NAHL: Tornado need shootout to get past Avs

Dec. 10, 2006

By MATT TUNSETH/ Frontiersman

WASILLA - Alaska goalie Adam Kraus made 56 saves Saturday night against Texas to lead his team to a 3-3 tie after three periods of hockey and one overtime period.

Unfortunately for the Avalanche, Kraus couldn't keep the Tornado out of the net after the game was over, as Texas scored on three of its four shot attempts to pick up the 4-3 shootout victory.

Despite the loss, none of the fans in attendance left the arena feeling they'd been shortchanged after an exciting, fast-paced game and overtime.

&#8220I thought that was a pretty entertaining game,” Alaska coach and general manager Keith Morris said. &#8220Everyone really enjoyed it.”

Texas got on the board first, getting a power-play goal eight minutes into the first period. Alaska defenseman Josh Erhardt didn't take time giving the home fans something to cheer about. The White Bear Lake, Minn, native evened the score three minutes later with the first Avalanche goal of the game.

Alaska forwards Jarrod Yost and Krystian Dziubinski assisted on the play.

The busiest players on the ice were the netminders, each of whom faced plenty of action from the opening drop of the puck. Kraus turned back 14 of the 15 Texas shots he faced in the opening frame, while Thomas Tragust made 13 saves on 14 Alaska shots in the first.

Things didn't get any easier in the second period for Kraus, as he made an astounding 23 saves in the second, only allowing a goal when Texas forward Mike Cifelli punched in a rebound after Kraus lost the puck between his legs, and couldn't recover in time to cover the puck.

&#8220I've recruited a lot of goaltenders in my time, and this kid is as good as any I've recruited,” Morris said of Kraus.

Morris didn't fault his defense for allowing so many shots, pointing out that Texas is the defending league champion and features a high-powered offensive attack.

&#8220That is an outstanding hockey club on the other side of the ice,” Morris said. &#8220It's a chore to play with them.”

That goal put the Tornado up 2-1, but Alaska again showed its resiliency, picking up the tying goal three minutes later when Swedish forward Victor Nordenson fired a seeing-eye wrist shot that sailed cleanly over Tragust's right shoulder. Nordenson's nifty wrister was set up by a perfect feed from Paulos Shiferaw in the right wing corner.

Texas took the lead in the third period during 4-on-4 play when John Bullis skated from behind Kraus, and snuck the puck between the goalie's right leg and the post to give the Tornado a 3-2 lead on Bulis' unassisted goal.

That lead would stand until the waning seconds of the third period, when Nordenson netted his second score of the game, carrying the puck into the Texas zone and firing the puck past Tragust from just inside the blue line and electrifying the home crowd.

Following the game, Morris praised his team's ability to keep coming back against the Tornado.

&#8220The resiliency of our players, how they battle and care about each other is important,” Morris said. &#8220I'm very happy with the way they've played.”

The Avalanche now have 10 days off before their next game, something Morris said is sorely needed for a club that is nursing a number of nagging injuries. The dual-role coach/general manger also said he'll be busy over the next week implementing a couple new schemes on offense - as well as continuing to work the phones with college teams looking for new talent.

&#8220Hopefully we'll get better in the next 10 days before we have to play again,” he said. &#8220We're going to regroup, hopefully get healthier and continue to try and do the right things for these kids.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com