Saturday Scores: Warriors and Wings pick up road sweeps
Aberdeen forward Payton Matsui had two goals in a 3-2 win on Saturday and currently leads the NAHL in scoring with 59 points.
Wichita Falls 3 @ Odessa 2 (OT) – For the second straight night the Wichita Falls Warriors needed overtime to get by the Odessa Jackalopes by a score of 3-2. William Lawson-Body was the hero this time as he scored his fifth goal of the season on the power play. The Warriors trailed 2-0 with 2:30 remaining only to see Nick Lanigan and Drake Usher scored 28 seconds apart to tie the game at two. Owen Bartoszkiewicz grabbed the win in goal, he made 28 saves. Gabe Bennett and Joey Musa scored for Odessa in the loss while Connor Hasley stopped 21 shots.
Aberdeen 3 @ St. Cloud 2 – Payton Matsui scored twice in the third period to lift the Aberdeen Wings to a 3-2 win over the St. Cloud Norsemen. Trevor Russell contributed a goal and an assist for the Wings who won their sixth contest in a row. Kyle Gaffney registered two assists while Jake Sibell made 27 saves. Ryan O’Neill provided all the offense for the Norsemen while Josh Langford was given the loss despite stopping 29 shots.
Maine 4 @ Northeast 2 – The Nordiques took home 3 of 4 points in their weekend road series at Northeast thanks to a 4-2 win on Saturday. Aidan Connolly was the offensive star for the Nordiques, scoring a goal and adding two assists. Connolly started the scoring in the 1st period. The Generals tied the game at 1-1 early in the 2nd period thanks to a goal from Ricky Boysen. Maine grabed the lead back later in the period with a goal from Jackson Vercellono. The Nordiques put the game away with two more goals in the 3rd period from Tristan Fasig and Isaiah Fox. David Andreychuk had the other goal for the Generals. Tyriq Outen made 26 saves in the win, while Hugo Haas made 37 saves in the loss.
Johnstown 3 @ Danbury 2 (OT) – Will Margel had the overtime-winner and two assists as the Tomahawks picked up a 3-2 win in the second game of a three-game series in Danbury on Saturday. Johnstown opened the scoring with a goal from Jay Ahearn, which was his 26th of the season. Danbury answered back to take a 2-1 lead thanks to a pair of goals from Porter Schachle. Johnstown had an answer late in the 2nd period to make it 2-2 as Holt Oliphant scored on the power play. The game-winner came just :10 seconds into overtime as Margel converted on a 2-on-1. Sam Evola made 31 saves in the win, while Edvard Nordlund made 26 saves in the loss.
Minot 3 @ Austin 2 (OT) – Blaine Warnert’s goal 20 seconds into overtime completed the hat trick and gave his Minot Minotauros a 3-2 win over the Austin Bruins. Minot found themselves down 2-0 after one period of play but it was late in the second when Warnert started his run. He made it a one goal game with 6:48 left in the second period and then tied the game at 7:46 mark of the final frame. Then Jack Westlund set up Warnert for the second time and it proved to be the deciding goal. John Lundy and Braidan Simmons-Fischer were the goal scorers for Austin. Keenan Rancier got the win in goal by making 32 saves while Hudson Hodges took the loss, stopping 26 shots.
MN Wilderness 1 @ Bismarck 0 (OT) – It took until the final minute of overtime but Christian Galatz found the back of the net to give the Minnesota Wilderness a crucial 1-0 overtime victory over the Bismarck Bobcats. Grant Docter and Landon Parker were credited with assists won the game winning goal while Jacob Zacharewicz was perfect, stopping all 22 shots he faced. Cameron Korpi was dealt the tough loss in his first game since February 13th, he stopped 33 shots.
Shreveport 5 @ Lone Star 3– Joe Mack scored twice and added an assist as the Shreveport Mudbugs defeated the Lone Star Brahmas 5-3. Connor Gatto, David Breazeale and Griffen Sanom all found the back of the net in the victory for the Mudbugs. Andrew DeCarlo had a goal and an assist to lead the Lone Star offense while Nicholas Niemo and Frederick Paine lit the lamp. Arseniy Sergeev won his 13th game of the year as he made 32 saves while Graham Burke took the loss as he made 29 stops.
Janesville 2 @ Kenai River 3 (OT) – Lucas Wahlin netted the game winning goal in overtime as the Kenai River Brown Bears outlasted the Janesville Jets 3-2. Ryan Reid grabbed three assists while Max Helgeson and Morgan Winters scored as well for the Brown Bears. Janesville clinched the Midwest Division as they got one point in the loss. Tommy Middleton scored twice for the Jets while Robby Newton added two assists. Luke Pavicich won his 19th game of the year by making 35 saves. Owen Millward took the loss despite making 48 stops.
Chippewa 5 @ Fairbanks 1 – The Chippewa Steel used a three goal first period to pace themselves to a 5-1 win over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Braden Linstrom led all Steel players with a goal and two assists. Grisha Gotovets logged a goal and an assist while Spencer Oyler, James Miller and Ryan Kerchoff all got on the scoresheet as well. Grant Boldt picked up the win in between the pipes as he made 26 stops. Zach Murray provided the only offense for the Ice Dogs while Kayden Hargraves and Ryan Keyes combined to make 18 saves.
