Blaine at Elk River
7 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14

Blaine faces Elk River Saturday night at Elk River Ice Arena in an important meeting with implications on Class 2A, Section 5 seeding and the race for first place in the Northwest Suburban Conference North Division crown.

The Bengals (12-2-0, 4-1-0) begin the week as the No. 2-ranked team in the Class 2A coaches’ poll. After a disappointing week leading up to the winter break that saw Blaine lose two of three contests, the Bengals have won six straight, including a 5-2 win over Eden Prairie at Fogerty Arena on Dec. 23.

Blaine senior forward Riley Tufte, a Minnesota-Duluth commit and projected first-round pick in this summer’s NHL draft, already has 23 goals and 40 points in 13 games this season. The 6-foot-5 forward is averaging more than three points per game.

The No. 7-2A Elks (9-4-1, 3-1-1) held their own in the Sports Authority Holiday Hockey Classic at the St. Louis Park Rec Center in late December, defeating No. 15-2A Prior Lake and No. 10-2A Lakeville North and battling No. 1-2A Benilde-St. Margaret’s in a 3-2 loss.

Returning to action in the new year, Elk River crushed Andover 7-1 at home Tuesday in it’s only action last week. Leading up to the clash with Blaine on Saturday, Elk River hits the road to face No. 16-1A Totino-Grace (Tuesday) and No. 16-2A Anoka (Thursday).

Junior forward Jensen Zerban leads the Elks with 13 goals and 27 points through 14 games while Max Michaelis is close behind with 11 goals and 22 points. They are the only Elk River players with double-digit goal totals.