For Wausau Pilot & Review
WAUSAU – The Wausau Cyclones junior hockey team begins its quest for the Fraser Cup by hosting the Wisconsin Woodsmen on Friday at 7:10 p.m. at the Marathon Park Ice Arena in the Division Semifinals round of NA3HL playoffs.
Wausau will head to Tomah for Game 2 of the series on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. If necessary, Game 3 will be back in Wausau on Sunday at 6:10 p.m. Wausau finished the regular season as Central Division champions with a 36-10-0-1 record. The Wisconsin Woodsmen finished the regular season with a 24-20-1-1 record, finishing in fourth place in the Central Division. Head-to-head, Wausau was 8-0 versus Wisconsin during the regular season and outscored them 36-18.
Wausau forward Connor Dvorak is on a 3-game point streak with two goals and four assists over the past three games. Dvorak finished the regular season with 27 goals and 44 assists, putting him first on the team and sixth in the league for points. Anderson Brien, Ricky Nelson and John Kriz also closed out the regular season strong for the team’s balanced attack. Brien scored six huge goals in the final six games of the regular season, including three this past weekend. Nelson closed his last six games with six goals and eight assists. Kriz netted three goals and contributed five assists during that same span.
Wisconsin’s top two scorers are Hugh Deinema and Hunter Nelson. Deinema had 29 goals and 20 assists in 44 games. Nelson netted 23 and contributed 23 assists in 45 games.
Wausau is expected to start Collin Lemanski in net Friday. Lemanski has a 3.76 goals against average and .935 save percentage in 28 games. His record was 20-7-0-1 during the regular season and the 20 wins has him at fourth in the league. Tanner Bonjernoor is expected to start Saturday. Bonjernoor has a save percentage of .918 and 2.52 GAA. The Woodsmen are expected to start Ryan Hacker in net Friday night. Hacker has a 5.84 GAA and .890 save percentage. His record is currently 7-7-0-0 this season.
If Wausau wins the series, it will then host either the West Bend Power or Oregon Tradesmen. Game 1 of the Division Finals playoff series would take place at Marathon Park on Friday, March 15. Wausau would then head to West Bend or Oregon for Game 2 of the series on March 16. If Game 3 is needed, Wausau will host West Bend or Oregon March 17 for the deciding game. Puck drops would be at 7:10 p.m. Friday night, 7:30 p.m. Saturday night and 6:10 p.m. Sunday if Game 3 is needed. You can catch the games live on NAHLTV and buy tickets via wausaucyclones.com. The first 500 fans Friday receive a Cyclones Playoff rally towel presented by Budweiser.
The Cyclones are members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), one of three USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior leagues, serves as one of the top training grounds in the country by providing the best coaching, exposure and developmental vehicles available for student-athletes in its classification. The primary mission of the NA3HL is to provide a structured developmental environment for student-athletes who have aspirations of playing in the NAHL or United States Hockey League and eventually the NCAA or American College Hockey Association. For more information, visit wausaucyclones.com.
