Weekend Preview

On Tap:

The Minnesota Blue Ox (13-1-1) continue play this weekend with two games on the road. The first match up of the weekend will be against the Steele County Blades (5-9-0) on Friday, November 10th beginning at 7:30 pm in Owatonna. The Ox will travel back to Hudson as they face the Havoc (3-13-0) on Sunday, November 12th with a start time of 1 pm.

Blue Ox Most Recently:

The Blue Ox are now 13-1-1 following their win this past Friday, November 3rd, where they defeated the Steele County Blades by a score of 4-0. The Minnesota Blue Ox outshot the Blades 38-23 and had 2 power play goals on the night. The Blue Ox charting a goal for the night were Tyler DePuy, Tyrese Murph, Kristian Kause, and Oskari Halme. Josh Greune tallied his second shutout in goal and has an overall save percentage of .903 in the 2017-2018 season.

Blades Most Recently:

The Steele County Blades are 5-9 this season after nabbing a pair of wins this past weekend against the Ironwood Fighting Yoopers. Leading the scoring charge, for the Blades, was Zach Bettmeng. In the final game against the Yoopers, Bettmeng had 2 goals and 2 assists in the 6-4 win for the Blades. The leading goalie for the Blades is Brendan Crayne who in his last game blocked 40 shots on goal and finished the night with a save percentage of .909. The Blades and Blue Ox will meet for the fourth time this season on Friday, November 10th at 7:30 pm in Owatonna.

Havoc Most Recently:

The Hudson Havoc are now 3-13 after falling in their last game to the Minnesota Mullets. The Havoc started out strong with a power play goal from Dylan Marty just 0:26 into the first period, but the Mullets came back to win the game 3-1. Dylan Marty currently leads the scoring charge for the Hudson Havoc where he has 17 points this season. In net, goalie Lane Gregory has 357 saves and a save percentage of .892. The Hudson Havoc and Minnesota Blue Ox will meet for the second time this season on Sunday, November 12th at 1 pm in Hudson.

Looking Ahead:

The Minnesota Blue Ox’s next home games will be Friday, November 17th and Saturday, November 18th beginning at 7 pm on both nights. Friday night’s game against the Wisconsin Muskies will be Kowalski’s Food Drive Night. We encourage all our amazing fans to bring in non-perishable food donations that they would like to donate. Saturday night’s game against the Hudson Havoc will be 2 for 1 draft beer night. 5 minutes after your Minnesota Blue Ox score, draft beer will be buy one get 2!

Player Spotlights:

Justin Carlson – Captain Carlson is a right-handed defenseman out of Princeton, MN who currently has 2 assists tallied this season. Coach Witta had this to say about Carlson, “I coached Justin 2 years ago at the NA3HL Top Prospects tournament and I was very impressed with his character, speed and skating skills. Justin brings two years of prior junior hockey experience to the Ox squad, playing hockey the last two seasons for the Granite City Lumberjacks in the NA3HL. He is a dedicated teammate and leader for the Blue Ox and is a joy to coach day in and day out.”

Tyler DePuy- Recording points in each of the last 4 games, DePuy is a big, strong power forward who has been a crucial player in the Blue Ox’s thirteen wins this season. The Pennsylvania native recorded the first goal of the game in the Blue Ox’s big 12-3 win over the Blades on October 28th and now has 3 goals and 2 assists this season.

Colton Ryan- The homegrown Coon Rapids native, now stands with 5 points this season. Contributing a goal in the big 12-3 win over the Blades on October 28th, Ryan now sits with 2 goals and 3 assists this season. Ryan continues to make impressive plays as a fast moving, play making power forward.