You could be seeing the Tornadoes in the playoffs really soon after this weekend.  The Springfield Blues hold on to the final playoff spot in the division and going into this past series, the Tornadoes had a two point lead on them in the division standings.  The Tornadoes began the series on Friday night with a shoot out victory, and the game also included a goal by newcomer Shane Sooth, who scored his first goal on the team to tie the the game at 3-3.   Tornado goalie Dan Sullivan had another impressive night stopping all five Blues players from scoring in the shootout leaving Scott Deur the opportunity to score and end their losing streak.  They played the Blues again on Saturday and Sunday and won in  defensive battle.   I cant say enough about goaltender Dan Sullivan.  He is definitely NHL material.  He stopped 100 of 107 shots in this series and will take this Tornado team far.  Like I have always said as soon as the Tornadoes get more defensive help they will reach that plateau of success and be top of their division.  They will be Playing Springfield again for another three game series this weekend in hopes to secure playoff spot.  

After going on  4 game winning streak a few weeks ago, the Tornadoes dropped 4 in a row, including two to the Wichita Falls Wildcats.  In game one this past Friday, the Tornadoes scored the first goal right before the first intermission, but fell asleep in the second giving up the next three goals to the Wildcats.  Texas finally scored midway through the second to make it 3-2, but failed to score in the third.  Dan Sullivan once again had a tough night stopping 34 of 37 shots on goal.  On Saturday night it went from bad to worse.  The Wildcats  scored the first four goals in the first period.  Texas did manage to score .29 into the second, but Wichita answered with four more goals.  In the third period, they tried to keep in the game by scoring three straight, but the Wildcats put the icing on the cake with a clincher from Andy Cramer.    Joe J. Adams scored twice for the Tornadoes, and Scott Deur also scored in the 9-4 loss.  Once again I suggest that the Tornadoes go for some more defensive help, because goalie Dan Sullivan will bet burned out.  To lose 9-4 when you out shot the winner is crazy, but to lose to a team that is in last place and a team that has only won 17 games is worse and they should look at that as momentum and a reason to start winning. They need to figure out what the problem is and fix it.   The Tornadoes will return home to play the Springfield Blues on march 5Th looking to get back in the win column.  If they play hard defense and crash the net, they can turn this around.

The Texas Tornadoes streak ends at four with back to back losses to the Wenatchee Wild over the weekend.  On Friday night they were defeated 3-2  with an overtime goal from  Adam Mckenzie 1:39 in the overtime period.  Ryan Timer and Michael Di Puma also scored for Wenatchee on the night. For the Tornadoes they kept the game interesting with  back to back goals from Ryan Einerson and Tyler Underhill in the second period, but when Michael Di Puma tied the game 19:22 into the third period, the momentum shifted to the Wild going into to overtime and  Adam Mckenzie notched in the overtime goal and snapped the Tornadoes wining streak.  Texas was out shot 45-15 but gained a point in the loss.  The Tornadoes hoped that Saturday night would end up better, but a 5-2 loss isn't what they hoped for.  In this game they were out shot 51-21.  After Tyler Mort and Jack Prince tied the game 2-2 in the second period, Wenatchee took over and scored the next three goals.  In the two losses, you have to still tip your hat to Tornadoes goalie Dan Sullivan, who in the past two nights have saved 88 shots on goal.  he had 42 saves on Friday night, and 46 saves on Saturday night, so he had his work cut out for him.  The Tornadoes seem to acquire some help on defense to stop teams from crowding he net.   They hope to get back on track when they travel to Play the last place Wichita Falls Wildcats who are 15-29 with 36 points.  The Tornadoes currently rest in third place with a 20-20 record and have 45 points on the season.

The Texas Tornadoes have a chance this week to increase their winning streak to six games when they go back on the road to play the first place Wenatchee Wild of the North division.  The Wild have 71 points on the season with a 34-8 record.   The 20-19-4 Tornadoes are full of momemtum after beating the Fairbanks Ice Dogs this past weekend in their final trip to Alaska this season.  This will be a more physical matchup for the Wild, so they need to keep the streak gong.  Tornadoes goalie Dan Sullivan  has been on fire as of late and will be their key to this up coming series. Eventhough the Tornadoes were out shot by fairbanks in last weeks doubleheader, he managed to stop 30 on Friday night and 37 on Saturday.  He really needs to step it up and take ownership.  The Tornadoes have gained 9 out of a possible 10 points in the last five games, all against the Ice Dogs.  Look for them to play hard this weekend and bring another battle and prove to everyone that hockey belongs in Frisco.