ROCHESTER, Minn. – After defeating West Bend in a grueling three-game series, the Rochester Grizzlies take the trek to St. Louis for their third-ever Fraser Cup Appearance, searching for title No. 2.
The Fraser Cup Championship consists of six teams broken up into two separate pools, based on the results from the NA3HL’s Showcase back in December.
The Grizzlies side of the tournament consists of the previous two Fraser Cup Champions, the Helena Bighorns and Louisiana Drillers.
Helena Bighorns
After finishing second in the Frontier Division with a 34-12-1-0 record, the Bighorns won two nail-biting series against the Great Falls Americans and the Sheridan Hawks to advance to their sixth Fraser Cup appearance.
A high-powered offense, led by the likes of Chase Berg and Austin Uecker, averages over 4.5 goals per game during the postseason and has yet to score less than four times in any postseason game.
Berg and Uecker are two of four 20+ goal scorers, joining the likes of Ty Schell and defenseman Caden Feinstein, who led all Frontier defensemen in goals and points this season.
A gritty, quick-hitting team, led by Damon Hanson, who emphasizes the need for quick, hard shifts for Helena.
The Bighorns come into this pool play on an even better hot streak than Rochester, finishing the regular season with a 17-2 record after the Showcase.
The Montana-based franchise is no stranger to comebacks either, posting multiple third-period comebacks in this postseason alone, boasting a +4 goal differential in the final frame.
The key for Helena is special teams and goaltending in this Fraser Cup, the only two potential glaring issues for Hanson’s squad.
The Bighorns have struggled mightily on the man-advantage this postseason, converting on just one of 15 chances through six games.
However, the lone power-play marker they scored just happened to be the game-winner in a 6-5 win over Sheridan in Game 3 of the Division Final, perhaps boosting the morale of the special teams unit.
Between the pipes for the Bighorns will be 5-foot-8 Andrew Blake, who boasts a 3.75 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage during postseason play.
With such a high-powered offense, Blake hasn’t been needed to steal a game or two, but with the defense tightening up with six teams remaining, it could be the biggest key if the Bighorns look to make it back to Sunday for the second time in three seasons
Louisiana Drillers
Last year’s Fraser Cup Champions look poised to make a repeat run for the title, boasting a league-best 46-0-1-0 record in the newly formed Southeast Division.
By far the best goal differential in the NA3HL this season at +473, the Drillers dominated the stat sheet, with six players eclipsing the century point mark, the most in league history.
Leading the charge is none other than Brody Neish, the all-time point leader in the NA3HL’s tenure as a junior hockey league, with an astounding 363 points across three seasons.
Rounding out the rest of the scoring are guys like Lucas Dyer, Carter Gnau and Jack Slotka on the backend, just to name a few.
The Drillers bullied their way through the Southeast Division postseason, outscoring their opposition 48-1 in four contests.
Between the pipes is the sturdy Cole Schmidt, registering a 58-3-1 record with 17 shutouts in his tenured NA3HL career.
With the two best special teams units in both the regular season and postseason, it seems like almost nothing can stop Louisiana from hoisting a second consecutive Fraser Cup, the first back-to-back champs since the Fraser Cup’s inception.
The lone question shrouding this Drillers team in mystery is the competitiveness in their own division.
Chris Francis’s squad’s lone loss came to the New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings during the NA3HL Showcase back in December, alongside two close calls against the Sheridan Hawks, which included a last-minute Neish goal, and the Texas Jr. Brahmas, who find themselves on the opposing side of the bracket.
Can Louisiana show resilience and prove the best record in the league isn’t just a fluke? Or will the oil well dry up before they can gain any ground?
Pool A Schedule
Wednesday: Grizzlies vs. Bighorns, 4 p.m.
Thursday: Grizzlies vs. Drillers, 4 p.m.
Friday: Bighorns vs. Drillers, 4 p.m.
Saturday @ 4 p.m.: Pool A 1st place vs. Pool B 2nd place
Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.: Pool B 1st place vs. Pool A 2nd place