Feature Story

Owls, Ice Hawks headed to national tournament

 

By Brian McDonough

 

The Minnesota Owls have secured the Minnesota Junior Hockey League’s second berth to the USA Hockey Tier III Junior A National Tournament, which will be held March 25-29 at the New England Sports Center in Marlboro, Mass.

The Owls’ two-game sweep of the Hudson Crusaders in the semifinals of the MJHL playoffs, coupled with the regular-season champion Minnesota Ice Hawks’ series win over the Minnesota Flying Aces in the other semis, guarantees the Owls’ invite to Nationals.

“This is a tremendous accomplishment for this team, but there’s still a lot of work to be done for us to reach our ultimate goal,” Owls coach Chad Kuznia said.

The Owls opened their series against Hudson with a 3-1 win on Friday. Ed Hudick, Jakub Simicek (game-winner) and Zach Wohlers lit the lamp in the victory, while goaltender Phil Poeschl turned back 29 shots.

Minnesota closed out the series the next night with a 5-3 victory. Five different players scored for the Owls, with Nick Follmer recording the game-winner. Poeschel again stood tall between the pipes with 39 saves.

“The guys worked hard for this opportunity, there’s no doubt about it,” Kuznia said. “This has been a team effort since Day 1 and that’s what you need to be successful in this league.”

It took three games for the Ice Hawks, who will join the Owls in New England, to dispose of the Flying Aces, starting with a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. Brandon Rohrig notched two goals in the triumph, including the game-winner in the extra session. In goal, Mike Brach stopped 29 shots.

The Flying Aces evened the series with a 3-2 overtime win on Sunday. Tim Benner struck for two goals, including the OT game-winner, with Jonathan Feavel scoring the other Aces marker. Goaltender Randy Johnson made 43 saves in the victory.

The Ice Hawks advanced to the finals with a 6-2 win in Game 3 on Monday. Robby Dahl tallied two goals in the victory, with Danny Grady connecting for the game-winner and an assist. Netminder Ricky Doyen stopped 33 shots to preserve the win for the Ice Hawks.

The Ice Hawks and the Owls will meet in the Bush Cup Finals to determine the MJHL’s playoff champion.

 

 

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