At the NCAA Division I level of play, Minnesota teams have won six championship trophies tying them with the University of Wisconsin behind the University of North Dakota (seven).  There is no Division II hockey championship and no Minnesota team has ever won a Division III championship.  That leaves junior hockey, who’s champions every year win the Clark Cup (Tier I) or the Robertson Cup (Tier II).  The Clark Cup that goes to the USHL playoff winner and there are no Minnesota franchises in the USHL.  The Robertson Cup goes to the NAHL winner.  There are three Minnesota based teams that played in the NAHL this year, the Austin Bruins, the Minnesota Wilderness (Cloquet), and the Minnesota Magicians (Richfield).  No Minnesota team has ever won the Robertson Cup until this year; the Robertson finals will be played in Austin MN matching the Austin Bruins against the Minnesota Wilderness.  The Robertson Trophy will be in this state for the first time ever in the 40 years the NAHL junior A teams have been playing for the cup regardless of who wins.

Austin returns to Robertson Cup finals this year.  The Bruins made the finals last year, but lost the first two playoff games to Fairbanks Ice Dogs at the Big Dipper Arena in Fairbanks AK.  This year, the Bruins return after winning the Central Division in regular season play, winning the division playoffs, and beating NAHL South Division champions Lone Star TX winning two out three games on Lone Star’s home ice.  The Wilderness got to the finals after finishing second to Fairbanks in the Midwest Division in regular season play.  The Wilderness beat the Ice Dogs in the Midwest Division finals, and eliminated the NAHL North Division Champions, Janesville WI (in two games at Janesville), to make the Robertson Cup an all Minnesota franchise final.  Both Minnesota teams needed good goaltending at a critical moments to make the finals.   Austin, last Sunday, needed strong play in the nets to survive in their third game with the Lone Star at the Nytex Sports Center in North Richland Hills TX.  The Wilderness run for the cup could have died three weeks ago at the Green Island Ice Arena in La Crosse WI. 

The Robertson Cup final is a best of two out of three games this year with all three games played at Austin’s Riverside Arena on the banks of the Cedar River.  In regular season play, Austin beat the Wilderness in their last four games played in February and March.  Austin is favored, but Corey Millen’s Wilderness crew has been playing well and will be ready.

Austin Bruins Preview

Austin had the veteran team last season and lost most of the top scorers.  With a new set of forwards, it is surprising that the Bruins made the Robertson Cup finals.  Their offense is led by Trevor Boyd/Muskegon MI (50 points/26 goals), Alex Pettersson/Ockero SWE (43 points/11 goals), Nico Sturm/Augsburg GER (41 points/11 goals) and former Magician Tony Uglem/Moorhead MN (25 points/15 goals).  Alex Jasiek/St. Louis MO, a late season pick up by Austin, is having a good post season.  Strum played in the NAHL last season for Corpus Christi and missed part of this season playing for Germany in the World Junior Cup tourney.  Strum split last playing for a German U18 team (ESV Kaufbeuren) and Corpus Christi.  He was drafted by the Tri-City Storm in last week’s 2015 draft.  Boyd played for the NAHL Soo team last season and previously played for Austin.  Pettersson returned to Austin from last season’s team.  Other returnees on offense are Luke Dietsch/St. Paul MN, Brian Bachnak/Brownstown MI, defenseman Jake Arroyo/Bolingbrook IL, and defenseman Corey Dunn/Trenton MI.  Dietsch/Cretin-Derham Hall is in his second season with the Bruins and has played consistent hockey for the Bruins posting 36 and 37 points in each regular season.  Bachnak has improved in his second season at Austin posting 28 points/15 goals this season.

The Bruins’ defense is led by Ian Scheid/Blaine, Liam Feeney/Foxboro MA, and Dunn.  Derek Olmschenk/Cretin-Derham Hall, Riese Zmolek/Rochester MN, and Hugo Gallet/Amiens FRA complete the defensive corps.  Sheid in his first season in the NAHL has had a good year posting 35 points/12 goals in 55 regular season games.  

Austin started the season with three good goalies, Jake Kielly/Eden Prairie, Zach Driscoll/Eastview, and Evan Smith/Pikes Peak Miners.  Driscoll moved to the USHL’s Omaha Lancers in mid-season so the team’s loss of Zach Driscoll did not hurt with Kielly and Smith stepping in.  The 6’6” Smith is eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft and will be in sights of some scouts this weekend with the NHL draft a month from now.

One interesting stat from the NAHL is the “+/- “statistic that shows the difference between goals scored and goals given up when a skater is on the ice.  In the NHL, the best Minnesota Wild player for this plus/minus stat was Matt Cooke with +4, the worst was Ryan Suter with a -8.  In the NAHL, the better teams have a heavy plus and the weaker teams are even or minus.  Austin’s top 12 scorers this season were a +225 for a +18 average.  Bruin defenseman Feeney led the team in that stat with a +36.  In the playoffs, Austin’s top 10 Austin scorers are a +33 in 11 games and down in that stat. 

Minnesota Wilderness Preview

The Wilderness offensive strength is a mix of returning players from last season and new additions.  Last year’s #3 scorer Darian Romanko/Shoreview MN is this season’s top scorer (61 points/31 goals) and leads the Wilderness in the playoffs 18 points.  Superior WI’s Aaron Miller (60 points/21 goals) and Blaine’s Tyler Cline (45 points/23 goals) are the new additions.  All three leading scorers will move on next season playing Division I hockey.  Romanko will play for the University of Minnesota; Miller will play for Bemidji State; and Cline will join the University of Alaska (Fairbanks).  Another Superior WI player, Dan Litchke, has had a good postseason for the Wilderness.  Add to that offensive mix, returnees defenseman Ivan Chukarov/Des Plaines IL and forwards Michael Covach/Shillington PA and Billy Exell/Thunder Bay ON plus new players Niklas Lehtimaki/Kiykainen FIN and Brett Heikkila/Marquette MI and one has a solid core of players.  Heikkila will play for Northern Michigan next season.  This group of players collectively was a +134 plus/minus in regular season play.  Chukarov led the way with a +38.  The same group is a +57 in 10 post season games.

The defense is led by Ivan Chukarov.  Chukarov has improved this season posting 43 points/12 goals and in improving his overall play (he was a +1 last season).  A former Chicago Mission player, Chukarov will play for UMass (Amherst) next season.  A second Wilderness defender, Bradley Johnson, has had a good post season.   Johnson, who played for the St. Louis Blues U18 in 2013-2014, was drafted by the Wilderness last year.  He is a +10 in post season play.  Johnson will play next season for Ohio State.  Tyer Hart/Woodbury, Janis Jaks/Riga LAT, Wayland Williams/Canton MI, and Alex Trappe/Duluth East complete a veteran defensive corps.       

Goalie Brock Kautz/Rochester MN has been in the nets for most of the playoffs.  Kautz posted a 14-8 record in regular season play.  He gave up an average of 2.33 goals per game while stopping 91% of the shots on goal in his 23 appearances in the net.  Ryan Anderson/Roseau has been the Wilderness mainstay in the nets for most of the regular season posting a 24-7-2 record giving up an average of 2.37 goals per game while stopping 89% of the shots on net. 

Who wins?

This three game series is likely to go to a third game Sunday.  The Wilderness has featured a tough defense with scoring power.  Their goalie Kautz turned a corner in the third game of the Wilderness’ divisional playoffs.  After Minnesota lost their first two games of a best of five series at home against Coulee Region, they traveled to Green Island Arena in La Crosse WI facing elimination if they lost one of the remaining three games to Coulee.  In the third game, Kautz stopped 42 of 46 Coulee shots surviving a 24 shot (4 goal) third period comeback by the Chill to win 5-4.  The next day, the Wilderness blitzed Coulee behind the play of Miller and Romanko 9-1 and then won the deciding game on home ice beating Coulee again by 9-1.  Kautz was in the nets for both 9-1 wins and has been in the nets since leading the Wilderness to eight straight playoff wins.

The Bruins will have a solid defense backed by two good goal tenders and will likely split the goal tending duties.  And home ice will help them.  Goalie Jake Kielly started Austin’s first two games against the Lone Stars and won 3-1 and lost 3-1 (third goal was an empty netter) while facing 39 shots.  Smith faced 23 shots in the nets for the overtime 3-2 win in the deciding game played at Lone Stars Nytex Arena.  Smith being in the net for the third game was a gamble that paid off; Smith had not been consistent in the playoffs.  This series is likely to split their first two games.  After splitting the first two games; the two teams will be battling in a low scoring game where the best goaltender play will matter.  The 6’6” Smith proves the better and Austin wins.  The Robertson Cup goes to the Riverside Arena.