NAHL Weekend Preview

January 19, 2018

It is another big weekend in the NAHL, which began with two games on Thursday night. 22 games are slated from Friday through Sunday as the race for the Robertson Cup Playoffs is well underway.

Just a couple weeks remain until both the USA Hockey trading deadline and the announcement for the 2018 NAHL Top Prospects rosters.

The NAHL had three more NCAA Division I commitments this week and now has 137 for the 2017-18 season entering this weekend, which is ahead of last year’s record-breaking number at this point of the season. One of the things the NAHL does better than any other junior league is seeing their players earn an NCAA opportunity while playing in the NAHL.

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Thanks to some winning streaks by Aberdeen and Austin, the Central Division is finally starting to see some separation from top to bottom. In a race that was separated by just a couple of points from first to last place a few weeks ago, the Wings and Bruins have made their move. With that, both face stern divisional challenges this weekend as the Wings host the Minnesota Wilderness, while the Bruins are in Minot for two games against the Minotauros. In the other series, Brookings will be trying to snap a 7-game slide with a pair of games in Bismarck.

In the East Division, the New Jersey Titans get back into regular action as they face the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights in a home-and-home series. The Knights enter the weekend looking to snap a 3-game losing streak. In the other series, the 1st place Philadelphia Rebels, who have taken at least a point in five straight games, take to the road to face the Johnstown Tomahawks. With just 21 regular season games left on their schedule, the Tomahawks are seven points behind the Titans for the 4th and final playoff spot in the East. The Northeast Generals are idle this weekend.

In the Midwest Division, the 1st place Fairbanks Ice Dogs, who haven’t lost a game in regulation since November 10th, will continue their 3-game series against the Coulee Region Chill. The Ice Dogs took home a convincing 8-0 win in Game 1 of the series on Thursday night. The other divisional series has the red-hot Janesville Jets taking their 6-game winning streak on the road to face the Minnesota Magicians. Springfield and Kenai River are both in action against out-of-division opponents as the Jr. Blues travel to Topeka and the Brown Bears host the Lone Star Brahmas.

In the South Division, the 1st place and red-hot Shreveport Mudbugs take to the road having gone 6-0-1 in their last seven games and will face the Corpus Christi IceRays. The IceRays are just a point behind the Lone Star Brahmas for 3rd place in the South Division. The other divisional series features a 3-game set as the Amarillo Bulls host the Odessa Jackalopes. The Bulls got off to an edge in the series thanks to a come-from-behind 5-4 win on Thursday night. Topeka will host the Springfield Jr. Blues from the Midwest Division, while the Lone Star Brahmas are in Kenai River finishing off their Alaskan road trip.

Friday, January 19th

Philadelphia at Johnstown - 7:30 PM EST

New Jersey at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 7:30 PM EST

Odessa at Amarillo - 7:05 PM CST

Shreveport at Corpus Christi - 7:05 PM CST

MN Wilderness at Aberdeen - 7:15 PM CST

Brookings at Bismarck - 7:15 PM CST

Janesville at MN Magicians - 7:15 PM CST

Austin at Minot - 8:05 PM CST

Coulee Region at Fairbanks - 7:30 PM AKST

Lone Star at Kenai River - 7:30 PM AKST

Saturday, January 20th