Ice Wolves: NAHL battle for home ice advantage; NA3HL playing for title

Home ice in the playoffs will be up for grabs when the Ice Wolves NAHL team hosts the Colorado Grit for a three-game series this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for its final games of the regular season.

LAST WEEK: The Ice Wolves took a trip down to El Paso and split a two-game series with the Rhinos. Tensions rose as a line brawl broke out between Rhinos players and Ice Wolves Toivo Laaksonen, Jacob Guille and Andy Earl setting the tone for the rest of the weekend. After a 4-2 win Friday night, the Ice Wolves clinched one of the South Division’s coveted playoff spots.

RECORDS AND STANDINGS: The Ice Wolves currently sit in fourth place of the South Division with a 29-21-3-3 record. The Colorado Grit holds sixth place in the division with a 21-21-7-4 record having won six of the nine matchups against the Ice Wolves thus far this season. Though the Ice Wolves have clinched a spot in the playoffs, whether they host or go on the road in the divisional round of the playoffs is still to be decided.

PLAYERS TO KNOW: Captain Ethan Hull leads the team with 40 points with 13 goals and 27 assists over the course of the season. Sloan Farmer leads the defense in points with six goals and 16 assists.

DETAILS: The team plays at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Outpost Ice Arenas. Prior to Thursday’s game, the team will recognize and celebrate its host families that welcome players into their home each season. Friday night’s game will feature a presentation, honoring players that are aging out of junior hockey and moving on to college hockey. Single game tickets start at $27.50 for reserved stadium chair seats and $15 for bleacher seats. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.nmicewolves.com. All games can be watched live on NATV. Tune in this weekend on NAHLTV.com by selecting home audio.

NA3HL takes on St. Louis

The NA3HL Ice Wolves have touched down in St. Louis to battle it out against the other divisions in the fight for the Fraser Cup. The Ice Wolves have made their way into the division playoffs each year since its inaugural season in 2022. This season, the team secured the wild card seed and will be making the franchise’s first appearance in the championship.

The Ice Wolves begin pool play at 3 p.m. Mountain Time on Thursday against the West Bend Power and at 3 p.m. Friday against the reigning Fraser Cup champs, the Helena Bighorns. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the semifinals Saturday and the finals will take place Sunday.

All games can be streamed live on NATV.