Friday Finals: Shutout gives Jr. Blues a little breathing room
Kenai River 0 @ Springfield 4 – Brady Tomlak scored twice and Tommy Nappier posted his second shutout of the season as the Jr. Blues took home a 4-0 win over the visiting Brown Bears. Tomlak opened the scoring midway through the 1st period for the Jr. Blues. Springfield then added to their lead with two goals in the 2nd period from Brennan Blaszczak and another from Tomlak to make the score 3-0. Josh Bell added a 3rd period power play goal to make the final 4-0. Nappier had to make just 11 saves in the shutout win, while Magnus Lindhe made 35 saves in the Brown Bears loss. Boxscore
New Jersey 1 @ Aston 2 (OT) – In a tight defensive game, the Aston Rebels closed the gap on 1st place New Jersey thanks to a 2-1 overtime win on Friday. After a scoreless 1st period, the Rebels took the lead early in the 2nd period on a goal from Dean Balsamo. Less than a minute later the Titans tied the game at 1-1 as Andrew Durham lit the lamp on an unassisted goal. Just :15 seconds into overtime, the Rebels won a face-off deep in the Titans zone and Kristofers Bindulis ripped home a slapshot past Titans goalie Spencer Wright. Darion Hanson made 13 saves in the win, while Wright made 26 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Bismarck 0 @ Austin 1 (OT) – Kris Carlson stopped all 28 shots that came his way for his 4th shutout of the season as the Bruins won a defensive battle with the Bobcats thanks to a 1-0 overtime win in Austin. Both goalies shined through regulation as Carlson and Bismarck goalie Hunter Shepard turned away shot after shot in a battle of Central Division Top Prospects goalies. Just over three minutes overtime, Austin forward Jacob Paganelli found a loose puck in a scramble in front of Shepard to net the game-winner. Shepard played well in the OT loss, making 27 saves as Bismarck clinched a playoff spot. Boxscore
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 @ Johnstown 5 – The Tomahawks scored the final four goals of the game as they came from behind to defeat the Knights, 5-3. The Knights led 3-1 in the early in the 2nd period as they got goals from Tim Gelatt, Dmitriy Zaitsev and Zach Remers. After an opening goal from Luke Picek, the Tomahawks rallied in the 2nd period with goals from Dalton Hunter and Tommy Horn to tie the game at 3-3 at the end of two periods. In the 3rd period, goals from Casey Linkenheld and Ryan Burr secured the win for Johnstown. Andrew Lindgren made 23 saves in the win, while Grant Valentine made 26 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Fairbanks 3 @ Coulee Region 2 (OT) – The Ice Dogs fought off a late game-tying goal from the Chill that sent the game to overtime and then took just :20 seconds to win the game in the extra frame to beat the Chill, 3-2. The Ice Dogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Tyler Tomberlin and Clay Cross. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Chill tied the game in the 3rd period with two power play goals from Dominik Florian and Shane Kuzmeski. Kuzmeski’s goal came with .8 seconds remaining in regulation off a rebound to tie the game. Just :20 seconds into the overtime, Todd Burgess picked up a rebound to pot the game-winner. CJ Boothe made 31 saves in the win, while Matiss Kivlenieks made 33 saves in the loss. Boxscore
MN Wilderness 1 @ Janesville 2 (OT) – The Jets closed the gap on the Wilderness thanks to a 2-1 overtime win on Friday. The Wilderness opened the scoring in the 1st period with their lone goal of the game from Connor Bucsis. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Jets tied the game midway through the 3rd period with a power play goal from Cole Paskus. Just over two minutes into overtime, the Jets won the game thanks to a nice give-and-go play to Kip Hoffman, who slipped a shot past Wilderness goalie Chase Munroe to win the game. Jets goalie Jack LaFontaine made 29 saves in the win, while Munroe made 18 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Topeka 2 @ Amarillo 1 – Same late game dramatics led the RoadRunners picked up a 2-1 win on the road in Amarillo on Friday by a 2-1 score. The RoadRunners took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period with a goal from Shawn Brennan. Amarillo would answer back in the 2nd period with a goal from Nicholas Santoro to knot the game at 1-1. In the very late stages of the 3rd period a blocked shot led to a breakaway by Topeka forward Luka Maver, who slipped a backhand shot past Bulls goalie Anton Martinsson with just :04 seconds to go in regulation for the game-winner. Juho Niku made 31 saves in the win, while Martinsson made 31 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Wichita Falls 3 @ Corpus Christi 1 – Justin Kapelmaster made 20 saves to lead the Wildcats to a 3-1 road win in Corpus Christi in front of over 4,000 fans on Friday night. It was the IceRays who grabbed the early lead as a goal from Colton Meekhof had the IceRays ahead 1-0 after one period. The Wildcats did their damage in the 2nd period as they scored twice to take a 2-1 lead with power play goals from Noah Gilreath and Austin Albrecht. Erich Jaeger added an empty-net goal late in regulation to secure the 3-1 win as the Wildcats moved close to clinching the division title. IceRays goalie Dryden McKay played well in the loss, making 36 saves. Boxscore
Aberdeen 1 @ MN Magicians 2 (SO) – In a goaltending battle, it was Minnesota’s Daniil Gerasimov who made 40 saves to lead the Magicians to a 2-1 shootout win over the visiting Wings. The win closed the gap to two points for the 4th and final playoff spot. The Wings opened the scoring early in the 1st period with a goal from Cole Thompson. The Magicians tied the game early in the 3rd period with a goal from Jack Christensen. In the shootout, it took five shooters a side for someone to finally score as Tanner Tweeten netted the shootout winner. Aberdeen goalie Peter Thome made 35 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Odessa 4 @ Lone Star 6 – Five goals in the 2nd period and a hat-trick from newly committed Brahmas forward Alex Berardinelli led the Brahmas to a 6-4 home win over the visiting Jackalopes. After a scoreless 1st period, the 2nd period featured seven combined goals as Lone Star took a 5-2 lead thanks to two goals from Berardinelli and others from Troy York, Cameron Clarke and Carson Kelley. Berardinelli would complete the hat-trick with a power play goal in the 3rd period. Meanwhile, the Jackalopes got a hat-trick from leading scorer Hampus Sjodahl, who scored three of the four goals for the Jacks. The other goal came from Brennen Miller. Boxscore
Brookings 3 @ Minot 5 – The Minotauros took back sole possession of 1st place in the Central Division thanks to a four-point night from Matt Jennings in a 5-3 win. Brookings led 2-0 after a pair of goals midway through the 1st period from Kane Durment. The Minotauros would respond with five straight goals, which included back-to-back goals from Jennings to close out the 1st period with the teams tied at 2-2. In the 2nd period, the Minotauros took a 5-2 lead with three more goals from Grayson Gavin, Max Reisinger and Zack Bross. Zach Mitchell had the other goal for the Blizzard. Gunner Rivers made 32 saves in the win, while Jacob Gwillim made 25 saves in the loss. Boxscore
