Saturday Scores: Sibell leads Wings to NAHL regular season title
Odessa forward Dayne Hoyord had the game-winning goal and an assist to lead the Jackalopes to a 4-3 win on Saturday and weekend sweep of New Mexico.
Bismarck 0 @ Aberdeen 2 – The Wings complete a three-win week as they made some history on Saturday night in a 2-0 shutout of the Bobcats. With the win, the Wings won the NAHL’s regular season title for the 2020-21 season, and with the shutout Wings goalie Jake Sibell tied an NAHL single-single record with his 11th shutout of the season. Both Wings goals came in the 2nd period as Clayton Cosentino scored his 10th goal of the season and Payton Matsui added his 24th goal of the year. Sibell did the rest, making 22 saves for his league-leading 38th win of the year. Bobcats goalie Ian Shane made 31 saves in the loss.
Danbury 2 @ New Jersey 9 – Blake Humphrey had a hat-trick to lead the Titans to a 9-2 win on Saturday and series sweep of the Jr. Hat Tricks. Humphrey and Matthew Iasenza opened the scoring the 1st period to put the Titans ahead 2-0. Danbury had a answer later in the period from Alex Krause to make it 2-1. New Jersey blew the game open in the 2nd period with four consecutive goals to make it 6-1, which included another goal from Humphrey and others from Anthony Calafiore, Jake Suede, and Jake LaRusso. After Danbury made it 6-2 in the 3rd period with a goal from Levi Stauber, the Titans put the game on ice with goals from Humphrey, Josh Rule, and Anthony Mollica. Christian Stoever made 35 saves in the win, while Josh Seeley took the loss with 22 saves.
St. Cloud 6 @ Austin 3 - A five-goal first period powered the St. Cloud Norsemen to a 6-3 win over the Austin Bruins on Saturday Night, as the Norsemen have won three games in a row. The Norsemen wasted little time in lighting the lamp, as Cooper Gay scored the opening goal just under five minutes into the game. St. Cloud grew the lead to 2-0 when Ryan O’Neill scored his 14th of the season on a powerplay just 61 seconds later. After a major penalty was assessed to the Bruins, the Norsemen saw Jack Suchy and Hunter Hanson score back-to-back goals on the man-advantage for the 4-0 lead. Max Ruoho would get the Bruins on the board before the Norsemen answered with a shorthanded goal from Logan Kittleson. Early in the second, Sutter Muzzatti scored for the Bruins to make the score 5-2. Mid-way through the period, Ben Dexheimer scored a powerplay goal to bring the Bruins within a pair of tallies. In the third, Nick Young picked up his second goal of the season to secure a 6-3 Norsemen victory. Paxton Geisel made 21 saves in the win, while Tyler Shea took the loss with six saves.
Maine 0 @ Johnstown 2 - The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Maine Nordiques Saturday night to clinch the top spot in the East Division with a 2-0 win. The Tomahawks got off to a better start from the get-go Saturday night, with William Persson going backhand to score top shelf on Avery Sturtz, getting the Hawks on the board 6:41 into the game. After a scoreless 2nd period, the 3rd period started out with Will Margel getting the puck in the defensive zone and going flying down the ice on a breakaway to make it 2-0 just 1:45 into the period for his 21st goal of the season. Tomahawks goalie Sam Evola did the rest as he stopped all 37 shots that came his way for his third shutout of the season. Sturtz made 30 saves in the loss for the Noridiques.
New Mexico 3 @ Odessa 4 – The Jackalopes picked up a sweep of their home series against the Ice Wolves thanks to a 4-3 win on Saturday. Odessa jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st period thanks to goals from Tyler German, Jack Musa, and Joe Schubert. The Ice Wolves chipped away at the lead thanks to two goals in the 2nd period from Jeff Hutchinson and Jack Whitmore, and then tied the game midway through the 3rd period on a power play goal from Cole Hanson. However, the Jackalopes netted the game winner just two minutes later as Dayne Hoyord scored a power play goal for the 4-3 win. Jacks goalie Cooper Black made 28 saves in the win, while Owen Parker made 27 saves in the loss.
Amarillo 2 @ Shreveport 4 – The Mudbugs widened their lead in the South Division with a 4-2 win over the Bulls on Saturday, completing a weekend home sweep. The Bulls struck first early in the 1st period on a power play goal from Paul Schmid. The Mudbugs would respond with three straight goals from Giovanni Procopio, Joe Mack, and Dawson Sciarrino to take a 3-1 lead. Early in the 3rd period, the Bulls cut the lead down to 3-2 as Harrison Scott scored a power play goal, but an empty-net goal from David Breazeale late in the game secured the 4-2 win. Mudbugs goalie Arseni Sergeyev made 35 saves in the win, while Hunter Garvey made 26 saves in the loss.
Lone Star 3 @ Wichita Falls 4 – The Warriors salvaged a weekend split with the Brahmas thanks to a 4-3 win on Saturday. After a scoreless 1st period, the Warriors jumped ahead 2-1 in the 2nd period on goals from Nick Lanigan and Hunter Jones, while Joey Baez scored for the Brahmas. In the 3rd period, Lone Star briefly tied the game at 2-2 as Alex Konovalov scored. However, the Warriors answered with a pair of goals from Cole Teleki and Drake Usher to lead 4-2. Dylan Smith would add a late goal for the Brahmas, but it would not be enough. Warriors goalie Owen Bartoszkiewicz made 21 saves in the win, while Guy Blessing made 15 saves in the loss.
Janesville 4 @ Fairbanks 3 (OT) – Cade Destefani capped off an impressive week with an overtime goal to lift the Jets to a 4-3 win in Fairbanks, coming away with five of a possible six points in the weekend road series for the Midwest Division leaders. Billy Renfrew scored the opening two goals for Fairbanks, which was matched by goals from Justin Engelkes and Nick Leyer for the Jets. Fairbanks took a 3-2 lead late in the 2nd period on a goal at the buzzer from Jacob Conrad. In the 3rd period, the Jets tied the game at 3-3 thanks to a shorthanded goal from Max Itagaki. That set up Destefani’s heroics in overtime, which was his 21st goal of the season. Riley Sims made 25 saves in the win, while Kayden Hargraves made 28 saves in the loss.
Maryland 5 @ Northeast 6 (OT) – The Generals fought off a late Black Bears comeback to pick up a 6-5 overtime win on Saturday. The Generals had a 5-3 lead after two periods, which included 1st period goals from Jake Dunlap and David Andreychuk, and three more goals in the 2nd period including another from Dunlap and others from Liam McCanney and Paul Minnehan. The Black Bears got goals in the opening two periods from Reid Leibold, Conor Cole, and Philip Tornqvist. In the 3rd period, the Black Bears stormed back with goals from Tornqvist and Josh Nixon to knot the game at 5-5 and sent it to overtime. In the OT, Ricky Boyzen scored a power play goal with 1:48 remaining to give the Generals the extra point and win. Hugo Haas made 26 saves in the win, while Michael Morelli made 33 saves in the loss.
MN Wilderness 3 @ MN Magicians 4 (SO) – The Magicians picked up their second shootout win of the week, this time over the Wilderness as they picked up a 4-3 win on Saturday. The Magicians led 3-1 after the 1st period as Trevor Kukkonen, Luc Laylin, and Jake Seitz scored for the Magicians, while Mikol Sartor scored for the Wilderness. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Wilderness tied the game with two goals in the 3rd period as Sartor scored again along with a goal from Grant Docter. In the shootout, Kukkonen and Devlin McCabe scored for the Magicians to give them the extra point. Andy Beran made 32 saves in the win, while Jacob Zacharewicz made 26 saves in the loss.
Chippewa 3 @ Kenai River 4 – The Brown Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a 3rd period rally from the Steel to pick up a 4-3 win in Game 2 of a three-game home series. The Brown Bears led 3-0 after two period thanks to 1st period goals from Cam Blanton and Morgan Winters and a 2nd period goal from Lucas Wahlin. In the 3rd period, the Steel got three goals from Liam Hansson, Spencer Cox, and Daniel Rozsival, but a goal from Peter Morgan would be the difference in the 4-3 win. Luke Pavicich made 29 saves in the win, while Berk Berkeliev made 28 saves in the loss.
