NAHL Weekend Preview

January 19, 2024

Get out of the cold and get into the rink as 30 games litter the NAHL schedule this weekend.

The El Paso Rhinos currently hold the league’s longest winning streak at nine games, that has them just seven points behind first place Lone Star but the Rhinos do have four games in hand. The East and Midwest Divisions continue to remain tight at the top of standings as many teams are fighting to claim the crown in their respective divisions.

The rosters for the 2024 Top Prospects Tournament were announced yesterday, if you missed the news, find the rosters HERE

The 2024 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament, which will be held on February 5-6, 2024, at the UPMC Lemieux Center in suburban Pittsburgh, PA. The NAHL will field six teams for the event, one for each division, and two NAHL Selects teams.

It was another good week for NCAA commitments as six more players made NCAA Division I commitments as the current season total is now up to 180 committed players.

In the Central this weekend, the Minot Minotauros bring their crew to Aberdeen for a date with the Wings. Minot is 9-1 in their last 10 games, cruising to an 11 point lead at the top of the Central Division. The Wings are hot in their own right as they’ve taken home wins in eight of their last 10 games including points in nine of those games. Minot leads the season series 5-3 through four series so far this season. Goals may be hard to come by for Aberdeen as Minot boasts two of the top goaltenders in the league with James Norton and Brady James. Each of them ranks in the top 7 in goals against average. Austin will travel to take on Bismarck while St. Cloud and North Iowa will host a pair of Midwest Division foes in Minnesota and Springfield respectively.

In the East, the Maine Nordiques will aim to stay atop the East Division as they travel south to New Jersey to take on the Titans. The streaking Nordiques have won 7 of their last 10 games while the Titans have been up and down going 5-4-1 over the same stretch. We’ll see some of the top defensemen in this one as David Helloed and Nicholas Bernardo of the Nordiques and Matej Teply of the Titans all rank in the top 10 in the league in points by blue liners. This will be the second series between the two clubs this year with Maine sweeping a series back in December at the Colisee. Maryland will visit Philadelphia, New Hampshire will travel to Rochester while Northeast faces off with Danbury.

In the Midwest, the Jets fly into this divisional matchup with a full head of steam, winning six in row coming in. Chippewa is coming off a big win against the Wilderness on Wednesday as they sit just a point of out of the playoff picture. The Jets have their sights on a spot at the top of the division and will have Haden Kruse leading the charge offensively. His 44 points are good for fourth in the NAHL while Conner Brown’s 38 points are not only 14th best in the entire league but are the most among defensemen. Minnesota and Springfield are in St. Cloud and North Iowa as we mentioned earlier while Fairbanks travels to Anchorage and the Windigo are up in Kenai River taking on the Brown Bears.

In the South, one of the fiercest rivalries in the NAHL renews for a showdown in Shreveport. This series comes at a time were both teams are struggling as Lone Star is 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 games, meanwhile the Mudbugs are also in a bit of a rut as they are losers in their last three games. The Brahmas bring in the two best net minders in regards to GAA with Dievs Rolovs and Jack Wieneke will look to man the pipes for Lone Star. Elliot Seguin-Lescarbeau will be ready in net as he ranks sixth in goals against average in the NAHL. Odessa travels to Oklahoma for a date with the Warriors, Corpus Christi travels across Texas for battle with El Paso and New Mexico heads North to take on the Grit.

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Friday, January 19

Northeast Generals @ Danbury Hat Tricks, 07:00 PM EST

Maryland Black Bears @ Philadelphia Rebels, 07:30 PM EST

Maine Nordiques @ New Jersey Titans, 07:30 PM EST

New Hampshire Mountain Kings @ Rochester Jr. Americans, 07:45 PM EST

Janesville Jets @ Chippewa Steel, 07:00 PM CST

Minnesota Wilderness @ St. Cloud Norsemen, 07:00 PM CST

Springfield Jr. Blues @ North Iowa Bulls, 07:10 PM CST

Lone Star Brahmas @ Shreveport Mudbugs, 07:11 PM CST