With 17 games left to play in the 2021-2022 season, the Jr. Stars will play their next three games against the El Paso Rhinos, who will be visiting the Children’s Health StarCenter in Euless for the first time this season.
In their second NA3HL season, the Rhinos are currently sitting 3rd in the South Division with a record of 18-9-0-0 with 36 points. El Paso swept the Austin Ice Bats last weekend in a two-game series to a goal differential of 28-1, scoring 16 goals in the first game and grabbing 12 more the next day. Rhino forward Caden Butler earned himself the Bauer Hockey South Division Star of the Week honors as he scored four goals and grabbed seven assists.
The Jr. Stars haven’t played since January 10th, where they came off a weekend loss after dominating the first game of the weekend against the Atlanta Capitals. There were a couple of bright spots from the series; Preston Jones and Braden Balgemann scored their first NA3HL goals in their Junior Hockey debuts.
The Jr. Stars are 1-5-0-0 all-time against the Rhinos. The first meeting between these two teams was a shootout thriller last year on November 6th, with the Jr. Stars coming out on top with the game winning goal being scored by Michael Fatta, who is currently playing for the Calvin University Knights of the ACHA.
Mid-Cities is 9-20-0-0 on the season for 18 points and sit 6th in the South Division. The puck drops at 7 p.m. on Friday, with a 5:30 start on Saturday and Sunday at the Children’s Health StarCenter in Euless.
Mid-Cities Jr. Stars Records:
Overall: 9-20-0-0
Last Ten: 3-7-0-0
Home Record: 5-11-0-0
Away Record: 4-9-0-0
El Paso Rhinos Records:
Overall: 18-9-0-0
Last Ten: 8-2-0-0
Home Record: 9-3-0-0
Away Record: 9-6-0-0
Mid-Cities Jr. Stars Leading Scorers:
#27 Ilnur Madiarov (20G 13A 33P)
#7 Kyle Russell (6G 26A 32P)
#91 Michael Kennedy (10G 13A 23P)
El Paso Rhinos Leading Scorers:
#28 Caden Butler (19G 28A 47P)
#12 Connor Thompson (17G 23A 40P)
#19 Noah Easterson (16G 22A 38P)