Friday Finals: East, Midwest, South Finals set after sweeps

Jordan Kaplan scored the OT-winner for New Jersey as the Titans advanced to the East Finals with a sweep of Johnstown.

Midwest Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Minnesota Magicians 2 @ Fairbanks Ice Dogs 7 (Fairbanks wins series, 3-0) - A hat trick from Fairbanks’ Cayden Cahill helped push them to a 7- 2 victory over the Minnesota Magicians. Jarrett Lee opened the scoring at 4:54 off a pass from Jake Cass to put the Magicians up 1-0. Benton Maass then scored the first Faribanks’ goal at 7:32, assisted by Hampus Eriksson and Daniel Haider. Fairbanks’ Bauer Neudecker then gave them their first lead of the game with a goal at 9:42, with the help of Eriksson and Benton Maass. Luke Orysiuk furthered the Ice Dog lead when he found the back of the net at 14:21 – assisted by Robert Blueger and Cahill -  putting them up 3-1. To close out the first, Cahill notched his first of the night – at 16:52 off a pass from Hunter Wendt and Blueger. Eriksson scored the only goal of the second, at 14:41, with help from Maass and Neudecker. The goal put Fairbanks up 5-1 after two periods of play. Cahill scored his second of the night at 9:52 of the third, again assisted by Wendt and Blueger. Cahill once again found the back of the net at 12:57, with the help of Eriksson and Marc Sullivan, to bring the Ice Dog scoring total to 7. Minnesota’s Caleb Hite closed out the game with a goal at 15:40, with help from Brendan Skarda and Cass, resulting in a final score of 7-2. In net, Erik Gordon made 29 stops for Fairbanks, while Ivan Prosvetov and Jake Acton made 10 and 18 saves, respectively, for the Magicians. With the win, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs advance to the Midwest Division Finals, where they will play the Janesville Jets.  Boxscore

Midwest Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Janesville Jets 4 @ Coulee Region Chill 3 (OT) (Janesville wins series, 3-0) - After two Janesville goals in the first, two Coulee Region goals in the second, and one of each in the third, a shot from the Jets gave them a 4-3 OT victory, securing a spot in the Midwest Division Finals. Peter Bates scored early, at 0:55 of the first period, off a pass from Kip Hoffmann and Cullen Munson, to give the Jets an early lead. Jakov Novak extended the lead at 15:17, assisted by Ian Malcolmson and Tanner Polglaze, to end the first period 2-0, Janesville. To start the second, Justin Kendall scored at 1:12 to give the Chill their first goal, assisted by Marshal Plunkett and Caleb Schroer. Isaac Theisen followed up with a goal at 13:33 to tie the game – with help from Cale List and Kendall. Going into the third period, the Jets and Chill each had two goals. Hoffmann wasted no time, finding the back of the net at 1:09 of the third – off a pass from Munson and Peter Bates -  to give Janesville the lead. Joey Sofo responded with a goal at 18:45, assisted by Steven Quagliata and Schroer, tying the game once again and forcing extra minutes. At 5:07 of overtime, Cole Paksus scored off a pass from Michael Maloney and Jack Gates to give Janesville the victory. Janesville’s Jacon Barczewski stopped 36 shots on the night, while Brad Arvanitis made 40 saves for Coulee Region. With the win, the Janesville Jets will advance to the Midwest Division Finals, where they will face the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Boxscore

South Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Lone Star Brahmas 4 @ Wichita Falls Wildcats 3 (OT) (Lone Star wins series, 3-0) - The Wichita Falls Wildcats came from behind to tie the game at 3 goals each, forcing an overtime, where the Lone Star Brahmas notched one, sending them to the South Division Finals to face the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. Aleksi Poikola scored first for the Wildcats at 15:26 of the first – assisted by Ryan Burnett and Seamus Donahue. Lone Star responded with an equalizer at 19:07 from Hunter Stanley, with help from Troy York and Carson Kelley. Brahma Drake Glover scored the lone second period goal at 12:33 to give them their first lead of the night. Kelley found the back of the net, shorthanded, to grow the Lone Star lead to two goals. A pair from Ricky Carballo – one at 10:24 and the second at 19:19 – tied the game once again. Carballo’s first goal was assisted by Ryan Orgel and CJ Walker, the second was unassisted. Austin O’Rourke scored in overtime as he tipped home a shot from the point from Simon Loof to win the series for the Brahmas. In net, Lone Star’s Max Prawdzik made 29 saves, while Evan Moyse stopped 23 shots for the Wildcats. Boxscore

East Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Aston Rebels 7 @ Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Knights 5 (Aston wins series, 3-0) - After five goals in the third period, the Aston Rebels came from behind to defeat the Wilkes/Barre-Scranton Knights, 7-5, to sweep this East Division Semi-Final. Paul Maust opened the game at 8:43 with a goal off a pass from Joey Verkerke and Paul Cimilluca to put the Knights up 1-0. Aston’s Dustin Manz retaliated at 17:54 with help from Michael Underwood, tying the game at one after the first period. Wilkes/Barre-Scranton stole the lead back early with a goal from Joe Schuler at 2:09 – with help from Cimilluca and Maust. Mike Gelatt extended the Knights lead to 2, assisted by Cimilluca and Curtis Carlson at 8:19 of the second. Drew Blackmun brought the Rebels back to within one with help from Dom Garcia and Underwood at 19:19. After two periods, the Wilkes/Barre Knights trail by one and go into the third with their playoff dreams on the line. Tim Gelatt notched one early, at 2:09 of the third, assisted by Cimilluca and Maust to bring Wilkes/Barre-Scranton’s scoring total to four. A goal from Evgeny Yakolev at 6:56 of the third to spark a scoring avalanche for Aston. Gvido Jansons then scored a hat trick in 6 minutes to give Aston their first lead of the night. Jansons’ first goal came at 10:59 off a pass from Jensen Zerban and Brennan Kapcheck, followed by a goal at 14:34 with help from Andrew Hart and Zerban. Gvido’s third goal – at 15:44 – was also assisted by Kapcheck and Zerban. Mike Gelatt notched his second of the night to bring the Knights back within one – assisted by Jimmy Elser and Matt Kidney. With 17 seconds remaining in regulation, Aston’s Kapcheck scored an unassisted, empty net goal to secure the 7-5 victory.  Aston’s Mareks Mitens and Jack Leavy made 8 saves each, while Grant Valentine stopped 18 shots for Wilkes/Barre-Scranton. With the win, the Aston Rebels advance to the East Division Finals, where they will face the New Jersey Titans. Boxscore

East Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Johnstown Tomahawks 2 @ New Jersey Titans 3 (OT) (New Jersey wins series, 3-0) - The New Jersey Titans scored two early goals, but the Johnstown Tomahawks kept their playoff dreams alive by forcing an OT period, New Jersey  scored at 1:51 of the period to send the New Jersey Titans to the East Division Finals. Anthony Cusanelli scored the first goal of the game, at 11:06 of the first period, unassisted. Todd Goehring scored five minutes later  off a pass from Oskar Stromberg – at 15:29 – to give the Titans an early lead after the first period. Johnstown’s Joshua Norman, with help from Daniil Bokun and Roman Kraemer, scored the only second period goal, at 6:07, to bring them within one and end with a 2-1 score after two periods. Dalton Hunter tied the game with a Tomahawk’s goal at 14:19, assisted by Thomas Hom and Brandon Young. With a tie game after regulation, Jordan Kaplan notched one at 1:51 off a pass from Dylan Healey and Cusanelli to give the Titans the victory. In net, Ryan Ferland made 26 saves for New Jersey, while Johnstown’s Drew Hotte made 33 stops. With the win, the New Jersey Titans advance to the East Division Finals, where they will face the Aston Rebels. Boxscore

Central Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Minnesota Wilderness 4 @ Brookings Blizzard 2 (Minnesota leads series, 2-1) - After a scoreless first period, the Minnesota Wilderness scored twice in the third to come out on top, taking the series lead, 2 games to 1. Brendan Stanko opened the game with a goal at 1:54 of the second period, off a pass from Brandon Kruse and Nicholas Cardelli to put the Blizzard up 1-0. Minnesota responded with a goal at 5:07 from Zach Mills, with help from Jesse Farabee and Louis Roehl, to tie the game at one. Gunnar Goodmanson scored at 16:56 – assisted by Nick Altmann and Ashton Altmann – to give the lead to the Wilderness. Stanko scored again before the period ended to tie the game at two. Stanko’s second goal was assisted by Kruse and Cardelli once again. Michael Zuffante scored at 13:28 of the third to return the lead to the Wilderness, off a pass from Farabee and Tristan Rostagno. Tim Nicksic notched an open net goal at 18:43 to secure the victory. Wilderness netminder Luke Kania made 28 saves on the night, while Jake Begley racked up 34 stops for Brookings. Boxscore

Central Division Semi-Finals, Game 3: Minot Minotauros 7 @ Aberdeen Wings 1 (Aberdeen leads series, 2-1) - The Minot Minotauros grabbed an early lead on their way to a 7-1 victory over the Aberdeen Wings. Tyler Jeanson opened the game for Minot – notching one at 2:47 of the first off a pass from Nate Pionk and Zack Bross. Spencer Zweiner extended the lead after finding the back of the net at 6:34, with help from Bross and Austin Martinsen. Bross then got on the scoresheet once again with an unassisted goal at 7:18 to put the Minotauros up 3-0. Jeanson netted a second at 9:50, with help from Reid Stefanson and Bross. After an Aberdeen goal at 18:42 from Colton Fletcher – assisted by Nolan Sullivan and Colin Raver – the scoreboard reads 4-1 after twenty minutes of play. Austin Dollimer scored the only goal of the second period; at 16:46 off a pass from Zweiner. Pionk notched one of his own after a pass from Luke Davison and Miroslav Mucha at 10:33 of the third period to extend the Minot lead to 5 goals. Zweiner closed out the game with his second goal of the night – coming 16:00 into the third, assisted by Charles Weiand. Austin Park made 32 saves on the night for Minot, while Aberdeen’s Forbes Ploszaj stopped 24 shots. With the win, the Minotauros force a Game 4 and keep their Championship dreams alive. Boxscore