Horde Join D2 - Tie Defending Champs in Opener

The league office gave the Northern Horde a warm welcome to D2 by scheduling their opener against the defending champion Chaos.  These teams squared off in a pre-season scrimmage where Chaos completely controlled the play.   However, the Horde stepped up to the challenge on Sunday night and in an evenly played game drew 2-2.  The Horde gave up the first goal at 2:18 of the first period, but the Horde responded at 16:47 in the second period when Dan Bolles picked the puck up from behind the net and fed Jeff Nelson who beat the Chaos goalie to tie the game.  The pace of play picked up and Chaos scored again at 7:57 of the second.  However, a scant four minutes later, Bolles again found Nelson, this time in the slot, and the Horde evened the score.  In the third period and the overtime, each team had some good chances, but neither could beat the goalies, who both played tough all night.  Pete Morrow played his best game for the Horde to date, facing 25 Chaos shots and allowing only two goals.  

The Horde scrimmage the Ice Sages on Monday, November 2 at 10:10 pm at Hopkins Pavilion and then face the Puck Hounds at 6:00 pm on Saturday, November 7 at St. Louis Park (west rink). 

 

 

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Schedule's Out

After a strong inaugural summer season that saw the Horde go 8-1 against the Diablos, including winning the beginner league championship, the Horde are once again ready to take the ice.

Roster Changes
With Liza Messinger and Andrew Dayton off to school, the team seamlessly added new members Suneel Arora (joining us from the Snowmen), Dana Cudo (Walking Sticks) and Chris Haack strengthening the Horde defense as well as adding scoring to the front lines. Gary Speier and Jeff Cook join the Horde as subs from the Snowmen, bringing much needed physical presence to the team. Bill Messinger rejoined the team following a lengthy rehab.

Pre-season Wrap Up
During the pre-season, the Horde skated evenly with the Wildcats and Chaos and wrapped up with a strong performance beating the Fighting Loons with a hat trick from Dan Bolles and two goals from Jeff Nelson. Jon Nygren scored in each pre-season game giving the Horde another potent scoring threat and Pete Morrow backstopped the Horde with two strong performances.

Schedule
The first two weeks of the schedule are out the Northern Horde open with Chaos D2 at Richfield on Sunday, October 25 at 8:45 pm. The Horde expect a stiff challenge as Chaos is the reigning D2 champions and looked strong in a pre-season scrimmage against the Horde where the Horde narrowly escaped with a 6-5 win. Following a bye week, on Saturday, November 7 the Horde face the Puck Hounds, another team expected to be in contention come playoff time. The Hounds were in the playoff hunt last year and return nearly their entire team.

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