Ice Hawks remain perfect
Minnesota move to 7-0, remains last of the undefeated

October 5 , 2004

After seven games, Minnesota Ice Hawks remain nothing short of perfect. The Minnesota Junior Hockey League club stayed undefeated last weekend with two wins over the Minnesota Owls.

On Friday, the Ice Hawks doubled up the Owls, 6-3, on the power of a hat trick from forward Brad Wiechmann. He also added two assists in the victory. Cole Hughes chipped in with a goal and an assist from the blue line. Between the pipes, Joey Spracklen stopped 31 shots. Owls forward Justin Manz tallied a shorthanded goal in defeat.

The clubs met again on Sunday, when Ice Hawks clipped the Owls, 3-1. Forward Mike Christensen netted two goals in the victory, with Devan Van House assisting on both. In goal, Spracklen made 26 saves. Owls netminder David White stopped 47 shots in the loss.

The Owls did pick up their first win of the season against the St. Paul Lakers on Saturday, 7-5, as seven different players scored for Minnesota. Forward Dane Bushey, a former Laker, recorded three assists against his ex-teammates. Forward Dustin Longley added three assists of his own. In goal, White stopped 39 shots for his first MJHL victory. For the Lakers, red-hot forward A.J. Kuuttila figured in all five goals with a goal and four assists.

The Twin Bridges Lightning continued its solid play with two wins last weekend over the Wisconsin Mustangs. On Saturday, TB doubled up the Mustangs with the help of a two-goal, one-assist performance from forward Grant Everett. Forward Steve Knutter helped the cause with three assists, while goaltender Brent Pitts stopped 29 shots. Forwards Nick Nelmark and Kacey Kreuter scored for Wisco.

The next day, the Lightning came away with a 5-2 win. Forward Mike McKeague scored two goals for TB, while Pitts turned aside 24 shots. Defenseman Steve Hackman and forward Francios Belanger lit the lamp for the Mustangs.

The Twin Cities Northern Lights remained hot, taking two games from the Dubuque ThunderBirds at Five Flags. On Saturday, TC escaped with a 5-4 victory on the strength of two Keller Brandt goals. Forward Ted Urchel added a goal and an assist, while netminder David Winn made 33 saves. For Dubuque, Ryan Evenson notched a goal and an assist.

The next day, the Lights took another one-goal affair from the T-Birds, 6-5. Urschel led the offensive charge with two goals and two assists, while forwards Eric Adams and Jason Dobes each pitched in a goal and a helper. Goaltender Andy Kent stopped 31 shots in the win. For the ‘Birds, forward Tony Jansson tallied two goals and an assist.