The Jr. Stars will be taking on new opponents from the West, Frontier, and East Divisions during the 2021 NA3HL Showcase in Blaine, Minnesota. The three-day event brings all 34 teams under one roof at the Super Rink. The Showcase will bring junior and college scouts from all over the country and has been the stepping stone many players have needed to continue their hockey career.
The Minnesota Loons from the West Division will be the first challenge for the Jr. Stars on December 20th. The Loons are last in their division with a 2-25-0-0 record, with two wins against the Alexandria Blizzard and the New Ulm Steel. The Loons are coming into the Showcase on a 10-game losing streak and last place in the overall league standings. They have a 7.33 Goals Against Average on the year.
Their leading scorers are forwards Blake Keller (10G 15A 25P), Kyler Couture (8G 5A 13P), and Caiden Kjelstorm (3G 6A 9P) and will be looking to exploit any holes in the Mid-Cities defense.
Tuesday is an early morning matchup for the Jr. Stars as they face off against the Great Falls Americans of the Frontier Division at 9:45. The Americans are fourth in their division with a 13-10-3-1 record for 30 points. Great Falls love to shoot the puck as they average a tick over 45 shots per game for an average of 4.15 goals a game. In comparison, the Jr. Stars average just under 27 shots per game and score 2.83 goals on average. It will be an exciting challenge that the Mid-Cities squad will face head-on.
Their leading scorers are forwards Jackson Henningsgard (10G 22A 32P), Micah Serino (17G 14A 31P), and Hunter Maschke (10G 14A 24P) and will look to cash in on the power play with 21 man advantage points between the three of them.
Wednesday and the final day of the Showcase for the Jr. Stars is an earlier puck drop scheduled for 9 a.m. The Norwich Sea Captains are at the bottom of the East Division with a record of 2-18-1-0 for 5 points and come into Blaine, Minnesota, on an 18 game losing streak. They average two goals a game but average fewer goals against than the Jr. Stars at 4.71. The Jr. Stars are averaging a hair over 6.
Their leading scorers are Ethan Ranger (9G 10A 19P), Teagen Beier (8G 4A 12P), and Drew Schemmel (5G 5A 10P) will be looking to up the team’s goal average.
The Jr. Stars have not played since December 3rd and 4th. They lost both games on the road against the Texas Brahmas with a score of 10-0 and 8-1. At the halfway point of this season, this Mid-Cities squad has already racked up two more wins than they did all of last year and come into the Showcase with a 7-16-0-0 record and 14 points.
Jr. Stars leading scorers are forward Ilnur Madiarov (17G 10A 27P), defenseman Kyle Russell (6A 17A 23P), and forward Michael Kennedy (9G 11A 20P) and will be looking to jumpstart their offense again.
All three games in Blaine will count toward the regular season and will be broadcast on Hockeytv.com.