South dominant on Day 1 at NAHL Showcase
Aberdeen goalie Geno Pichora made 42 saves in a 4-1 win on Wednesday at the NAHL Showcase.
Day 1 of the 2022 NAHL Showcase was another busy one as scouts and fans flocked to the Super Rink in Blaine to get their first look at the 29 NAHL teams and over 700+ players taking part in the four-day event.
The big story on Day 1 was the dominance of the South Division as they posted a 7-1 record on the first day. The Central came in at 3-3, while the Midwest was 3-5, and the East was 1-5. It marked the second straight year that all the games on Day 1 of the NAHL Showcase were decided in regulation. 10 of the 14 games were decided by three goals or less.
Day 2 of the event is on Thursday, September 15th at the Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota.
All 29 NAHL teams will play between three and four regular-season games at the Showcase, which is one of hockey's most prominent and popular events of the entire season and has become the 'Greatest Show on Ice.'
Click here for the 2022 NAHL Showcase Schedule
Click here for 2022 NAHL Showcase Scores
All 58 NAHL Showcase games will be broadcast live and in HD through HockeyTV, the official broadcast provider of the NAHL.
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Day 1 Recaps
Janesville 3 vs. Maryland 2 – Will Troutwine scored the game-winning goal in the final minute of regulation and also had an assist to lead the Jets to a 3-2 win over the Black Bears in the opening game of the 2022 NAHL Showcase. Maryland led 1-0 after the 1st period thanks to a goal from Christian Catalano. In the 2nd period, the Jets took a 2-1 lead on back-to-back goals from Jimmy Doyle and Ryan Friedman. Maryland would knot the game at 2-2 later in the period on a goal from Luke Van Why. With :47 seconds remaining in regulation, Troutwine netted the game-winner on a wrist shot from the low circle. Selby Warren made 24 saves in the win, while Ryan Keyes made 31 saves in the loss.
Amarillo 3 vs. Anchorage 1 – Wranglers goalie Carter Clafton made 22 saves to lead his team to a 3-1 win over the Wolverines, spoiled the coaching debut of new Anchorage head coach Evan Trupp. The Wranglers opened the scoring in the 2nd period as Preston Brighton lit the lamp. The lead swelled to 2-0 in the 3rd period as Jack McDonald scored on the power play. Anchorage pulled to within 2-1 as Trent Powell scored, but a late goal from CJ Zezima secured the win for Amarillo. Wolverines goalie Shane Soderwall made 28 saves in the loss.
Austin 3 vs. Northeast 1 – Ethan Robertson made 21 saves to lead the Austin Bruins to a 3-1 win over the Northeast Generals. It was the Generals who struck first as Douglas Friberg scored early in the 1st period to give his team a 1-0 lead. It was all Bruins in the 2nd period as they took a 2-1 lead on goals from Walter Zacher and Jackson Rilei. In the 3rd period, the Brassard brothers converted on a 2 on 1 to make it a 3-1 lead as Matys converted on a nice pass from brother Isaak. Generals goalie Cullen DeYoung made 30 saves in the loss.
Lone Star 5 vs. Bismarck 3 – Despite just 15 shots on goal, the Brahmas made the most of their chances and got goals from five different players in a 5-3 win over Bismarck. Evan Hunter, who had two of the three Bobcats goals, opened the scoring in the 1st period. Mason Mara would answer for Lone Star to make it 1-1. Landon Fleming would give Bismarck the lead back at 2-1 after one period. In the 2nd period, the Brahmas took a 3-2 lead thanks to goals from Collin Kleiser and Dhillon Wilde. Bismarck tied the game at 3-3 in the 3rd period thanks to Hunter’s second goal of the night. The Brahmas responded with goals from Charlie Masek and Matthew Macdonald to secure the win. William Gramme made 22 saves in the win, while Linards Lipskis made 10 saves in the loss.
Chippewa 6 vs. Johnstown 1 – It was all Steel in their season-opener as Joe Kelly and Kade Nielsen each scored twice in a convincing 6-1 win over the Tomahawks. Chippewa opened up a 4-0 lead midway through the 3rd period, which included two goals from Nielsen, and others from Joey Sylvester and Cody Kempf. After Johnstown got a goal from James Barbour to make it 4-1, Joe Kelly would score twice to make it a 6-1 final. Adam Gajan made 26 saves in the win, while Alec Rajalin-Scharp made 32 saves in the loss.
Oklahoma 7 vs. Minot 3 – Brendan Williams scored twice and Hunter Jones had three points as the Warriors beat the Minotauros, 7-3. Minot opened the scoring late in the 1st period thanks to a power play goal from Owen Hanson. The Warriors then responded with four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead as Williams, Jones, Hunter Allen, and Joey Delgreco all scored. Minot clawed back with two goals in the 3rd period from Nick O’Hanisain and Nick Sewecke, but the Warriors would put the game away with three more goals in the 3rd period from Williams, William Lawson-Body, and Owen Baumgartner. Daniel Duris made 12 saves in the win, while Carl Lido made 23 saves in the loss.
Odessa 2 vs. New Jersey 1 – The Jackalopes won their season-opener and the Titans fell to 0-3 on the season as a late power play goal in regulation from Tanyon Bajzer was the difference in a 2-1 win. After a scoreless 1st period, the Titans opened the scoring first in the 2nd period on a goal from Blake Farrell. Logan Ganz would tie the game later in the 2nd period to make it 1-1. With just :58 second left in regulation, Bajzer netted the game-winner. Jackalopes goalie Quentin Sigurdson made 22 saves in the win, while Zakari Brice made 26 saves in the loss.
Kenai River 6 vs. Danbury 0 – Brown Bears forward Hayden Walters scored twice and goalie Nils Wallstrom stopped all 29 shots that came his way for a shutout in his first NAHL game as Kenai River blanked Danbury, 6-0. Kenai River led 1-0 after one period thank to a goal from Kotaro Tsusumi. The game was put out of reach in the 2nd period as Walters scored twice in addition to a goal from Ryan Finch. In the 3rd period, Kenai River added two more goals from Caleb Huffman and Mason Wharton to complete the win. Danbury goalie Adam Johnson made 35 saves in the loss.
Aberdeen 4 vs. Fairbanks 1 – Wings goalie Geno Pichora made 42 saves to lead the Wings to a 4-1 win in the team’s season opener. Fairbanks took a 1-0 lead in a dominant 1st period thanks to a goal from Jake Cameron. The Wings settled down and took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period with goals from Nikolai Tishkevich and Luke Lindsay. In the 3rd period, two more goals from Alexander Gullichsen and Jaxon Grosdidier secured the 4-1 win. Ice Dogs goalie Kayden Hargraves made 26 saves in the loss.
North Iowa 5 vs. Wisconsin 0 – Bulls goalie Erik Chaffe stopped all 19 shots that came his way as North Iowa shutout Wisconsin, 5-0. Five different players scored for the Bulls. After a scoreless 1st period, North Iowa took control in the 2nd period with three goals from Cayden Casey, Justin Mexico, and Hunter Bulger. Joe Sweeney and Max Scott added 3rd period goals to make it a 5-0 final score. Max Beckford made 24 saves in the loss for the Windigo.
New Mexico 5 vs. St. Cloud 2 – Sully Scholle scored twice to lead the Ice Wolves to a 5-2 opening day win over the Norsemen. New Mexico jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to 1st period goals from Scholle and Blayde Pogreba and a 2nd period goal from Alfred Lindberg. St. Cloud made it a 3-1 contest thanks to a goal from Tyler Dysart later in the 2nd period. In the 3rd period, another goal from Scholle and one from Ryan Johnson secured the 5-2 win. Daniel Murnieks had the other marker for the Norsemen. Carsen Stokes made 21 saves in the win, while Tomas Bolo made 25 saves in the loss.
Shreveport 3 vs. Minnesota 1 – Niklas Miller scored twice and Tommy Aitken made 19 saves to lead the Mudbugs to a 3-1 win over the Wilderness on Wednesday at the NAHL Showcase. It didn’t take Shreveport long to score as less than two minutes in Miller poked home a loose puck for a 1-0 lead. Midway through the 3rd period, Miller stuck again to make it 2-0. The Wilderness closed the gap to within a goal later in the period as Cole Gordon scored their lone goal of the game. Hayden Nichol would add an empty-net goal to complete the scoring. Wilderness goalie Isak Posch made 30 saves in the loss.
Philadelphia 5 vs. Corpus Christi 2 – In their NAHL debut, the Rebels got two goals from Oliver Band and 39 saves from goalie Jakub Krbecek in a 5-2 win over the IceRays. The Rebels led 2-1 after one period of play thanks to goals from Band and Matt Lewis, while Dominic Foglia scored for Corpus Christi. In the 2nd period, Connor Sedlak pushed the Rebels lead to 3-1. In the 3rd period, the IceRays pulled to within a goal as Michael Casey scored, but the Rebels had an answer thanks to a power play goal from Greg Spitznagel and another goal from Band. Stefan Carney made 28 saves in the loss for the IceRays.
El Paso 2 vs. Springfield 1 – The Rhinos got 15 saves from Matt Garvey in a 2-1 win over the Jr. Blues in Joe Coombs debut behind the bench for El Paso. The Jr. Blues scored the game’s first goal as Tyler Borgula struck on the power play in the 1st period. The Rhinos tied the game early in the 2nd period as Nick Justice scored from a sharp angle. Almost four minutes into the 3rd period, Tristan Kimmen netted the game-winner for the Rhinos. Springfield goalie Aksel Reid was sharp in the loss, making 29 saves.
