Schedule announced for 2021 Fraser Cup Playoffs
The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced the schedule for the Divisional Semi-Finals of the 2021 NA3HL Fraser Cup Playoffs, which take place this weekend with the best of three series in all five divisions. The Fraser Cup crowns the National playoff champion from the NA3HL.
The Club seeded first in each division will compete in a best-of-three series with the fourth seeded Club in the same division. The Club seeded second in each division will compete in a best-of-three-series against the Club seeded third in the same division. The #1 and #2 seeds will have home ice advantage in the first round. The first club to win two games in a division semifinal series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the Division Finals.
Central Division
#1 Rochester Grizzlies vs. #4 Oregon Tradesmen (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Rochester, 7:05pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Rochester, 7:05pm
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 @ Oregon, 3:00pm*
#2 Peoria Mustangs vs. #3 St. Louis Jr. Blues (all times local)
Game 1: Thursday, April 1 @ Peoria, 6:45pm
Game 2: Friday, April 2 @ St. Louis, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 @ Peoria, 1:00pm*
East Division
Play-In Series: #4 Bay State Bobcats vs. #5 New England Sharks (winner to face #1 Northeast Generals)
Game 1: Tuesday, March 30 @ Sharks, 3:30pm
Game 2: Wednesday, March 31 @ Bobcats, 5:30pm (if teams are tied at 1-1, overtime to decide the winner)
#1 Northeast Generals vs. Play-In winner
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Northeast, 7:00pm
Game 2: TBA
Game 3: TBA*
#2 Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks vs. #3 New Jersey Titans
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Jr. Hat Tricks, 7:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Titans, 3pm
Game 3: Monday, April 5 @ Jr. Hat Tricks, 12:30pm*
Frontier Division
#1 Sheridan Hawks vs. #4 Missoula Jr. Bruins (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Sheridan, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Sheridan, 7:30pm
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 @ Sheridan, 4:00pm*
#2 Great Falls Americans vs. #3 Gillette Wild (all times local)
Game 1: Thursday, April 1 @ Gillette, 7:00pm
Game 2: Friday, April 2 @ Great Falls, 7:30pm
Game 3: Saturday, April 3 @ Great Falls, 7:30pm*
South Division
#1 Texas Brahmas vs. #4 Atlanta Capitals (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Texas, 8:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Texas, 4:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 @ Texas, 4:00pm*
#2 Oklahoma City Blazers vs. #3 El Paso Rhinos (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ Oklahoma City, 7:05pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Oklahoma City, 7:05pm
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 @ Oklahoma City, 3:00pm*
West Division
#1 North Iowa Bulls vs. #4 Alexandria Blizzard (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, April 2 @ North Iowa, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 3 @ Alexandria, 7:10pm
Game 3: Sunday, April 4 @ North Iowa, 5:30pm*
#2 Granite City Lumberjacks vs. #3 Willmar WarHawks (all times local)
Game 1: Thursday, April 1 @ Granite City, 7:30pm
Game 2: Friday, April 2 @ Willmar, 6:10pm
Game 3: Saturday, April 3 @ Granite City, 7:30pm*
*if necessary
Fraser Cup Championship Tournament
The five divisional playoff champions along with one wild card team will advance to the NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament, where they will play a two- game round-robin format followed by a semi-final and a championship game at the St. Peters Rec Plex in St. Peters, Missouri from April 15-19. The five divisional playoff winners will be seeded 1-5 based on their regular season point totals. The wild card team that will be seeded 6th will be the team with the highest winning percentage to lose in the division finals. A round-robin format with two pools will be implemented, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Semi-Finals, where they will then cross over to play the other top two teams from the other pool. The winners of the Semi-Finals will advance to the Fraser Cup Championship Game.
Pool A: 1, 4, 6
Pool B: 2, 3, 5
Thursday, April 15
1 vs. 4, 4:00pm
2 vs. 3, 7:00pm
Friday, April 16
1 vs. 6, 4:00pm
2 vs. 5, 7:00pm
Saturday, April 17
4 vs. 6, 2:30pm
3 vs. 5, 5:30pm
Sunday, April 18
Semi 1, 12:00pm
Semi 2, 3:00pm
Monday, April 19
Championship, 3:00pm
The Fraser Cup is named in the memory of Robert 'Fraser' Ritchie, a long-time staff member of the NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL. On June 10, 2017, Ritchie passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Although Ritchie ultimately lost his battle with the disease, his influence and daily interactions with all of the owners, coaches, staff, volunteers and administrators in the NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL, will never be forgotten, and are now and forever memorialized with the annual awarding of the Fraser Cup.
