Friday Finals: Knights beat 1st place Titans
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 6 @ New Jersey 3 – Paul Maust scored twice as the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights defeated 1st place New Jersey on the road, 6-3. It was all Knights from the get go. Steven Kelly opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal in the 1st period and Maust along with goals from Matt Beranek and Pontus Okerblad also scored to make it 4-0 towards the end of the 2nd period. New Jersey mounted a comeback with three straight goals from Raymond Brice, Darren Brady and Jesse Farabee, but the Knights added two late empty-net goals from Maust and Tanner Bennett to put the game away. Grant Valentine made 18 saves in the win, while Spencer Wright made 29 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Amarillo 4 @ Odessa 7 – The Jacks won for the second time in as many nights over the Bulls thanks to an offensive explosion of seven goals, which included a hat-trick from Eric Carreras. After the Bulls struck early in the 1st period on a goal from Charlie Singerhouse, The Jacks scored six straight to take a 5-1 lead, which included three from Carreras and two from Hampus Sjodahl and one from Zach Zech. The Bulls tried to climb back in the game with three straights goals from George Mika, Nicholas Santoro and Joey Molinaro, but a late goal from Oliver Celec, put the game on ice. Dean Shatzer made 31 saves in the win, while Jacob Weatherly took the loss with nine saves before being lifted. Boxscore
Janesville 2 @ Springfield 5 – The Jr. Blues scored the last five goals of the game to erase an early Janesville lead and beat the Jets, 5-2. The Jets jumped out to an early 2-0 lead early in the 2nd period on goals from Adam Roeder and Martin Sundberg. The Jr. Blues comeback started midway through the 2nd period as they got goals from Anthony Scarsella, Joey Lupo and Hunter Schneider to take a 3-2 lead to the lockerroom. In the 3rd period, goals from Brady Tomlak and Jeff Skinner secured the win. Niko Della Maggorie made 38 saves in the win, while Blake Weyrick took the loss, making 27 saves. Boxscore
MN Magicians 5 @ Bismarck 2 – The Magicians scored four, 3rd period goals on their way to a 5-2 win in Bismarck, which snapped a three-game skid for Minnesota. Bismarck took a 1-0 lead on a 1st period goal from Alex Strand. Casey Jerry answered back in the 2nd period for the Magicians to tie the game at 1-1, but before the period was out, Tobias Fladeby scored to make it 2-1 for the Bobcats heading into the 3rd period. In the final frame, early goals from Owen Larson and Rico Ratajczyk, gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead, which was capped off with two goals late in the period, including another from Ratajczyk and one from Peter Karavos to secure the win. Drew Hotte made 22 saves to win his NAHL debut, while David Fessenden made 16 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Minot 3 @ MN Wilderness 2 – The Minotauros stayed hot with a big 3-2 road win in Cloquet against a resurging Wilderness team. Minot got off to the start they wanted as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead, which included a 1st period goal from Sam Fuss and 2nd period goals from Austin Martinsen and Johnny Walker. The Wilderness mounted a comeback later in the 2nd period with goals from Ashton Calder and Tyler Cline, but could not find the equalizer in the 3rd period. Lucas Murray picked up the win for Minot, making 26 saves and Chase Munroe took the loss for the Wilderness, making 26 saves. Boxscore
Johnstown 6 @ Kenai River 1 – Andrew Romano scored twice and added an assist as the Tomahawks handed the Brown Bears their 10th straight loss in a 6-1 road win on Friday. Romano opened the scoring in the 1st period and then the Tomahawks scored four more times in the 2nd period, which included goals from Drew Doyon, Luke Lynch, Steven Quagliata and Kelly O’Brien. Romano added his second of the game in the 3rd period on another power play strike. The lone Brown Bears goal was scored midway through the 2nd period by Justin Bofshever. Nick DeSimone was solid in the win, making 35 saves. Brian Baker made 31 saves and took the loss. Boxscore
Aston 0 @ Fairbanks 5 – Gavin Nieto stopped all 30 shots that came his way for his second shutout of the season as the Ice Dogs blanked the Rebels 5-0 on Friday. The Ice Dogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 1st period goals from Ryner Gorowsky and Cayden Cahill. Todd Burgess then scored back-to-back goals in the 2nd and 3rd period and Liam Stirtzinger added a late power play goal in the 3rd period to cap off the scoring. Josef Ingman ended up with a pair of helpers for Fairbanks. Trevor Micucci got the start in goal for the Rebels and made 33 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Wichita Falls 2 @ Lone Star 1 (OT) – Rourke Russell scored 1:43 into overtime to lead the Wichita Falls Wildcats to a 2-1 overtime road win against the Lone Star Brahmas. It was the Brahmas who would get on the board first and early in the game as Bud Madej scored his first goal of the season less than four minutes in. It took until late in the 3rd period for the Wildcats to break through, but they finally did via a shorthanded goal from Austin Beaulieu. Russell’s game-winner came from a broken play in the low slot as he slapped home a shot past Brahmas goalie Conor O’Brien. Justin Kapelmaster was solid again in the win, making 25 saves, while O’Brien made 19 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Austin 3 @ Aberdeen 1 – Kris Carlson made 16 saves as the Bruins ramped up their offense in a 3-1 road win in Aberdeen on Friday. The Bruins took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period with a power play goal from Dawson DiPietro. The Bruins lead increased to 2-0 with a 2nd period goal from Jan Stefka. The Wings struck back later in the 2nd period for their only goal of the night, which came from Kevin Fitzgerald. Gilbert Gabor capped off a multi-point game with a late 3rd period empty-net goal to secure the win. Wings goalie Peter Thome also played well in the loss, making 35 saves. Boxscore
