NAHL teams show parity, skill and excitement on Day 2 of Showcase
Yale recruit Hayden Rowan (top) is having a great Showcase for the undefeated Johnstown Tomahawks, while Grayson Gavin (bottom) celebrates his game-winning goal in overtime for Minot on Thursday.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 vs. Aberdeen 1 – Colt Hanks made 36 saves to lead the Knights to a close 2-1 win over the Wings. After a scoreless 1st period, the Knights got on the board late in the 2nd period on a shorthanded goal by Joseph Campolieto. Aberdeen tied the game midway through the 3rd period on a goal from Dennis Bernhardtz. With just under a minute remaining in regulation, Mike Gelatt netted the game-winner for the Knights. Arrtu Kulmala made 16 saves in the loss for the Wings. Boxscore
Corpus Christi 4 vs. MN Magicians 3 (OT) – Brad Power completed a hat-trick with a goal 1:51 into overtime as the IceRays picked up a 4-3 win on Day 2 over the Magicians. Corpus Christi jumped ahead 2-0 with 1st period goals from Mason Krueger and Power’s first goal. The Magicians tied things at 2-2 with a 2nd period goal from Nathan Nelsen and a 3rd period goal from Nikita Kozyrev. Power added his second goal midway through the 3rd period only to see Tanner Tweten tie the game late in the 3rd period. Tomas Vomacka picked up the win making 35 saves, while David Fessenden took the loss, making 32 saves. Boxscore
Bismarck 5 @ Aston 3 – The Bobcats picked up their first win of the Showcase thanks to two goals from Matt Berry in a 5-3 win over the Rebels. After an opening goal from the Rebels Chris Gratton, the Bobcats scored four straight including two from Barry and others from Joseph Sardina and Nick Alexander. Aston cut the lead to 4-3 early in the 3rd period with goals from Ryan Solomon and Andrew Bellant, but an empty-net goal late in the game from Parker Mismash seeled the win. Camden Haugenoe made 23 saves in the win. Boxscore
Odessa 6 vs. Northeast 4 – Jaden Anderson had two goals and an assist to lead the Jackalopes to a 6-4 win over the Generals. After an opening goal from Evan Somoza of the Generals, Odessa scored three straight goals from Anderson, Bastien Maia and Chris Donaldson. The teams traded goals in the 2nd period with Anthony Tzveyn scoring for Northeast and Ryan MacKellar answering for Odessa. In the 3rd period Jake Levin and Anderson scored for the Jacks, while Aaron Murray scored both Northeast goals. Boxscore
Austin 3 vs. Fairbanks 2 (OT) – Austin handed Fairbanks their first loss of the season as they got 39 saves from Jake Kucharski in a 3-2 overtime win. Austin jumped ahead 2-0 through two periods with goals from Dan Petrick in the 1st period and Logan Haskings in the 2nd period. Fairbanks stormed back in the 3rd period with goals from Dean Hewines and Dan Haider to tie the game at 2-2. In overtime, Jan Stefka went coast-to-coast and ripped a slap shot from the high slot past Fairbanks goalie CJ Boothe for the win. Boxscore
Johnstown 3 vs. MN Wilderness 0 – Vinnie Purpura stopped all 22 shots that came his way as the Tomahawks moved to 2-0 at the Showcase and 4-0 overall with a 3-0 win over the Wilderness. The eventual game-winning goal came just :24 seconds into the game as Thomas Horn scored for the Tomahawks. Filips Buncis added the second goal later in the 1st period and Hayden Rowan added an empty-net goal late in the 3rd period. Luke Kania made 32 saves in the losing effort for the Wilderness. Boxscore
Topeka 7 vs. Coulee Region 3 – Mike Rockwell made 45 saves and defenseman Ryan Dickinson had three points as the RoadRunners moved to 2-0 at the Showcase with a 7-3 win over the Chill. It was almost all Topeka in the 1st period as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead with goals from Peyton Frantti, DJ Busdeker, Jack Nickels and Marcus Russell. Other goals for Topeka came from Dickinson and Alec Frye in the 2nd period and Marshall Bowery in the 3rd period. The Chill scored a goal in each period including a 1st period goal from Joey Sofo, a 2nd period goal from Alex Falconer and a 3rd period goal from Larry Jungwirth. Boxscore
Springfield 3 vs. Wichita Falls 1 – Josh Sarlo made 28 saves to lead the Jr. Blues to a 3-1 win over the Wichita Falls Wildcats on Day 2 of the Showcase. After a scoreless 1st period, it was the Wildcats getting on the board first courtesy of Ryan Burnett’s 5th goal of the season. Less than three minutes later in the period, Springfield tied the game with a goal from Brennan Blaszczak. The game-winning goal was scored late in the 2nd period from Michael Modgson. Matt Long added a goal early in the 3rd period to put the game out of reach. Evan Moyse made 24 saves in the loss for the Wildcats. Boxscore
Amarillo 3 vs. New Jersey 0 – Nikita Babintsev stopped all 39 shots that came his way as the Bulls moved to 2-0 at the Showcase with a 3-0 shutout of the Titans, who fell to 0-2 at the event. The Bulls scored in each period, which included a 1st period power play goal from George Mika, a 2nd period goal from Kosta Likourezos and a 3rd period tally from Jonathan Dagnal. New Jersey goalie Brandon Bussi took the loss, making 29 saves. Boxscore
Brookings 3 vs. Kenai River 2 (OT) – The Blizzard fought off a furious comeback attempt by the Brown Bears and converted on a power play in overtime to win in overtime, 3-2. The Blizzard jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 1st period goals from Jake Tesarowski and Chase Brand. Kenai River was able to tie the game thanks to a 2nd period goal from Evan Butcher and a 3rd period goal from Chad Lopez. In overtime, the Brown Bears were whistled for too many men on the ice and Cade Bordchardt made them pay with a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle. Nick Althaus made 34 saves in the win, while Bailey Seagraves making 45 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Minot 2 vs. Lone Star 1 (OT) – Eric Dop made 38 saves and Grayson Gavin scored just over three minutes into overtime as the Minotauros edged the Brahmas on Day 2, 2-1. The game was scoreless through two periods thanks to great netminding by both goalies. Minot took a 1-0 lead early in the 3rd period on a goal from Alex Adams. Later in the period, Austin O’Rourke tied the game for the Brahmas, setting up overtime and the winner by Gavin, who poked home a loose rebound past Austin Smith, who made 28 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Janesville 6 vs. Shreveport 5 – The Jets scored four times in the 3rd period to come from behind and defeat the Mudbugs on Day 2, 6-5. The teams were even at 2-2 through the 1st period with Frankie Melton and Gabe Wahl scoring for Shreveport and Tystan Isenhour and Cole Paskus answering for the Jets. The Mudbugs went up one with a 2nd period goal from Steven Mather. The Jets then rattled off four straight goals to start the 3rd period including two from Jack Gates and others from Michael Maloney and Jack Vincent. Shreveport made a game of it with two late goals in the 3rd period from Steven Mather and Erik Zohovs, but could not get the equalizer. Boxscore
