NA3HL Weekend Preview
It’s the final weekend of the regular season and there are still four playoff spots up for grabs.
In the Central, the Wausau Cyclones have claimed the Central Division crown and will host the Woodsmen next week in the first round of the Fraser Cup playoffs. West Bend and Oregon will meet next week as well but home ice is yet to be determined. The Tradesmen are the hottest team in the league as they have won 13 in a row. They will face Wisconsin and Wausau over the next two days. Wausau will face West Bend tonight and Oregon on Saturday. Peoria and St. Louis will go head to head to end their respective seasons.
Out East, New Hampshire has a chance to get into the three seed over New Jersey but the Jr. Mountain Kings will have to win all three of their games this weekend, today against Danbury and Saturday and Sunday against the Generals. If they don’t win all three, they will face Northeast again in the opening round of the playoffs. Any loss will also guarantee a first round matchup between Norwich and New Jersey.
In the Frontier Division, Great Falls is in the driver seat as they hold the tiebreaker over the Badlands Sabres for the final playoff spot. They have a home-and-home with Butte while the Sabres will be in Gillette taking on the Wild. A win tonight for the Americans and a loss from the Sabres will clinch the playoff spot for Great Falls. Elsewhere, Helena has a home-and-home with Bozeman while Sheridan hosts Yellowstone.
In the South Division, there is absolute chaos. There are four teams fighting for the final three spots. El Paso has the easiest path to the playoffs as they need just one win or two points in their final three games in order to clinch their spot. Then we’ve got the Brahmas and the RoadRunners who go head-to-head for three games this weekend. They are separated by just two points and the winner of that series will be in the playoffs. Then there’s Louisiana. They’ve won six in a row and are currently tied with the RoadRunners for the final playoff spot where they hold the tiebreaker. They have three games against Atlanta this weekend as they try to sneak into the playoff picture. In other action, the New Mexico Ice Wolves travel to Austin for a three game series with the Ice Bats.
In the West, the division champion could be crowned tonight as Rochester hosts Granite City as they have a one point lead over the Lumberjacks. A win in regulation will win the division for the Grizzlies. Granite City can take a one point lead with a win and can clinch the division tomorrow with a win over Alexandria. Mason City is locked into the four seed and they host Minnesota this weekend.
Watch all the action on NAHLTV
