11-17, 11-18, 11-19 Weekend Preview
By Meghann Norrbom
On Tap:
The Minnesota Blue Ox (15-1-1) continue play, this weekend, with 2 home games and an away game in Blaine. November 17th, Friday night, the Blue Ox will play host to the Wisconsin Muskies (7-11) at 7 pm and Saturday, November 18th, the Blue Ox will face off against the Hudson Havoc (3-16) in the Coon Rapids Ice Center at 7 pm. The Blue Ox will travel to Blaine for a matinee game against the Minnesota Moose (13-3) on Sunday, November 19th with the puck dropping at 1:10 pm.
Blue Ox Most Recently:
The Minnesota Blue Ox are coming off of 2 wins this past weekend against the Steele County Blades and the Hudson Havoc. In their most recent game, the Blue Ox battled against the Hudson Havoc on the road. Although the Havoc started out leading the game, the Minnesota Blue Ox rallied back and won 5-2. With a power play goal and 47 shots on goal, the Blue Ox were able to add another “W” to the record and are now 15-1-1 in the 2017-2018 season.
Muskies Most Recently:
The Wisconsin Muskies (7-11) are coming off of a split series weekend against the Minnesota Mullets. In their most recent game, the Muskies out skated the Mullets by a score of 3-2. Impressively so, the Muskies scored all three of their goals on power plays and finished the night with a 60% power play conversion. A name to look out for in the Friday night match up will be Kyle Klatt. Klatt has 28 points this season and seems to be the master of assisting with 20 assists this season. The Blue Ox will play host to the Muskies on Friday, November 17th for the 7 pm match up.
Havoc Most Recently:
The Hudson Havoc are now 3-16 after falling in their last game to the Minnesota Blue Ox. The Havoc came out strong scoring the first goal of the game, but lost their momentum when the Blue Ox came back with 5 goals. Dylan Marty has led the Havoc, nearly the whole season, in points scored. Marty has 17 goals and 3 assists after 19 games in the 2017-2018 season. In net, the Blue Ox are expecting to see Lane Gregory again. With a save percentage of .895 and 435 blocked shots on goal, the Blue Ox will certainly have a good challenge against the Havoc’s tendy on Saturday, November 18th at 7 pm.
Moose Most Recently:
Ranked second in the Premier Midwest West, the Minnesota Moose (13-3) are coming off of a weekend off. In their most recent match up, the Moose blanked the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings by a score of 2-0. Although the shots on goal were just barely in the Moose’s favor, 29-27, Dylan Gast was able to sneak two of those shots on goal passed the Riverkings to help push his team to yet another win. The Moose’s top goalie, Jacob Fry, has charted a save percentage of .952 and has only allowed 6 goals this season out of 126 shots on goal. The Moose and the Blue Ox will meet in a matinee match up on Sunday, November 19th at 1:10 pm in Blaine.
Looking Ahead:
Mark your calendars for Saturday, December 16th! This home game against the Wisconsin Rapids Riverkings will be United Heroes League Military Night! The Minnesota Blue Ox will be sporting red, white and blue jerseys to honor those who have served and currently serve and protect us. We will be auctioning off ALL the Minnesota Blue Ox jerseys for charity that evening!
Across the Pond Spotlight
Kristian Kause: Recording points in the last 5 games, Captain Kause is a quick and smart forward who plays great hockey. The Finland native, has 7 goals and 12 assists this season. In the big 12-3 win over the Blades, Kause scored the eighth goal of the game and assisted on the 5th and 12th goal of the game. Last season, Kause played in the NA3HL where he scored 13 goals and assisted on 28 goals throughout the 2016-2017 season.
Orlando Scherz: Scherz, the leftie out of Davos, Switzerland, is constantly picking up rebounds and finding the openings when he is shooting. In his most recent game, Scherz scored 2 goals just minutes apart from each other and now sits with 24 points this season. With 5 of those points coming from power play goals and 5 of them coming from power play assists, Scherz has a total of 10 goals and 14 assists in the 2017-2018 season. Last season, Scherz played in the NA3HL where he scored 10 goals and assisted on 13 goals throughout the 2016-2017 season.
Phil Schader: Schader, a rightie out of Klagenfurt, Austria, is an aggressive forward who is always speeding down the ice to take his shot on net. Impressively so, Schader has tallied points in each of his last 8 games. With 4 power play goals so far, Schader sits with 8 goals and 6 assists in the 2017-2018 season. In the 2016-2017 season, Schader played in the HJHL and the CSSHL where he scored 26 goals and assisted on 22 goals playing for Banff.