Friday Finals: Titans hot play continues as offense shines in win
El Paso Rhinos forward Jonathan Horn had two goals in a 7-4 win on Friday.
Maine 5 @ New Jersey 12 – Seven different Titans scored in an East Division matchup with the Nordiques on Friday evening. Michael Young and Marcus Sang capitalized on the offensive end, each recording hat-tricks for New Jersey. Titans defenseman Blake Farrell had an exceptional game gathering a goal and five assists. Goals for the Nordiques came off the sticks of Tyler Gaulin, Tristan Fasig, Aidan Connolly, Filip Wiberg, and Ignat Belov. In net, Gus Holt and Avery Sturtz made a combined 30 of 42 saves for Maine in the defeat. Andrew Takacs of New Jersey was sharp in between the pipes denying 20 chances.
Corpus Christi 4 @ El Paso 7 – Philip Quetell found the back of the net twice while Jan Olenginski logged four assists in the Rhinos 7-4 win over the Corpus Christi IceRays. Frank Tafelski and Jordan Zelenak each chipped in a goal and an assist for El Paso. Jonathan Horn deposited two goals while Graham Harris scored another. Braden Rourke netted two goals for Corpus Christi while Jack Lambert and Stepan Kuznetsov also lit the lamp. Lassi Lehti earned the win in goal with 31 saves for the Rhinos while Damon Beaver stopped 31 shots in the loss for Corpus Christi.
Odessa 1 @ New Mexico 2 – Grant Ellings scored with just :42 seconds remaining to lift the New Mexico Ice Wolves to a thrilling 2-1 win over the Odessa Jackalopes. Justin Hughes broke the ice about 12 and a half minutes into the opening frame as he was setup on the power play by Emerson Goode and Rylan Yates. It would remain this way until Brandon Holt scored his first goal of the season about halfway through the final frame. Ellings notched his second goal of the season for the game winner. Owen Parker was nearly perfect as he made 28 saves on 29 shots. William Proctor suffered a tough defeat as he made 42 saves for Odessa.
Northeast 6 @ Maryland 3 – Forward Paul Minnehan led the charge with two first period goals, both assisted by Jared Scott to lift the Generals over the Black Bears on the road. Kyle Schroeder, David Andreychuk, Douglas Friberg, and Brent Keefer all added to the six total Northeast tallies. Dimitry Kebreau fought hard on the ice to net two goals for Maryland with help from league assist leader Ryan Bottrill on both scores. Maryland’s Aden Bruich also found the back of the net in the contest. Black Bears goalie Michael Morelli fought off 27 of 31 in the loss while Cullen DeYoung pick up the win, stopping 25 for the victorious Generals.
Johnstown 3 @ Danbury 4 (OT) – The Jr. Hat Tricks were put to the test by the Tomahawks as they needed to go the distance to win 4-3 in overtime on home ice. Johnny Ulicny opened the scoring 37 seconds into the first frame and netted another before the start of the second period for Johnstown. Jake Black lit the lamp in the second on an assist from TJ Koufis to give the Tomahawks the 3-0 advantage. From there, the Danbury offense made a push thanks to goals from Gabe Dombrowski, Jazz Krivtsov, and Peter Lychnikoff in regulation. Joshua Burke recorded the game winner 1:38 into overtime to secure the Hat Tricks win. Adam Johnson was solid in net for Danbury as he denied 33 of 36 attempts.
St. Cloud 4 @ Bismarck 3 (OT) – St. Cloud secured the win on the road 4-3 against Bismarck in a competitive bout. Rookie Brandon Reller of the Bobcats recorded his first goal of the season and Quinn Rudrud scored twice in the game, including a last second shot to force overtime in the third. Logan Kittleson, Peyton Hanson, and Nick Young all lit the lamp in regulation for the visiting Norsemen. It was Brandon Lajoie who was victorious for St. Cloud, firing one past the goalie in extra time. Erik Forss was handed the loss in goal for the Bobcats. Goal tender Tomas Bolo backed the Norsemen in net stopping 24 of 27.
North Iowa 2 @ Aberdeen 5 – After an opening goal less than four minutes into the game by Max Scott of the Bulls, the Wings grabbed three straight tallies off pucks fired by Jackson Yee, Parks Wallace, and Patrick O’Connell. North Iowa forward Max Scott tickled the twine at the close of the first period with help from Ryan Coughlin. Aberdeen commanded the second frame with back-to-back goals within fifteen seconds from Landry Schmuck and Jacob Bosse. Keeper Hunter Garvey skated away with the loss for the Bulls despite going 27 for 32, while Wings goalie Dominik Wasik had an amazing performance saving 36 shots.
Janesville 2 @ MN Wilderness 5 – Ethan Begg started the scoring early for Janesville but the goal was answered shortly after by William Persson for Minnesota. Wilderness forward Bryce Howard found the back of the net in the second frame to break the tie before Jets skater Mack Keryluk netted the equalizer at the close of the period. The Wilderness put together a 3-0 run in the third thanks to Max Neill, Nicholas Rexine, and Bobby Metz to close out the game and tilt the ice in their favor. Net minder Owen Millward of Janesville came up short logging 29 stops, as Minnesota tender Sam Livecchi shined in the victory preventing 41 of 43 shots faced.
Amarillo 5 @ Lone Star 2 – The Amarillo Wranglers got their third straight win defeating the Lone Star Brahmas on Friday night. Dominic Schimizzi and Logan Cleary led the Amarillo offensive effort adding two goals each to the scoresheet. Wranglers defenseman Matej Palfey scored his first of the season and Anthony Vidrick and Jase Sofo both picked up two assists in the matchup. The Brahmas were successful in power play position with Nicholas Niemo and Artur Turansky finding the back of the net on the man-advantage. Max Gutjahr held down the net denying 27 of 29 pucks to lead the Amarillo triumph.
Austin 5 @ Minot 6 (SO) – Austin began the game on a 2-0 run with goals coming off the sticks of Marian Haborak and Damon Furuseth. Minot answered with a pair of their own from Isaac Keller and Zack Simon to end the first frame. The Bruins broke the tie in the second behind tallies from Sutter Muzzatti and Michal Jasenec. Huston Karpman and Nikolai Charchenko of Minot and Gavin Morrissey of Austin lit the lamp in the third, before Minotauros’ forward Zack Simon grabbed the equalizer to force overtime. Huston Karpman netted the game winner in the shootout to seal the Minot victory. Goalie Zach Sandy of Minot made 29 saves to secure his second straight win.
Chippewa 2 @ Kenai River 4 – The Kenai River Brown Bears ended their seven game losing streak as they doubled up the Chippewa Steel by a score of 4-2. Caden Triggs and Carter Green netted goals in the first period of Friday’s action. Branden Lindsrtom brought Chippewa within one but then Ryan Finds put Kenai back up by two. Joe Kelly would trim the lead back to one but David Vieten’s empty netter would seal the deal for the Brown Bears. Tommy Aitken made 25 saves for Kenai River to earn the win while Levi Gho stopped 17 attempts in the loss.
Springfield 3 @ Fairbanks 4 – Billy Renfrew scored with just under a minute left in regulation to give Fairbanks a 4-3 win over the Jr. Blues. Owen Neuharth and Alexander Malinowski scored in the second period, giving Fairbankss a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Springfield responded with three goals in the final period but Renfrew scored twice to make sure his team was going home with two points. Kayden Hargraves grabbed the win in goals as he stopped 30 of 33 shots. Ethan Roberts took the loss making 26 saves.
