Big crowds highlight Day 3 of NAHL Showcase
North Iowa goalie Erik Chaffe helped the Bulls to their third straight shutout at the NAHL Showcase on Friday.
Day 3 of the 2022 NAHL Showcase may have been the busiest one in years according to some sources and the stands were packed with thousands of fans and over 275 NHL and NCAA scouts as the teams continued to show their medal.
The big story on Day 3 was the undefeated teams continuing to play lights out, which will set up several intriguing match-ups on Day 4 to find out who will go home with an undefeated record.
The South still leads the Showcase with an 15-9 record through three days. The Midwest stands at 14-8-2 thanks to a big day on Friday. The Central stands at 10-7-1, and the East is at 3-16.
The final day of the event is Saturday, September 17th 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 3 Recaps
Chippewa Steel 5 vs. Northeast 1 – The Steel stayed hot and moved to 3-0 at the Showcase thanks to a dominant 5-1 win over the Generals, who fell to 1-4 on the season and 0-3 at the Showcase. The Generals led 1-0 after one period thanks to a goal from Paul Minnehan. The Steel would respond with four goals in the 2nd period to put the game out of reach, which included goals from Cody Kempf, Bryceon Lago, Joe Kelly, and Kade Nielsen. Matthew Brille would add a goal in the 3rd period to complete the 5-1 final. Adam Gajan made 36 saves in the win and Cullen DeYoung made 34 saves in the loss.
Wisconsin 3 vs. Corpus Christi 2 – Wisconsin picked up their second win at the NAHL Showcase as the edged the IceRays, 3-2. The Windigo jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Samuel Jacobs and Zachary Cline. The IceRays got on the board later in the opening period with a goal from Stepan Kuznetsov. Wisconsin pushed the lead to 3-1 in the 2nd period with a goal from Patrick Isiguzo. In the 3rd period, the IceRays made it 3-2 on another goal from Kuznetsov. Gavin Moffatt made 28 savs in the win, while Thomas Kiesewtter made 37 saves in the loss.
Kenai River 3 vs. Philadelphia 1 – Brown Bears goalie Bryant Marks made 25 saves as Kenai River won their second game of the Showcase thanks to a 3-1 win over the Rebels. The Brown Bears led early thanks to a 1st period goal from Ashton Christman. Kenai River would add two more goals in the 3rd period from Garrett Drotts and Kotaro Tsutsumi to secure the win. David Deputy had the lone goal for the Rebels. Jack Fialkoff made 33 saves in the loss.
Springfield 4 vs. Shreveport 2 – Jagur McClelland and Tyler Borgula each had a goal and an assist to lead the Jr. Blues to their first win of the season with a 4-2 triumph over Shreveport. Springfield opened the scoring in the 1st period on a goal from Andrew Schultz. The Mudbugs would then get back-to-back goals from Logan Furstenau to take a 2-1 lead to the lockerroom. The Jr. Blues then exploded for three goals in the 3rd period, including tallies from McClelland, Borgula, and Hadley Hudak. Jed Baliotti made 20 saves in the win, while David Filak made 26 saves in the loss.
Janesville 2 vs. Lone Star 0 – In his NAHL debut, Jets goalie Peter Sterling stopped all 19 shots that came his way for his first career shutout and win as the Jets moved to 3-0 at the Showcase with a 2-0 win over Lone Star. The game was scoreless for the first two periods, but the Jets broke through in the 3rd period as Conner Brown scored. Noah Gibbs would then add an empty-net goal to secure the win for the Jets. Brahmas goalie William Gramme made 23 saves in the loss.
Maryland 4 vs. Aberdeen 1 – Maryland goalie William Hakansson made 23 saves to lead the Black Bears to a 4-1 win over the Wings. After a scoreless 1st period, the Wings were first on the board as Ronan Walsh scored his his second goal of the season in the 2nd period. Later in the period, the Black Bears equalized on a goal from Hunter Ramos. In the 3rd period, the Black Bears put the game away with three goals from Gabriel Westling, Riley Ruh, and Sean Kilcullen. Wings goalie Geno Pichora made 30 saves in the loss.
Austin 5 vs. Danbury 3 – The Bruins moved their record to 3-0 on the season thanks to a 5-3 win over Danbury on Day 3 at the Showcase. The Bruins were led by defenseman James Goffredo, who had two goals and forward Austin Salani, who had three points. Goffredo gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead, scoring the first two goals of the game. Midway through the 2nd period, Danbury made it 2-1 with a power play goal from Nash Jacobsma. The Bruins took a 3-1 lead later in the 2nd period on a goal from Walter Zacher. In the 3rd period, Danbury stayed close with a pair of goals from Luka Sukovic, but the Bruins secure the win with goals from Dylan Cook and an empty-netter from Salani. Trent Wiemken made 7 saves in the win, while Adam Johnson made 23 saves in the loss.
New Mexico 4 vs. New Jersey 2 – The Ice Wolves moved to 3-0 at the Showcase as they doubled up the Titans, 4-2, as New Jersey fell to 0-5 on the season. The Ice Wolves took a 1-0 lead early in the 1st period thanks to a highlight reel goal from Alfred Lindberg. After a scoreless 2nd period, New Mexico jumped ahead 2-0 with a goal early in the 3rd period from Dillon Kuntz. New Jersey stormed back to tie the game with goals from Anthony Calafiore and Ben Yurchuk, but New Mexico had an answer with goals from Jake Dalton and Sully Scholle to secure the 4-2 win. Carsen Stokes made 25 saves in the win, while Zakari Brice made 23 saves in the loss.
El Paso 3 vs. Minnesota 2 (SO) – The Rhinos picked up their second win of the Showcase as they came from behind to beat the Wilderness, 3-2 in a shootout. El Paso opened the scoring in the 1st period with a goal from Bo Cosman. The Wilderness answered later in the period with a power play goal from Cole Gordon. The Wilderness went ahead 2-1 in the 2nd period as Jack Seaverson scored his 2nd goal of the season. El Paso would equalize at 2-2 early in the 3rd period as Donovan O’Neill found the back of the net. After a scoreless overtime, El Paso’s Frank Tafelski was the lone goal scorer in the shootout as the Rhinos took home the extra point. Hunter Garvey made 19 saves in the win, while Isak Posch made 29 saves in the loss.
Fairbanks 3 vs. Bismarck 2 – Thanks to a goal and an assist from Cameron Ricotta and Tyler Herzberg, the Ice Dogs picked up their first win of the Showcase, beating Bismarck 3-2, as the Bobcats fell to 0-3 on the season. Bismarck took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period with a power play goal from Vertti Jantunen, his 3rd goal of the season. Fairbanks then scored three straight goals including goals from Ricotta and Herzberg in the 2nd period and a power play tally from Marc Lund in the 3rd period. Bismarck got a late goal from Julian Beaumont to make the final, 3-2. Kayden Hargraves made 23 saves in the win, while Linards Lipskis made 22 saves in the loss.
Oklahoma 4 vs. Maine 1 – The Warriors moved their record to 3-0 at the Showcase thanks to a 4-1 win over Maine. Hunter Jones scored twice in the win for the Warriors. Jones scored the first of his two goals in the 1st period to put Oklahoma ahead, 1-0. Joey Delgreco added a 2nd period goal to make it 2-0. Jones would then make it 3-0 early in the 3rd period and Owen Baumgartner would add a power play goal to make it 4-0. Maine would snap the Warriors shutout bid with a late goal from Jonny Meiers. Daniel Duris made 15 saves in the win, while Kael Depape made 18 saves in the loss.
North Iowa 4 vs. Odessa 0 – For the third straight game, the North Iowa Bulls posted a shutout and moved to 3-0 at the NAHL Showcase as they beat the Jackalopes, 4-0. Erik Chaffe made 23 saves in the win, which was his second shutout of the event. The Bulls opened the scoring in the 1st period with the eventual game-winning goal from Cayden Casey. In the 2nd period, the lead swelled to 3-0 as Justin Mexico and Joey Potter scored. Jack Mesic added a power play goal in the 3rd period to complete the Bulls scoring and win. Hunter Hein made 29 saves in the losing effort for the Jackalopes.
St. Cloud 3 vs. Anchorage 2 (OT) – Blake Perbix had the overtime-winning goal and an assist as the Norsemen picked up their first win of the season thanks to a 3-2 overtime win over the Wolverines. After a scoreless 1st period, the Norsemen jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Nik Hong and Jeremiah Konkel. Anchorage stormed back in the 3rd period with goals from Jackson Reineke and Wilson Dahlheimer that tied the game at 2-2. In the overtime, Perbix wristed a shot home for the 3-2 win. Tomas Bolo made 27 saves in the win and Ben Dardis made 23 saves in the loss.
NTDP 4 vs. Johnstown 0 – NTDP goalie Nick Kempf made 33 saves to lead his team to a 4-0 shutout over Johnstown. After a scoreless 1st period, the NTDP took a 2-0 lead in the 2nd period with goals from Lucas Van Vliet and Cole Eiserman. In the 3rd period, the NTDP put the game out of reach with another goal from Eiserman and Kamil Bednarik to make the final 4-0. Tomahawks goalie Matt O’Donnell made 29 saves in the loss.
Amarillo 3 vs. Minot 1 – The Wranglers moved their record to 3-0 at the NAHL Showcase thanks to 19 saves from Luca Ganz in a 3-1 win over Minot. The Minotauros scored first in the 1st period on a goal from Weston Knox. The Wranglers then rattled off three straight as Kyle DeMarco tied the game at 1-1 later in the period. In the 3rd period, the Wranglers put the game out of reach with goals from Dominik Bartecko and Logan Cleary. Minot goalie Dane Couture made 16 saves in the loss.
