Saturday Games (St. Cloud)

Most Bantam Elite players hit the road to the Municipal Athletic Complex (MAC) in St. Cloud, Minnesota on Saturday. They played three games..all ending in lopsided fashion. 

Rangers take out Bruins, 6-1

The Bruins shorthanded on Saturday, fought hard and had some great goaltending from Andy Beran to keep the game close for almost the entire first half. Goals by Chase Hartje and Evan Mischke gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead. The Bruins got on the board when Matthew Koethe scored, but Matthew Fischer had a big end-of-the-period Goal for the Rangers to give them a 3-1 lead at the break. The Rangers rode that momentum against the Bruins and scored three unanswered on the B's in the second half to win going away 6-1.

Fischer ended the game with a Goal and two assists. Moorhead's Carter Krier ended game with 17 saves, but none more important on a 2 on 1 when Koethe fed Minnetonka's Joe Molenaar who temporarily faked out Krier, but at the last second poked it off of Molenaar's stick.

Wings fly past Canadiens 6-1.

The sneakiest team in the Bantam Elite League is the Red Wings. Every corps of players is deep...two great goalies, very solid defense, and a balanced attack up front on all three to four lines. On Saturday they scoring from five different players and five assists from Edina Defenseman Jerome Newhouse as they dominated the Canadiens 6-1. Ben Beattie stole the show with some huge saves in the second half.

Rangers clip Wings 8-1.

With both teams coming off big wins in the morning and bragging rights for the top spot in the BEL, the Rangers took the upper hand 2-1 after 1 and never looked back scoring 6 unanswered goals in the second half to win 8-1. Matthew Fischer completed a nice day on the score sheet score two (three on the day), Luke LaMaster and Mason Salquist each added a pair to lead the Rangers to a two game sweep of the top two Metro teams in the BEL standings.

Sunday Games

Wings take out Bruins 7-3.

Aaron Grounds and Max Jennrich had two goals and Ryan Lesko had a highlight reel goal for the Wings as they cruised past the Bruins at Bloomington Ice Garden. The Bruins tied the game at 3 early in the third period on a Kasan Kruse goal, but the Wings answered right back when Jennrich got his first of two. The Wings would rattle off three more goals and go onto win 7-3 and take control of first place in the League.

Shorthanded Hawks upset Rangers 8-5.

Coming off two impressive wins on Saturday in St. Cloud, the Rangers took on the Blackhawks on Sunday. The Hawks, playing their lone game of the weekend, were saddled with only eight rostered skaters and two replacement players. St. Cloud's Connor Kalthoff (D) and Luverne's Kasan Kruse (F) jumped aboard for the Hawks and added an extra punch that helped them to a win. Griffn Ness, back in action for the Hawks, netted a hat trick for the Hawks. Edina's Lewis Crosby and Stephen Doll added four points for the red and black. Most impressive was the play of the Hawks Goalie Jacob Sibell. He turned away 39 shots, several point blank attempts by the Northern snipers. Ryan Nelson had three points for the Rangers including a pretty top shelf blast that beat Sibell on his blocker side.

Canadiens comeback and beat Wings 3-2.

In a game broadcasted on YHH, the Canadiens fought off an early assault by the Wings and scored three unanswered goals to beat the league leading Wings 3-2. The Wings got goals from Aaron Grounds (his third of the day) and Ryan Lesko (his second) and were in complete control. Late in the half, the Habs flipped a switch...St. Michael's Zach Sjelin hammered home a rebound goal to make it 2-1. A minute later, K'Andre Miller scored to tie it. And then two minutes after that, Soren Frakie got a puck at center ice and made a few moves into the slot where he let go a laser that beat Wings Goalie Ben Beattie to give the Habs a 3-2 lead. Three goals in less than three minutes. Final score, Canadiens 3, Wings 2.

To view a replay of the game click here.

Bruins earn split with Rangers win 4-1 Sunday.

After two losses, the Bruins came back and beat the Rangers in the nightcap game 4-1. Ryan Elder had two goals including a pretty rebound goal that gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead late in the first half. Devlin McCabe would add an insurance goal in the third and Andy Beran would turn away 27 of 28 shots for the B's. Beran, despite going 1-2 on the weekend was as sharp as a tack in all three games. 

Hayden Brickner, Centennial (Hawks) - had three assists Sunday against the Rangers. A smooth skater with lots of skill, Brickner showed ability Sunday to get dirty and win puck battles down low. All three helpers were the result of hard work.

Ray Christy, Highland (Wings) - has ten points in five games for the Wings including seven goals. Headed to St. Thomas Academy this Fall, the Cadets will have a future star in uniform.

Kasan Kruse, Luverne - an alternate for the Red Wings, Kruse filled in for both the Bruins and the Hawks. He scored two goals and added two assists...showing that the talent level in Luverne is very high.

James Marooney, Holy Family (Canadiens) - despite netting zero points for the weekend, Marooney does all the little things that don't show up on the scoresheet for the Habs.

Luke LaMaster, Duluth East (Rangers) - a future Duluth East Greyhound this Winter, LaMaster is smart, strong and always looking to score. This weekend he had 2 Goals and 3 Assists for the Rangers.

Ryan Elder, Minnetonka (Bruins) - Elder has shown great size and skill all season. This weekend he had great scoring chances on top of netting four points for the B's.