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NAHL Weekend Preview
Cover photo by Bob Hallinen
The Robertson Cup Division Finals will be decided this weekend and we’ll learn who the four division champions will be.
It’s was a phenomenal week of commitments as the NAHL surpassed 300 for the eighth consecutive season and now has 318 total commitments.
There will be a great number of committed players at the Robertson Cup regardless of who qualifies but let’s take a look at the how the series stand across the league.
In the Central Division, Minot continues to roll through the postseason as they dominated Bismarck on home ice. They won Game 1 by a score of 5-2 and doubled down the following night with a 6-2 victory on Saturday night. Nicholas Sewecke had a hat trick in Game 2 and leads the NAHL in playoff points with 10 in just five games. The Minotauros will be looking to advance to their first Robertson Cup since 2018. The Bobcats return to Bismarck with their season on the line but they play remarkably better on home ice as they posted a 21-8-1 record at the VFW Center in the regular season.
Out East, the series shifts to Maine tied up at one game apiece between the Black Bears and Nordiques. Goal scoring has been at a premium as the teams have combined for three goals in the two games thus far. Carter Richardson pitched a 36 save shutout in the first game of the series with Ryan Panico and Cole Hipkin scoring for Maine. Owen Lepak returned the favor the following night with a 30 save shutout for the Black Bears. Sam Stitz netted the only goal of the contest.
In the Midwest, the Anchorage Wolverines held down the Ben as they took both games at home, moving the remainder of the series to Wisconsin. Similar to Bismarck, the Windigo are one of the best teams on home ice as they complied a 24-4-2 record at the dome. The Windigo swept their home series with Anchorage back in February and they’ll have to do the same this weekend if they want to keep their season alive.
Finally in the South, it’s not surprising the series is even at one after two games. The rivalry will now resume at George’s Pond in Shreveport. Game 1 saw the Mudbugs come back from a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2. Logan Heroux netted the game winner in that one. The Brahmas came back the following night to tie the series at one game apiece.
It’s a full slate of playoff action tonight as two teams will have the chance to punch their ticket to Blaine while two teams will fight to live another day.
Watch all the action on NATV
