This week in the NA3HL
January 25, 2013
This week in the NA3HL was another that featured some movement in the standings. In the West Division, the North Iowa Bulls are starting to pull away from the competition, while the Alexandria Blizzard are on a roll. In the Central Division, the St. Louis Jr. Blues are close to clinching a division title and in the East, Cleveland continue to shine while the race for the four playoff spots intensifies. Here is a look at this week in the NA3HL:
Alexandria Blizzard: The Blizzard are one of the hottest teams in the league right now thanks to their high potent offense, which had another big weekend with a 5-1 win over Minnesota and a 9-2 win over Breezy Point. Forward Ian Ecklund was named the league’s #3 stars for his effort last weekend. This weekend, the Blizzard host the North Stars on Friday in their lone game of the week.
Battle Creek Revolution: The Revolution dropped three road games this past weekend. James Romberger, Zach Rees and Trevor Clark had goals in their 5-3 loss at Quad City on Friday. The Revs were beaten over the weekend by the 1st place St. Louis Jr. Blues by a combined 15-0. This weekend, the Revs host Flint for a single game on Friday.
Breezy Point North Stars: The North Stars losing streak reached 12 straight games as they dropped three games over the weekend to Granite City (6-1), Alexandria (9-2) and North Iowa (10-3). Forward Bryson Jasper recorded a point in each of the losses for the North Stars. This weekend, the North Stars travel to Alexandria on Friday and host Twin City on Saturday.
Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks: The Lumberjacks extended their winning streak to eight straight games with a weekend home sweep of Queen City, which completed a perfect 8-0 homestand. Forward Scott Cuthrell had two goals and an assists in the two wins, which both were by scores of 4-1. This weekend, Cleveland heads back out on the road with road games against Metro and Flint.
Flint Jr. Generals: Flint split a pair of home games last weekend as they stepped out of the division to take on the Peoria Mustangs. Flint won 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday as Jacob Howie scored the lone shootout goal. Newcomer Jacob Peacock had two points in Sunday’s 5-4 loss. This weekend, the Jr. Generals travel to Battle Creek on Friday and host Cleveland on Sunday.
Granite City Lumberjacks: The Lumberjacks split a pair of games last weekend, as they beat Breezy Point at home 6-1 on Friday, but fell in North Iowa to the Bulls 4-1 on Saturday. Forward Alex Carson had two points in the win over the North Stars and assisted on the lone goal in the 4-1 loss to North Iowa. This weekend, Granite City has just one home game as they host Twin City on Friday.
Metro Jets: The Jets were swept at home this past weekend by the Michigan Mountain Cats. Doug Andrews scored the lone goal in Saturday’s 3-1 loss, while Brad Hepler had the lone goal in Sunday’s 4-1 loss. It was the third straight home loss for the Jets, who have dropped seven of their last eight games. This weekend, the Jets host Cleveland on Saturday and Toledo on Sunday.
Michigan Mountain Cats: It was one of the best weekends of the year for the Michigan Mountain Cats, who posted a road sweep of the Metro Jets last weekend. In the process, two Mountain Cat players were honored as the NA3HL’s #1 and #2 stars of the week as forward Kade Morrison and goaltender Spencer Craig were honored. This weekend, Michigan travels to Three Rivers for a pair of games.
Minnesota Flying Aces: The Flying Aces split a pair of games last weekend. On Friday, the Aces fell 5-1 in Alexandria. Alex Yde had the lone goal in the loss. On Sunday, Yde added another goal and two assists and Patrick Kegley scored twice in a 6-4 win over Twin City. This weekend, the Flying Aces travel to Peoria for a two-game series against the Mustangs.
North Iowa Bulls: The Bulls moved their winning streak to five straight games with a pair of weekend wins over Granite City and North Iowa. Aaron Davis made 23 saves in a 4-1 win over Granite City and Eric Behrend had four points in the 10-3 win over the North Stars. The Bulls drew almost 1,400 fans to their win on Saturday. This weekend, the Bulls travel to Quad City for a pair of games.
Peoria Mustangs: Peoria posted a weekend split in Flint last weekend, but managed to take 3 of 4 points with a win and shootout loss. Goaltender Michael Parda made 38 saves in the shootout loss. Forward Lynden Fields had four points in the 5-4 win. This weekend, the Mustangs return home for a weekend series against Minnesota.
Quad City Jr. Flames: The Flames won their lone game last weekend at home over Battle Creek by a 5-3 score. Peter Coppola and Jason Hoehn each had a goal and assist in the win, which was the Flames fourth in their last five games. This weekend, the Flames face a tall order as they host the West Division-leading North Iowa Bulls for a pair of games.
Queen City Steam: The Steam were competitive, but were swept over the weekend in Cleveland by the Jr. Lumberjacks. It was the fourth straight loss for Queen City, who have lost their last four games by a combined eight goals. Lucas McCammant and Trevor Voelker scored the goals over the weekend for the Steam. This weekend, the Steam host the St. Louis Jr. Blues for a pair of games.
St. Louis Jr. Blues: The Jr. Blues kept on winning last weekend with a home sweep over the Battle Creek Revolution. Brycon Johnson and Mike Lozano each had six points during the weekend, in which the Jr. Blues outscored Battle Creek by a combined 15-0. This weekend, the Jr. Blues travel to Queen City for a pair of games against the Steam.
Three Rivers Vengeance: The Vengeance kept their hot play going with a weekend road sweep in Toledo. Goalie Matt Erlichman picked up both wins in goal, stopping 83 of 88 shots and forward Kevin Kenny and a five-point weekend. This weekend, the Vengeance return home for a weekend series against the Michigan Mountain Cats.
Toledo Cherokee: Toledo was swept at home by Three Rivers last weekend as their losing streak hit four straight games. Blake Podgorski had a multi-point weekend as did Jordan Fogarty. This weekend, the Cherokee take to the road for one game against the Metro Jets on Sunday.
Twin City Steel: The Steel dropped their lone game last weekend, a 6-4 loss at Minnesota on Sunday. Calvin Miska had a goal and two assists in the loss and the Steel also got multi-point games from Marvin Powell and Ryan McAloon. This weekend, the Steel take to the road for games against Granite City on Friday and Breezy Point on Saturday.
