Texas Tornado News

Texas Tornado

MAY 2, 2004

The Texas Tornado completed their domination of the North American Hockey League with a 4-1 victory over the Bismarck Bobcats in the Gold Medal game of the 2003/2004 Junior "A" Tier II National Championship Tournament! Texas opened the round robin tournament on Thursday with an 8-3 victory over the Bobcats, then slipped past the Springfield Jr. Blues 1-0 on Friday and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 2-1 on Saturday. The National Championship was a perfect conclusion for a phenomenal first season in Frisco, Texas for the Tornado.


APRIL 17, 2004

The brooms are in full swing as the Texas Tornado swept the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to capture the Southern Division Championship, tallying 3-2, 4-1, and 7-1 victories to dominate the best-of-5 series. Although the Tornado had an automatic bid as host, they removed any doubt as to whether they earned a berth in the 2004 USA Hockey Junior A National Championship Tournament beginning Thursday, April 29th in Frisco.


APRIL 9, 2004

The Texas Tornado swept past the Texarkana Bandits in the Southern Division Semi-Finals, posting 3-1, 3-2, and 5-1 victories against the visitors to capture the best-of-5 series. Texas now advances to the Southern Division Finals where they will meet the Fairbanks Ice Dogs starting Thursday, April 15th.


APRIL 2, 2004

The Texas Tornado begin their pursuit of another league championship tonight in Game 1 of their Southern Division playoff series against the Texarkana Bandits. The Tornado will host Texarkana on Saturday for Game 2, and next Friday for Game 3. If Games 4 and 5 are needed in the best-of-5 series, they will also be played in Frisco, next Saturday and Sunday. If that doesn't stack the deck in favor of Texas, I don't know what will. All games times are 7:11pm except for Game 5 which would be 3:05pm if needed.


MARCH 28, 2004

A day after finishing the regular season with an NAHL record 48-6-2 balance, the Texas Tornado finished their Texas Cup series with a dramatic rally for a 7-1-0 mark in those games. Down 3-0 to the Wichita Falls Rustlers near the midpoint of the 3rd period, Texas rallied for a trio of goals to force overtime where they prevailed for a 4-3 win.


MARCH 18, 2004

The 2003/2004 Texas Tornado have rewritten the NAHL record books with 45 wins on the season (and still counting)! Texas has 3 'regular' schedule and 1 Texas Cup game remaining before beginning their playoff run on April 2nd. The Texas Tornado have been an NAHL powerhouse, recording 40 or more victories in each of the past 5 seasons while winning 5 consecutive division titles.


FEBRUARY 15, 2004

A total of 414 penalty minutes were awarded as the Texas Tornado and their North Richland Hills' successors, the Lone Star Cavalry, locked horns in a Texas Cup match. The game got chippy in the 3rd period after the Tornado took a 2-1 lead in the fierce rivalry, but the powder keg didn't ignite until the final seconds of the game when an all out melee broke out. Countless fighting majors and game misconducts were handed out before the Tornado could add the 2-1 win to their season tally. The penalty fest came just one day after 110 minutes were issued as the Tornado beat the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in a 6-0 game that would have been considered turbulent barring today's events. That win snapped a 2-game Texas losing streak.


JANUARY 18, 2004

The Texas Tornado's winning streak was finally snapped at 21 games when the Soo Indians shut them out 3-0 in the the third of four Tornado games in the NAHL's Windy City Showcase. Texas dismissed the Minnesota Blizzard 8-1 and the Fernie Ghostriders 9-3 before posting a goose egg against the North Division leading Indians. The Tornado finished their showcase schedule with a 4-2 victory over the Springfield Jr. Blues for a 31-4-0 regular season tally.


JANUARY 4, 2004

The victims keep piling up as the Texas Tornado enjoy a 17-game winning streak! The streak spans 10 NAHL regular season matches, 6 Newmarket Showcase games, and a Texas Cup tilt. At 26-3-0 (.897) in the regular season NAHL standings, the Tornado are virtually in a league of their own.


DECEMBER 30, 2003

The Tornado blew away the competition to win their second consecutive Newmarket Hurricanes Showcase! Texas blasted past 5 teams (Oakville Blades 4-1, Buffalo Lightning 10-3, Pickering Panthers 7-1, Georgetown Raiders 4-3, Mississauga Chargers 9-5) before facing the tournament's namesake in the championship match. The Texas Tornado dismissed the Newmarket Hurricanes 5-2 for the title!


DECEMBER 10, 2003

The Texas Tornado continue to dominate the North American Hockey League, building a phenomenal 21-3-0 record. Scott Talbot (.917 2.11) and Todd Sheridan (.926 1.99) have provided stellar goaltending while Anthony Pellarin (14 goals, 20 assists), Brent Cooper (16 goals, 15 assists), Mike Salens (15 goals, 16 assists), and Luke Flicek (14 goals, 16 assists) lead their high-powered offense.


OCTOBER 26, 2003

The Tornado continue to ride high in the NAHL's South Division after a 2-1-0 weekend performance on the road. On Friday, Denny Reagen notched a pair of goals and an assist to lead Texas to a 5-2 win over the Springfield Spirit with Scott Talbot stopping 31 of 33 shots in goal. Brent Cooper, Mike Salens, and Luke Flicek also scored for the Tornado. Netminder Todd Sheridan made 28 saves on Saturday to lead Texas to a narrow 2-1 win over the Lone Star Cavalry at the Tornado's old home in North Richland Hills, Texas. Luke Flicek and Mike Salens provided the offense for the winning cause. A five-game winning streak was snapped on Sunday as the Tornado was edged by the Wichita Falls Rustlers 4-3. Brad Flaishans, Brent Cooper, and Mike Salens provided a 3-goal outburst in the 2nd period, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Wranglers, who scored with 3:03 remaining in regulation for the 4-3 final. Scott Talbot took the loss in goal with 25 saves on 29 shots.


OCTOBER 18, 2003

The Texas Tornado keep on winning, defeating the Helena Bighorns 6-2 to close out the NAHL Twin Cities Fall Showcase in Minnesota with a 3-1-0 record to improve to 9-1-0 in the NAHL regular season standings. Brent Cooper continues to maintain a goal-per-game average (10 goals, 5 assists) and is tied for the Tornado points lead with Anthony Pellarin (7 goals, 8 assists). Scott Talbot leads Texas goalies with a .911 save percentage and 2.01 goals against average.


OCTOBER 4, 2003

The Tornado remain undefeated after another weekend sweep: a 6-0 shutout against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs yesterday and an 8-5 battle with the Springfield Spirit today. Scott Talbot's top notch goaltending continued with 19 saves for his first Tornado shutout. Fairbanks was probably happy the game ended when it did as Texas scored one in the 1st (Ben Osborne), two in the 2nd (Anthony Pellarin, Chris Nichols), and three in the 3rd period (Brad Flaishans, Drew O'Connell, Mike Salens) en route to the 6-0 romp. Tonight's affair was more of a nail-biter, at least for 2 periods. The Spirit burst out of the gate with a trio of goals in the opening period to stun the Frisco crowd, but the Tornado bounced back with Anthony Pellarin and Mike Salens putting biscuits in the basket to narrow the deficit to 3-2 heading into the 2nd stanza. Brent Cooper tied the game with a power play tally just 27 seconds into the period, and Pellarin tossed another shrimp on the barbie 33 seconds later to punish Springfield's misdeeds with a 4-3 Texas advantage. The Spirit drew even with a shorthanded goal at the 7:08 mark, but Brent Cooper bagged his second goal of the period 44 seconds later to recapture the lead. The tug-of-war continued late in the period when Springfield scored to tie the game 5-5. However, the Texas Tornado decided to swap goalies and stop playing with their prey in the 3rd period, closing out yet another victory with 3 goals from repeat offenders. Salens notched his 2nd goal of the night to steal the lead 1:31 into the period, then team Captain Pellarin made Frisco history completing a hat trick 2 minutes later. Not to be outdone, Salens became the 2nd player in the Tornado's brief Frisco history to summon the hats with a beauty of a goal midway through the frame. Todd Sheridan survived his rocky first start between the pipes with 10 saves on 15 shots, while Scott Talbot was flawless on 6 shots to ensure the victory and extend his shutout streak to over 100 minutes.


SEPTEMBER 27, 2003

The Texas Tornado began the official regular season with a weekend sweep: 5-1 over the Central Texas Blackhawks last night, and 5-2 against the Texarkana Bandits tonight. In Friday's contest, Luke Flicek scored a power play goal midway through the opening period, but the Blackhawks responded 68 seconds later to knot the game at 1-1. Bonehead penalties continued to haunt Central Texas in the opening act as Brent Cooper and Flicek notched two more goals with the man-advantage for a 3-1 lead heading into the 2nd period. Tornado Captain Anthony Pellarin deposited an insurance goal into the bank in the middle frame, and Brad Cooper added one midway through the 3rd period to cruise to a 5-1 home victory. Scott Talbot (11 saves on 12 shots) and Todd Sheridan (4-for-4) split goaltending duties for the Tornado in the win. In tonight's game, Texarkana negated a Tornado lead from a Drew O'Connell goal with 6 second remaining in the period, but a pair of Brent Cooper goals sandwiched a Bandits tally in the 2nd period for a 3-2 Tornado lead. Texas sealed the win with 3rd period goals from Assistant Captains Vince Goulet and Brad Flaishans. Scott Talbot stopped 19 of 21 Texarkana shots for the 5-2 victory.


SEPTEMBER 20, 2003

The Tornado stormed past another victim, defeating the visiting Texarkana Bandits 4-1 to improve to 2-0 in the Texas Cup standings. Scott Talbot earned his 2nd victory in as many nights between the pipes, making 22 saves on 23 shots. The Bandits broke a scoreless tie midway through the 2nd period, but Denny Reagan responded late in the frame to knot the game at 1-1. Ryan Burke and Brent Cooper added insurance goals in the 3rd period and Anthony Pellarin deposited an empty-netter with 20 seconds remaining in regulation to seal the 4-1 victory. The Tornado offense continued to blast their opponents, registering 50 shots on goal in the game. Brent Cooper chalked up 3 assists in the game to compliment his goal. Texas begins the 'normal' regular season next Friday at home against the Central Texas Blackhawks.


SEPTEMBER 19, 2003

The Texas Tornado dominated the Central Texas Wildcats 10-2 for a spectacular Frisco debut. Ten different players lit the lantern for the Tornado in front of a sellout crowd in their new home: the Deja Blue Arena at the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco, Texas. Forward Mike Salens notched Texas' first goal of the season 6:03 into the opening period and the Tornado never looked back. Brent Cooper, Vince Goulet, and Anthony Pellarin added 1st period tallies for a commanding 4-0 lead heading into the middle frame. Luke Flicek's goal 12:25 into the 2nd period, which came of the heels of scores from Paul Scalici and Brad Flaishans, gave Texas a 7-0 advantage and ignited a melee with the battered visitors. Tyler Ludwig, one of former Dallas Stars' defenseman Craig Ludwig's twin sons on the squad, earned a fighting major in the ruckus along with Flaishans who completed his 'Gordie Howe hattrick' (goal, assist, fighting major) and picked up a game misconduct. Another skirmish erupted seconds after play resumed, tagging Pellarin with a fighting major to complete his 'Gordie Howe hattrick'. The fisticuffs and resulting powerplay gave the Blackhawks a wakeup call as they managed a pair of goals in the period for a 7-2 deficit heading into the final period. However, the Tornado were not about to let Central Texas crawl back into the game and posted goals goals from Denny Reagan, Drew O'Connell, and Matt McDonald for a 10-2 finale. Scott Talbot enjoyed the light workout, stopping 11 of 13 Blackhawks shots for his first win in a Tornado jersey. Texas out shot their Central Texas rivals 49-13 in the contest. This victory and Saturday's match against the Texarkana Bandits do not count towards the regular season NAHL standings, but count towards the Texas Cup series.


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