The Eastside Freeze will get a rematch of last year’s series finale for a golden ticket to the national tournament in Pittsburgh on Sept. 25-27. The Minneapolis Wheat Kings will look to defend its RBLL-MN crown.
The first game of the best-of-three series is set for Friday at 7 p.m. at the Northeast Ice Arena in MInneapolis. Game two is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Cottage Grove and a possible game three is on Sunday at 2 p.m. back in Minneapolis.
Eastside finished the regular-season with a record of 4-2, the two losses were from Minneapolis. However, the last match up between the Freeze and Kings was quite the dog fight and if this series is anything like that last game, then it won’t be anything short of entertaining.
The Freeze pulled away with a 14-11 win against Minneapolis. Goaltender Andrew Williams was the clear difference maker in that game. He pulled away with 72 saves and came in clutch in the closing minutes where he was just hammered with shots. That win forced Minneapolis’ only loss of the season.
The team only has four players who’ve actually played in all six games this season. The turnout for games has been tremendously low for the Freeze, even though the league is pay-to-play. The turnout for this series could be the ultimate factor for the Freeze winning or losing. Numbers on offense will result in more time for the defense to grab its breath and recover.
The team bucked up, played with whatever cards were dealt and made the best of it. Eastside managed to finish the season with a plus-22 goal differential and averaged 13 goals a game. The offense is electric this season and are led by Will McKinney and Quinton White.
Both players have averaged around seven points a game. McKinney leads the team with 17 goals and 22 assists. White is right behind McKinney in the goal column with 16 goals, he’s second on the team with 29 points. Rawley Scherman and Cole Herder have a total of 31 assists between the two of them.
It’s safe to say the defense will be able to breath a little bit knowing that they have two solid goalkeepers between the pipes. Williams’ save percentage on the season was 86 percent. He only allowed 20 goals off of 140 shot attempts. Brothers has played in four games, posted 142 saves and allowed an average of ten goals a game.
The defense will have some work to do if they want to shut down Wheat Kings star forward Mike Mawdsley. He’s scored 30 goals and 21 assists through five games played. The next man up for Minneapolis would be Corbyn Tao who has 16 goals on the season.
Will Jimmy’s nose bust open again? Make sure to check out the Wheat Kings Instagram for a live feed of the game tonight.
Ludwig Media 
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