NAHL Weekend Preview

March 23, 2018

22 games highlight the NAHL schedule this weekend as the last full weekend of March hits with only a handful of regular season games remaining for NAHL teams.

The 2018 NAHL Robertson Cup Playoff picture is starting to take shape with two of the four division champions already crowned and 12 of the 16 playoff spots already secured.

The 2018 NAHL Robertson Cup Playoffs begin on April 12th with the Robertson Cup Championship set to take place from May 11-14 at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minnesota.

At the conclusion of the NAHL regular season, Clubs that have an equal amount of points shall

have their final position in the NAHL standings determined by applying the following tie

breaking procedures until the tie is broken:

A. Most wins during the regular season.

B. Results of head to head competition during the regular season.

C. Total goal differential in head to head competition during the regular season.

D. Total goal differential during the regular season.

E. Coin flip.

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In the Central Division, a big series goes down this weekend in Aberdeen as the Wings are just a couple wins away from locking up the division title and on a 7-game winning streak. They face the second hottest team in the division, the Minot Minotauros, who enter the weekend on a 5-game winning streak and four points ahead of Bismarck for the 4th and final playoff spot. If the playoffs started today this would be the 1 vs. 4 match-up in the Semi-Finals. The other intra-divisional series has the Brookings Blizzard hosting the Minnesota Wilderness. The Wilderness need just one win to secure a playoff spot, while the Blizzard are on life support for a playoff spot. The Austin Bruins look to maintain a lock on 2nd place and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs as they face the Minnesota Magicians from the Midwest Division in a home-and-home series. Bismarck is idle this weekend.

The only drama left in the East is the final playoff spot, which the Northeast Generals can secure with a win or a Johnstown loss. The Generals will have three cracks at it this weekend as they host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights for three games. The Knights are just two points behind 2nd place New Jersey. The Titans will also partake in three games this weekend as they host the Johnstown Tomahawks for a trio of games. With just five games remaining in their regular season, the Tomahawks likely need to win out and hope for help to make the playoffs. East Division champion Philadelphia is idle this weekend.

In the Midwest Division, the four playoff teams are locked in. Fairbanks has secured the division title and #1 seed and the Janesville Jets are locked into the #2 seed. The only question remaining is who will finish 3rd and 4th. With the 3rd place Springfield Jr. Blues idle, the 4th place Minnesota Magicians look to gain ground with a pair of games against Austin from the Central. The two Alaskan teams, Fairbanks and Kenai River, will take their show on the road this weekend as they showcase the NAHL product to the communities of Palmer and Anchorage this weekend. The other series sees the Janesville Jets hosting the Coulee Region Chill for a pair of games in the ongoing battle of Wisconsin.

In the South, the Shreveport Mudbugs enter their home series with the Corpus Christi IceRays needing just a single win to clinch the South Division regular season title. Meanwhile, the IceRays need a combination of a win or Amarillo loss to secure the 4th and final playoff spot in the division. The Bulls are in a must-win situation and travel to face the Lone Star Brahmas for a pair of games with the Brahmas firmly in 2nd place in the division. The final series has the Odessa Jackalopes hosting the Topeka RoadRunners for two more games. The RoadRunners took home the first game of the series on Thursday night by a 4-3 score.

Friday, March 23

Johnstown at New Jersey - 7:00 PM EDT

Coulee Region at Janesville - 7:00 PM CDT

MN Magicians at Austin - 7:05 PM CDT

MN Wilderness at Brookings - 7:05 PM CDT

Topeka at Odessa - 7:11 PM CDT

Corpus Christi at Shreveport - 7:11 PM CDT

Minot at Aberdeen - 7:15 PM CDT

Amarillo at Lone Star - 7:30 PM CDT

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at Northeast - 8:30 PM EDT

Fairbanks at Kenai River - 7:30 PM AKDT

Saturday, March 24