Friday Finals: Minotauros, Bobcats win in Alaska
Bismarck Bobcats forward Ty Enns had two goals in a 5-1 win on Friday night.
Bismarck 5 @ Fairbanks 1 – Grant Johnson and Ty Enns each scored twice and Ryan Ullan made 24 saves as the Bismarck Bobcats picked up an important 5-1 road win in Fairbanks on Friday. It was all Bobcats from the get go as they scored three goals in the 1st period, including two from Johnson in the opening 6:18 of the game and another from Enns. The Bobcats made it 4-0 with a 2nd period goal from Patrick O’Connor, his first of the season. The Ice Dogs got their lone goal of the game early in the 1st period with the 1st goal of the season from Jax Murray, but Enns would add his second of the game on an empty net to secure the win. Ullan made 24 saves in the win, while Josh Benson made 18 saves in the loss.
Minot 6 @ Kenai River 3 – Miroslav Mucha scored twice to lead the Minot Minotauros to a 6-3 road win in Kenai River on Friday. Minot enjoyed a 2-1 lead after one period and 4-1 lead after two periods. Mucha scored his 9th and 10th goals of the season and other goals came from Keenan Lund in the 1st period, Andrew Kangas and Austin Dollimer in the 2nd period and Rykr Cole in the 3rd period. The Brown Bears got goals from Luke Radetic in the 1st period and Gil Garcia and Michael Spethmann in the 3rd period. Samu Lonkila made 26 saves in the win for the Minotauros, while Gavin Enright made 35 saves in the loss for Kenai River.
Amarillo 0 @ Lone Star 2 – Mitchell Gibson stopped all 22 shots that came his way for his league-tying 4th shutout of the season as the Brahmas blanked the Bulls, 2-0. Both Gibson and Bulls goalie Alexie Mansanko were perfect and on point through the first two periods, which were scoreless by both teams. The Brahmas were able to break through midway through the 3rd period on a goal from Ture Linden. Lone Star got an insurance goal later in the period from Michael Montambault to make it a 2-0 final. Mansanko would end up making 18 saves in the loss.
Shreveport 5 @ Odessa 3 – Kieran Durgan’s return to Shreveport continues to be a good one as the veteran forward scored twice to help the Mudbugs stay in a tie for 1st place in the South with a 5-3 win in Odessa. The Mudbugs got the opening goal in the 1st period from Cam Cook, two more in the 2nd period Durgan and Jake Transit and two in the 3rd period, including the game-winner from Durgan and an insurance goal from Cole Quisenberry. The Jackalopes got goals from Nick Wilson, Zach Heintz and Blake Bride, who all scored their 3rd goals of the season. James Durham picked up the win in goal for the Mudbugs, making 28 saves, while Brett Epp made 27 saves in the loss.
MN Wilderness 2 @ MN Magicians 1 – In the I-35 battle of Minnesota, the Wilderness scored two late 3rd period goals to pick up a 2-1 road win in Richfield against the Magicians. After a scoreless 1st period, the Magicians got on the board first with a 2nd period goal from Ben Schultheis, his first goal of the season. The Wilderness were able to tie the game with just over three minutes remaining in the game as Luke Dow evened the score. With just 1:22 remaining in regulation, Nikolai Lyssogor’s 1st goal of the season from the point proved to be the game-winner for the Wilderness. Trevor Micucci made 16 saves in the win, while Magicians goalie Isaiah Saville made 32 saves in the loss.
Aberdeen 5 @ Brookings 2 – The Aberdeen Wings won their 3rd straight and moved into a tie for 1st place in the Central Division with a 5-2 win in Brookings on Friday. The Wings scored the final three goals of the game, which included two, 3rd period goals from Nathan Burke. Also scoring for the Wings was Zach Noble in the 1st period and Nic Sicoly and Jonathan Bendorf in the 2nd period. The Blizzard got their goals from Vince Marino in the 1st period and Andriy Denyskin in the 2nd period. Wings goalie Gabe Vinal made 19 saves in the win, while Blizzard goalie Zach Borgiel made 30 saves in the loss.
Topeka 2 @ Corpus Christi 5 – Thanks to a four-point night from Larry Jungwirth, which included a hat-trick, the IceRays won their third straight game with a 5-2 win over the visiting RoadRunners. After an even 1st period, in which Jungwirth scored for Corpus Christi and Nick Granowicz answered for Topeka, the Ice Rays took control in the 2nd period with goals from Jungwirth and Rylee St. Onge. Jungwirth would add his third goal in the 3rd period and Matus Havrila also scored for the IceRays. Cam Kuhl had the other goal for the RoadRunners. Chad Veltri made 26 saves in the win, while Emil Gransoe made 35 saves in the loss.
Austin 1 @ Coulee Region 2 (SO) – It was a goaltending duel in La Crosse on Friday night as a 14-man shootout was needed to decide a winner as the Chill stayed hot with a 2-1 win. Both goalies were perfect until the final three minutes of regulation. The Bruins scored first with just three minutes remaining in the final period as Evan Cholak scored his 5th of the season. The Chil would answer with just :17 seconds remaining in regulation and Andrew McGlynn tied the game late. McGlynn would also score in the shootout as would Matt Hines to give the Chill the come-from-behind win and extra point. Chill goalie Josh Graziano made 31 saves in the win, while Bruins goalie Alex Schilling made 30 saves in the loss.
Springfield 3 @ Janesville 1 – Springfield goalie Evan Fear made 29 saves to lead the Jr. Blues to an important 3-1 road win in Janesville on Friday. The Jr. Blues struck first early in the opening period on a goal from Aiden Beck. The Jets answered back later in the period with their lone goal of the game, which came from Kip Hoffman. In the 2nd period, the Jr. Blues got the go-ahead goal from Jeff Skinner on the power play and in the 3rd period, Fletcher Fineman added an insurance goal with his 5th goal of the season. Jets goalie Daniel Lebedeff made 30 saves in the losing effort.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 @ Johnstown 2 (SO) – The Knights stayed hot and moved into sole possession of 1st place in the East Division thanks to a 3-2 shootout win in Johnstown on Friday. The Tomahawks got on the board first with a 1st period goal from Christian Gorscak. The Knights would answer back twice to take a 2-1 lead with a 2nd period goal from Reed Robinson and a 3rd period goal from Matthew Kidney. With time running out in regulation, the Tomahawks managed to tie the game with just 0.2 seconds remaining on the clock as Toby Sengvonxay snuck one in to send the game to extra time. After a scoreless OT, a 14-man shootout was in order as Justin Engelkes scored the deciding goal for the Knights. Christian Stoever made 26 saves in the win, while Britt League made 35 saves in the shootout loss.
New Jersey 4 @ Philadelphia 2 – Matt Ladd made 27 saves to lead the Titans to a 4-2 road win in Philadelphia on Friday night. After an opening goal early in the 1st period from the Rebels’ Kolby Vegara, the Titans answered back later in the 1st period with goals from Ryan Wheeler and Matthew Cameron to take a 2-1 lead. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Titans would score two more goals in the 3rd period, which included goals from Andrew Husted and Todd Goehring. Jensen Zerban had the other goal for the Rebels. Eli Billing took the loss in goal for Philadelphia, making 21 saves.
