White Bear Lake at Stillwater
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 9

St. Croix Valley Rec Center in Stillwater will host Saturday night's primetime matchup between the host Ponies and White Bear Lake.

It’s a game that features two contenders in the race for the Suburban East Conference title and seeding in Class 2A, Section 4. 

The No. 5-2A Ponies (11-1, 6-0) have been the most impressive team in the section and conference, where they hold a slight lead over the Bears (7-5, 6-2) heading into this week.

Stillwater continues to score goals in droves, led by a talented and productive trio of junior forwards who all have double digits through 12 games. Luke Manning leads the team with 14 goals and 29 points while Noah Cates is the points leader with 30, including 13 goals, and TJ Saggisor has 11 goals and 19 points.

Josh Benson continues to be steady in goal for the Ponies. He has 10-1-0 record with a 2.10 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.

White Bear Lake took its lumps last week with a shutout loss at home to Blaine and lopsided road loss to Edina. However, those nonconference games are no concern for the Bears, who enter the week still very much a factor in the race for the Suburban East title.