Nate’s Puck Notes: Centennial at Rogers

ROGERS– Prep Hockey Minnesota was in Rogers last to witness the Centennial Cougars get a come from behind victory 5-3 over the Royals of Rogers. See who my four stars were and more.

FOUR STARS

Leo Troje, Goalie, Centennial (2021)

Troje came in under his GAA and just allowed three goals last night against the Royals. He rebounded after allowing 7 goals against Chaska and had 25 saves on 28 shots on goal. Take away that game against the Hawks, and Troje has had an nice last five games going into sections starting next week in which the Cougars will play Osseo.

Cal Levis, Forward, Rogers (2020)

Levis looked to be the best passer on the Royals side of the ice last night. He scored 2 pts (one goal, one assist) against the Cougars defensemen. I would said Levis was the biggest force to be reckoned with if I’m watching Rogers going into sections, as he’s got the best shots on goal percentage and the most assists on the Rogers roster.

Connor Thompson, Forward, Centennial (2021)

If you’re sliding down the ice downhill, Thompson is the guy you want with the puck. The kid is not a greedy player and has 20 points this season, with 12 of them being assists. Not a super threat as far as stats go, but his multi assists games have showed over the last tail end of the season which is a sign Thompson is getting more crisp passes, to his scoring Cougar teammates.

Game MVP:

AJ Carls, Forward, Centennial (2022)

The young buck of this Centennial forwards attack is my game MVP last night. Carls all season has shown his dominance on this Cougars team and is a extreme weapon when he has the puck past his opponent’s blue line. His 80% shots on goal percentage is outstanding for a young sophomore. Carls shows why although the record may not show it, this Centennial team is better than the 13-12 record they possess. Carls with two goals, and one assist put together one of the nicer performances I’ve seen in this short hockey season we have.

PUCK TAKES

Best Hits: AJ’s older brother, Tommy Carls (2020) sure knows how to lay the wood on the open ice as he really made Rogers pay on one right in the middle of the ice that made Rogers fans cringe but also made them angry, as big defensemen Sam Munson (2020) of the Cougars laid out Rogers forward Grant Greni (2021) for another big one. Rogers was not a team that really I saw lay the wood despite having a similar record as the Cougars from Centennial. That has to be a little concerning going into sections, as they will get 4th seed St. Cloud who has August Falloon, Luke Johnson, and Blake Keller leading the charge from the boys from the 320.

Rogers (12-11-1) will finish their regular season up tomorrow against the bottom of the Lake Conference in Hopkins (7-15) as the battle of Royals will be won Saturday at Rogers Ice Arena. Jake Renier leads Hopkins with 30 points this season.

Centennial (13-12) will likely face Osseo (11-13) in sections, but that is still TBD as their section has not come out yet.