Texas Tornado

Texas Tornado
Ownership	Schlegel Sports Group
Established	1999
Arena	Deja Blue Arena
Team Colors	Black, Yellow and White
League	North American Hockey League
League Titles	2001, 2004, 2005, 2006
Division Titles	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006

The Texas Tornado are a Junior A hockey team located in Frisco, Texas, USA. The team joined the North American Hockey League's Central division in 1999 (and moved into the newly-formed southern division three years later) while located in North Richland Hills, Texas, and have enjoyed unprecedented success since their expansion year. The Tornado hold the NAHL regular season record for wins in a season with 48 in the 2003-2004 season and won the National Championship in 2001, 2004, 2005, and 2006.

The Tornado play their home games at the 3,733-seat Deja Blue Arena in Frisco. All of their games are shown live on the B2 Network in a pay-per-view format or season pass, and for free with an audio-only format.

On May 13 2006, the Tornado won their third straight Robertson Cup, defeating the Bozeman Icedogs. This would be the first time in over 15 years that a team won three consecutive Robertson Cups. The Texas Tornado are owned and operated by the Schlegel Sports Group.

On May 14, 2008, the NAHL confirmed the Texas Tornado franchise would go dark for the 2008-2009 season, pending renovations to the Deja Blue Ice Arena.

2007-08 Season

On May 22, The Tornado selected forward Broderick Browne and defenseman Luke Witkowski in the 2007 NAHL Draft.

From May 31 - June 3, in Plymouth Township, Michigan, the Tornado hosted their first of two 2007-08 tryout camps. Returning players were joined by the team's draft picks, tenders and other hopefuls. The team then hosted a local tryout in Frisco from July 19 - 22.

On June 8 it was announced on the team's website that Head Coach Tony Curtale would not return for the 2007-08 season after eight years at the helm of the franchise. A few days later, the team announced Dwight Mullins as Head Coach and Craig Ludwig as Assistant Coach.

The Tornado have one regular season game remaining (vs. Topeka Roadrunners on March 28) and sit in fourth place in the South Division at 20-33-4(44 points). On March 8th, the Tornado secured their ninth consecutive playoff berth and are tentatively scheduled to play the Wichita Falls Wildcats in the 1st Round. Fourth year forward Ryan Fuller has set a new Tornado record for all time games played (208 and counting) and is also tied for third all time in goals with 61.

Forwards Ben Van Lare and Sean Roadhouse were selected to play in the 2008 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament in Ann Arbor, MI on February 17 - 19. Fuller was chosen to replace Roadhouse after he was injured in the February 16 contest against the Wichita Falls Wildcats. Van Lare scored two goals as the South Division finished 1-2-0.

The team is also hosting the fourth annual Pros vs. Prospects Charity Classic on March 21, 2008. This game features former NHL greats playing against the Tornado with proceeds from ticket sales going towards the Frisco Education Foundation and The Boys and Girls Club of Collin County. This year's roster includes Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Steve Duchesne, Neal Broten, Gus Adams, Craig Ludwig, Benoit Hogue, Ulf Dahlen and many others.

Coaches and Staff
Title	Name
Head Coach/GM	Dwight Mullins
Assistant Coach	Craig Ludwig
Goalie Coach	Cam McDonald
Team Physician	Dr. Williams Burns
Athletic Trainer	Rich Schmelzer
Equipment Manager	Justin Cox
Broadcasters	Tommy Daniels with John Tranchina Jesse Ghiorzi / Lee Hastings with Jeff Wheeler
Owner	Kirby Schlegel
President	Lynn Wittenburg
Executive VP	Matt Canavan

2007-08 Roster

Goaltenders
#	Player	Catches	Date of birth	Hometown
1	Tom Callaghan*	L	December 23, 1988	New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, USA
30	Matt Pombo*	L	July 29, 1989	Allen, Texas, USA

Defensemen
#	Player	Shoots	Date of birth	Hometown
3	Stu Jacobson*	R	August 31, 1988	Chicago, Illinois, USA
4	Troy Puente	L	June 6, 1988	Thousand Oaks, California, USA
6	Justin Lee*	L	January 3, 1989	Chaska, Minnesota, USA
14	Augie Hoffman (A)*	L	January 28, 1988	Lake Forest, Illinois, USA
20	Tyler Bowman*	L	January 19, 1988	Jackson, Michigan, USA
22	Blake O'Connor*	R	March 1, 1988	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
23	Bret Waltz*	L	Novermber 2, 1988	Allen, Texas, USA
26	Matt Tennyson*	R	April 23, 1990	Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Forwards
#	Player	Position	Shoots	Date of birth	Hometown
5	Sam Goodwin (A)*	W	L	August 26, 1988	St. Louis, Missouri, USA
7	Ben Van Lare (C)*	C	R	December 29, 1987	Richardson, Texas, USA
8	Andrew Blazek*	W	L	August 7, 1988	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
9	Brian Sheehan*	C	L	August 14, 1990	St. Louis, Missouri, USA
10	Johnnie Searfoss*	W	L	February 10, 1990	Colleyville, Texas, USA
11	Ryan Fuller	W	L	November 4, 1987	Morgan Hill, California, USA
15	Sean Roadhouse	C	R	October 18, 1987	Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
17	John Bullis (A)	W	R	January 2, 1987	Frisco, Texas, USA
18	Adam Mitchell*	C	R	May 9, 1990	Crofton, Maryland, USA
19	Jon Bobb*	W	L	October 17, 1988	Chandler, Arizona, USA
21	Sergei Korostin*	W	L	July 5, 1989	Prokopyevsk, Russia
24	Jason Zawacki*	C	R	April 1, 1987	Plano, Texas, USA
25	John Kruse*	W	R	May 7, 1989	Eden Prairie, Minnesota, USA
27	Gustav Bengtson*	W	L	August 31, 1989	Stockholm, Sweden
28	Mike Cifelli	W	R	February 11, 1989	Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
	* Denotes Rookie

Tornado alumni in the NHL

The Tornado have been equally successful in preparing players for the next level of hockey. Especially of note are the goaltenders to come out of the system. The more notable players include -

External links

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