Force grab Clark Cup Finals berth

The Fargo Force didn't like the way Game 4 started.  They fixed that problem tonight as they scored 4:52 into the game and sent the message that this game was going to be different.  The Force had a little bit of a scare late in the first period when Ryan Massa went off the ice with what appeared to be a leg injury and Dayn Belfour came in.  Belfour saw 31 seconds of action after he misplayed the puck leading to the Lancers' tying goal and Massa came back in.  Massa stopped all 8 Lancer shots he faced in the first.

Fargo jumped on the Lancers quickly once again in the second period thanks to a goal with some nifty stickhandling work by JP Burkemper to regain the Force lead 2-1.  Ryan Massa remained in the net for the 2nd period stopping 10 more Omaha shots.

The Lancers got on the board quickly in the third on a tic-tac-toe play on the power play finished off by Troy Power with assists from Ryan Daugherty and Nick Oddo.  Chase Grant would answer on a feed from Colten St. Clair less than three minutes later to regain the lead yet again for the Force.  Grant's goal would be the eventual game winner after Matt Leitner would net another couple of goals (one empty-netter) to finish off the scoring for the Force and send the Lancers home for the season.  Ryan Massa stopped another 10 shots in the third and stopped 27/28 in the 5-2 Force win.

The Force will now compete in their second Clark Cup Finals in their second year in the league.  This time they hope the outcome is a little better against the Green Bay Gamblers after losing to the Indiana Ice in four games in the '09 Finals.

Fargo at Omaha, Game 5 - Live Blog 7:05pm

Live blog tomorrow

I will be running a live blog here tomorrow night for the decisive Game 5 between the Fargo Force and the Omaha Lancers.  We didn't do the live blog for Game 4 and we lost, but we did it for Game 3 and won!  Hopefully we carry that going into tomorrow night's game to send the Force to the Clark Cup Finals.

Hope to see you all on the blog tomorrow night!  It will be unmoderated so fans can chat freely with other fans.  I will be providing updates as I watch on the B2 Network.

Force lose Game Four 6-2

Well, at least it wasn't a dirty game...

The Force were unable to match the Lancers' intensity for the full 60 minutes and it showed on the scoreboard as Omaha came up with a 6-2 win over the Fargo Force at the Urban Plains Center in Game Four.  With the win, Omaha pushed the series to Game 5, with Game 5 going back to Omaha.

Leading the charge for the Lancers was Dakota Eveland with two goals and an assist, Greg Wolfe with a goal and an assist, Troy Power with a goal and an assist, and Ryan Daugherty with a goal and an assist fresh off his one-game suspension.  The Force got goals from Chad Demers and Matt Leitner.  JP Burkemper, Chase Grant and Garrett Allen added assists for Fargo.  Ryan Massa made 18 saves on 23 shots and Dayn Belfour played 4:52 without seeing a shot.  Jeff Teglia stopped 18/20 for the Lancers.

The Force will need a much better effort if they plan to make their second straight appearance to the Clark Cup Finals...

Fargo holds on for victory

Fargo was able to hold off a late rally from Omaha to take a win and a lead in the series 2-1 from the Omaha Lancers.  The Force won the game 4-3 in front of a crowd of 4,120 after a couple of close calls with under two minutes to go.

From USHL.com, picture also from USHLimages.com: With their top two scorers sidelined for Game Three, Fargo Force captain Chase Grant stepped up in a big way as he recorded a hat trick to lead his team to victory and a 2-1 series lead over the Omaha Lancers.  Johnnie Searfoss started the scoring with his first of the playoffs just under four minutes into the contest.  Grant scored his first of the night early in the second before Seth Ambroz cut the lead in half a minuter later with his fourth playoff goal for the Lancers.  Grant again gave the Force a two-goal lead in the third period on a power play tally.  Greg Wolfe kept the Lancers in it scoring his third playoff goal with just over five minutes to play in the final period.  The Fargo captain then completed his hat trick on an empty net goal with 1:16 remaining in the frame.

However, the game wasn't over at that point as with goaltender Jeff Teglia pulled in favor of the extra attacker, Erik Haula buried a loose puck after a scramble in front of the Force net to pull the Lancers back within a goal as just 33 seconds remained on the clock.  Omaha again made a charge and after another scramble in the Fargo crease, the Lancers were awarded a penalty shot after a Force defenseman illegally covered the puck with only four ticks left in regulation.  Wolfe took the penalty shot but his attempt went wide and the Force earned the victory.  Ryan Massa made 23 saves for Fargo and defenseman Nate Schmidt assisted on all four Force goals.  The series resumes in less than 24 hours for Game Four at the Urban Plains Center in Fargo.

My picks for the three stars of the game have to be (1) Chase Grant with the hat trick, (2) Nate Schmidt with a 4-point night and (3) Ryan Massa.  I know Massa only had 23 saves but he made a lot of quality saves and made a lot of big stops when the Force needed it the most.

Game 4 will have a little more intensity to it, as the Lancers are facing elimination and get Ryan Daugherty back from suspension.  Fargo gets Matt Leitner fresh off his one game suspension.  The addition of those two players adds a lot more hype to Game 4.

Omaha at Fargo, Game 2 - Live Blog 7:05pm

Omaha at Fargo for Game 3 of the West Division Finals of the USHL Playoffs.  Series is tied 1-1 after the series intensified in Omaha for games one and two.

Crazy weekend ends with series tied up 1-1

I think by now everyone knows what happened after this weekend's games but I think it deserves a blog entry regardless.  The Force lost game one after some strong goaltending by both Jeff Teglia and Ryan Massa.  Massa finished with 29 saves on 31 shots, Teglia stopped all 24 Force shots for the shutout and the 1-0 series lead for Omaha.

In game two, the Force were able to overcome a 1-0 deficit going into the 3rd period with three straight goals to start the third and an empty netter to finish it off to give the Force a 4-2 victory and the series tied at one heading to Fargo on Wednesday.  

I think everyone has heard about the vicious hit by CJ Ludwig on Corey Leivermann. From what I've heard things were really getting ugly in the third and the refs lost control of the game, things escalated, and bad things happened.  I hope Corey Leivermann is alright.  I don't think anyone ever wants to see anyone get hurt in a hockey game regardless of which team you may be for.  Leivermann is doubtful for the rest of the series and Ludwig has a 5-game suspension which the Lancers are appealing because they believe it was a "clean hit".  I didn't get to see the hit, but it sounded like an intent to injure to me.  I think anytime you are down by two with under a minute remaining and head hunting, it's a dirty play (just my opinion).

From what I've seen of Ludwig's hits, he appears to head hunt a lot of players.  I think this is what the NHL is trying to take out of the game now.  I am sure the USHL will be looking to address it as well.  Ludwig hit on Leivermann below.

Back to the hockey - the Force are now in control of the series after tying it up 1-1.  I say they are in control despite the series being tied because the Force now have home-ice advantage for the rest of the series with two games at home that they could use to close it out.  Ryan Massa had another strong game for the Force stopping 31/33.  Matt Leitner (2 goals) and Nate Condon (1 goal, 1 assist) led the team with two points each.  Highlights of the game (excluding extra-curriculars shown below).

EDIT:  Suspensions - CJ Ludwig is suspended for 5 games.  Ryan Daugherty is suspended for one and Matt Leitner is suspended for one game.

Links from the series:

Article about Fargo Force coaches

How the West will be won, Fargo Hockey Examiner

Game one, Lancers take series lead 1-0

Game two, Force win 4-2, Leivermann injured
Leivermann out for series
Fargo Force, Omaha Lancers players suspended

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. 

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!

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.

Force win, grab 1st place

The Fargo Force finally took over first place in the West Division of the USHL.  Check out the article in the Fargo Forum from Forum reporter Kerry Collins.  This has been a great run for the Force, hopefully they are able to keep it up and are not peaking too early!  Cody Campbell and the Cedar Rapids Roughriders come to the Urban Plains Center this coming weekend February 12-13.

USHL: Force win, grab 1st place | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

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Omaha at Fargo - 7:05pm

Force move into share of first place in USHL's West Division

Check out Kerry Collins' article on last night's Fargo Force victory over the Omaha Lancers.  The Force are now tied for 1st place in the West Division of the USHL with another game against the Lancers tonight for sole possession of 1st.  Fargo Forum article in link below.

Force move into share of first place in USHL's West Division | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

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Omaha at Fargo - 7:35pm

Fargo Force squeak out win in Sioux Falls

The Fargo Force were able to squeak out a win and an important two points in tonight's game against the Sioux Falls Stampede.  The Force took down the herd 5-4 in a shootout.  The Force were led by Corey Leivermann with 2 goals, an assist and the shootout game-winner, Chase Grant with a goal and an assist and Alex Lippincott with one goal.  Ryan Massa was solid once again between the pipes for the Force stopping 39/43 shots including all five in the shootout preserving the win.

With the win Fargo pulls within two points of West Division leader Omaha with an important home series upcoming against the Lancers at the Urban Plains Center this Friday and Saturday.

Pre-series notes:

• The Force have won both meetings this year between Omaha and Fargo in Omaha.
• Matt Leitner likes playing Omaha.  In the two games in Omaha the Force all-star has 4 goals and 3 assists for seven points.
• Colten St. Clair has two goals and two assists in the two meetings with Omaha this season.

Omaha Lancers Feature:

• Seth Ambroz is a 2011 NHL Draft eligible, University of Minnesota recruit that will be a player to watch for Omaha. He has 13 goals, 16 assists for 29 points in 36 games for Omaha.  2/13 of his goals have came against Fargo.  Check out this article on Ambroz from NHL.com.
• Erik Haula is a Minnesota Wild draft pick and Minnesota Golden Gopher recruit that has 21 goals, 32 assists and 53 points in 38 games for the Lancers.  Check out this Haula interview with Hockey Wilderness.
• Matt White leads the Lancers with 25 goals, 37 assists for 62 points in 37 games with Omaha.
• The offense doesn't stop with those three for Omaha either.  They have 8 players with 20 points or more and 16 players with points in double digits for the year.
• Jeff Teglia has been one of the top goalies in the USHL this year.  He is 4th in GAA with a 2.30 goals against average and 2nd in save percentage at .918 with a 22-7-2 record.

Should be a good weekend of hockey at the Urban Plains Center this weekend with a lot of talent and two of the top teams in the USHL competing for the top spot in the West Division.  Hopefully we are able to get 4,000+ fans in the building for the biggest series of the year this far.

Force entering critical stretch of games

This weekend's games is starting to build up some hype as we inch closer to playing three important games in three days with one game against 3rd place Sioux Falls and a two-game home series against the top team in the West in the Omaha Lancers.  Omaha is currently four points ahead of the Fargo Force after their victory on Tuesday, Feb. 2 over the Sioux City Musketeers.

Check out Kerry Collins' article in the Fargo Forum in the link below regarding this weekend's action that happens to start tonight against the herd in Sioux Falls.

Force entering critical stretch of games | INFORUM | Fargo, ND

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Fargo Force win wild one in Omaha

Fargo took on the top team in the USHL tonight and it was a wild one in Omaha.  Garrett Allen started things off for Fargo 6:12 into the first period but it was all Omaha in the first period as they scored four straight en route to Ryan Massa's departure with 4 goals against on 10 shots.

The Fargo Force were able to regain their composure after the first period as they came out flying in the second period with four goals of their own.  Matt Leitner scored two goals in the second period.  Chase Grant and Colten St. Clair would also add a goal apiece.

Fargo would get some much needed insurance early in the third period on captain Chase Grant's second goal of the game to make the game 6-4.  Minnesota Wild draft pick, Erik Haula would score a goal shorthanded about a minute and a half after Grant's goal and the Force were able to hold off the Lancers from there.  Dayn Belfour made 12 saves on 13 shots in two periods of work for Fargo.

Colten St. Clair, Chase Grant and Matt Leitner each had three points in the game to lead the Force.  Garrett Allen had a goal and an assist.  Corey Leivermann added two assists.  Joe Rehkamp, Nate Schmidt and Eamonn McDermott also each added an assist in the win for Fargo.

Chase Grant remains one of the hottest players in the USHL with the three point game.  Grant was the Offensive Player of the Week before Christmas break.  He is now on a 6-game point streak and 5-game goal-scoring streak with 8 goals and three assists during that span.

Fargo Force are back in action tomorrow in Sioux Falls for their 3rd game in four days including two games against top teams in the USHL.  Fargo can take sole possession of 2nd place in the West Division with a win over Sioux Falls Stampede tomorrow.

Fargo Force take on top team in USHL today

Fargo Force take on the top team in the USHL tonight as they take on the Omaha Lancers.  Two of their top forwards, Matt White (49 points) and Erik Haula (40) are nearly doubling the scoring leaders for the Force.  Fargo will have to step up their defensive game against Omaha's top line.  Omaha's talent doesn't drop off there.  Omaha has three other 20 point players in Seth Ambroz, Dakota Eveland and defenseman Dennis Brown.

Last time the Force faced off against the Lancers in Omaha, they were able to come away with a 5-2 win.  That game was played at a time when the Force were not playing their best hockey in October.  If Fargo wants to consider themselves in the top echelon of teams in the USHL, they will want to beat Omaha again and move two points closer to the top.

Fargo is coming off a comeback victory against Team USA U-18 team 4-3 on New Year's Eve.  Omaha is coming off a 5-3 win over the Musketeers in Sioux City.