Team Canada came to town the weekend of November 17-18 for a three game series against teams from the USA Bandy League, and a Saturday matinee versus Team USA at the Guidant John Rose Oval. The first weekend of two friendly engagements between USA Bandy and Canada could not have come at a better time as Mother Nature rewarded the competitors with fifty degree temperatures and no precipitation. After beating the Duluth Dynamo 4-1 Saturday morning, Canada would fall twice, losing to Team USA 8-2 and Mississippi Mojo 4-1. Below is a recap of the weekend.

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Game One: Duluth Dynamo vs. Team Canada

Duluth 1

Canada  4

The first game of the Series started early on the morning of November 17th with Duluth Dynamo facing Team Canada in an official USA Bandy League game. Despite the early start time, Canada came ready to play and went at Duluth hard. Before Duluth knew what hit them, they were down 2-0. Canada added another goal on a corner stroke to make it 3-0 before Duluth finally woke up and started attacking. Unfortunately for Duluth, the warm weather made the ice sticky, and Duluth’s main ball carriers Evan Richardson, Dave Plaunt and Rick Haney had trouble making long rushes, making a comeback difficult. Duluth was able to get on the board with a penalty shot goal by Dave Moline, but Canada ended stacking the middle of the ice and chipping in one more goal to end up on top by a final score of 4-1.

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Game Two: Team USA vs. Team Canada

Team USA 8

Canada 2

The main event pitted Team USA versus Team Canada. With a strong fan base, the Americans came out fired up. Canada stuck to their game plan that worked so well against Duluth, stacking the middle of the rink. But the USA team was patient, and if the Canadians were not going to give up the middle, the U.S. would use the outside to get chances at the net. Jon Keseley started the scoring for Team USA with a long rush down the wing and used a burst of speed to get around the Canadian fullback, finishing with a deke on the goalie, and a goal to make it 1-0. The U.S. was able to build a 4-1 halftime lead with goals from John Arundel, Mike Hosfield and another from Keseley. Hosfield's goal with16:45 left in the half was a particularly pretty play as Dave Plaunt put a perfectly placed chip pass onto the stick of Hosfield as he blazed up the left hand side, got around the defense, and put it past the Canadian goalie. Starting in goal for the United States was Erik Kraska, and as usual, Kraska was solid in nets, stopping several point blank shots as well as a penalty shot midway through the first half. Kraska kept the Americans on top at critical moments before relinquishing the goaltending duties to rookie Derek Melander in the second half.

In the second half, Team USA continued to pressure Canada, eventually wearing them down and opening up lanes. Second half highlights included a spectacular goal by Brent Palmer, who dangled through several Canada defenders and stayed on his skates despite some attempts to knock him off course before flipping it past the Canadian netminder. John Arundel added his second goal of the game on a beautiful one-handed change of direction shot that fooled the Canadian goalkeeper. Dave Plaunt cranked in a late goal off a corner stroke, and Keseley completed the hat trick to give the USA an 8-2 victory. Melander gave a solid performance in goal, making several difficult saves, including a penalty shot. USA Coach Chris Halden was satisfied with his teams performance, and noted that he was especially pleased with the solid play of rookies Andrew Hogan, Peter Knutson and brothers Ty and John Haertzen, in their debut with the U.S. squad.

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Game Three: Mississippi Mojo vs. Team Canada

Mojo 4

Canada 1

The third game of the series on Sunday morning saw the Mississippi Mojo take their turn against Team Canada. The weather was again perfect, hovering around forty five degrees at game time. While Canada appeared as though the travel and two bandy games the previous day may have slowed them a bit, they still gave it their all, and as usual, clogged up the middle of the rink making it hard for Mojo to create any offense. The determined Mojo were eventually able to break through the Canadian shell and started getting more and more chances as Canada’s defense began to sag back. Mojo midfielder and team captain Mike Hosfield was able to make longer rushes, and Keith Detlefson finally got on the board for Mojo. Detlefson would pump in two more goals for the hat trick, and Hosfield added another sniper shot into the top of the net giving the Mojo a solid 4-1 victory.

The next Border Battle will take place on January 4-5 at the Guidant John Rose Oval. Team Canada will take on the Twin City Ice Tigers,f Minneapolis Bandolier and Minnesota Blades in matches that will count toward the USA Bandy League's Division I standings.