The Morris/Benson Area Storm host the Prairie Centre North Stars on Tuesday, January 7, at 7:00 PM at the Lee Community Center.
The Storm are coming off a confidence-boosting 4-2 victory over Windom on January 4. Head coach (TBA) will look to rally the team as they aim to find consistency. The Storm’s offense is led by Zachary Wrobleski (7 goals, 10 points) and Kye Suess (10 points), who are vital in generating scoring opportunities.
Goaltender Gavin Schmidt has faced a significant workload this season, with a 4.66 GAA and .880 save percentage. The Storm have struggled on the power play, converting only 9.5%. Improving their efficiency on both the power play and penalty kill (71.8%) will be essential against Prairie Centre.
Key to Success: The Storm must tighten their defensive structure and capitalize on scoring chances in transition.
The North Stars are riding high after a dominant 6-0 win over Morris/Benson Area in their last matchup on December 28. Head coach Chad Wehrman has his team playing an up-tempo game, averaging 3.36 goals per game. The offense is spearheaded by Leyton Fuchs, who has 8 goals and 18 points, and is supported by Keegan Christians and Hagen Brunkhorst.
Goaltender Carter Holman has been solid in the net with a .851 save percentage. However, the North Stars’ penalty kill (59.3%) has been a weak spot, something the Storm may try to exploit.
Key to Success: Prairie Centre needs to replicate their previous defensive effort against Morris/Benson Area and rely on Fuchs to generate offense.
With Prairie Centre dominating their previous matchup, the Storm will be motivated to defend their home ice. Expect a closely contested game with Morris/Benson Area leaning on their home-ice advantage and defensive adjustments.
Prediction: Prairie Centre 4, Morris/Benson Area 3 (OT).
