West Bend, WI – The West Bend Power are starting the playoffs against instate archrival, the Oregon Tradesmen in a best of three game series. Game one of takes place Friday, March 8 at 7:30pm at the Kettle Moraine Ice Center. Game two is March 9 at the Oregon Ice Arena with a 7:30pm puck drop. If a game three is needed, it will be back at Kettle Moraine Ice Center on March 10 starting at Noon.
There will be a pregame party for game one starting at 5pm. Food will be available for purchase from the Great Outdoors Supper Club at $12 per plate. Fans can select from Philly Cheesesteak with chips, a pork ribeye sandwich with chips and Alfredo or marinara pasta with garlic bread. Macaroni and cheese sides are also available for $3. Beverages will be available.
First Round Flair
Even with a program record of 32 wins during the 2023-24 regular season, the playoffs are a complete reset. This is not lost on Power General Manager Jeremy Ebert. “The playoffs are a brand-new season,” Ebert said. “Nothing else matters from the past, we all start at 0-0 and we need to be ready to go.”
Across the Aisle
The Oregon Tradesmen took the third seed in the Central Division, finishing with a 32-14-1-0 record and 35 points. West Bend and Oregon tied 4-4 on the season series.
The backbone of the Tradesmen is their goaltending tandem consisting of Tyler Fromolz and Dylan Posch. Holding down the fort for his second season in Oregon, Fromolz has won eight of his last ten starts going back to Dec. 23 in Tomah. Fromolz backstopped the Tradesmen in last year’s playoffs with his 5-1 record, which helped Oregon beat the Power. A rookie from Mount Prospect, IL, Posch has been steady when called upon. Posch is 5-0 in his last five starts, providing a quality secondary goaltending option.
However, Oregon’s offense cannot be overlooked. Tyler Steuck provides plenty of firepower for his squad, notching a team high 20 goal through 44 regular season games. Steuck is routinely on a line with Jordan Larkee, who averaged just under an assist per game, putting up 44 in 47 games played. A third player and emerging star in his last year of eligibility, Bryce Stensrud has an interesting story. Stensrud played in Illinois’ Scholastic Hockey League, the highest high school division in the state. During his four years at Carmel Catholic High School, Stensrud led the Corsairs in assists all four seasons on Varsity putting up 96 in 134 career high school games.
Broadcast Information
Frank Zawrazky is on the mic for March 8’s game against the Oregon Tradesmen with a 7:30pm CST puck drop. If needed, Frank will have the call for March 10’s game three at noon. All games this season, including March 9’s road game in Oregon, are streaming on NAHLTV. For those unable to stream, Frank is running his Instagram Live Face Cam Broadcast, which starts at March 1 at 7:30pm on Instagram @Frank.Zawrazky.
