Tornado keeps dreams alive for third consecutive crown

Texas outlasted Southern Minnesota, 4-3, to advance to today's final.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Storming back from a two-goal deficit in the second period, the Texas Tornado's dream for an unprecedented third straight Robertson Cup championship remains alive.
About eight minutes into the third period, Tornado defenseman Tyler Ludwig blasted the puck from the point and beat Southern Minnesota goalie Nick Hopper for a 4-3 lead in Friday's semifinal game at The Ice Zone.
The Tornado then held off the Express, limiting them to three shots on goal in the final period to post the one-goal victory that propelled them to the championship game.
Tonight at 7:30, the Tornado will play for the Robertson Cup.
"It's always exciting to be in a championship game, but going back-to-back-to-back is something really special," said Ludwig, a member of the Tornado's North American Hockey League championship teams in 2004 and 2005.
"We've got a lot of young guys and it feels good to bring them to [the title game]," Ludwig said.
No fancy plans
Ludwig said he had no fancy plans when he released the puck from the right point.
"Coach [Tony Curtale] always preaches to get it on net, to just hammer it and pray it goes in," Ludwig said. "That's what I was doing."
Ludwig's power-play goal came not long after teammates Sean Roadhouse and Devrin Stonehouse beat Hopper for a 3-3 score.
Curtale was frustrated with the work of referee Mark Lemelin.
"We showed great composure," Curtale said. "I really give our guys credit for hanging in there and overcoming that."
Express coach Pat Cullen praised the Tornado for packing players in near their goal to prevent scoring chances.
"When they got that lead, they made it difficult for us to get it near the net," Cullen said. "That was the toughest thing, but it's hard to generate offense when you're having to kill penalties."
Despite the turnaround, Ludwig said the Tornado couldn't afford to relax.
"You always have to play like it's tied or you're down a goal," Ludwig said.
The tide turns
After both teams scored once in the first period, the game turned in Southern Minnesota's favor after the Tornado thought they had scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second period.
Texas forward Karl Sellan skated into the Express goal crease, colliding with Hopper then tapping the puck into the net.
Lemelin waved off the goal, penalizing Sellan for interference.
"I didn't think that was the worst call," Curtale said. "There just wasn't any rhyme or reason to calls. The number one rule of refereeing is consistency."
Minutes later, the Express cashed in on Tornado defender Mike Olmstead's slashing penalty as Mike Montgomery picked up a rebound and beat Texas goalie Troy Redmann from about 10 feet away.
Express forward James Wiley stole the puck from the Tornado's Colin Long and set up James Gaultrapp for a breakaway. His goal put the Express ahead, 3-1.
williams@vindy.com