Friday Finals: Bobcats and Brown Bears clinch playoff spots
Lucas Wahlin scored twice in a 7-4 win on Friday to help the Kenai River Brown Bears clinch a spot in the Robertson Cup Playoffs.
MN Wilderness 1 @ Bismarck 5 - The Bismarck Bobcats are heading back to the playoffs after defeating the Minnesota Wilderness 5-1 on Friday night. Ryan Taylor and Grant Ahcan each had a goal and an assist for Bismarck. Eddie Shepler, Lars Rodne and Braden Costello all lit the lamp in the win. Grant Docter had the only tally for Minnesota. Ian Shane made 29 stops to pick up the win while Kaleb Johnson was given the loss, he made 22 saves.
Maine 3 @ Northeast 4 (OT) - Ricky Boysen netted the game winning goal in overtime as the Northeast Generals topped the Maine Nordiques 4-3. Ryan Gordon led the Northeast offense with three assists while Jake Dunlap netted a goal and an assist. Max Bronstine and Dylan Schuett also found the back of the net for the Generals. Cannon Green was the star for Maine as he logged two goals and an assist. Isaiah Fox grabbed a goal and two assists in the loss. Hugo Haas got the win in goal as he made 27 saves while Avery Sturtz took the loss, making 32 stops.
Janesville 4 @ Kenai River 7 – Lucas Wahlin and Brandon Lajoie each had a pair of goals as the Brown Bears clinched a spot in the Robertson Cup Playoffs thanks to a 7-4 win over the division-leading Janesville Jets. The Brown Bears were bolstered by four goals in the 1st period to take a 4-0 lead, which included two goals from Lajoie and others from Wahlin and Shayne Tomlinson. The Jets tried to make a game of it in the 2nd period with goals from Charlie Schoen and Shane Ott, but three more goals from the Brown Bears including another from Wahlin and others from Brandon McNamara and Jake Veri made the score 7-2. Dominik Bartecko had two late goals in the 3rd period for the Jets. Luke Pavicich made 33 saves in the win, while Riley Sims made 33 saves in the loss.
Johnstown 1 @ Danbury 5 - Luke Wheeler found the back of the net twice as the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks dominated the Johnstown Tomahawks 5-1. Mark D’Agostino and Joshua Burke each registered a goal and an assist for Danbury. Jason Kleinhaus also found the back fo the net in the win. Daniel Tkac had the lone goal for the Tomahawks in the loss. Edvard Nordlund denied 37 shots to earn the win in the blue paint. Sam Evola made just 21 saves for the Tomahawks.
Minot 1 @ Austin 3 - Reggie Millette potted a pair of goals as the Austin Bruins inched their way closer to fourth place as they took down Minot 3-1. Carson Riddle had the Bruins other tally while Peter Jacobs logged two helpers in the win. Max Bogdanovich had the only goal for Minot in a losing effort. Hudson Hodges turned aside 31 shots to win his sixth game of the year while Carter Clafton was dealt the loss as he made 19 stops.
Aberdeen 4 @ St. Cloud 1 - Jake Sibell won his 39th game of the season by making 24 saves as the Aberdeen Wings took care of the St. Cloud Norsemen 4-1. Kyle Gaffney grabbed the game’s first goal to give his team a lead heading into the first intermission. Clayton Cosentino and Natan Vertes logged goals in the second before Cullen Ferguson capped off the win with an empty net goal. Ryan O’Neill netted his 15th goal of the year in the loss. Paxton Geisel stopped 33 shots for St. Cloud.
Wichita Falls 3 @ Odessa 2 (OT) - Owen Baumgartner took matters into his own hands as he worked his way through the offensive zone to deliver the game winning goal in overtime to lift the Wichita Falls Warriors over the Odessa Jackalopes 3-2. Joseph Harguindeguy and Thomas Weis scored in the opening period to give them a two goal lead. That would hold until the eight minute mark when Ben Doherty brought Odessa within one. Joey Musa’s power play goal tied the game up with just 1:36 remaining in regulation before Baumgartner’s game winner in the extra period. Owen Bartoszkiewicz got the win as he made 31 saves while Cooper Black was dealt the tough loss after making 29 stops.
Shreveport 2 @ Lone Star 3 - The Lone Star Brahmas kept their division title hopes alive as they erased a two goal deficit to defeat the Shreveport Mudbugs 3-2. Alex Konovalov’s 5th of the year started the comeback to get the Brahmas within one entering the first intermission. Zach Purcell tied the game just over five minutes into the final period but it was Brady Smith’s first goal of the season that gave the Brahmas their first lead of the game and they would eventually get the 3-2 win thanks to 21 saves from Graham Burke. Giovanni Procopio and Matt Vermaeten were the goal scorers for Shreveport while Cole Hudson made 25 saves.
New Jersey 5 @ Maryland 0 - Christian Stoever turned aside all 35 shots that were fired in his direction as the New Jersey Titans blanked the Maryland Black Bears 5-0. Evan Warner and Stephen Willey got the Titans off to a good start with goals in the opening period. Then in the second, the Titans got three goals in five minutes thanks to Blake Humphrey, Tyler Nasca and Anthony Calafiore. Tristan Mecenas took the loss for Maryland as he made 24 saves.
Chippewa 0 @ Fairbanks 6 – Laker Aldridge scored twice and goalie Kayden Hargraves made 17 saves to post his second shutout of the season as the Ice Dogs blanked the Steel, 6-0. Fairbanks took a 2-0 lead in the opening period with goals from Zachary Murray and Austin Becker. Jasper Lester scored in the 2nd period to make it 3-0. Aldridge then added two more goals in the 3rd period to go along with a goal from Evan Junker to make it a 6-0 final. Berk Berkeliev made 32 saves in the loss.
