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NAHL Robertson Cup Preview

By Chris Dilks

The North American Hockey League will decide their league championship this weekend at Braemar Arena in Edina, Minnesota, with the winner taking home the league's Robertson Cup.

Playing on the final weekend are each of the league's four division winners, all four of whom finished atop their respective divisions in the regular season, and survived a pair of best-of-five playoff series:

Central Division: Bismarck Bobcats

East Division: Aston(PA) Rebels

Midwest Division: Fairbanks Ice Dogs

South Division: Wichita Falls Wildcats

Play begins on Thursday with Fairbanks taking on Aston in a best-of-three series in one semifinal, while Bismarck takes on Wichita Falls in the other best-of-three semifinal. The two semifinal winners will meet on Sunday for a winner-take-all championship game to decide the title.

Here is the complete schedule for this weekend:

Thursday, May 12th: Game 1, #1 Fairbanks vs. #4 Aston, 4:30pm; Game 1, #2 Wichita Falls vs. #3 Bismarck, 7:30pm
Friday, May 13th: Game 2, #1 Fairbanks vs. #4 Aston, 4:30pm; Game 1, #2 Wichita Falls vs. #3 Bismarck, 7:30pm
Saturday, May 14th: Game 3, #1 Fairbanks vs. #4 Aston, 3:00pm*; Game 1, #2 Wichita Falls vs. #3 Bismarck, 6:00pm*
*if necessary
Sunday, May 15th: Robertson Cup National Championship Game, 1:00pm

And ticket information:

Tickets for the event are available at the door and are $40 for a Tournament pass (all games) or $15 for a daily pass (all games that day).  Children ages 8-18 and Groups of 10 or more are $10 for a daily pass and kids 8 and under are free. All seating is general admission.

Here's a little bit about the teams that will be playing this weekend:

Aston Rebels

35-21-4, Def. Wilkes-Barre 3-0, Def. Johnstown 3-0

Top Goalie: Darion Hanson, 2.28/.917, Committed to Union

Top Scorer: Michael Merulla, 24-31-55 in 48 games, Uncommitted

Bismarck Bobcats

37-19-4, Def. Alexandria 3-1, Def. Austin 3-2

Top Goalie: Hunter Shepard, 1.90/.926, Committed to Minnesota Duluth

Top Scorer: Aaron Herdt, 19-33-52 in 57 games, Uncommitted

Fairbanks Ice Dogs

49-8-3, Def. Coulee Region 3-1, Def. MN Wilderness 3-2

Top Goalie: Gavin Nieto, 1.71/.929, Committed to Brown

Top Scorer: Todd Burgess, 38-57-95 in 60 games, Committed to RPI

Wichita Falls Wildcats

44-11-3, Def. Odessa 3-0, Def. Topeka 3-0

Top Goalie: Justin Kapelmaster, 2.06/.924, Committed to Ferris State

Top Scorer: Austin Albrecht, 26-34-60 in 58 games, Uncommitted