Saturday Scores: Wings, Minotauros sweep creates Central log jam
Trevor Stachowiak had four assists in a weekend sweep of Austin, extending his point streak to four straight games.
North Iowa 4 @ Aberdeen 5 (SO) – Aberdeen and North Iowa exchanged goals in the first period as Jackson Yee and Hugo Allais got goals for the Wings, while Carter Rapalje and Ryan Coughlin ignited the Bulls offense. Early in the second frame, Hunter Bulger broke the tie for North Iowa but Aberdeen’s Jacob Bosse and Kevin MacKay lit the lamp to take the lead. With less than three minutes to go in the third, Rapalje picked up another Bulls goal to force overtime. The contest came down to the wire with Cade Neilson netting the game winning shootout point for the Wings. Dominik Wasik was a force in goal for Aberdeen stopping a solid 40 of 44 in the win.
Austin 1 @ Minot 3 – It was all Minotauros on home ice against Austin on Saturday evening. Zack Simon had a late first period score followed by two third period tallies from Dean Schwenninger who ended the game with three points. Trevor Stachowiak assisted on all three Minot goals. Jens Richards was the lone Bruin to record a goal. Zach Sandy saw 40 shots to collect his second win of the weekend in goal for Minot. Austin keeper Hudson Hodges saved 34 of 37 but still skated off with the loss.
Janesville 3 @ MN Wilderness 6 – Bobby Metz and Haden Kruse capitalized on the power play in the first period to open up the scoring for the Wilderness, leading them to back-to-back victories against Janesville. Matthew McQuade, William Persson, and Ethan Wolthers all contributed tallies for Minnesota, and Max Ruoho was credited with two assists. The Janesville goals came from forwards Robby Newton, William Gustavsson, and Jan Lasak. Sam Livecchi was stellar for the Wilderness in net closing the door on 24 pucks while a 21 for 25 goaltending performance by Owen Millward was not enough to bring the Jets within reach.
Amarillo 3 @ Lone Star 2 (SO) – Jase Sofo claimed victory for the Wranglers in the shootout to give them a sweep and a four-game win streak. It all started with Yaroslav Samadov and Drayton Todoroff lighting the lamp for Amarillo just 6:46 apart in the first period. Lone Star answered with goals off the twigs of Dyland Smith and Frankie Ireland to tie it up in at the close of regulation. Max Gutjhar continued his solid performance in goal stopping 11 of 13 for the Wranglers. Brahmas tender Austin Schwab saw 40 opposing shots from behind the crease in the defeat.
Corpus Christi 1 @ El Paso 2 – The El Paso Rhinos picked up a weekend sweep as they doubled up the Corpus Christi IceRays 2-1. Noah Van Vilet got the scoring started with his first goal of the season. In the second period, Dominic Fogila evened the game at one goal apiece entering the final frame of action. The Rhinos took the lead for good at the 8:45 mark of the third as Alex Krause converted on a pass from Evan Miles and Jack Franklin. From there it was the Lassi Lethi show as he ended up stopping 44 shots while Damon Beaver made 38 saves of his own in the loss.
Maine 1 @ New Jersey 4 – In a weekend sweep of the Nordiques, Titans’ defenseman Colin Grable found the back of the net for his first of the season late in the first period. Tyler Gaulin grabbed the equalizer for Maine just over a minute later. New Jersey closed out the game on a three goal run fueled by Anthony Calafiore, Blake Farrell, and Brendan Dumas who also added a pair of assists to the scoresheet. Tommy Bannister had two helpers on the evening in the Titans victory. Andrew Takacs was exceptional denying 30 attempts to secure his second win of the weekend in the crease, while Nordiques keeper Gus Holt was dealt the loss stopping 39 of 43.
Northeast 3 @ Maryland 7 – The Black Bears rebounded against the Generals 7-3 to split the weekend series on home ice and maintain their standing atop the league. Laker Aldridge scored less than a minute after puck drop while Miles Gunty and Connor Bennett both recorded their first goals of the season to ignite the Maryland offense. Northeast’s scores came off the sticks of three different skaters - Matt Boczar, Brent Keefer, and Paul Minnehan. The Black Bears struck four times in the final frame on shots from Conor Cole, Laker Aldridge, Dimitry Kerbreau, and Branden Piku who had a four point performance. Maryland goalie Luca Di Pasquo was strong between the pipes going 11 for 14 to attain the win.
Johnstown 4 @ Danbury 0 – After a scoreless first period, Zachary Murray of the Tomahawks led the charge tickling the twine early in the second period and again just 39 seconds into the third on a pass from Holt Oliphant. David Matousek and TJ Koufis both fired one past the goalie for Johnstown in the contest as well. Tommy Heaney shined in net for the Tomahawks getting a shutout win where he grabbed 32 saves. Danbury goal tender Adam Johnson tried to fight off opposition, but was faced with the loss after coming up with 52 stops.
St. Cloud 1 @ Bismarck 2 – The Bobcats bounced back after a Friday night loss, seizing a 2-1 win in a close battle against the visiting Norsemen. Evan Murr netted a goal 11 minutes into the first with help from Chase Freiermuth. Bismarck rallied with two straight scores from Brandon Reller and Adam Pietila. Assists for Bismarck were credited to Calvin Hanson, Eddie Shepler, Isaac Novak, and Paul Huglen. Net minder Erik Forss took the loss for the Bobcats, but was able to prevent 29 chances. On the other end of the ice, St. Cloud keeper Josh Langford wowed halting 23 of 25 shots.
Odessa 4 @ New Mexico 3 (OT) – Chris Duclair’s second goal of the night lifted the Odessa Jackalopes to a 4-3 overtime win over the New Mexico Ice Wolves. Emerson Goode picked up a goal and an assist In the victory while John Perdion also chipped in his fifth goal of the season. Dillan Bentley was the catalyst for the Ice Wolves offense as he scored two goals and had an assist. William Howard got on the scoresheet with a goal and an assist of his own. Noah Rupprecht picked up the win in goal as he turned aside 38 New Mexico shots. Ben Behrens was given the loss as he made 36 saves.
Chippewa 3 @ Kenai River 1 – The Chippewa Steel took two out of three from the Kenai River Brown Bears as they took home a 3-1 win on Saturday night. Ethan Benz had the first goal of the game for Chippewa, it was his sixth of the year. That lead would hold for the majority of the middle period before Braden Linstrom’s fourth of the season increased the Chippewa lead to two. Joseph Grainda put the lead up to 3-0 as Grainda netted a power play goal just 51 seconds in to the final period. Cole Dubicki would get Kenai River on the board but that’s as close as they would get. Levi Gho was sensational has he made 40 saves on 41 opportunities. Tommy Aitken was given the loss after stopping 21 of 24.
Springfield 4 @ Fairbanks 3 – The Springfield Jr. Blues grabbed a weekend split in Fairbanks as they won 4-3 on Saturday night. Leo Bacallao scored twice and added in assist. Cole Schneider scored in the final minute of the second period while Andrew Schultz netted his first of the season in the opening minute of the third and it would prove to be the game winner for the Jr. Blues. McCabe Dvorak, Love Bergvall and Dakota MacIntosh all lit the lamp for Fairbanks. Ethan Roberts made 30 stops to earn the win in between the pipes while Tyler Krivtsov made 19 saves in a losing effort.
