Part two of the I-35 rivalry will get started this weekend as the Jr. Stars welcome the Austin Ice Bats into the friendly confines of the Children’s Health StarCenter in Euless.
The first meeting earlier this season had the Jr. Stars spoiling the franchise opener with a 6-1 victory and ultimately taking two of three games of the weekend. Ilnur Madiarov led the offensive charge with Colton Sebastian, Michael Kennedy, Dante Petrini, and Kyle Russell having multiple-point games and adding that necessary scoring depth that every team is looking for.
It was not a perfect series for the Jr. Stars. The Ice Bats did find their wings in a 5-1 victory by spreading the puck around and having five different players find the back of the net, giving them their first win in franchise history and, to date, their only win in franchise history.
Both teams are coming off of a winless series and are looking for a return to the win column. Veteran Jr. Stars defenseman Hayden Russell is confident in his team’s ability and said, “We expect to win.”
The Jr. Stars are 4th in the South Division and look to retain the final playoff spot as the puck drops Friday at 7 p.m. and 5:30 on Saturday and Sunday.
South Division Standings:
- Texas RoadRunners—17 points
- Louisiana Drillers—12 points
- Texas Brahmas—10 points
- Mid-Cities Jr. Stars—4 points
- El Paso Rhinos—2 points
- Austin Ice Bats—2 points
- Oklahoma City Ice Hawks—0 points
- Atlanta Capitals—0 points
Mid-Cities Jr. Stars Record:
Overall: 2-6-0-0
Last Ten: 2-6-0-0
Home Record: 0-1-0-0
Away Record: 2-5-0-0
Austin Ice Bats Record:
Overall: 1-5-0-0
Last Ten: 1-5-0-0
Home Record: 1-2-0-0
Away Record: 0-3-0-0
Mid-Cities Leading Scorers:
#27 Ilnur Madiarov (8G 4A 12P)
#7 Kyle Russell (4G 4A 8P
#91 Michael Kennedy (3G 5A 8P)
Austin Ice Bats Leading Scorers:
#16 Nickolas Friedenberg (3G 2A 5P)
#27 Jerame Kennedy (3G 1A 4P)
#6 Jason Owings (0G 4A 4P)