Express, Bandits, Wild skate to wins

The Owatonna Express, St. Louis Bandits and Wenatchee Wild all celebrated wins in their respective best-of-five Robertson Cup Playoffs divisional finals series on Saturday night.

Stephen Carew’s third-period goal broke a 1-1 tie as the Express skated to a 2-1 victory over the Bismarck Bobcats to even its Central Division series at 1-1.  Cory Thorson and Dylan Porter tallied the other Owatonna goals, and goaltender Fredrik Bergman turned aside 22 shots.

In the South Division, the Bandits opened up a 2-0 series lead over the Topeka Roadrunners with a 3-1 triumph.  Soren Jonzzon (game-winner) and Chris Ciotti each recorded a goal and an assist in the victory.  Between the pipes, Keith Kinkaid stopped 24 shots.

The Wild took a 2-0 series lead over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the West with a 4-3 win.  Evan Mosey, Nic Dowd and Michael Voran (game-winner) each potted a goal and an assist in the win, and goaltender Mathieu Dugas made 30 saves.

The winners of each of the four divisional finals series, along with the host North Iowa Outlaws, will advance to the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament, which will be held April 28-May 3 at the North Iowa Ice Arena in Mason City, Iowa.

The Robertson Cup crowns the NAHL’s playoff champion, which also represents USA Hockey’s Tier II Junior A national champion.

For more information on the Robertson Cup Championship Tournament, visit RobertsonCup.com.