This Friday and Saturday, the St. Cloud Norsemen and Austin Bruins their battle atop the North American Hockey League Central Division standings. The home-and-home series puts the Norsemen home on Friday at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic Complex and back in Austin at Riverside Arena on Saturday, both 7:00 p.m. games. Games are broadcast live on HockeyTV.com
St. Cloud leads the Central Division with 51 points and the highest win percentage and holds the sixth best win percentage in the North American Hockey League, and the Bruins are one point back in second place with 50 points.
St. Cloud leads the season series 4-3. The Norsemen swept last weekend’s series with a pair of victories, bringing the team’s win streak to 10 games.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
St. Cloud 4, Austin 3 OT (Feb. 12, 2022 @ St. Cloud)
St. Cloud 6, Austin 2 (Feb. 11, 2022 @ Austin)
St. Cloud 5, Austin 4 (Jan. 15, 2022 @ St. Cloud)
Austin 6, St. Cloud 3 (Jan. 14, 2022 @ Austin)
Austin 4, St. Cloud 3 (Nov. 6, 2021 @ Austin)
St. Cloud 3, Austin 0 (Nov. 5, 2021 @ St. Cloud)
Austin 5, St. Cloud 3 (Oct. 8, 2021 @ St. Cloud)
The Norsemen are 25-13-0-1 while Austin is 23-16-2-2. St. Cloud is on an 10-game winning streak, dating back to the 5-4 victory over Austin on January 15.
St. Cloud is led in scoring by forwards Ryan O’Neill (Univ. of St. Thomas), Blake Mesenburg, newly acquired Ethan Benz, Nick Hong, Blake Perbix (Northern Michigan) and Brandon Lajoie.
The Norsemen defense, led by one of St. Cloud’s captains Nick Young, has the second fewest goals against in the NAHL. St. Cloud is tied with Fairbanks for the highest goal-differential in the league at +48. The Norsemen block and prevent a lot of shots, as St. Cloud has only been outshot 3 times all season.
Goaltender Tomas Bolo has backstopped 17 of St. Cloud’s 25 wins this season and has eight of the wins in the current 10-game unbeaten stretch, with Ethan Dahlmeir winning two of the last 3 games. Both goaltenders have three shutouts this season.
Norsemen forward Ryan O’Neill was recognized by the NAHL as the Central Division Star of the Week this week after scoring a hat trick last Friday and the game-winning goal in overtime last Saturday. This marks four consecutive weeks that a member of the Norsemen has earned league honors.
Tickets are available for Saturday’s 7:00 p.m. Norsemen home game at tickets.stcloudnorsemen.com or to book your group outing, contact Dan Miller at dan@stcloudnorsemen.com — Discounts are available for groups, including special rates and fun in-game opportunities for youth hockey and other teams.
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