Friday Finals: IceRays continue surge up South standings
Max Neill had a hat-trick on Friday to lead the Minnesota Wilderness to their fifth straight win.
Amarillo 1 @ Corpus Christi 3 - The Corpus Christi IceRays inched closer to playoff positioning as they defeated the Amarillo Wranglers 3-1. Nathan Butler and Colby Seitz scored 1:17 apart early in the opening period too give the IceRays a two goal lead. Blake Lewis added to the lead in the second period. Kristaps Skrastins got Amarillo within two but that’s as close as they would get. Stefan Carney stopped 28 shots to win his sixth game of the season while Michael Sochan and Max Gutjahr combined to make 17 saves.
MN Wilderness 5 @ Chippewa 1 - Max Neill logged a hat trick and added an assist as the Minnesota Wilderness defeated the Chippewa Steel 5-1. Nicholas Rexine had a goal and two assists of his own while Aaron Pionk also lit the lamp. Joe Kelly had the lone goal for the Steel in the loss. Konrad Kausch took home the victory by making 28 saves. Zach Hansen was dealt the loss as he made 25 stops.
Maine 2 @ Jamestown 3 (OT) - Jak Vaarwerk netted the game winner in overtime with just eight seconds remaining as the Jamestown Rebels edged the Maine Nordiques 3-2. Aidan Connolly got the Nordiques a point as his goal with nine seconds remaining in regulation evened the game at two. Ethan Janda and Reid Lune netted goals for the Rebels while Brendan Gibbons had the other tally for Maine. Nolan Suggs picked up the win as he made 45 saves. Avery Sturtz was given the loss as he made 27 stops.
Johnstown 1 @ Maryland 4 - Luca Di Pasquo was nearly perfect as he denied 43 of 44 Johnstown shots fired in his direction. Jacob Brockman had a goal and an assist while Brenden Piku had three assists. Ryan Bottrill, Elliott Lareau and Conor Cole all found the back of the net for the Black Bears. Zachary Murray netted the only goal for the Tomahawks while Matthew O’Donnell stopped 29 shots.
Minot 0 @ St. Cloud 4 – Tomas Bolo turned aside all 35 shots he faced as the St. Cloud Norsemen blanked the Minot Minotauros 4-0. Jack Whitemoore, Hunter Hanson and Ryan O’Neill all scored in the second period to give St. Cloud a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. Evan Murr added his 10th goal of the season too make it a 4-0 game. Carter Clafton made 35 saves in the loss for the Minotauros.
Springfield 2 @ MN Magicians 3 (SO) - Hunter Longhi scored in regulation and in the shootout to help lift the Minnesota Magicians to a 3-2 win over the Springfield Jr. Blues. Issac Novak and Michael Valdez scored for Springfield to give them a 2-0 lead. Longhi scored in the second period to cut the lead in half before Trevor Kukkonen found the back of the net halfway through the third. Gavin Best and Longhi scored in the skills competition for Minnesota. Josh Langford made 25 saves in 65 minutes and was perfect in the shootout to earn the win. Aksel Reid took the loss as he denied 20 chances.
Lone Star 2 @ Shreveport 3 (OT) – Connor Gatto buried a rebound in overtime as the Shreveport Mudbugs took down the Lone Star Brahmas 3-2. All of the regulation scoring took place in the first 12 minutes as Nicholas Niemo got Lone Star on the board first with his 21st of the season. Logan Valkama and Timofei Khokhlachev scored two goals 2:23 apart to give the Mudbugs the lead. Niemo’s second goal of the night evened the game at two before both goaltenders locked in for the remainder of the night. Devon Bobak won the goalie duel as he stopped 25 of 27 shots. Jan Skorpik took the loss as he made 17 saves.
Austin 2 @ Bismarck 3 - Jake Mclean’s second goal of the game stood as the game winner as the Bismarck Bobcats took down the Austin Bruins 3-2. The Bobcats got out to a 2-0 lead after McIean’s first goal and a power play tally off the stick of Owen Michaels. Walter Zacher and Michal Jasenec scored about four and a half minutes apart to even the game at two. Mclean’s second goal came seven minutes into the third and the defense held it down the rest of the way. Oskar Spinnars Nordin grabbed the win as he made 22 saves while Klayton Knapp was the loser in net, he made 25 saves.
Wichita Falls 1 @ Odessa 5 - Four different Jackalopes lit the lamp as Odessa took care of Wichita Falls by a score of 5-1. Trevor Taulien and Tanyon Bajzer gave the Jacks a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Nick Ahern added to the lead 58 seconds into the middle frame. William Lawson-Body scored for the Warriors to cut into the deficit but Bajzer’s second goal of the night and John Perdion’s goal put the finishing touches on victory for Odessa. Noah Rupprecht made 31 saves in the blue paint for Odessa while. Daniel Duris stopped 20 shots for the Warriors.
North Iowa 4 @ Aberdeen 2 - Two goals and an assist for Byron Hartley paced the North Iowa Bulls to a 4-2 win over the Aberdeen Wings. Michael Mesic chipped in a goal and two helpers for North Iowa. Logan Dombrowsky finished the night with a goal and an assist. Seamus Campbell and Ronan Walsh got on the scoresheet for Aberdeen in a losing effort. Hunter Garvey was in a groove as he made 39 saves for the Bulls. Greg Orosz made 25 stops for the Wings.
El Paso 0 @ New Mexico 5 – Beni Halasz was perfect as he stopped all 21 shots he faced as the New Mexico Ice Wolves shut out the El Paso Rhinos 5-0. Gustav Blom and Evan Carroll each had a goal and an assist in the victory. Dillan Bentley, Mitchell Becker and Will Howard also got on the scoresheet for the Ice Wolves. Lassi Lehti was busy all night as he made 50 saves in the loss for the Rhinos.
Janesville 3 @ Anchorage 2 (OT) – After blowing a 2-0 lead, Mack Keryluk put the Janesville Jets up for good as they outlasted the Anchorage Wolverines 3-2. Spencer Kring and Jack Ford got Janesville out to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes of action. It was a Campbell Cichosz power play goal and Talon Sigurdson’s 29th of the season that knotted the game at two goals apiece. Neither team could find the net in the third period which led to overtime and Keryluk’s heroics. Owen Millward needed just 21 saves to pick up the win. Raythan Robbins stopped 36 of 39 in the loss for the Wolverines.
Kenai River 5 @ Fairbanks 3 – Sean Henry potted a pair of goals as the Kenai River Brown Bears defeated the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 5-3. Cole Dubicki and Ryan Finch each collected a goal and an assist for Kenai River while Barak Braslavski also lit the lamp. Dakota MacIntosh, Nolan Cunningham and Brady Welsch were the goal scorers for the Ice Dogs. Cole Wheaton picked up the win in the blue paint as he made 23 saves. Kayden Hargraves was dealt the loss as he made 29 saves.
