The Minnesota Magicians hosted the Springfield Jr. Blues in a two game home series to begin the 2016-17 North American Hockey League (NAHL) regular season. After falling 4-2 to the Jr. Blues in the Friday night debut, the Magicians rebounded with a 4-2 victory of their own on Saturday to earn a split for the weekend.
The Magicians’ entered their season debut on September 16th with high expectations for the year to come. After getting off to a slow start and falling behind by two goals in the first period, however, the team was never able to catch up and eventually lost the home opener 4-2 to the Jr. Blues. The lone bright spot of the evening was Minnetonka native Brendan Skarda, who scored both Magicians goals in his junior hockey debut after starring for Minnetonka High School last season.
In the series finale on Saturday September 17th, the Magicians rebounded with a strong effort. Michigan Tech commit Travis Brown (Otsego, MN) got the scoring started early in the game and the Magicians never looked back, skating to an eventual 4-2 victory. Brendan Skarda (Minnetonka, MN), Andrew Kangas (Mahtomedi, MN), and Will Hammer (St. Cloud, MN) were the other goal scorers for the Magicians. Goaltender Daniil Gerasimov of Moscow, Russia was credited with the win after making 35 saves in his first start of the year.
The Magicians return home to Richfield Ice Arena on Friday September 30th (7:15 PM) in the first game of a two game home stand vs. the Coulee Region Chill. This week the Magicians will play 4 games at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota at the annual NAHL Showcase. The event features all 24 NAHL teams and is attended by hundreds of collegiate and professional scouts. Tickets and information on the NAHL Showcase are available at www.nahl.com. For more information on the Minnesota Magicians, visit www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com!