Section 8AA Game Preview: St. Cloud Crush vs. Roseau Rams

Date/Time: Saturday, January 4, 2025, 1:00 PM CST
Location: Roseau Memorial Arena, Roseau

Team Overviews

St. Cloud Crush

Record: 4-7-1
Conference: Central Lakes
Section: 8AA
Goals Per Game (GPG): 2.42
Goals Against Per Game (GAPG): 3.67
Power Play Percentage (PP%): 15.2%
Penalty Kill Percentage (PK%): 71.4%

Last Game:

Loss to Alexandria, 4-1 (Jan. 2).

Key Players:

Nick Bierschbach: 9 goals, 10 points.
Max Kiffmeyer: 4 goals, 10 points.
Nathan Gohman (Goalie): 3.12 GAA, .900 SV%.

Upcoming Schedule:

Jan. 7: vs. Sartell-St. Stephen
Jan. 9: vs. Fergus Falls

Roseau Rams

Record: 7-6-1
Conference: Mariucci
Section: 8AA
Goals Per Game (GPG): 3.00
Goals Against Per Game (GAPG): 3.21
Power Play Percentage (PP%): 18.2%
Penalty Kill Percentage (PK%): 78.4%

Last Game:

Loss to St. Michael-Albertville, 7-5 (Jan. 3).
- Goals scored by Jude Wittrock, Jake Halvorson,
  Key Players:

Jude Wittrock: 7 goals, 14 points.
Jake Halvorson: 6 goals, 11 points.
Abram Hinson (Goalie): 3.18 GAA, .879 SV%.

Upcoming Schedule:

Jan. 7: at Warroad
Jan. 11: at Brainerd

Matchup Analysis

This Section 8AA battle is critical for both teams in their pursuit of playoff positioning. Roseau has the advantage of playing at home and boasts a slightly more productive offense led by Jude Wittrock, who is having a standout season. However, their defense has been inconsistent, as evidenced by allowing seven goals to St. Michael-Albertville in their last outing.

St. Cloud comes in with a solid goaltender in Nathan Gohman, whose .900 save percentage keeps them competitive despite their defensive struggles. Offensively, the Crush will need more production from their top players like Nick Bierschbach and Max Kiffmeyer to break through Roseau’s defense.

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