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Playoff Recap

By Commissioner Halden, 02/25/15, 1:00AM CST

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DUKES REMARKABLE FIRST SEASON AND SAINTS REPEAT

DUKES COMPLETE REMARKABLE FIRST SEASON WITH USA BANDY CHAMPIONSHIP

The expansion team Dinkytown Dukes in the USA Bandy League Elite Division completed their inaugural first season by defeating a tough Mississippi Mojo team two games to one in the best of three series to capture the 2014-15 USA Bandy Championship. 


The Dukes finished the regular season undefeated (two ties) but to everyone’s surprise lost Game One of the series in a heartbreaking shootout in game one, and were forced to sweep the series on Saturday to take the Gunnar Cup. Game Two of the series was similar to the first game, with the Mojo packing it in tight on defense to thwart the dangerous Dukes offense led by league scoring champ Jon Keseley and his high scoring team mates John Arundel and Mike Lickteig. 
The Game Two match was tight and scoring chances few at the beginning, but finally the Dukes’ Mike Lickteig opened up the scoring with a corner stroke blast to draw first blood. The Dukes tried hard to build on the lead, but Mojo keeper Derek Melander made several tough saves to keep the Mojo in the game. Dukes’ keeper Erik Kraska also was at the top of his game, making several close in saves to keep the score close (1-0) in the first half. The Dukes were finally able to stretch the lead on a goal by John Arundel. The Mojo continued to press hard but the Dukes were able to escape each time and Kraska continued to make the key save. Jon Keseley finally put the game out reach with a late goal to make it 3-0 for the Dukes to tie the series at one game apiece and send it into a deciding Game Three for the USA championship.
In Game Three, the Dukes appeared to ride the momentum from their Game Two victory, pressuring the Mojo right off the bat. However, Mojo keeper Melander continued to make a number of great saves to keep the Mojo in the game, but the Dukes finally were able to get on the board first on a blast from Mike Lickteig to go up 1-0. The Dukes Lucas Whalen scored again to stretch the lead but the Mojo were not ready to quit and got back in the game on a goal by John Haertzen to make it 2-1.  Despite an injured shoulder, Lickteig scored again and this goal turned out to be the backbreaker for the Mojo who began to show signs of exhaustion from the fast pace. The Dukes John Arundel added another goal to clinch the win and Gunnar Cup title for the Dukes. 
The Duke’s Mike Lickteig’s three goals on Saturday and high octane play the whole championship series resulted him being named Playoff MVP. 
 
SAINTS REPEAT AS D-2 CHAMPIONS
The Saints went undefeated in the regular season for the second straight year in the second division, but the journey was tougher this season as they had two ties. The team was led by Ian Middlebrook who scored 24 goals which led the league, Brett Stoplestad and keeper Zander Asleson. The Saints defeated Elsies in the semi-finals and faced off against Tsunami Ice who reached the finals by beating a tough East Isles club. Tsunami was led this year by John Doepke, Shane Lines and newcomer Andy Schupp, a late season pick up.  
In the championship game, the game was tight between the two teams who battled the wind which made stickhandling difficult. The Saints got on the board first, but Tsuanmi quickly answered on a Doepke goal. Eventually, the Saints relentless attack allowed them to take the lead, but Schupp scored for Tsunami to tie it up. With the game up for grabs, the Saints scored late and were able to hold off Tsunami’s push at the end for a close 3-2 victory and their second straight D-2 title.
 A notable game highlight an inspiration to all was the return of veteran Dave Harmon who suffered a stroke only a few weeks before, but recovered quickly enough to return to the ice and play in the Final with Tsunami. We congratulate Dave and wish him a full recovery and look forward to seeing him next season.