Through one weekend of the Bantam Elite League’s Minor Division schedule, only one of the six teams has a spotless record. 

The Hurricanes wasted no time in laying claim to the top spot in the league. After gutting out a 6-3 win over the Knights on Friday evening, the Canes topped the Rangers 8-4, the Penguins 5-2, and cruised past the Kings 9-2 to earn a perfect 4-0 record. 

Wyatt Hargadine (Andover) leads the team in scoring with four goals and 11 points, but the Canes have received contributions from up and down the lineup. Other high scorers include Maverick Schiltgen (3G-5A-8P), Tyeson Salscheider (5-3-8), and Jimmy Miller (4-3-7) of Woodbury, plus Moorhead native Trew Sando (1-6-7). 

In goal, Maddox Haider has some of the best numbers in the league. The Lakeville North product has a 2.50 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage after facing 113 shots last weekend. 

Behind the Canes are Rangers and Knights, tied for second with identical 3-1 records. Additionally, the teams have a nearly even goal differential, with the Rangers at +7 and the Knights at +6 after four games. Each squad’s lone loss of the weekend came against the Canes. 

Joey Costa (Blaine) leads the Rangers - and the league - in scoring with six goals and 13 points, with Kellen Blair (Rogers), Hudson Lochner (Blaine), and Wesley Cooper (STMA) having combined for 12 goals. 

The Knights have gotten solid goaltending from James Fiebelkorn (Edina) and are led in scoring by fellow Hornet Landon Sauer (3-5-8) and Faribault’s Lucas Bogut (5-3-8). The Rangers and the Knights will square off on Aug. 8 when the Minor Division resumes play. 

 Joey Costa currently leads the league with 13 points, but the scoring is balanced throughout the league, not only by anecdotal evidence, but statistically. After Friday’s games, a total of 30 goals were scored. One player scored twice, and the rest of the goals were scored by different skaters, meaning 29 players appeared in the scorer’s column by day’s end, and 60 players recorded at least one point (goal or assist) in four games. 

After the first weekend, two players (Coasta and Wyatt Hargadine) are in double-digits. Seven players have eight or more points, and an impressive 27 players have four or more points. That means that 27 players are averaging at least one point per game. Woah. 

Traditionally, the Bantam Elite League is not statistically kind to goaltenders. Some teams have two goalies, so playing time is split, and the league has more than enough talented forwards and defenseman to keep even the best netminders on their toes.

But on Saturday, two goalies earned Player of the Game Awards, the first time (probably) in BEL history that the POTG in multiple games on the same day got their turn in the sun. 

Knights goaltender James Fiebelkorn went first, earning POTG honors after making 31 saves in a 4-1 win over the Kings. Maddox Haider followed with a 32-save performance in a 5-2 victory over the Penguins. Observers lauded both Fiebelkorn and Haider for their flexibility and clutch play on rebounds and scrambles in front of their net. 

The BEL’s Minor Division is back in action from August 8-10 at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights.