By NA3HL
DALLAS, TX., March 11, 2019 —The North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL) has announced the schedule for the opening round of the 2019 NA3HL Fraser Cup Playoffs, which take place this weekend with the best of three Divisional Semi-Finals Series. The Fraser Cup crowns the National playoff champion from the NA3HL.
The Club seeded first in each division will compete in a best-of-three series with the fourth seeded Club in the same division. The Club seeded second in each division will compete in a best-of-three-series against the Club seeded third in the same division. The #1 and #2 seeds will have home ice advantage in the first round. The first club to win two games in a division semifinal series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the Division Finals.
Central Division
#1 Coulee Region Chill vs. #4 Peoria Mustangs (all times local)
Game 1: Thursday, March 14 @ Peoria, 7:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Coulee Region, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Coulee Region, 2:00pm*
#2 St. Louis Jr. Blues vs. #3 Milwaukee Power (all times local)
Game 1: Thursday, March 14 @ St. Louis, 7:00pm
Game 2: Friday, March 15 @ St. Louis, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Milwaukee, 4:00pm*
Coastal Division
#1 L/A Nordiques vs. #4 Long Beach Sharks (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ L/A Nordiques, 7:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Long Beach, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ L/A Nordiques, 2:00pm*
#2 Northeast Generals vs. #3 New England Stars (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ Northeast, 5:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ New England, 3:30pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Northeast, 4:30pm*
Frontier Division
#1 Helena Bighorns vs. #4 Missoula Jr. Bruins (all times local)
Game 1: Thursday, March 14 @ Helena, 7:05pm
Game 2: Friday, March 15 @ Missoula, 7:05pm
Game 3: Saturday, March 16 @ Helena, 7:05pm*
#2 Great Falls Americans vs. #3 Bozeman Icedogs (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ Great Falls, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Bozeman, 7:30pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Great Falls, 7:30pm*
Northeast Division
#1 Binghamton Junior Senators vs. #4 Niagara Falls PowerHawks (all times local)
Game 1: Saturday, March 16 @ Binghamton, 8:00pm
Game 2: Sunday, March 17 @ Binghamton, 12:00pm
Game 3: Monday, March 18, @ Niagara Falls, 1:00pm*
#2 Oswego Stampede vs. #3 Skylands Kings (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ Oswego, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Oswego, 2:30pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Skylands, 6:00pm*
South Division
#1 Texas Brahmas vs. #4 Mid Cities Jr. Stars (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ Texas, 7:05pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Mid Cities, 7:00pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Texas, 2:05pm*
#2 Louisiana Drillers vs. #3 Atlanta Capitals (all times local, all games played in Atlanta/Louisiana to serve as home team in Games 1 and 3)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ Louisiana, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Atlanta, 5:30pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Louisiana, 1:00pm*
West Division
#1 Granite City Lumberjacks vs. #4 Alexandria Blizzard (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ Granite City, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Alexandria, 7:10pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ Granite City, 5:00pm*
#2 North Iowa Bulls vs. #3 Rochester Grizzlies (all times local)
Game 1: Friday, March 15 @ North Iowa, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, March 16 @ Rochester, 7:05pm
Game 3: Sunday, March 17 @ North Iowa, 6:30pm*
*if necessary
Fraser Cup Championship
The six divisional playoff champions will advance to the NA3HL Fraser Cup Championship Tournament, where they will play a two- game round-robin format followed by a semi-final and a championship game at Seven Bridges Ice Arena in Woodridge, Illinois, from March 27-31. The six divisional playoff winners will be seeded 1-6 based on their regular season point totals. A round-robin format with two pools will be implemented, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the Semi-Finals, where they will then cross over to play the other top two teams from the other pool. The winners of the Semi-Finals will advance to the Fraser Cup Championship Game.
Pool A: #1, #4, #6
Pool B: #2, #3, #5
Wednesday, March 27: 1 vs. 4, 4pm | 2 vs. 3, 7pm
Thursday, March 28: 1 vs. 6, 4pm |2 vs. 5, 7pm
Friday, March 29: 4 vs. 6, 4pm | 3 vs. 5, 7pm
Saturday, March 30: Pool A 1st place vs. Pool B 2nd place, 3pm | Pool B 1st place vs. Pool A 2nd place, 6pm
Sunday, March 31: Championship Game, 1pm
The Fraser Cup is named in the memory of Robert ‘Fraser’ Ritchie, a long-time staff member of the NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL. On June 10, 2017, Ritchie passed away after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Although Ritchie ultimately lost his battle with the disease, his influence and daily interactions with all of the owners, coaches, staff, volunteers and administrators in the NAHL, NA3HL and NAPHL, will never be forgotten, and are now and forever memorialized with the annual awarding of the Fraser Cup.
Story Courtesy: North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL): Opening round schedule announced for 2019 Fraser Cup Playoffs (March 11, 2019)