Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The Minnesota Thunder will open defense of their Western Conference championship this Sunday, April 25th, when they take on the Calgary Mustangs at the Metrodome.  Both head coach Buzz Lagos and veteran player Amos Magee are looking to return to the final to claim their second A-League championship.  "The Thunder can reach the final in 2004," says Lagos.

A member of the Thunder since 1991, Magee is Minnesota's all-time leader in career goals (with 64) and career assists (with 39).  This will be his second season splitting time as both player and assistant coach.  "I had planned on winning the A-League championship and retiring.  With our loss to Charleston in the 2003 final, I decided to reconsider," said Magee.  "When the Thunder moved to St. Paul, six blocks from where I grew up and eight blocks from my home, there was no question.  I'm excited to be a part of the Thunder's move to Griffin Stadium and anxious to win another championship."

A model of consistency, the Thunder have made an appearance in their league final six times over the last 10 years, including 1999 when they defeated the Rochester Raging Rhinos for the A-League title.  Minnesota has never gone more than three years without playing for a league championship, and they have finished either first or second in their respective conference/division in all but two seasons during the last decade.

"We've lost six of our 11 starting players from last year's championship game so this will be a bit of a transition year for us," Lagos stated.  "However we're very pleased with the players we've picked up.  I think we'll be as good as we were last year.  We will be missing two key players in Johnny Torres and Steve Shak.  We'll miss them desperately but we'll still be a very good team.  We need Johnny Menyongar to step up as well as Joe Warren in goal.  Marco Ferruzzi did a great job last year and we're expecting another good year from him."

Torres, who tied for the team lead in points in 2003 with seven goals and seven assists for 21 points, signed a year-round contract with returning Thunder-rival Milwaukee Wave United.  Minnesota and Milwaukee battled evenly through their six-game regular season series (3-3) and their two-leg playoff series (1-1) before the Thunder sent the Wave United home on series penalty kicks.

"Milwaukee and Minnesota continue to be one of the top rivalries in the A-League," says Lagos.  "It's the proximity and the history.  We've traditionally been the top two teams in our division since the first year we played each other.  We've had some classic battles, overtime games, playoff games, getting the tying goal in the last minute, then the winning goal in overtime.  It's a healthy, friendly, competitive rivalry."

Lagos, who co-founded the Thunder with current Charlotte Eagles General Manager Tom Engstrom, was inducted into the USL Hall of Fame as both a Coach and Builder in 2003.  As a coach, Lagos has amassed a regular season record of 161-76-13 over ten seasons.  Under his direction, the Thunder have participated in the postseason eight times and have been to their respective league finals more than any other USL team.  With the top four teams from each conference advancing to the postseason, it will be as difficult as ever to re-create the success of past seasons.

"The Western Conference will be more challenging this year for the Thunder," the 1995 USL Coach of the Year stated.  "Seattle, Portland, Vancouver and Milwaukee have had excellent teams in the past.  This year will be no different.  Calgary and Edmonton now have the resources and commitment to put together very competitive sides."

Defense of their Western Conference championship begins this Sunday, when coach Lagos finds out just what the 2004 Thunder are made of.