Friday Finals: Ice Dogs regain lead in see-saw Midwest Division

January 4, 2020

Fairbanks 5 @ Maine 4 - Luke Ciolli’s goal midway through the third period was the game winner as the Fairbanks Ice Dogs scored a 5-4 come from behind victory over the Maine Nordiques. With the win, the Ice Dogs regained the lead in the Midwest Division. Oliver Kjaer, Tyler Deweese, Tim Erkkila and Jasper Lester also scored for the Ice Dogs in the win. Mattias Sholl made 20 saves to improve to 18-8-3 on the season. Noah Kane had a goal and two assists for the Nordiques while Timmy Kent had three assists. Cole Ouellette, Ignat Belov and Cannon Green also netted goals for Maine in the loss.

Odessa 0 @ Lone Star 9 - Will Stromp tallied a hat trick and three assists while Joey Baez registered a hat trick of his own as the Lone Star Brahmas routed the Odessa Jackalopes 9-0. CJ Walker had a big night himself as he scored twice and added four assists. Drew DeCarlo lit the lamp once and chipped in two assists. Ludvig Persson stopped all 11 shots he faced while Cayden Bailey was perfect against the six shots he saw. Zach Stern made 23 saves in the loss for Odessa.

 

Northeast 1 @ Maryland 4 - Garrett Szydlowski scored twice as the Maryland Black Bears won their sixth straight game, knocking off the Northeast Generals 4-1. Jackson Sterrett and Aden Bruich also lit the lamp for the Black Bears. Cooper Black turned aside 41 shots to earn the win in goal. Jonathan Young scored the lone goal for Northeast while Joey Stanizzi made 34 stops. 

 

Kenai River 1 @ Amarillo 5 - Max Gutjhar made 19 saves to hold the explosive Kenai River offense to just one goal as the Amarillo Bulls defeated the Brown Bears 5-1. David Hill tallied a goal and an assist. Gleb Murtazin, Ty Black, Jordan Venegoni and Ryan Tucker all found the back of the net in the win. Skylar Gutierrez scored the only goal for Kenai River while Landon Pavlisin stopped 46 shots in a losing effort.

 

Topeka 3 @ Springfield 2 - Connor Zilisch’s goal in the closing seconds capped a wild third period comeback for the Topeka Pilots as they outlasted the Springfield Jr. Blues 3-2. Kaiden Scott scored with just over five minutes remaining to tie the game. Nick Nardecchia got the comeback started with his fourth goal of the season. Guy Blessing picked up the win in goal, he made 22 saves. Leo Bacallao and Mason McCormick tallied goals for the Jr. Blues. Ryan Wilson took the loss as he made 22 saves.

 

Corpus Christi 2 @ Shreveport 4 - Anton Rubtsov and Timofei Khokhlachev each grabbed a goal and an assist as the Shreveport Mudbugs doubled up the Corpus Christi IceRays 4-2. Brent Keefer and Sam Miller also found the back of the net in the win. Maiszon Balboa denied 23 shots to get the win in between the pipes. Kyle Schroeder and Erik Bargholtz scored for the IceRays and Cal Sandquist stopped 29 shots. 

 

MN Wilderness 2 @ Aberdeen 4 - Cooper Haar collected a goal and two assists as the Aberdeen Wings picked up a 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Wilderness. Mack Byers and Pierson Brandon picked up a goal and an assist as well in the win. Henry Welsch stopped 28 shots to improve to 13-2-4 on the season. Nate Horn and Tyler Watkins provided the offense for Minnesota while Kaleb Johnson stopped 24 shots. 

 

Austin 2 @ Bismarck 1 - Josef Mysak had the game winning tally as the Austin Bruins topped the Bismarck Bobcats 2-1. Hugh Larkin scored the tying goal for Austin with Chase Pilawski and Dante Sheriff provided the assists. Brett Miller grabbed the win for Austin as he turned aside 32 of 33 opportunities. Lars Rodne collected the only goal for Bismarck while Andrew Miller made 20 saves in the loss.

 

Chippewa 1 @ MN Magicians 4 - Dysen Skinner made 28 saves to win his second game of the season as the Minnesota Magicians topped the Chippewa Steel 4-1. Colin Stein netted his first goal in the North American Hockey League while Chris Konin and Robert Christy scored for Minnesota. Marko Reifenbergen chipped in an empty net goal for the Magicians. Jake Vaughan tallied the lone goal for the Steel while Grant Boldt and Trent Burnham combined to make 23 saves. 

 

St. Cloud 3 @ Minot 6 - Joseph Harguindeguy picked up a hat trick and added an assist as the Minot Minotauros scored a 6-3 win over the St. Cloud Blizzard. Cole O’Connell chipped in four assists while Kevin Ness contributed three helpers of his own. Sam Skinner, Braeden Bartoo and Cade Stibbe all scored for Minot in the victory. Ben Garritty stopped all 16 shots he faced in relief to grab the win. Sam Metcalf stopped 42 chances for the Blizzard.