Friday Finals: Mudbugs win South in OT thriller

March 31, 2018

Lone Star 0 @ Shreveport 1 (OT) – In what has become a regular occurrence between the two clubs, another game was decided by a shutout as the Mudbugs clinched the South Division regular season title with a 1-0 overtime win over the visiting Brahmas. Jaxon Castor made 18 saves for his 3rd shutout of the season for the Mudbugs, while Mitchell Gibson allowed just a single goal, making 32 saves. The overtime-winner came courtesy of Jordan Fader, who wristed home a shot from the high slot.

 

Kenai River 5 @ Fairbanks 2 – Filip Karlsson recorded a hat-trick as the Brown Bears won their third straight game over the Ice Dogs thanks to a 5-2 win on Friday. Karlsson gave the Brown Bears a 1-0 lead early in the 1st period, but the Ice Dogs were quick to answer back with a pair of goals from Luke Orysiuk and Hunter Wendt to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. After that it was all Brown Bears as they took a 3-2 lead in the 2nd period with goals from Emils Ezitis and Karlsson. In the 3rd period, Kenai River added two more goals from Karlsson and Cameron McDonald to complete the 5-2 win. Brown Bears goalie Gavin Enright made 28 saves in the win, while Logan Neaton made 21 saves in the loss.

 

Aberdeen 7 @ Bismarck 6 – In a wild, high-scoring game, the Aberdeen Wings ended the playoff hopes of the Bismarck Bobcats with a 7-6 win. Nathan Burke and Nic Sicoly each scored twice in the win. Burke scored the opening two goals for the Wings in the 1st period. Sicoly and Tim Makowski added 2nd period goals, and Evan Rochowiak, Joe Strada, and Sicoly added goals in the 3rd period. Six different players scored for the Bobcats, which included four goals in the 2nd period from Simon Morberg, Jacob Marti, Cooper Haar, and Joseph Mancuso. Niki Jasko and George Grannis scored the other Bobcats goals in the 3rd period. Gabe Vinal made 17 saves in the win, while John Roberts made 25 saves in the loss.

 

Minot 0 @ MN Wilderness 2 – Jacob Sibell stopped all 36 shots that came his way for his second shutout of the season as the Wilderness moved into a tie for 2nd place in the Central Division with a 2-0 win over the Minotauros. The Wilderness took a 1-0 lead with a 1st period goal from Nick Altmann, his 12th of the season. Early in the 3rd period, Garrett Worth scored to make it a 2-0 lead, which is all Sibell would need in the shutout. Minot goalie Nick Grabko made 19 saves in the loss.

 

Northeast 2 @ Philadelphia 6 – Aaron Maguyon had two goals and an assist as the Rebels exacted some revenge from the night before with a 6-2 win. The Generals scored first thanks to a goal from Matt Demelis. The Rebels would take the lead in the 2nd period thanks to goals from Chase Hamstad and Maguyon. Early in the 3rd period, the Generals tied the game at 2-2 thanks to a goal from Alex Cohen. After that it was all Rebels as they got four straight goals from Maguyon, Brandon Stanley, Alex Frye, and Konur Peterson to win 6-2. Ryan Keane made 15 saves in the win, while David Fessenden made 36 saves in the loss.

 

New Jersey 1 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 8 – The Knights moved into sole possession of 2nd place in the East with a dominating 8-1 win over the Titans. David Tomeo made 52 saves in the win. The Knights jumped ahead 3-0 with goals from Mike Gelatt, Reed Robinson, and Michael Morrissey. Early in the 2nd period, the Titans got a goal from Wade Novak to make it 3-1, but then it was all nights after that as they scored five unanswered goals, which included tallies from Tyrone Bronte, Adrian Danchanko, Luke Robinson, Joseph Verkerke, and another from Reed Robinson. Brandon Perrone and Matt Ladd each made 19 saves in the loss.

 

Austin 3 @ Janesville 4 – Simon Sagissor scored twice to lead the Jets to a 4-3 home win over the Bruins. After a scoreless 1st period, each team scored twice in the 2nd period with Kip Hoffman and Sagissor scoring for the Jets and Evan Cholak and Ian Mageau scoring for the Bruins. In the 3rd period, the Jets went ahead 4-2 on goals from Benji Eckerle and another from Sagissor. Alex Mella added a power play goal for the Bruins later in the period, but they could not find the equalizer. Daniel Lebedeff made 29 saves in the win, while Alex Schilling made 28 saves in the loss.

 

MN Magicians 1 @ Springfield 2 (SO) – Evan Fear had another big night as the Springfield goaltender made 33 saves to lead the Jr. Blues to a 2-1 shootout win over the Magicians, widening their lead for 3rd place in the Midwest Division to four points. Matthew Stanton scored the lone goal in regulation for the Magicians in the 1st period, which was answered by a goal from Nick Schultze for the Jr. Blues in the 2nd period. Nikita Kozyrev scored the lone shootout goal from either team to earn the extra point for the Jr. Blues. Magicians goalie Isaiah Saville played well in the loss, making 47 saves.

 

Topeka 1 @ Amarillo 5 – Jason Grande made 31 saves to lead the Bulls to a 5-1 home win over the RoadRunners. Five different players scored for the Bulls, which included 1st period goals from Austin O’Rourke and Nikita Sokolov to make it 2-0, Jason Brancheau and Nic Griebenow in the 2nd period to make it 4-0 and a goal in the 3rd period from Trey Bagwell. Topeka’s lone goal came from Michael Muschitiello in the 3rd period. RoadRunners goalie Sam Metcalf made 42 saves in the loss.

 

Odessa 4 @ Corpus Christi 6 – Six different players scored for the IceRays as they closed the gap towards 3rd place in the South Division with a 6-4 win over the Jacks. The IceRays got a 1st period goal from Kaelan Taylor, four goals in the 2nd period from Angus Scott, Jayson Dimizio, Garrett Hallford, and Brendan Miller, and a 3rd period goal from Grayson Gavin. Matt Brown paced Odessa with a goal and three assists and Blake Bride, Viktor Johansson, and James Crossman also scored. Chad Veltri made 24 saves in the win, while Alex Camarre took the loss, making 12 saves.

 

Coulee Region 2 @ Brookings 3 – The Blizzard handed the Chill their fifth straight loss as Adam Brizgala made 29 saves in a 3-2 win. Brookings opened up a 2-0 lead with a pair of 1st period goals from Brendan Aird and Josh Boyer. Coulee Region had the answer in the 2nd period as Connor Zilisch and Nick Bowman scored to tie the game at 2-2. Early in the 3rd period Max Sasson scored for Brookings, which would stand as the game-winner. Emil Zetterquist made 26 saves in the loss.