MIDWEEK PREVIEW: WOODSMEN at MUSTANGS

The Wisconsin Woodsmen kick off their 2026-27 season on the road this weekend, heading to Peoria, Ill., for a pair of games against the Peoria Mustangs at the Owens Center. Puck drop is slated for 6 p.m. on Friday and 5:30 p.m. the following evening

WISCONSIN WOODSMEN

• Links: Home | Roster | Stats: Player * Goalie | Schedule
• 2025-26 Final Record: 19-24-2-2 Overall (5th, 42 Pts)

PEORIA MUSTANGS

• Links: Home | Roster | Stats: Player * Goalie | Schedule
• 2026-27 Record: 2-0-0-0 Overall (1st, 4 Pts)

LIVE ON THE WEB:

• Streaming Video: Click Here
• Tickets: Click Here
• NA3HL Links: Home *  Standings * Schedule * Scoreboard

WOODSMEN-MUSTANGS * LAST MEETING:

• Feb. 13, 2026: Woodsmen 6, Mustangs 2
• Oct. 14, 2026: Woodsmen 6, Mustangs 3
• Series history: Woodsmen lead series 21-2-1-0

WOODSMEN * LAST ACTION:

• March 6, 2026: Woodsmen 2, Power 1
• March 7, 2026: Power 6, Woodsmen 2

MUSTANGS * LAST ACTION:

• Sept. 5, 2026: Mustangs 8, Cyclones 3
• Sept. 6, 2026: Mustangs 4, Cyclones 3

WOODSMEN SCOUTING REPORT:

• FOR THE RECORD: The Woodsmen head into their season-opening weekend games against the Peoria Mustangs on the heels of a 19-24-2-2 record in 2025-26, good for 42 points and a fifth-place showing in the NA3HL Central Division standings.
• LAST TIME OUT: the Woodsmen closed out their season a year ago with a split against NA3HL regular-season champion West Bend Power. Wisconsin beat the Power 2-1 on March 6, before dropping the season finale 6-2 the following evening.
• ROAD WARRIORS: The Woodsmen closed out the 2025-26 season playing five of their final six regular-season games on the road, the lone home game in that stretch the March 7 season finale against the West Bend Power. … Wisconsin collected 10 of its 19 wins last season on its home ice, going 10-11-0-2 at the Tomah Ice Center, while owning a 9-13-2-0 mark on the road.
• STREAKING: Wisconsin put together four three-game winning streaks last season. On the flip side, with their 3-2 win over the Peoria Mustangs on Nov. 7, 2025, the Woodsmen put an end to a franchise-high nine-game losing streak.
• WHITE-KNUCKLE RIDE: The Woodsmen had 14 games decided by one goal last season. 

Wisconsin has now played 34 games over the last two seasons that have been decided by one goal — including 20 that have gone into overtime and six decided in a shootout. … Wisconsin lost both of its shootouts last season, falling to the Minnesota Moose on Nov. 15 and to the St. Louis Jr. Blues on Feb. 7.

• TURNING UP THE HEAT: The Woodsmen erupted for a season-high 13 goals in routing the Pelham Power on Dec. 14, 2025. The 13 goals were one shy of the single-game franchise record of 14, set in a 14-0 whitewashing of the Minnesota Loons on Jan. 26, 2024. 
• TURNING UP THE HEAT II: Wisconsin peppered the Peoria Mustangs’ net with 64 shots in its 9-1 win over the Mustangs on Nov. 8, 2025. The 64 shots on goal were a season-high, and the most since recording 67 shots against Peoria on Oct. 19, 2024.
• TURNING UP THE HEAT III: The Woodsmen scored six or more goals in a game 11 times last season, and have netted 6+ goals in a game 21 times over the last two seasons.
• PUTTING UP ZEOES: The Woodsmen posted back-to-back shutouts against the Peoria Mustangs on Jan. 30-31, 2026, marking the first time in program history Wisconsin has not allowed a goal in back-to-back games. … Wisconsin posted four total shutouts last season.
• COMING UP EMPTY: The Woodsmen’s 4-0 loss to the Wausau Cyclones on Oct. 24, 2025 marked the only time they were held without a goal last season. The last time Wisconsin had been shut out came in a 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Moose on Dec. 6, 2024.
• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Ty Paulios led the team with 21 goals last season, five more than Parker Holloway, who was second on the squad with 16 goals. Tyler Osborne was the only other Woodsmen to reach double figures in goals, sitting with 13, while Josh Kauppinen and Brandon Slasor were one goal shy of joining the 10+ goal club.
• FRANCHISE BEST: Maxim Lazo’s four goals in Wisconsin’s 6-4 win over the West Bend Power on Oct. 3, 2025 matched his single-game career high, and equaled the franchise single-game record. … Lazo posted four-goal games in each of the last two seasons, having also achieved the feat against the Mason City Toros in during the 2024-25 campaign. … Nolan Mix originally had set the program record, scoring four goals against the Minnesota Loons on Jan. 26, 2024.
• TOSSING THE HAT: Paulios’s hat trick against the Rochester Grizzlies on Nov. 22, 2025 was his second of the season a year ago, having also netted three goals against the Peoria Mustangs on Nov. 7, 2025. … Wisconsin has had a player record three or more goals in a game eight times over the last two seasons. 
• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Kauppinen closed out the year last year with a team-best 27 assists, two up on Paulios, while Brodie Mich and Slasor chipped in 23 and 20 helpers, respectively. … Osborne picked up a season-high four assists in the Woodsmen’s 7-0 win over the Bozeman Icedogs on Dec. 16, 2025 one shy of the single-game franchise record of five, set by Hunter Nelson against the Minnesota Loons on Jan. 26, 2024.
• POINT PRODUCERS: Wisconsin boasted four players who accumulated 30 or more points last season, led by Paulios with 46 (21 G, 25 A). Kauppinen was second on the team with 36 points (9 G, 27 A), while Holloway (16 G, 17 A, 33 Pts) and Osborne (13 G, 18 A, 31 Pts) also reached the 30-point plateau.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Lleyton Jaschke appeared in a team-leading 31 games in goal (1672:00), compiling a 4.09 goals-against-average and an .887 save percentage. … Jaschke stopped a team-leading 1,006 shots. … Jaschke recorded the first two shutouts of the season against the Peoria Mustangs on Jan. 30-31, 2026. He stopped 14 shots in a 6-0 win on Jan. 30, and added a 23-save performance in a 7-0 victory the following evening. … Alex Rivolta — who picked up his first and second shutouts as a Woodsmen with a six-save effort against the Pelham Prowlers on Dec. 14, 2025 and a 27-save showing against the Bozeman Icedogs two days later — boasted a team-best 2.70 GAA and .921 save percentage in 17 appearances (886:00), while Logan Blahnik has played in six games (240:00), boating a 5.00 GAA and .843 save % and Aidan Vanderweele owns a 7.60 GAA and .818 save % in three appearances (142:00). … Jaschke closed out the 2024-25 season recording 511 saves in 21 appearances, second to Steven Kelley’s team-leading 738 saves in 25 appearances.
• PROGRAM FIRSTS: The Woodsmen’s games against the Pelham Prowlers, Maine Nordiques, and Bozeman Icedogs at the NA3HL Showcase on Dec. 14-16 were the first meetings in program history.

MUSTANGS SCOUTING REPORT

• FOR THE RECORD: The Mustangs head into their weekend series against the Wisconsin Woodsmen boasting a perfect 2-0-0-0record, having swept the Wausau Cyclones in their season-opening weekend series last weekend. … Peoria finished with a 7-38-2-0 mark a year ago, good for 16 points and a sixth-place showing in the Central Division standings
• LAST TIME OUT: A year ago, the Mustangs closed out the season with a pair of NA3HL losses to the Wausau Cyclones. Last weekend, Peoria kicked off its season once again against the Cyclones — with much more favorable results. The Mustangs opened their 2026-27 campaign with an 8-3 win last Friday, before completing the season-opening sweep with a 4-3 victory the following evening.
• HOME SWEET HOME: Peoria is in the midst of a season-opening six-game homestand. After opening with two games against the Wausau Cyclones, and this weekend’s two home games against the Wisconsin Woodsmen, the Mustangs will welcome the West Bend Power to Owens Center for a pair of games next weekend, before finally hitting the road for two games against the St. Louis Jr. Blues on Oct. 2-3. … All told, Peoria plays 10 of its first 12 games on its home ice.
• LIGHTING THE LAMP: Brendon Miller, who closed out the 2025-26 season as the team’s goal-scoring leader with 25, picked up right where he left off, scoring five of the Mustangs’ 12 goals in last weekend’s sweep of the Wausau Cyclones. Landen Smith chipped in three goals against the Cyclones last weekend, while Zach Staelgraeve, Hayden Gray, Braden Hillebrand, and Breyon Maroney accounted for Peoria’s other four goals vs. Wausau. 
• LENDING A HELPING HAND: Along with his goal against Wausau last weekend, Staelgraeve also delivered a team-high five assists, one more than Grant Hubert. Gray and Max Green each collected a pair of helpers vs. the Cyclones last weekend. … Miller delivered a team-best 27 assists last season.
• POINT PRODUCERS: Miller (4 G, 1 A) and Staelgraeve (1 G, 5 A) share the team lead in points through two games with six each, while Hubert (0 G, 4 A) and Smith (3 G, 1 A) are both sitting with four points. … With his 25 goals and 27 assists, Miller closed out the year last season with a team-best 52 points.
• BETWEEN THE PIPES: Chase Vaughn and Nolan Sanderson each saw time in goal against the Wausau Cyclones last weekend. Vaughn made 32 saves (.906 save %) in Peoria’s 4-3 win last Saturday, while Sanderson posted a 30-save effort (.900 save %) the previous evening in the Mustangs’ 8-3 win the previous evening… Peoria used four different goalies a year ago, led by Jakub Stary and Charlie Maquet. Stary appeared in 22 games (1157:00), posting a 5.49 goals-against-average and .883 save percentage, while Maquet compiled a 6.47 GAA and .839 save % in 21 games (983:00).