Tornado fall to US National Under-18 team, 6-2
by John Tranchina
03/14/08

It’s a good thing this one didn’t count in the official standings.

Even though they’ve officially qualified for the playoffs, the Texas Tornado have been struggling a bit lately, and that continued Friday night during an exhibition contest against the U.S. National Under-18 team, as they dropped a 6-2 decision at the DejaBlue Arena inside the Dr Pepper StarCenter in Frisco.

With the post-season beginning in three weeks, the Tornado faced a club comprised of the top-rated 17-year-old kids across America, who themselves were preparing for a trip to Russia in April to participate in the World U-18 Championships.

Even taking into account the fact that Team USA features some of the most highly-skilled players in the country, the Tornado did not put forth a consistent effort and watched a game in which they trailed just 1-0 slip away from them late in the second period and into the third.  After dropping two straight at home last weekend to Topeka, when they were outscored by a combined 9-0, Texas now looks to pull out of a funk with the playoffs looming.

Jordan Schroeder and Jeremy Morin each scored two goals and an assist, while Ryan Bourque, the son of former NHL great Ray Bourque, earned two assists in leading the Team USA attack.  Ryan Hegarty and Danny Kristo also found the back of the net for the US.

“I thought it was a very good game,” US coach John Hynes said of his team’s performance.  “Texas is a very good team, they’re very well-coached, it was a good challenge for us.”

Sam Goodwin scored both Tornado goals, each in the third period after Texas already trailed by at least three.  In net, Tommy Callaghan did not have one of his better efforts, stopping 26 of 32 shots.

Assistant coach Craig Ludwig, the former Dallas Stars defenseman, did not mince words when describing what went wrong for the Tornado.

“We were soft from our goaltender on out,” Ludwig said.  “We played good in the first 10 minutes, we played physical, then we quit playing physical and we allowed them right back in the game.  Our goalie played poorly.  Are we getting ready for the playoffs?  It’s an exhibition game, but we got playoffs in two weeks.  It’s not like a light switch.  We’re not good enough to take off a weekend and then think we can just play the next weekend.

“For me, it’s hard to find a lot of positives out of this game, because we just played a bunch of 17-year-olds.”

While the Tornado did come out of the gates playing inspired hockey and taking the body against a younger, less-physically-mature opponent, they were unable to sustain it.

They generated a couple of scoring opportunities early, with perhaps the best coming about eight minutes in when Team USA goaltender Brandon Maxwell denied Ben Van Lare’s point-blank wrist shot and then the subsequent rebound in front from Andrew Blazek. 

But shortly afterwards, Team USA took the lead on a seemingly innocent-looking play at 10:34 of the opening period on Hegarty’s seventh goal of the season, a wrist shot from inside the blue line that found its way through a maze of bodies in front and past a screened Callaghan, who never saw it. 

That seemed to turn the momentum in Team USA’s favor, and although Goodwin nearly tied it on a power play three and a half minutes later, as his wrist shot from the high slot clanged off the goalpost, Texas sagged after that and did not generate any quality chances for the next period and a half.

Ludwig also questioned the club’s leadership - with captain Sean Roadhouse and alternate Ryan Fuller sitting out as scratches, Van Lare wore the C and Goodwin had an A on his jersey. 

“The problem is, we played the first six minutes of the game - we played hard - and then we played the last four minutes of the game,” Ludwig said.  “So it’s like an oreo cookie and the middle of the oreo cookie fell out.  The bottom line for our team is that if we’re not going to play a blue-collar hockey game, we’re not going to win any games, we’re not going to score any goals.  Sometimes you think you’re more skilled than what you are.”

After enjoying a 9-5 edge in shots on goal in the first period, Texas was outshot 15-4 in the second, as the mostly 1990-born national team surged in the second half of the second period, forcing Callaghan to make impressive saves on Kristo while short-handed midway through the period, and then on a re-direct in front from Colin Moore, and again with 8:35 remaining on Bourque in close.

Team USA then went up by two on Morin’s first of the night with 3:36 to play in the period following a Tornado turnover in their own zone.   After Schroeder stripped the puck from Tyler Bowman in the slot, Callaghan stopped Bourque’s point-blank wrist shot, but Morin slammed home the rebound from the left side of the crease to make it 2-0.

The Americans struck again less than two minutes later while on a power play, as Schroeder’s slap shot from just inside the blue line zipped through a screen in front, over Callaghan’s shoulder and in for a 3-0 lead. 

“I just thought we had some momentum shifts and I think we had some back-to-back shifts that caused us to get some momentum,” Hynes said of what turned things Team USA’s way late in the second period.  “I thought earlier in the period, though, Texas had some back-to-back shifts and I thought it was back and forth.  We were fortunate to get some scoring chances and goals in our momentum periods.”

Heading into the third, the Tornado’s goal drought began to reach epic proportions as it surpassed 160 minutes, but mercifully, Goodwin ended it just 3:57 into the final period. 

After Blazek intercepted a clearing attempt just inside the US blue line, he fed Van Lare in the high slot, and with just one defender to beat, Van Lare slid a nice pass to Goodwin in the slot, whose quick wrist shot beat a diving Maxwell to pull Texas to within two.

The Tornado seemed to gain some momentum from that goal, but it evaporated soon afterwards when winger Gustav Bengtson was leveled with an open ice hit away from the play by Team USA’s Patrick Gaul, who was whistled for interference.  Bengtson stayed down and barely moved for several minutes before being helped off the ice and did not return.  He appeared to suffer a concussion, but no definitive word on his condition was available after the contest. 

Despite having a power play, the Tornado surrendered a shorthanded goal on a mental error as Callaghan and defenseman Troy Puente botched an exchange of the puck behind the net.  That allowed USA’s Schroeder to sweep in and steal the puck before depositing it into the vacated goal for a 4-1 US lead at 9:18 of the third.

The unraveling continued less than three minutes later on a pretty US goal set up by Schroeder, who sped down the right wing boards into the Texas zone and feathered a perfect pass out of the right corner to a charging Morin at the left side of the crease.  Morin slammed it home into the open side of the net before Callaghan could slide across, making it 5-1 with 7:58 remaining.

Texas did get another one back with 2:26 on the clock, as they finally converted with the man-advantage, snapping an 0-for-22 power play drought going back six games.  John Kruse fed a pretty cross-ice pass from the top of the left face-off circle to Goodwin at the right side of the crease and Goodwin made no mistake with his one-timer, banging it home into the open net.

“Kruse made a nice pass to Goody on the last goal, our power play goal,” Ludwig said.  “The first goal, that was a 3-on-1, so when you’re going to play in the playoffs, it’s going to be a little bit different.  You’re not going to get 3-on-1s.  It’s just another lesson from another jersey, that you can’t win playoff games like this, it’s up another level.  You’re not going to get by with that kind of effort.” 

Team USA then put the final nail in the coffin just 40 seconds later, as Kristo stripped the puck from Johnnie Searfoss in the high slot, spun and fired a wrist shot as he was falling down, which beat Callaghan over the shoulder.

So when the two teams meet again on Saturday night (a 7:30 pm start - watch or listen to Tommy Daniels and myself with the call on b2 networks), the Tornado will attempt to right a listing ship, hoping to shed any bad habits with the post-season (and next weekend’s charity contest in Pros vs. Prospects IV) looming. 

THREE STARS

3.  Sam Goodwin, Texas (two goals)
2.  Ryan Bourque, USA (two assists)
1.  Jeremy Morin, USA (two goals, one assist)