass up.”

Wahlin also said the school has renovated their facilities, which also made a difference when he was making his decision.

“I definitely like how they updated the dorms and the campus,” Wahlin said. “I remember going out there when I was with the advanced 15s and it was definitely kind of an older campus but they’ve done a lot of things to improve it.”

As an affiliate in the USHL, the St. Paul, Minn. native had two goals and an assist in 10 games, while getting acclimated to the league and building chemistry with some of the team’s veterans.

Acquired in a trade with Sioux City in January, Storm head coach Jim Hulton is hoping Wahlin will be an integral part of the team’s future.

Wahlin is planning on attending Kearney High School for his senior year in the fall and is excited to be back on the roster full-time.

“I think what excites me the most is that I’ve gotten the chance to know the other guys on the team,” Wahlin said. “We were pretty young but I think next year we’ll have a really strong team. It was a great group of guys that took me in and accepted me as well as the coaching staff and the fans in the community.”

The 17-year-old said it was really important to include his family in the process of choosing a school.

“I would definitely say I talked to my parents a lot,” Wahlin said. “We’d have family dinners to discuss what we felt was going to be the best fit for me. I talked to my brother, family members, and some of my old coaches from the past.”

Tri-City is preparing for the two annual USHL Entry Drafts, which will take place May 5-6. The Storm will have the No. 3 overall pick in both drafts.

The Phase I Draft will include eligible players with a 1998 birth year and the Phase II Draft will include multiple birth years from 1994-1997.

Johansson To Play Professionally In Sweden

Jacob Johansson Tri-City Storm HockeyKEARNEY, Neb. – After spending his final year of junior eligibility with the Tri-City Storm, goaltender Jacob Johansson has decided to return to Sweden to pursue a professional career, signing a two-year deal with Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League.

The netminder, who originally hails from Stockholm, Sweden, appeared in 42 games for the Storm during the 2013-14 season. Johansson racked up over 2,000 minutes in between the pipes, seventh most in the league.

“I loved every part of my year in Kearney,” Johansson said. “I want to thank the organization for giving me the opportunity to represent the team and I want to thank the fans for giving us their full support throughout the year even when we didn’t play our best hockey.”

Johansson also recorded three shutouts among his 14 total wins, which was fourth best in the USHL. His 1,174 saves were fifth most among all goaltenders.

The six-foot, one-inch goalie is excited about his contract with a team in what is considered the top pro league in Sweden. But Johansson expects he’ll need to prove himself and will likely start out on a loan with a team in the second-best pro league in the country.

After a bout with mono kept the goaltender on the bench for the final weeks of the season, Johansson said he is healthy now and will begin offseason workouts in the coming weeks.

The Linköping organization is nothing new for Johansson, as he played for their junior team before coming to the USHL.

“I actually spoke with Linköping throughout most of the year since I played there last season,” Johansson said. “We actually have two players from the U.S. and there are a lot of players from other countries so I don’t think the difference is going to be too big.”

Johansson said that the year spent in the USHL will help him because of how many games he played.

“I got used to playing a lot of games,” Johansson said. “The media coverage was great and I loved interacting with our loyal fans.”

His final USHL statistics included an overall record of 14-22-3, with a goals against average of 3.07 and a save percentage of .910.

“I want to thank my billet family (John and Robyn Schulthiess) for being amazing and providing me with everything I needed while in the U.S.,” Johansson said.

With the 2013-14 season in the books, Tri-City is now preparing for the two annual USHL Entry Drafts, which will take place May 5-6. The Storm will have the No. 3 overall pick in both drafts.

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