Weekend Preview- January 26th and 27th
By Meghann Norrbom
After a big “W”, this past Friday, the Minnesota Blue Ox were able to hold steady at the second spot in the Midwest West division of the USPHL.
Blue Ox Most Recently:
A big win this past Friday allowed the Minnesota Blue Ox to tally their 26th win of the season on a 10-0 shutout of the Hudson Havoc. With 6 goals in the second period alone and 4 goals on just 2 power plays, the Blue Ox quickly took the lead and held onto it as well. Josh Greune finished out the perfect night stopping 20 of 20 shots on goal from the Havoc.
Mullets Most Recently:
In their last match up, the Mullets and Blue Ox had a back and forth scoring battle that ended the 3rd period with each team having 5 goals. Rolling into overtime, both teams kept their 3 overtime starters out as long as they could until Oskari Halme finally skated the puck up from the blue line to flip one over the Mullets goalie for the Blue Ox win. Nate Holm stays in the top scoring spot for the Mullets with 39 points this season. Expected to start in net for the Mullets is Jack Bostedt who has 14 wins and a save percentage of .889 on the season. The Blue Ox will travel to Forest Lake, this Friday the 26th, for a 7:30 match up with the Mullets.
Moose Most Recently:
The Moose are coming off a big 7-2 win over the Blue Ox this past Saturday. The Blue Ox still lead the season series though with three wins to one loss. A 4-2 win at home, and a 6-3 and 6-5 win on the road in Blaine. Although the Blue Ox took an early 1-0 lead, they fell short later in the game. The Blue Ox managed 29 shots on net even though they were assessed 21 minutes in PIM (one full period) to the 12 minutes of the Moose – one being a 5 minute major with 7 minutes left in the 3rd period and the Blue Ox pressing. The Moose answered with 3 goals on that power play. With 33 shots on goal and 4 power play goals, the Moose were able to chart their 30th win of the season. The Moose’s Dylan Gast still sits in the top scoring position for the Moose with 59 points on the season and tendy Bronson Moore currently has a .955 save percentage for the Moose. The Blue Ox will return home for another match up against the Moose at 7 pm on Saturday the 27th of January.