Saturday Scores: Titans continue hot streak with sweep
North Iowa forward Michael Mesic (above) and Wilderness defenseman Aaron Pionk (below) helped their teams to weekend sweeps with some standout performances.
Danbury 4 @ New Jersey 5 – Anthony Calafiore posted a three-point performance to lift the Titans over Danbury 5-4 at home for their seventh consecutive victory. Lucas Di Chiarra scored for Danbury 1:41 into the game but was met by a goal from Stephen Willey of New Jersey just 4:44 later. Robert Hyde also struck for the Jr. Hat Tricks to close out the first period. Anthony Calafiore, Jake LaRusso, and Levente Keresztes all tickled the twine for the Titans while Joshua Burke and Gabe Dombrowski captured Danbury goals to close out the second frame in a tie. Nick Ring claimed the game-winner to seal the deal for New Jersey with just 4:07 remaining. Andrew Takacs continued his winning ways in front of the net for the Titans as he saved 32 of 36 to earn the win.
Bismarck 3 @ North Iowa 6 – North Iowa put together a four-goal push to close out the game with a 6-3 victory over Bismarck. Carter Rapalje recorded his eleventh of the season and Greg Japchen followed suit with another Bulls score just 49 seconds later. Adam Pietila, Drew Holt, and Quinn Rudrud found the back of the net in the Bismarck counterattack to reclaim the lead. The four consecutive North Iowa tallies came from Anthony Domina, Michael Mesic, Max Scott, and Hunter Bulger. Hunter Garvey shined in net grabbing 20 stops for the Bulls. Aksel Reid and Erik Forss combined for 20 saves, coming up short for the Bobcats.
MN Magicians 5 @ MN Wilderness 6 (OT) – The Wilderness went the distance to take care of their in-state rival the Magicians behind an overtime goal from William Persson. The two teams swapped scoring in the first and second periods as Matthew McQuade, Cole Crusberg-Rossenm and Nicholas Rexine struck for the Wilderness and Trevor Kukkonen, Samuel Jacobs, and Will Schumacher converted for the Magicians. Wilderness forward Max Neill found the back of the net early in the final frame but Magician skaters Luke Delzer and Lucas Kanta answered back shortly after. Nicholas Rexine scored his second of the evening for the Wilderness with just 3:28 to go to end regulation in a draw. Jacob Zacharewicz scooped up 31 saves to back the Wilderness in goal.
Northeast 5 @ Jamestown 4 – Northeast was backed by a pair of third period goals from Brent Keefer to complete a weekend sweep of Jamestown by way of a 5-4 win. The other three Generals scores came from Jared Scott, Kyle Schroeder, and David Andreychuk who all received an assist from Paul Minnehan. Four different skaters contributed to the Rebels offensive efforts with Mitch Lafay, John Lundy, Max Hamstad, and Kolby Amici lighting the lamp. Cullen DeYoung gathered 30 saves to secure his fifth win of the season from the blue paint for Northeast, while Chace Hale went 24 for 29 in net for Jamestown in the defeat.
Anchorage 4 @ Kenai River 1 – The Anchorage Wolverines scored four unanswered goals as they defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears by a score of 4-1. Hunter Schmitz, Talon Sigurdson, Alexander Babich and Campbell Cichosz all scored in the win for Anchorage. Sigurdson scored his NAHL leading 15th goal of the season while Cichosz notched his first NAHL goal. Kevin Marx Noren provided all the offense for the Brown Bears in the loss. Raythan Robbins was the winning goaltender as he made 31 saves. Bryant Marks made 32 stops in the loss.
Janesville 5 @ Fairbanks 3 – Four first period goals paced the Janesville Jets to a 5-3 win over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Cy LeClerc, Robby Newton, Jonah Aegerter and William Gustavsson all scored in the opening 20 minutes to give Janesville a big lead. The Ice Dogs got within one with three second period tallies. Two coming off the stick of Dakota Macintosh and one from Owen Neuharth. Robby Newton scored in the third period to give the Jets some insurance. Michael D’Orazio earned the win in the blue paint as he made 25 saves. Kayden Hargraves and Tyler Krivtsov combined for 27 saves in the loss for Fairbanks.
Maine 2 @ Maryland 3 (SO) – After ending regulation in a draw, Laker Aldridge fired one past the goalie in the third round of the shootout to split the weekend series and tilt the ice in favor of the Black Bears by a score of 3-2. Ryan Bottrill opened scoring for Maryland nearly halfway through the second period, but Maine responded with two tallies from Zion Green and Matthew Connor to regain the lead. Connor Bennett scored his second of the season for the Black Bears with less than seven minutes left to force overtime. Maryland keeper Luca Di Pasquo was strong between the pipes as he denied 25 attempts. Gus Holt did all he could in goal for Maine saving 21 shots fired his direction as he skated away with the loss.
Austin 4 @ St. Cloud 3 – The Bruins offense was fueled by a four-goal run that pushed them over the edge 4-3 versus St. Cloud on the road. Matys Brassard netted his third of the season for Austin with less than a minute left in the first period to begin the scoring rush. Jack Malinski posted a Bruins tally in the second frame, and Damon Furuseth continued the momentum with a pair of third period Austin goals. Three scores off the stick of forward Ryan O’Neill brought the Norsemen within reach but it would not be enough to overcome the division leading Bruins. Austin net minder Klayton Knapp secured 25 saves. On the other end of the ice, Tomas Bolo took the loss for St. Cloud after coming up with 18 stops.
Shreveport 3 @ Amarillo 4 (SO) – Kristaps Skrastins and Yaroslav Samadov lit the lamp in the first two rounds of the shootout for Amarillo as they rallied to win 4-3 against Shreveport. Anthony Vidrick of the Wranglers scored the lone first period goal but the Mudbugs responded with three straight from Austin Brimmer, Timofei Khokhlachev, and Logan Gotinsky. Glebs Prohorenkovs picked up a point for Amarillo with just eight seconds to spare in the middle frame, but it was Logan Cleary who’s third period tally forced overtime. Wranglers keeper Max Gutjahr went 25 for 28 from the crease for his ninth win of the season. Devon Bobak collected 29 saves in the Shreveport loss.
Chippewa 1 @ Springfield 3 – Three different Jr. Blues added to the scoresheet as they bounced back against the visiting Steel with a 3-1 victory to split the weekend series. Joe Kelly of Chippewa and Mason Hoehn of Springfield exchanged goals in the first twenty minutes of play. Noah Marino and Hayden Riva recorded tallies late in the third to finalize the contest. Ethan Roberts was dominant in net for Springfield allowing just one opposing goal, while goalkeeper Criox Kochendorfer was handed the loss for Chippewa despite halting 29 of 31 pucks.
Lone Star 0 @ Wichita Falls 4 – Carter Korpi and Riley Brueck both doubled up on goal scoring to split the weekend series against Lone Star with a 4-0 shutout win. Six different Warriors chipped in assists on Saturday evening as well to help the scoring efforts. Daniel Duris was perfect in goal for Wichita Falls turning aside all 26 shots he encountered. Lone Star tender Jan Skorpik made 13 stops but was dealt the loss for the Brahmas.
Odessa 1 @ El Paso 3 – El Paso scored three straight giving way to a 3-1 win over Odessa to split the pair of weekend games against the South division leading Jackalopes. The Rhinos goals came off the sticks of Nick Turek, Matt Johnson, and Bo Cosman. Emerson Goode was credited with the lone Odessa score on an assist by Rylan Yates. Lassi Lehti was nearly perfect in goal for El Paso closing the door on 38 of 39 chances. Goalie Noah Rupprecht did all he could for the Jackalopes with 37 stops in the battle.
Corpus Christi 4 @ New Mexico 1 – A two goal night for Jude Kurtas paved the way for Corpus Christi to rebound against New Mexico by a score of 4-1. IceRays forward Michael Casey Jr. fired one past the goalie for his first of the season just 3:13 into the game assisted by Nathan Butler and Frank Jenkins. Cole Helm also put up a score for Corpus Christi with help from Zachary Dill. The solo Ice Wolves goal came at the 13:19 mark of the first period as Nikolai Dunlak celebrated his fourth of the year. Stefan Carney compiled 34 stops from between the pipes to lead the IceRays to victory. Owen Parker and Beni Halasz teamed up for 17 New Mexico saves.
Aberdeen 3 @ Minot 4 – Braydon Beahm netted the game winner to break the tie with just 3:39 left in the third period of play to give Minot the 4-3 advantage over Aberdeen on Saturday evening. The Wings started off strong with back-to-back goals in the first frame off the sticks of Owen DuBois and Ronan Walsh who also struck again in the contest. Minot skaters Colby Joseph and Zack Simon found the back of the net in the middle period, but it was Connor McGrath who came up with the tying tally for the Minotauros early in the third. Zach Sandy made 24 stops from behind the crease in the Minot victory. Aberdeen goal tender Dominick Wasik turned aside 37 of 41 shots in the loss.
