NAHL Power Rankings for March 22; several teams on the move as home stretch nears

The Rink Live is happy to release the latest edition of its NAHL Power Rankings. Jordan McAlpine will provide rankings on a bi-weekly basis throughout the rest of the season.

Without further ado, let’s get to it.

29.) Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks, 3-45-5-2
Last Ranking: 29

The Jr. Hat Tricks snapped their 37-game winless streak on March 11 with a 5-1 win at Northeast. Danbury’s last win came on Oct. 21.

28.) Corpus Christi IceRays, 11-34-6-1
Last Ranking: 27

The IceRays have points in back-to-back games still own the NAHL’s second-fewest points (28).

27.) El Paso Rhinos, 15-33-3-1
Last Ranking: 28

The Rhinos are 3-6-0-1 in their last 10 but have dropped three straight and sit seventh in the South Division.

26.) Philadelphia Rebels, 23-25-1-1
Last Ranking: 26

The Rebels have struggled to get consistent scoring with two goals or less in six of their last 10. Philadelphia has dropped two straight.

25.) Springfield Jr. Blues, 23-26-1-1
Last Ranking: 25

The Jr. Blues are coming off an impressive road sweep in Fairbanks and similar to Philadelphia, Springfield has points in five of its last 10 games.

24.) Johnstown Tomahawks, 23-23-3-1
Last Ranking: 11

Johnstown has dropped four straight and is 2-6-1-1 in its last 10. Johnstown’s minus-26 goal differential is the fourth-worst in the NAHL and the Tomahawks hold just a two-point edge on Philadelphia in the East Division.

23.) Bismarck Bobcats, 22-24-4-2
Last Ranking: 19

Bismarck sits at the bottom of the Central Division, just two points behind Minot. The Bobcats have scored the second-most goals in the division, 168. At the same time, they’ve allowed the second-most (164), including five or more in three of their last five games.

22.) Minot Minotauros, 25-25-1-1
Last Ranking: 21

The Minotauros fell to St. Cloud last time out and have also dropped four of their last five. The Minotauros still sit right at .500 on the season. However, their goal differential is also an alarming minus-20.

21.) Janesville Jets, 22-23-5-4
Last Ranking: 17

Janesville allowed 16 goals over its last two games and the Jets have won just two of their last 10. Janesville is tied with Anchorage for sixth in the Midwest Division.

20.) Aberdeen Wings, 25-22-3-2
Last Ranking: 18

Aberdeen has also struggled over the past two weeks with a 3-6-1-0 showing in its last 10. The Wings were swept by red-hot North Iowa last weekend and have scored just five total goals over their last four games.

19.) Odessa Jackalopes, 25-23-1-2
Last Ranking: 14

Sticking with goal differentials, the Jackalopes own the fifth-worst mark in the league at minus-21. Odessa has allowed five goals in four of its past five games but the Jackalopes are still 5-4-0-1 in their last 10. The question is if they can keep overcoming it.

18.) Anchorage Wolverines, 23-20-6-1
Last Ranking: 16

Down two spots, Anchorage has dropped two straight and is 5-4-1-0 in its last 10. The Wolverines swept Fairbanks on March 3-4 but were swept by Minnesota last weekend.

17.) Fairbanks Ice Dogs, 26-22-6-0
Last Ranking: 15

Staying in Alaska, the Ice Dogs also drop two spots and have hit a rut in the month of March. Fairbanks is 2-6-2-0 in its last 10 and has dropped six straight. The last three have been one-goal losses.

16.) Amarillo Wranglers, 26-23-2-1
Last Ranking: 20

The Wranglers have gotten back on track and are .500 in their last 10. Amarillo skated to an impressive 6-4 win at Oklahoma last Saturday. It was just the fourth home loss of the season for the Warriors.

15.) Kenai River Brown Bears, 27-22-2-1
Last Ranking: 23

Kenai River is 6-3-1-0 in its last 10 and the Brown Bears are now tied with Chippewa for fourth in the Midwest Division. Both clubs are just one point back of Fairbanks.

14.) Northeast Generals, 28-20-4-1
Last Ranking: 13

The Generals have been a fixture near the top of the East Division all season. However, Northeast is 5-5-0-0 in its last 10 and has dropped a couple key divisional games, along with the loss to Danbury.

13.) St. Cloud Norsemen, 26-20-3-4
Last Ranking: 12

St. Cloud has won three of its last four and been one of the league’s most consistent teams over the last month. The Norsemen are 5-3-1-1 in their last 10 and are tied with North Iowa for second in the Central Division.

12.) Chippewa Steel, 27-21-1-2
Last Ranking: 22

Chippewa has points in six straight and had won five in a row before a shootout loss at Minnesota last Saturday. Goaltender Adam Gajan has won nine of his last 12 starts.

11.) North Iowa Bulls, 28-21-2-1
Last Ranking: 24

While Chippewa made one of the biggest jumps, the Bulls own the title of biggest riser up 13 spots to No. 11. North Iowa has won five straight, eight of its last 10 and the Bulls are now tied with St. Cloud for second in the Central Division.

Goaltender Mitch Day was named one of the NAHL Stars of the Week and has won five straight starts and 20 on the season.

10.) Minnesota Wilderness, 29-16-3-4
Last Ranking: 10

The Wilderness stay put after a solid 6-3-0-1 showing over their last 10. Minnesota is second in the Midwest Division, just four points behind Wisconsin. At the same time, the Wilderness hold a seven-point edge on third-place Fairbanks and are closing in on securing a playoff spot.

Kevin Marx Noren was held off the scoresheet last weekend after scoring goals in three straight games and points in six of his previous seven.

9.) New Mexico Ice Wolves, 30-19-2-1
Last Ranking: 6

The Ice Wolves fell to Lone Star last Saturday, who they will play again twice this weekend. New Mexico won three straight before Saturday’s loss but still sit fourth in the loaded South Division.

New Mexico’s 181 goals rank fourth in the NAHL and their lineup features two of the league’s top 10 goal scorers — William Howard (NAHL-leading 32) and Sully Scholle (25).

8.) New Jersey Titans, 31-17-1-2
Last Ranking: 3

The Titans are 6-4-0-0 in their last 10. At the same time, they’ve dropped four of their last six and have seen their lead dwindle in the standings.

New Jersey is now tied with Maine for second in the division with Northeast lurking just four points behind. With just nine games left on the schedule, the Titans are also closing in on a playoff spot and have been near the top all season. However, they’ll want to gain some traction heading into the postseason.

7.) Lone Star Brahmas, 32-12-2-5
Last Ranking: 7

It hasn’t been exactly pretty, but Lone Star has picked up points in eight (5-2-1-2) of its last 10. The Brahmas have also seen their lead dwindle in the standings as Shreveport is just two points behind.

Although they came away with just one point over a three-game set, the Brahmas went toe-to-toe with Oklahoma all three nights and followed it up with a win over New Mexico. Now they’ll try to build some momentum with a pair of games at New Mexico.

6.) Shreveport Mudbugs, 31-14-2-5
Last Ranking: 8

Speaking of Shreveport, the Mudbugs have an eight-game point streak (7-0-0-1) and have won six straight. Their last two wins were both shutouts and goaltender Simon Bucheler currently owns a shutout streak of 101 minutes and 29 seconds.

Bucheler was named one of the NAHL Stars of the Week. He leads the NAHL with 24 wins, ranks second in shutouts (five), and third in GAA (1.88).

5.) Maine Nordiques, 31-17-2-1
Last Ranking: 9

The Nordiques have been one of the NAHL’s hottest teams this month with five straight wins and a 9-1-0-0 showing in their last 10. Maine is now tied with New Jersey for second in the East Division. The Nordiques will host the Titans for a huge set of games this weekend.

4.) Austin Bruins, 32-13-3-5
Last Ranking: 5

The Bruins became the third team to clinch a playoff spot Saturday night, joining Maryland and Oklahoma. The Bruins are 6-3-0-1 in their last 10 and Austin has split three straight weekend series. Now they’ll look to get more wins against St. Cloud, who they swept at the end of February.

3.) Wisconsin Windigo, 33-16-1-2
Last Ranking: 4

The Windigo have won nine of their last 10 games and scored 16 goals between their last two — a sweep of Janesville. Wisconsin sits atop the Midwest Division and can clinch a playoff spot with one more win.

2.) Maryland Black Bears, 36-14-4-0
Last Ranking: 2

The Black Bears continue to sit second in the league in nearly every statistical category — only behind Oklahoma — and are currently riding a four-game win streak. Maryland has scored five or more goals in three straight games and 195 on the season.

1.) Oklahoma Warriors, 41-10-0-1
Last Ranking: 1

Oklahoma might not have the win streak to its name anymore but the Warriors still lead the way. The Warriors are 6-4-0-0 in their last 10 and lead the league in wins (41), win percentage (.798), goals scored (226) and goal differential (plus-112).

Oklahoma’s penalty kill (88.7%) is also the best in the league.