Friday Finals: Jr. Blues, Magicians punch playoff tickets
Aberdeen Wings head coach Scott Langer is mobbed by his team after a 3-1 win on Friday, which gave the Wings head coach his 500th NAHL win.
Springfield 6 @ Kenai River 2 - For the first time since 2013, the Springfield Jr. Blues are headed to the postseason. They clinched their ticket to the 2018 Robertson Cup playoffs in convincing fashion as they took down the Kenai River Brown Bears 6-2. Max Brainin led all skaters with three points, two goals and an assist. Brandon Puricelli also netted two goals in the win. Fabio Hollenstein had a goal and an assist while Nick Schultze also found the back of the net. Jurja Ovecka picked up the win in the crease as he made 29 saves. Alex Klekotka and Filip Karlsson scored for Kenai River.
Coulee Region 2 @ MN Magicians 4 - The Minnesota Magicians are back into the playoffs after securing a 4-2 win over the Coulee Region Chill. Calvin Dybicz scored twice and assisted on another goal as he led all skaters with three points. Jarrett Lee had a goal and an assist while Carter Wagner also scored for the Magicians. Isaiah Saville turned aside 26 shots. Brandon Koch had a goal and an assist, Hunter Canestra also lit the lamp. Emil Zetterquist stopped 21 shots for the Chill.
Aberdeen 3 @ Brookings 1 - Aberdeen has now won six in a row as they defeated the Brookings Blizzard 3-1, it was head coach Scott Langer’s 500th victory. Jonathan Bendorf was unstoppable as he scored a pair of goals and added an assist on the other Wings goal. Nathan Burke lit the lamp as well. Matt Vernon was fantastic in between the pipes as he stopped 21 of 22 shots. Max Sasson was the lone goal scorer for the Blizzard. Adam Brizgala made 34 saves in net for Brookings.
Northeast 2 @ Johnstown 3 (OT) - Ben Schmidling’s goal in overtime lifted the Johnstown Tomahawks to a 3-2 victory over the Northeast Generals. Mitchell Hale and Christian Gorscak also scored for Johnstown in the victory. Carson Briere had a pair of assists while Jack Leavy got the win in goal as he made 28 saves. Louis Boudon and Luke Perunovich scored for the Generals and David Fessenden made 29 saves for Northeast.
Philadelphia 2 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 4 - The Knights got into the win column as they doubled up the Philadelphia Rebels 4-2 on Friday night. Tyrone Bronte led the Knights with a goal and an assist. Matt Kidney, Mike Gelatt, and Reed Robinson all found the back of the net in the win. Christian Stoever got the win in net as he made 37 saves. Jensen Zerban and Eric Olson scored for the Rebels while Eli Billing made 33 saves in the loss.
Amarillo 6 @ Corpus Christi 3 - Four third period goals from the Amarillo Bulls gave them a come from behind victory over Corpus Christi. Jared Domin netted a hat trick in the impressive win while Cameron Bartkoski and Nic Griebenow each had a goal and an assist. Nikita Sokolov scored as well for the Bulls and added two assists. Trevor Micucci picked up the win in goal for Amarillo as he made 32 saves. Brendan Miller scored twice and picked up an assist. Larry Jungwirth also scored for Corpus Christi. Chad Veltri made 24 saves for the IceRays.
Odessa 1 @ Shreveport 5 - The South Division leader flexed it’s muscles on Friday night as they defeated the Odessa Jackalopes 5-1. Brandon VanSweden scored a pair of goals in the victory while Jake Transit had three assists. Jordan Fader, Gueorgui Feduolov and Andrew Lane all scored for the Mudbugs. Zac Herrmann scored the only goal for Odessa. CJ Hapward made eight saves while Alex Camarre made 19 saves.
MN Wilderness 4 @ Bismarck 3 - The Minnesota Wilderness picked up a crucial win over the Bismarck Bobcats as they look to stay in third place in the Central Division. Ben Ward was dishing out apples to everyone as he finished with three helpers. Garrett Worth notched a goal and an assist while Gino Lucia, Ashton Altmann and Tyler Watkins all scored for Minnesota as well. Ryan Fanti got the win in net for the Wilderness as he stopped 26 shots. For the Bobcats, Joseph Mancuso, Cooper Hair and Simon Morberg all scored. John Roberts made 30 saves in the loss.
Topeka 0 @ Lone Star 3 - Mitchell Gibson picked up his league leading ninth shutout as the Lone Star Brahmas blanked the Topeka RoadRunners. Aiden Spellacy scored a goal and had an assist for the winners. Connor Stuart and Austin Bottrell each scored as well for the Brahmas. Topeka netminder Sam Metcalf stopped 20 of 22 shots for the RoadRunners.
Austin 2 @ Minot 3 (OT) - Michael Talbot was able to slip the puck past Mads Sogaard in overtime as the Minot Minotauros completed the comeback on home ice. Minot got goals from Ryan Green and Keenan Lund with under five minutes to send the game to overtime. Nick Grabko grabbed the win for the Minotauros as he made 34 saves. Devon Fields potted a pair of power play goals for the Bruins. Sogaard turned aside 35 shots in the loss.
Janesville 1 @ Fairbanks 2 (OT) - Luke Orysiuk scored the game winning goal just 48 seconds into overtime as the Fairbanks Ice Dogs topped the Janesville Jets 2-1. Caleb Hits also scored in the win for the Ice Dogs, he assisted on the game winning goal as well. Logan Neaton made 20 saves for Fairbanks on 21 shots. Kip Hoffman scored the only goal for Janesville, it came on a penalty shot in the third period. Garrett Nieto made 25 saves in the loss.
