12-1, 12-2, 12-3 Weekend Preview
By Meghann Norrbom
On Tap:
The Minnesota Blue Ox (18-1-1) continue play this weekend with 2 home games and an away game. Friday, December 1st and Saturday, December 2nd the Blue Ox will play host to the Ironwood Fighting Yoopers (9-12) with game times set at 7 pm both nights. On Sunday, December 3rd the Minnesota Blue Ox will travel to Forest Lake for a 7:30 pm game against the Minnesota Mullets (11-8).
Blue Ox Most Recently:
The Minnesota Blue Ox are coming off of a big overtime comeback win against the Minnesota Moose on November 19th. The Ox had a powerful second and third period to tie the game up 5-5 at the end of the third period. When the 3-on-3 overtime format began, it didn’t take even a full minute for the Blue Ox to flip the puck into the back of the net to get the win against the Moose. The Blue Ox outshot the Moose 34-28 and had two power play goals on the night.
Fighting Yoopers Most Recently:
The Ironwood Fighting Yoopers are 9-12 after falling in their last game to the Minnesota Moose. Despite having 35 shots on goal, the Fighting Yoopers were not able to overstep the nine goals of the Moose’s. The Yoopers will be turning to the top point scorer in the Midwest West, Caleb Griffin, who currently has 26 goals and 19 assists this season. In net, the Yoopers will look to tendy Julius Huset. Huset has a save percentage of .916 and has blocked 373 shots on goal this season. The Minnesota Blue Ox and the Ironwood Fighting Yoopers have yet to face off against each other this season, but will meet for the first time on Friday, December 1st at 7 pm at the Coon Rapids Ice Center.
Mullets Most Recently:
The Minnesota Mullets (11-8) took an “L” in their last game against the Steele County Blades. The Mullets got off to a great start in the first, taking the early lead. They continued their lead in the second, but the Blades came back to tie up the game in the third period. After battling it out in overtime, the two teams headed into a shootout where the Mullets fell short. Despite falling in their last game, the Mullets are led by top point scorer, Jon Hansen. Hansen has 23 points so far this season. In net, the Mullets’ top goalie has 312 blocked shots and has a save percentage of .889. The Blue Ox and the Mullets will face off in Forest Lake on Sunday, December 3rd at 7:30 pm.
Forwards in the Spotlight
Eric Worre- Number 24 is a forward out of Chanhassen, MN. In his last game, Worre tallied an assist in the big 6-5 overtime win against the Moose and scored two of six goals in the match up against the Blades on November 10th. Worre has 8 goals and 7 assists on the season for a total of 15 points. In the 2016-2017 season, Worre played with Chanhassen high school where he had 19 total points throughout the year.
Chris Ciolek– The Orchard Park, NY native, is coming off of a 3 point weekend where he had 2 assists in the shutout win against the Havoc. With those points, Ciolek now has 14 points in the 2017-2018 season. Midway through the season, Ciolek already has 2 goals and 12 assists. In the 2016-2017 season, Ciolek played for the Forest Lake Lakers where he scored 9 goals and assisted on 7 goals.
Gunnar Gibbs– Gibbs, a forward out of Grand Forks, ND, has 9 total points this season. In the last game, Gibbs tallied an assist in the big 6-5 overtime win against the Moose. With 4 goals and 5 assists so far this season, Gibbs is an aggressive, quick thinking hockey player. Last season Gibbs played with Grand Forks Central High where he had 3 goals and 2 assists in the 2016-2017 endeavor.