Written by: Rory McGouran
Photo: Patrick Garriepy Photography
With no wiggle room in the heart of the East Division standings, two of the top five teams, both tied with 28 points, will look for separation from their counterpart as the Northeast Generals and the Maine Nordiques prepare for three straight matchups over the next five days.
The Northeast Generals head into the week with a 13-8-2-0 record coming off a 3-2 victory over the Danbury Hat Tricks at home on Saturday.
Alejandro Blum and Rob Savaglio both scored their first career NAHL goal in the victory, with Kody Moyer providing the game-winner, secured by a brilliant 40-save performance from Will Mizenko in net. The win balanced a 2-2 split in four consecutive games against Danbury, and over their past 10 games, the Generals also maintain an even 5-5-0-0 record.
The Maine Nordiques also split their past weekend’s pairing with the Rochester Jr. Americans by identical 4-3 scores. Maine took the first on Friday, followed by Rochester’s victory on Saturday. Lukas Fursten was in the net for both games for the Nordiques, while Austin Borgggaard, Joe Gasperko, and Damon Myers led the way offensively with two goals each.
Speaking of Fursten, and standing 200-feet away, Mizenko, the Gens and Nordiques matchup will feature one of the best goaltender battles in the NAHL.
Fursten leads the league in save percentage (.930), while sitting third in goals against average (1.99) and wins (9), to go along with a 9-6-1-1 record. Mizenko counters second in wins (10), second in shots faced (503), and third in minutes played (963) with a 10-5-1-0 record. One of the most impressive facets in the NAHL this year, however, goes to Fursten, who has a commanding league lead in shutouts, having secured 5 of his 9 wins without allowing a goal.
If the Gens can throw him off his game, they will have the advantage in supporting offense.
Although banged up entering Wednesday’s game with multiple forwards still out with injuries, the Generals are the third-highest scoring team in the NAHL with 89 goals in 23 games. Maine sits in 25th, having scored just 60 in 22 games.
Special Teams also favors the Generals with their power play well over 20% and their penalty kill nearing 90%. Maine has struggled to find power-play goals at 15.4%, and their penalty kill has been hovering around 80%.
The two teams have yet to face each other this season, but if one team can string together multiple wins, it will go a long way to breaking up a logjammed East Division. Five teams are currently separated by just two points. New Jersey holds the second-place spot with 29. Meanwhile, Rochester, Northeast, and Maine are all tied at 28, with Johnstown only one point behind in sixth
Puck-drop is set for 7:15 in Maine tonight. Games 2 and 3 will take place in Canton at 7:00 pm Saturday and 11:30 am on Sunday, respectively.