Preview: Brewers face elimination of Friday night

It’s the first elimination game in NHSL history.

With just three weeks to go in a historic debut season for the NHSL we have our first true “must-win” game.

If the Brewers fall to the Stars on Friday night in regulation it’s all over. They won’t be able to pass the other two teams on points or hold any of the tiebreakers.

If the Stars fall to the Brewers in regulation, they would need a regulation win over the Xtreme on February 11 and then the Xtreme to beat the Brewers in regulation the following week.

If the game goes to overtime? Well…welcome to the land of NHSL chaos where any one of the three teams could finish first or be eliminated.

And chaos is what we should expect from the Noarlunga Stars and the Port Adelaide Brewers. Their three games so far have been epic.

In the first encounter – the debut game of the NHSL – the Port Adelaide Brewers scored a shorthanded goal with under three minutes to go to force overtime. They won that game with just three seconds left on the clock.

In the second meeting Stars goalie Glen Forbes-White stood on his head. He weathered a Port storm and stopped 42 pucks in a crucial Stars’ win.

The third clash? History in all aspects of the word. The Stars raced out to a 7-0 lead at the midway point of the second period. Then they lost the game. That’s right…they LOST the game. The Brewers scored seven unanswered, forced overtime and won in a shootout.

With their backs against the wall last week, the Stars defeated the Adelaide Xtreme 5-4 in a very entertaining game of hockey.

Here we are set for the most important NHSL game to date.

You know the stakes so let’s take a look at five things we’re keeping our eyes on.

1. Yoann Levesque’s hot streak: The Stars’ forward has at least three points in his last four games. He scored four goals the last game vs. the Brewers. Overall, Leveque has 15 points in just 6 games to have a commanding lead in the NHSL scoring race.

2. Special Teams: Both teams have struggled on the power play this season. The Brewers are just 4-41 while the Stars are 4-45. Elimination games are decided by small margins. Watch for who converts the power play opportunities.

3. Brewers defense: They’ve conceded 20 goals over the past three games. Somehow they’ve won two of them. That will need to be cleaned up before the next game.

4. Brewers scoring: On the other hand, the Brewers have scored 20 goals the past three games. They’re getting contributions from all three main lines that they role. That does not need to change. They’re a serious scoring threat from any line that’s on the rink.

5. Physicality: Will the physical play increase even more? It’s already a step up from the AIHL and the local competitions. How will the younger players respond to increased physicality you would expect in a desperation game like this?

It should be fun. Get your tickets at www.bit.ly/NHSLTickets