This week in the 3HL
This weekend’s slate of 3HL games is a little lighter than normal as all 17 3HL teams were in action last weekend. Here is a look at what happened and what is coming up:
Alexandria Blizzard: The Blizzard split a pair of games this past weekend and remain in 3rd place in the West Division. On Friday, Austin Rudnick scored twice in a 5-1 win over Twin City. On Saturday, the Blizzard were beaten 3-1 by the Bulls during North Iowa’s home opener. This weekend, the Blizzard host division-leading and unbeaten Granite City on Saturday.
Battle Creek Revolution: The Revolution lost a pair of weekend home-and-home games against the Michigan Mountain Cats. After an 8-2 loss on the road Friday, the Revolution played much better on Saturday taking the Cats to overtime and earning a point in the standings. Matt Hughes made 39 saves in the OT loss. Battle Creek travels to Flint on Sunday in their lone game of the weekend.
Breezy Point North Stars: The North Stars are still seeking their first win after a pair of weekend losses at home. The North Stars lost 2-0 on Saturday to Minnesota and 6-2 on Sunday against Twin City. Austin Cline and Spencer Bajko had the goals for Breezy Point. This weekend, the North Stars host North Iowa on Saturday in their lone weekend game.
Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks: Cleveland maintained their lead in the East Division with a weekend road sweep of the Queen City Steam last weekend. Of the top 11 scorers in the 3HL so far this season, four of them are from the Jr. Lumberjacks. Cleveland will face a big divisional battle this weekend as they travel to Toledo to face the 2nd place Cherokee.
Flint Jr. Generals: Flint kept pace in the East Division with a pair of home wins over the Three Rivers Vengeance. Ed Osowski recorded five points over the weekend. Flint also has the 3HL’s leading point producer in Andrew Lay. This weekend Flint hosts Battle Creek on Sunday in their lone game.
Granite City Lumberjacks: It was a huge weekend for the West Division-leading and undefeated Granite City Lumberjacks. They swept a weekend road series from the St. Louis Jr. Blues, who were also previously undefeated. They outscored the Jr. Blues 12-3 in the weekend games. This weekend the Lumberjacks travel to Alexandria on Saturday in their lone game of the weekend.
Metro Jets: The Jets were swept in a home-and-home series this past weekend against the Toledo Cherokee. Since winning their opening pair of games, they Jets have now lost their last six. However, forward Doug Andrews is second in 3HL scoring with 15 points. This weekend, the Jets host Quad City for a pair of games.
Michigan Mountain Cats: The Cats swept a pair of weekend home-and-home games from Battle Creek. After an 8-2 win on Friday, the Cats won in overtime in Battle Creek on Saturday. Marshall Helton had the game-winning goal with :47 seconds remaining in overtime. This weekend, the Cats travel to Pittsburgh for two games against the Three Rivers Vengeance.
Minnesota Flying Aces: The Flying Aces posted a 2-0 shutout of the Breezy Point North Stars on Saturday. Goaltender Yasu Takahashi made 28 saves in the win. It was the Flying Aces third straight win since starting the season 0-2. This weekend the Flying Aces return home to host a pair of cross-divisional games against the Peoria Mustangs.
North Iowa Bulls: The Bulls won their only game of the weekend, which was a 3-1 win over the Alexandria Blizzard during the Bulls home opener on Saturday. A sellout crowd of almost 900 fans were there to witness the win. This weekend, the Bulls travel to Breezy Point for their lone game of the weekend against the North Stars on Saturday.
Peoria Mustangs: The Mustangs sit firmly in 2nd place in the Central Division after posting a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Quad City Jr. Flames. Forward Cory Kettler had the game-winning goals in both games and for his efforts was named the #1 star of the week in the 3HL. This weekend, the Mustangs travel to Minnesota for a pair of games against the Flying Aces.
Quad City Jr. Flames: The Jr. Flames were swept in a home-and-home series with Peoria last weekend. The Flames rank second to last in the 3HL with 1.88 goals scored per game. However, goaltender Jake Leon ranks #1 in the 3HL in save percentage with a 94.4%. This weekend, the Flames travel to Metro to take on the Jets.
Queen City Steam: After winning four of their first five games, the Steam have dropped their last five games including this past weekend at home against Cleveland. The Steam get this weekend off before continuing their current 12-game homestand next weekend against Quad City.
St. Louis Jr. Blues: The Jr. Blues suffered their first defeats of the season as they were swept at home by the Granite City Lumberjacks. The Jr. Blues, who lead the 3HL in goals and points, only managed to score three goals in the two losses. Despite the losses, their lead in the Central Division is still at six points. This weekend, St. Louis travels to Twin City for a pair of games against the Steel.
Three Rivers Vengeance: The Vengeance were swept in Flint over the weekend, as they suffered a pair of close losses to the Jr. Generals. 17-year-old Alex Berardinelli had two goals over the weekend and continues to lead the team in points with 10. This weekend, the Vengeance begin a four-game homestand with a pair of games against the Michigan Mountain Cats.
Toledo Cherokee: The Cherokee winning streak hit three games thanks to their weekend home-and-home sweep of the Metro Jets. Forward Connor Crowe had a big weekend with three points and Cherokee points leader Alec Gerred also had a three point weekend. This weekend, the Cherokee face a big series as the host 1st place Cleveland for a pair of games.
Twin City Steel: Despite splitting a pair of games over the weekend, the Steel did pick up their first win of the season on Sunday in a 6-2 road win at Breezy Point. Trey Hughes had two goals and an assist in the win for the Steel. The Steel return home this weekend for a tough two-game test as they host the Central Division leading St. Louis Jr. Blues.
