Lights advance to semis

March 14, 2004

Jason Dobes

The Twin Cities Northern Lights advanced to the semifinals of the Minnesota Junior Hockey League playoffs with a two-game sweep of the Minnesota Owls last weekend.

"I'm happy with the way we're playing right now," said Lights coach Eric Fink. "I think the guys are coming together at the right time and it showed in two very tough games against the Owls."

On Friday, the Lights upended Minnesota, 3-1, on the strength of one-goal, one-assist performances from both Louie Bruno and Jason Dobes. Matt Almquist scored the game-winner. In net, Mike Stone made 31 saves to pick up the victory.

The next night, Twin Cities escaped with a 5-4 overtime win, as five different players lit the lamps for the Lights. Brent Hanus tallied a goal and an assist, while Dobes nailed the game-winner in the extra session. Stone turned aside 38 shots to keep TC perfect in the young postseason.

Next up for the Lights is a showdown with the regular-season champion Dubuque ThunderBirds. In the other semifinal series, the St. Paul Lakers will take on the No. 2-seed Minnesota Ice Hawks.

"I'm expecting an intense series with the ThunderBirds," said Fink. "They're a very skilled team and we'll have to take advantage of any mistakes they might make.

"Our guys are up to the challenge and we know that anything less then our best will mean the end of our season."