Future Force goalie Gothberg invited to NHL Scouting Combine

The top 100 players available for the 2010 Entry Draft will meet in Toronto at the end of May for the annual NHL Scouting Combine.  


To be recognized as a top 100 player available for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft is an impressive feat.  Future Fargo Force goaltender, 1st round pick for the Force in 2009, Zane Gothberg has been invited to the NHL Scouting Combine.  The Thief River Falls netminder was 16-7-1, boasted a .922 save percentage, 1.83 goals against average and three shutouts in his final year with the Prowlers.  Zane Gothberg is a University of North Dakota recruit.


Last summer, Mike Lee and Josh Birkholz were invited to the 2009 NHL Scouting Combine before both being drafted in the third round by Phoenix and Florida respectively.


The combine, which will run May 24-29, is an opportunity for teams to meet and interview prospects, as well as see them tested in an off-ice setting.

Fargo Force routed by Roughriders

The Fargo Force started their 3-game road trip off on the wrong foot as they lost to the Cedar Rapids Roughriders 5-0.  The Force were outshot 30-11 in the game and didn't put more than 5 shots on goal in a period.  The Force were led by Colten St. Clair and Matt Leitner with three shots each.  Ryan Massa stopped 25 of the Roughriders' 30 shots.  The Riders were led by David Boehm with a goal and an assist.  Troy Grosenick stopped all 11 Fargo shots.

With the loss, the Force will play Sioux Falls in the first round of the USHL playoffs.  Fargo needs to pick up one point to clinch home ice advantage for the first round.  The Force are back in action on Friday night for a game against the Chicago Steel and Saturday night against the Green Bay Gamblers.

Force get one more chance at Roughriders

The Fargo Force take on the Cedar Rapids Roughriders in the final tilt between the two teams tomorrow.  Cedar Rapids has won every meeting so far (3/3).  The Force still have a shot at first place in the USHL's West Division and will look to make a run going into the playoffs.  Cedar Rapids is led by Zach Lehrke and Jeff Costello on offense and Bryce Aneloski on defense.

The Force have played some crazy games with Cedar Rapids in their three meetings to date and have given up way too many goals to beat them (18 goals against in three games).  Ryan Massa seems to be back at his best with a couple of very solid games against Green Bay and a nice performance in Tri-City.  Fargo will need to do a better job limiting their opponents' shots to beat the Riders on Wednesday, Chicago on Friday and Green Bay again on Saturday.  Massa has seen 193 shots in his last five games and more than 40 shots in two of his last three games.

Over the weekend, Fargo got another 50-point player as Chase Grant added an assist to bring his totals to 50.  Matt Leitner, Corey Leivermann, Nate Condon and Chase Grant all have 50+ points for the Force.  In 2008-09 the Force only had two 50+ point scorers in Andy Taranto and Matt Leitner.

If you want free tickets to the playoff games, you are going to want to sign up for 2010-11 season tickets TODAY.  Another advantage of getting your season tickets now is that the price will go up after May 1.

Force lose in a shootout

The Fargo Force had a great turnout for their last regular season home game of the season.  4,837 fans were able to see a good hockey game that the Force eventually lost in a shootout to the top team in the USHL.  With the win, Green Bay clinched the Anderson Cup.  


The Force are pretty much locked into the 2nd spot in the West Division and will probably take on the Sioux Falls Stampede in their first round of the Clark Cup playoffs.  In order to get first place in the West Division, Omaha would have to lose their remaining two games and the Force would have to win their remaining three games.  With one more win, the Force will clinch home ice advantage for the first round playoff series with Sioux Falls.


Check out the article in the Fargo Forum here.


From USHL.com:  Green Bay Gamblers 4, Fargo Force 3 (SO)
Ryan Furne tied the game with under two minutes remaining in regulation and Ludwig Karlsson was the only player to score in the shootout to help the Green Bay Gamblers clinch the Anderson Cup for the second straight season as regular season champions.  Karlsson also scored in regulation and defenseman David Makowski netted his 18th goal of the season for the Gamblers.  Goaltender Ryan McKay made just 17 saves but turned away all five Fargo shootout attempts to seal the win.  Matt Leitner scored two goals for the Force and goaltender Ryan Massa made 40 saves in the loss. 

Green Bay at Fargo Live Blog - 7:05pm

Here is your live blog brought to you by Fargo Forum reporter Kerry Collins.  Make sure you send him a lot of comments so he earns his pay!  Check out Kerry's Force blog at www.areavoices.com/force/

Last regular season home game of the year

Tonight's game against the top ranked team in the USHL and probable winners of the Anderson Cup, the Green Bay Gamblers will mark the last home game of the regular season for the Fargo Force.  Fargo will look to sweep the Gamblers and inch closer to the top spot in the West Division as they trail the Omaha Lancers by 5 points.  Omaha has played one more game than Fargo.

I hope to see a lot of Fargo Force fans at the game as we had a good turnout yesterday but were still unable to crack the 4,000 mark for attendance (3,835 were in attendance for last night's Force win).  Also, fans should consider getting season tickets for 2010-11 TODAY because if you purchase season tickets for next season, you will receive FREE tickets to the playoffs this year! 

Here's to a good run going into the USHL playoffs and your future Clark Cup champions, the Fargo Force!

Schmidt's shot nets win

From the Fargo Forum:

Nate Schmidt has had to play forward for the Fargo Force the past few games.  The standout defenseman still knows what to do when he gets the puck at the point.

Schmidt’s blistering rip from the left point early in the third lit the lamp for what would be the game-winner in Fargo’s 3-1 win over Green Bay on Friday at Urban Plains Center.  Read the rest of the article here.

The Fargo Force take on Green Bay once again Saturday night at 7:05pm.

There is another story you should read from the Fargo Forum on Matt Leitner.  Check out that article here.

Fargo at Green Bay Live Blog - 7:35pm

Force alumni in NCAA tournament

Good luck to all of our Fargo Force alumni playing in the NCAA D-1 hockey tournament starting this weekend.

• Andy Taranto (Alaska-Fairbanks) - 17 goals, 24 assists, 41 points (tied for team lead), CCHA rookie of the year.
• Mike Lee (SCSU) - 11-9-3, .918 save percentage, 2.74 goals against average.
• Jake Areshenko (Bemidji State) - 3 assists, +11 in 32 games.
• Steve Spinell (Miami) - 1 goal, 3 assists and +12 in 28 games.

Fargo Force Super Captain - Chase Grant

Chase Grant does it all...

Former Force Goalie Cody Campbell Player of the Week.

Cody Campbell Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Campbell allowed just one goal total in two starts for the RoughRiders during the weekend. On Friday, he made 21 saves in the 4-1 victory over Team USA's Under-18 squad. He then notched his second shutout of the season when he made 29 saves in the 2-0 win against Green Bay. The 18-year-old has won his last five starts and is unbeaten in regulation over his last 10 starts (9-0-1). The Colorado Springs, Colorado native is playing in his second USHL season and is currently fourth among League goaltenders with a 2.35 goals-against-average. In 42 career USHL appearances split between Cedar Rapids and Fargo, he has compiled a 22-12-2 record.

Ryan Massa weathers the Storm

Ryan Massa weathered the Storm (pun intended) as the Force beat the Tri-City Storm 5-2 in Kearney, NE tonight.  The Force were outshot 46-26 in the game but got strong goaltending from Ryan Massa and capitalized on some key opportunities in the first and second periods on pace for a victory over the Storm of Tri-City.

In the first period, Oleg Yevenko opened the scoring on a slap shot that found the back of the net 5:16 into the game.  JP Burkemper and Nate Schmidt assisted on the goal.  Less than two minutes later the Force would get an awkward bounce on a shot from Garrett Allen from behind the net that went off Tri-City goalie Carsen Chubak's skate and found the net (Matt Leitner got an assist on the play).  For the third Force goal, Nate Schmidt was able to get a breakaway opportunity coming out of the box after serving a hooking penalty.  Schmidt would capitalize on that opportunity scoring on Chubak and extending the Force lead to 3-0 (Nate Condon with the assist).  Tri-City answered on the power play 18 seconds later with a goal from Kenny Brooks to make it 3-1.  Corey Leivermann would cap off the scoring in the first period on a feed from Chase Grant and Brian Cooper.  The Force took the lead going into the 3rd up 4-1.

The Force would score their second shorthanded goal of the game on a 2 on 1 opportunity between Matt Leitner and Johnnie Searfoss.  Johnnie Searfoss buried the goal assisted by Matt Leitner and Marek Hrbas.

Tri-City would net the only goal in the third period and the Force capped off their weekend with a 5-2 win over the Storm.  Ryan Massa was stellar in net stopping 44 shots for the Force.  Carsen Chubak stopped 21/26 shots for Tri-City.

Fargo at Tri-City - Live Blog 7:05pm

Here's to hoping this game goes better than the last one!  A live blog for the second straight night, this time between the Tri-City Storm and the Fargo Force.  Puck drops at 7:05pm and I plan to launch the blog around 6:55pm.  We will be blogging about the Fargo Force game and probably some discussion about the SCSU vs. UND game as former Force goalie Mike Lee will be in net against the UND in the WCHA championship game.

Andy Taranto: CCHA Rookie of the Year

Andy Taranto became the first University of Alaska Nanook to be honored as the CCHA Rookie of the Year.  He led all rookies in conference scoring with 31 points (12g, 19a) in 28 games and also finished the regular season ranked third in the nation in rookie scoring with 39 points (16g, 23a).  Taranto tied for the USHL lead with 34 goals during the 2008-09 regular season and ranked tied for second overall with a plus-33 rating on his way to being named All-USHL Second Team.  He also helped guide the Fargo Force to the Clark Cup Finals during their inaugural season scoring 14 points (7g, 7a) in nine postseason contests.  (From USHL.com)

Fargo at Lincoln - Live Blog 7:05pm

Here we go with the second live blog for an away game this year.  Fargo at Lincoln @ 7:05pm from the Ice Box.

Live blogs Friday and Saturday

This is a really late notice but I am going to be doing the live blogs for Friday and Saturday's away games.  I will be watching the games on the B2 Networks both nights and invite you to watch/listen with me as I run the live blog/chat for the games.

The Force take on the Lincoln Stars Friday night and the Tri-City Storm on Saturday night.  Fargo is only three points behind first place Omaha going into the weekend.

Leitner lights up Lancers

"Light it up Leitner" was in full force tonight for the St. Patrick's day game between the Fargo Force and the West Division leading Omaha Lancers.  The Force were able to come back from a 3-goal deficit.  Fargo was paced by Matt Leitner with a 5-point night (2 goals, 3 assists) to extend his point streak to 7 games.

The Lancers came out quickly and scored 32 seconds into the game on a goal by Dakota Eveland.  The Lancers  were able to score another goal later in the first on a goal by Ryan Daugherty.  The Lancers took a 2-0 lead into the locker room as the buzzer sounded on the first period.

Seth Ambroz scored early in the second period on a power play to extend the Lancers' lead to 3-0.  Fargo proved once again that they are a resilient team that does not give up on any game with goals by Johnnie Searfoss and Garrett Allen (on the power play) less than two minutes apart.  Matt Leitner assisted on both goals.  Brian Cooper added an assist on the first Force goal and Nate Schmidt added an assist on the power play goal by Allen.  The second period ended with the Force down by one at 3-2.

Ryan Daugherty would get his second goal of the game on the power play for the Lancers early in the third to extend the Lancer lead to two goals at 4-2.  Leitner answered quickly with a goal 1:14 later on the power play for the Force.  Leitner's first goal of the game was assisted by Chase Grant and Nate Schmidt.  Brandon Carlson tied the game 10 minutes later with his first goal in a Force uniform.  Searfoss picked up his second point of the night as he assisted the Carlson goal and Leitner would add his fourth point of the night with his third assist.

Johnnie Searfoss, Nate Condon and Matt Leitner scored in the shootout for the Force and Ryan Massa stopped 3/5 shots in the shootout to lead the Force to the victory.  Matt Leitner was credited with his second goal of the game and fifth point of the night as he netted the game-winner for the Force.  Ryan Massa finished with 26 saves on 30 shots.  Fargo is now 5-0-2 in their last seven games.

Great win for the Force tonight as they were able to come back once again and sweep the Omaha Lancers in the regular season series.  They have had a lot of success against the top team in the West and are now only three points out of first place with a game in hand.  The Force play two more games this weekend against the Lincoln Stars and the Tri-City Storm Friday and Saturday night.

Triple Threat Tandem

If you were asked who was going to lead the Force in scoring this year, who would you have picked?  An obvious pick would have been Matt Leitner after he put up 20 goals and 33 assists for 53 total points in his rookie season in the USHL.  Would you have picked the likes of Corey Leivermann (8 goals, 14 assists in 08-09), Chase Grant (10 goals, 18 assists in 08-09) or Nate Condon (11 goals, 18 assists in 08-09)?  All three players finished with less than 30 points last year but have become a triple threat tandem on the top line for the Force this season.

Last year the Force had two players with 50 or more points.  Matt Leitner had 53 and Andy Taranto had 59 in the inaugural season.  This year it is likely that the Force will have four players with 50+ points and three of them have been a steady fixture on the top line for the Force.  Nate Condon has put up 21 more points in 6 less games this year.  Chase Grant has 19 more points in 6 less games.  Corey Leivermann has an astonishing 32 more points this year more than doubling his point total from last year.

The triple threat tandem of Grant, Condon and Leivermann has become one of the top lines in the USHL.  Perhaps the scarier aspect for the future teams of the WCHA is that Grant and Leivermann are headed to the Mavericks of MSU-Mankato.  Even scarier...Matt Leitner is also a Mankato recruit along with one of the newest Force additions, JP Burkemper.  Three of the top four scorers on a top team in the USHL are Mankato recruits.

I would love to hear your comments!

Fargo Force pick up 3/4 points

The Fargo Force were able to pick up three points in the USHL's West Division with a win and a shootout loss against the Lincoln Stars this weekend.  Although the Stars are at the bottom of the West Division, they didn't play like it as they played two very good games against one of the top teams in the league.  The Force were able to pick up 3 out of 4 points over the weekend with Matt Leitner leading the Force last night with a goal and an assist and Colten St. Clair lifting the Force to a win tonight with a goal and an assist including the game winner with 1:42 remaining in the game.  Ryan Massa was back in between the pipes for the Force as he picked up his first win since 2/5 after sustaining a leg injury in a series against Waterloo.  Massa finished with 18 saves on 20 shots.

Lincoln at Fargo Live Blog - 7:05pm

Live blog will begin sometime around 6:30pm.  Lincoln Stars vs. Fargo Force.  Puck drops at 7:05pm.

Lincoln at Fargo Live Blog - 7:35pm

Lincoln Stars come to town for a busy weekend of hockey around the ND/MN area.  Game starts at 7:35pm.  Blog will go live sometime between 6:45pm and 7:00pm.

Opportunity for $5 tickets

Just thought I'd pass some news along from the Urban Plains Center.  They are offering $5 tickets for the rest of the year for those fans that are willing to park at the Osgood Hornbacher's parking lot and take the shuttle to the Urban Plains Center.  The shuttle is free and shuttle riders get in the game for $5...

From the UP Center:

Free Shuttles for Remaining Force Games + $5 Ticket for Riders

Description: Due to wet conditions in the west parking lot, the Urban Plains Center is offering free shuttle bus service for the remaining Force games. Service will begin 1 hour prior to the games and will continue until 1 hour after the game.

In addition to the free ride, the Force are offering a $5 cash only, reserved ticket for those riding the shuttles. Riders are asked to bring exact change and will get their ticket on the shuttle.

SHUTTLE SCHEDULE:
FROM:
South End of Hornbachers-Osgood Parking Lot (located at 4151 45th St. South)

DATES:
Friday, March 12
Saturday, March 13
Friday, March 26
Saturday, March 27

COST: FREE
On-site parking available for season pass holders and an extremely limited amount of non-pass holders. Carpooling is heavily encouraged.

Watch the MN state HS hockey tourney for FREE

For all of you that don't get the channel that the Minnesota state HS hockey games are being broadcasted on, here is a link to watch all of the games for FREE! https://45.grandstadium.tv/LandingPages/mngshome.html

I'm sure there will be some kids that will be on the Force roster sometime in the future...

Force take on the Stars this weekend

We have a very busy weekend in the area coming up with the Fargo Force taking on the Lincoln Stars at the Urban Plains Center, Gopher/Sioux playoff hockey games in Grand Forks, Minnesota state high school hockey tournament in Minneapolis and Bon Jovi at the Fargodome all this weekend.  I know a lot of the Force fans are either Sioux or Gopher fans and I'm assuming there are quite a few people that will be watching that and/or the Minnesota state high school hockey tournament on TV or actually going to either one of those choices live, or maybe you are going to the Bon Jovi concert... whatever the case may be, there is a Fargo Force game in town and I hope that everyone that isn't doing one of those things mentioned above, they will be at the Urban Plains Center supporting the Force this weekend!

The Force have clinched a playoff berth so we know there is going to be some post-season action once again this year which is great news.  Get your season tickets for next year so you can get post-season tickets for free!

If you do choose to stay at home be sure to join us on the live blog from the Urban Plains Center for the Force games this weekend!

Fargo Force take on Musketeers today

The Fargo Force take on the Sioux City Musketeers in Sioux City this afternoon at 4:00pm CST.  The Force have done a nice job in the last couple of games and have put together a 2-game winning streak after their recent struggles. 

The Force have actually clinched a playoff berth with the win last night.  The Force have won the season series against Sioux City (winning all four meetings with the Musketeers so far) so if the Force did lose the rest of their games and Sioux City won the rest of theirs, they would be tied in points but Fargo would have the advantage in head to head play for the tie breaker.  Congratulations to the Force for making the postseason for the second time in their second season.

Watch the game live on the B2 Network.

Waterloo at Fargo Live Blog - 7:05pm

Waterloo at Fargo, live from the Urban Plains Center.  Puck drops at 7:05pm.

Waterloo at Fargo Live Blog - 7:35pm

Live blog available from the Urban Plains Center between the Fargo Force and the Waterloo Black Hawks.  The game starts at 7:35pm and the Force have been unable to beat the Black Hawks so far this year (0-2).

2010-11 Fargo Force Season Tickets On Sale

Just passing the information along. Hopefully we get a lot of season ticket holders for next season!

2010-11 Season Tickets On Sale Now!

2010-11 Fargo Force season tickets are now on sale; plans range from $299 to $359 with the introduction of the new 'On the Glass' season tickets. Season ticket holders receive a number of great benefits not available to single game purchasers, tickets are available for purchase by calling the Urban Plains Center box office @ 701-364-3672 or email: seasontickets@fargoforce.com for more information.

More season ticket information below:

Ticket Type - Early Bird Price(reserved before May 1st, 2010) - Regular Price(reserved after May 1st, 2010)
On the Glass $329.00 $359.00
Lower Reserved $299.00 $329.00
Half Season Flexx Pack $169.00 $169.00

Payment plans will be available for fans once again so you can pay over the course of a few months instead of paying it all at once.
Ticket exchange will also be available again, so if you miss a game, you can exchange those extra tickets for games at a later date.
Season ticket holder mugs will once again be given to season ticket holders for discounts at concessions.
Top Shelf discount card allows season ticket holders to get discounted merchandise at Top Shelf.
The On the Glass season ticket holders will be able to attend pre-game ice level parties before Force home games.
Parking passes will once again be provided for season ticket holders.
Don't bother going to the box office. With season tickets, there is no need to wait in line at the box office!
Same seat for all 30 home games.

Buy season tickets for next year and get FREE playoff tickets for the 2009-10 season!

For information regarding Club Seats or Suites at the Urban Plains Center contact Kali Mork: kalim@upcenterfargo.org.

We are just as passionate as you in our desire to bring the USHL's ultimate prize, the Clark Cup, here where it belongs, to the Fargo-Moorhead region and hope to continue that fight with you for the remainder of this season and beyond. Thank you for your continued support of the Fargo Force!

- Fargo Force Front Office

Taranto grabs second CCHA Rookie of the Month Award

Former Fargo Force forward Andy Taranto has earned another CCHA Rookie of the Month Award, this time for the month of February. Taranto is currently leading the Nanooks in scoring with 39 points (16 goals, 23 assists) and boasts a +11 in plus/minus.

Congratulations Andy on yet another impressive feat!

Check out the full article on the Alaska Nanook hockey news page here: University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics - Taranto Grabs Second CCHA Rookie of the Month Award