NAHl OWATONNA

defencewinsgames · Post by **defencewinsgames** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:34 am

NAHL BOARD OF GOVERNORS APPROVE CLUB FOR OWATONNA, MN FOR 2005-06 SEASON The North American Hockey League’s Board of Governors has announced that it has approved the transfer of a membership in the NAHL to a group who will play their home games at the Four Seasons Centre in Owantonna, Minnesota. The team will be named the Southern Minnesota Express and begin play in the 2005-06 season. The group consists of four National Hockey League personalities -- All-Star defenseman Rob Blake of the Colorado Avalanche, former NHL forward Nelson Emerson, now a coach with the Los Angeles Kings, current Kings coach Andy Murray and Boston Bruins forward Glen Murray. They are joined in the group by Bruce Carson, a Minnesota businessman who owns a prominent off-ice hockey training facility in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. This membership is a transfer of the inactive Fernie Ghostriders team that last played in the NAHL in the 2003-04 season “We are extremely pleased to grant this group a membership for this particular market,” said NAHL commissioner Michael Santos. “Our league attracts a number of players from Minnesota and interest in Junior A hockey in that region is rapidly growing. With the Blizzard and the new North Iowa team close by, some great rivalries will develop and they will help us cement the NAHL’s footprint in that part of the country.” Carson will serve as the Express’ general manager. “We are very excited to bring this level of hockey to Southern Minnesota,” Carson said. “One of the most rewarding aspects of the groundwork we’ve laid in the area over the past five months has been the support we’ve received from the business community, the citizens, the government officials and large organizations in and around Owatonna. Everything has come together and it’s been truly amazing how warmly the town has embraced this team.” Carson said that his group has sold about 800 season tickets for 2005-06 and have a goal of a thousand. The Four Seasons Centre seats 1,500 people and can easily accommodate another 500 standing room spectators on the mezzanines. The ownership group has been extremely active in the area prior to the Board of Governors approving their league membership. They also have run a successful “Name The Team” contest and a “Create A Logo” contest (the logo above is not the Express’ final logo). The new logo and the team’s uniforms will be unveiled to the public in a special kick-off celebration of the Express on Monday, April 11 at the Four Seasons Centre. In addition to the debuts of the team emblem and jerseys, the team’s NHL owners will be on hand to sign autographs and answer questions from fans in attendance. Season tickets will also be sold at the event. The Express will run two try-out camps at the Four Seasons Centre, one on June 23-26, the other on July 21-24. The tryouts will each feature seminars by professional and college coaches and players, one practice session and five games. For further information, phone 507/ 214-1863 or email Bcarson@smnexpress.com The Express will be coached by Pat Cullen, who has extensive coaching experience at the collegiate junior and high school level and during the mid-1980s was a U.S. junior A hockey All-Star in the USHL before becoming a collegiate All-American at Bemidji State University. "Our goal is to give more players the opportunity to reach the next level, to elevate the level of play in the area and to help create more interest in hockey in this part of the state," said Carson. "We are constructing a brand new dressing room, a new weight room and a dryland training area, all with the aim of becoming a cornerstone franchise in the NAHL" “We want to bring this area high quality entertainment at a fair price, be an asset to the community and the league. It’s important to give these young players a great experience, to make them better players and better people. We’ve had a number of meetings with the people at Riverland Community College, and they’ve been very encouraging of our efforts. They’ve given us an academic advisor who is a counselor at the community college. We want our players to be better for the experience of having played for our team.”

Unknown · Post by **Unknown** » Mon Jun 13, 2005 2:32 pm

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NAHl OWATONNA

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