NAHL Weekend Preview
A look at the NAHL schedule shows 31 games on tap over the next three days as the season comes around the final turn and enters the home stretch.
The NAHL has surpassed 200 NCAA commitments over the last week as many players have been announcing their college intentions over the last few days.
The first playoff spot was clinched by the Lone Star Brahmas and a handful of spots can be grabbed this weekend across the East and South. If you missed the announcement of the 2024 Robertson Cup playoff format, you can read up on the changes here.
There have been a great number of series splits over the last couple weeks as the league’s longest winning streak belongs to the Philadelphia Rebels who have notched four straight wins. Every point is crucial at this point of the season and with that, its time to check out what to watch this weekend.
In the Central Division, Aberdeen and Bismarck highlight the slate. The Bobcats sit just six points back of Minot for first place while the Wings are looking to give themselves some breathing room in a playoff spot. We’ll shift our focus to Minot where the Minotauros aim to not only keep themselves in position for a division championship but also look to do their part in keeping the defending Central champions out of the playoffs entirely. Lastly we’ve got St. Cloud and North Iowa in a home and home this weekend. St. Cloud is currently tied for the final playoff spot with Austin but they will need as many points as they can get as they have four less wins than Bruins, the first tiebreaker if the two teams do end the season equal in points.
In the East Division, Maryland and Maine can each secure their birth into the Robertson Cup playoffs this weekend. Maryland will host New Hampshire at the Piney Orchard Ice Arena while Maine will be at home against the Rochester Jr. Americans. The Black Bears have taken three of four meetings so far this season. At the Colisee, the third place Jr. Americans will try to inch close to second place and a bye for the first round of the postseason. New Jersey is in Danbury taking on the Jr. Hat Tricks and Johnstown in is Northeast to face the Generals.
In the Midwest Division, we’ve got a huge series in Anchorage as the Steel will look to inch closer to the playoffs when they take on the Wolverines. Both Anchorage and Minnesota have 54 points, that’s five more points than Chippewa. The Wolverines have games in hand but can put themselves in a really good position with a sweep or split on home ice. Janesville will take on Minnesota in a series that can have home ice advantage implications in the first round of the playoffs as well. In other action, the first place Windigo travel to Springfield for a date with the Jr. Blues and the Ice Dogs visit the Brown Bears in Kenai River.
Finally in the South Division, the Shreveport Mudbugs can punch their ticket to the Robertson Cup playoffs. They need just one win or two points to make that happen. They will take on the Oklahoma Warriors who currently occupy the final playoff position in the division. Another way the Mudbugs can get in is if the Odessa Jackalopes lose one of their games against Amarillo in any fashion. They’ll be in Amarillo this weekend as they take on the Wranglers. Elsewhere in the division, Lone Star hosts Colorado and New Mexico travels to Corpus Christi for a battle with the IceRays.
Watch all the action on NAHLTV
