Friday Finals: Titans become first to punch ticket to playoffs

Friday Box Scores

Maryland 3 @ New Jersey 4 (OT): The New Jersey Titans punched their ticket to the 2022 Robertson Cup Playoffs with 4-3 overtime win against the Maryland Black Bears. The Titans got on the scoreboard first with a goal from Anthony Calafiore (0:56) less than a minute into the game. Later in the period Maryland took the lead 2-1 with back-to-back goals from Tyler Young. In the second period, Tyler Young netted his third of the night to extend the Black Bears lead, 3-1. In the third period the Titans scored with Michael Young (3:48) for a 3-2 score. Nearing the end of regulation, Brendan Dumas (18:59) tied the game 3-3. In the extra period, Levente Keresztes (3:07) won it for a 4-3 final. 

St. Cloud 8 @ Austin 2: The St. Cloud Norsemen defeated the Austin Bruins by a wide margin, 8-2. The Bruins scored first with Damon Furuseth (4:34) in the opening period. St. Cloud added back-to-back goals to end the period with a 2-1 lead after Blake Perbix (8:19) and Blake Mesenburg (11:15) both scored. In the second period Ethan Benz (1:38) added to the Norsemen’s lead for a 3-1 score. Blake Mesenburg scored two more to earn a hat trick and to make the score 5-1 in favor of St. Cloud. In the third period, Brandon Lajoie (3:24) scored to add to the Norsemen lead, 6-1. Anthony Menghini (6:06) scored the final goal for the Bruins making the score 6-2. St. Cloud added two more goals with Ryan O’Neill (6:15) and Ethan Benz (18:08) for a 8-2 final. 

Aberdeen 4 @ North Iowa 3 (SO): Will Gilson netted the game deciding goal in the shootout as the Aberdeen Wings edged the North Iowa Bulls by a score of 3-2. Carter Rapalje got the Bulls on the board first with his 22nd goal of the season and North Iowa took a 1-0 lead into the break. The second period was all Aberdeen as Kyle Gaffney, Cade Neilson and Jackson Yee all lit the lamp to give the Wings a 3-1 lead heading into the final period. Rapalje scored just 23 seconds into the final frame to make it a one goal game and Joey Potter scored on the power play midway through the period to tie the game at three. After a scoreless overtime, Patrick O’Connell and Gilson were able to find the back of the net in the skill competition to give Aberdeen the extra point. Greg Orosz grabbed the win with 19 stops. Hunter Garvey was stuck with the loss, he made 21 saves. 

Corpus Christi 2 @ Lone Star 3 (SO): Blake Benson and Johan Rosenquist scored in the shootout as the Lone Star Brahmas topped the Corpus Christi IceRays 3-2. The IceRays got out to an early lead with a power play goal by Colby Seitz in the first five minutes but Matt McQuade’s 13th of the season evened the game at one. Logan Tobias netted a power play goal to give Lone Star their first lead of the game but Trey Zagrzebski would find the back of the net towards the end of the middle frame. After a scoreless third period and overtime, Lone Star scored on both of their attempts while Arthur Smith stopped two of the three shooters. Smith finished the game with 16 saves while Damon Beaver took the loss despite making 35 saves.

Bismarck 1 @ Minot 4: The Minot Minotauros scored four unanswered goals en route to a 4-1 victory over the Bismarck Bobcats. After Adam Pietila’s opening goal for Bismarck, Cole Mickel knotted the game at one on the power play. Brayden Beahm, Huston Karpman and Colby Joseph all potted goals in the final period to secure the win for the Minotauros. Lassi Lehti made 43 saves to pick up the win in between the pipes. Oskar Spinnars Nordin stopped 31 shots for Bismarck. 

Shreveport 3 @ New Mexico 2 (SO): Austin Brimmer had the only goal in the shootout as the Shreveport Mudbugs defeated the New Mexico Ice Wolves 3-2. Logan Gotinsky broke the ice in the second period for Shreveport but their lead would not last long as Brandon Holt came back for New Mexico to tie the game at one just 2 minutes later. Gotinsky would score again later in the third to put Shreveport ahead again but Wilmer Svensson scored with 1:07 left to send the contest to overtime. Devon Bobak was perfect in the skills competition and Brimmer’s tally gave the Mudbugs the extra point. Bobak stopped 32 shots to grab the win in goal. Beni Halasz suffered the loss as he made 29 saves. 

MN Wilderness 7 @ Kenai River 1: Barrett Hall potted a pair of goals in the Minnesota Wilderness’ 7-1 win over the Kenai River Brown Bears. Ren Morque had a goal and an assist from the blue line while Gunnar Thoreson, Cole Gordon, Max Neill and Calvin Knight all found the back of the net as well. Caden Triggs picked up the lone goal for Kenai River. Konrad Kausch and Matthew Smith teamed up to make 26 saves in the win. Bryant Marks suffered the loss as he made 28 saves. 

Anchorage 4 @ Fairbanks 2: Matt Johnson and Bohdan Panasenko each had a goal and an assist as the Anchorage Wolverines doubled up the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 4-2. Colton Friesen and Cooper Morris also scored for the Wolverines as Jackson Krock chipped in two helpers. Alexander Malinowski and Tristan Sarsland were the goal scorers for the Ice Dogs. Shane Soderwall picked up the win in goal for Anchorage, he made 27 saves in the victory. Kayden Hargraves was saddled with the loss, he stopped 26 shots. 

Northeast 1 @ Maine 6: After being tied 1-1 in the third period, the Maine Nordiques scored five goals to take a 6-1 win over the Northeast Generals. Late in the opening frame Brendan Gibbons (15:49) netted the lone goal for a 1-0 Maine lead. In the third period, Alex Kraus (0:25) evened up the game 1-1 scoring for the Generals. The Nordiques answered back with goals from Aidan Connolly (1:13/17:52), Reese Farrell (3:32), Oliver Genest (5:49) and Brendan Gibbons (6:23) for a 6-1 final. Maine goalie Avery Sturtz made 39 saves in the win.

Danbury 2 @ Johnstown 5: The Johnstown Tomahawks took down the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks in a 5-2 final. Danbury got on the board in the first period early with Gabe Dombrowski (0:45) scoring his 20th of the year. In the middle period the Tomahawks scored three unanswered goals as Zachary Murray (7:26/15:34) scored twice Frank Jenkins (15:06) for a 3-1 lead. Danbury got a late goal from Logan Nickerson (19:49) to end the period. In the third, Zachary Murray (7:08) and Braedon Ford (19:05) scored for the Tomahawks to take a 5-2 win. 

Janesville 4 @ Chippewa 7: The Chippewa Steel topped the Janesville Jets in a 7-4 final score. The Steel got ahead 2-0 in the first period with Colin Tushie and Ryan Remick finding the back of the net. In the second, Janesville’s Willam Gustavsson (3:53) scored, getting the Jets on the board 2-1. The Steel added back-to-back goals from Spencer Bellina (7:33) and Matthew Grannan (13:04) making the score 4-1 going into the final period. In the third period the Steel added back to back goals with Kade Nielsen and Matthew Brielle to make the score 6-1. Janesville answered back with three unanswered goals from Cade Destefani, Spencer Kring, and Jan Lasak making the score 7-2. The Steel added their final goal of the night from Joe Kelly for a final score of 7-2. 

El Paso 1 @ Amarillo 4: The Amarillo Wranglers defeated the El Paso Rhinos in a 4-1 final score. Glebs Prohorenkovs (1:47) got the Wranglers ahead 1-0 in the first. In the second, CJ Zezima netted two goals for a 3-0 Wranglers lead. Late in the period, Ian Carpenter scored for the Rhinos, 3-1. In the third Danylo Korzhyleskyi (6:07) scored the final goal of the game for a 4-1 Wrangler win. 

Springfield 0 @ MN Magicians 1: The Minnesota Magicians edged the Springfield Jr. Blues in a 1-0 contest. Samuel Jacobs (12:37) netted the game's only goal in the third period to take the win. Magicians goaltender Josh Seeley was perfect between the pipes stopping all 27 shots he faced in the win. 

Wichita Falls 7 @ Odessa 2: The Wichita Falls Warriors took down the Odessa Jackalopes in a 7-2 game. The Warriors opened up the first period scoring three goals with Vincent Corcoran netting two and Adam Smith. John Perdion (3:33) scored the lone goal for the Jackalopes for a 3-1 score to end the first. In the second period, the Warriors scored four goals with Dean Bauchiero, Drew Vieten, Philip Tornqvist and William Lawson-Body for a 7-1 lead. In the third, John Wojciechowski scored for a final score of 7-2.