Friday Finals: Kebreau, Black Bears stay hot with shutout
Carter Clafton helped the Amarillo Wranglers move their record to 5-0 thanks to a 4-1 win in Shreveport on Friday.
Maryland 5 @ Philadelphia 0 – It only took 11 saves, but Maryland goalie William Hakansson got his first NAHL shutout, leading the Black Bears to a 5-0 win, spoiling the Rebels home opener. It was all Black Bears in the game, who outshot Philadelphia 58-11 in the contest. Hunter Ramos started the scoring in the 1st period for Maryland, which was followed up by a four-goal 2nd period, which included a hat-trick from Dimitry Kebreau and one goal from Jesse Horacek. For the Rebels, Jakub Krbecek made 33 saves and Jack Fialkoff made 20 saves in the loss.
Amarillo 4 @ Shreveport 1 - Carter Clafton was nearly perfect for the Amarillo Wranglers as he turned aside 25 of the 26 shots fired in his direction in the Wranglers 4-1 win over the Shreveport Mudbugs. Chase Davis broke the ice just four and a half minutes into the action to give Amarillo the lead. Over halfway through the second is when Nikolas Campbell extended the Wranglers lead. Just two minutes later, Shreveport had an answer. It was Garrett Steele scoring his first of the season cutting the deficit in half as the game went to the third period. The Mudbugs outshot the Wranglers 12-6 in the final 20 minutes but it was enough as Logan Cleary and Kyle DeMarco chipped in empty net goals. Tommy Aitken suffered the loss in net, he made 21 saves on 23 shots.
New Jersey 4 @ Danbury 1 – The Titans picked up their first win of the 2022-23 season as Brendan Dumas scored twice and added an assist and Zakari Brice made 26 saves in a 4-1 road win in Danbury. The score was even at 1-1 through the first 20 minutes with Dumas opening the scoring and Evan West answering for Danbury. In the 2nd period, the Titans seized control with three goals, including another from Dumas and others from Anthony Calafiore and Johnny McMahon. Adam Johnson took the loss in goal for Danbury, making 39 saves.
Johnstown 3 @ Northeast 4 (OT) – Newly acquired forward Jake LaRusso had the overtime-winning goal and an assist as the Generals won their second game of the season thanks to a 4-3 overtime win over the visiting Tomahawks. Johnstown led 2-0 after one period with goals from Johnny Ulicny and Drake Albers. The Generals scored the next two to knot the game at 2-2 as Paul Minnehan and Matthew DeSpirit lit the lamp. Late in the 3rd period, David Matousek scored to give Johnstown a brief 3-2 lead, but a goal from David Andreychuk with just :09 remaining in regulation sent the game to OT for LaRusso’s heroics. Generals goalie Cullen DeYoung made 20 saves in the win, while Alec Rajalin-Scharp made 35 saves in the loss.
Austin 3 @ St. Cloud 4 (SO) – The Norsemen came from behind to edge the Bruins in a shootout, 4-3. The Bruins jumped ahead 2-0 in the 1st period with goals from Walter Zacher and Jackson Luther. St. Cloud cut the lead down to one thanks to a power play goal from Kade Peterson. The Bruins lead went back to two as early in the 2nd period Jack Malinski scored a shorthanded goal to make it 3-1. The Norsemen stormed back to tie the game as Nik Hong scored and Peterson netted his second goal of the game. In the shootout, goals from Blake Perbix and Peterson netted the extra point for the Norsemen. Tomas Bolo made 26 saves in the win, while Ethan Robertson made 36 saves in the loss.
Fairbanks 4 @ Wisconsin 1 – Thanks to 28 saves from Kayden Hargraves, the Ice Dogs spoiled the Windigo’s home opener with a 4-1 win at The Dome in Eagle River. Fairbanks jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 1st period goals from Marc Lund and Tyler Herzberg. Wisconsin cut the lead to 2-1 thanks to a 2nd period goal from Victor Widlund. In the 3rd period, Fairbanks put the game away with two more goals from Cameron Ricotta and Brady Welsch. Maxwell Beckford made 27 saves in the loss for the Windigo.
Kenai River 1 @ Janesville 5 – Five different players scored and Peter Sterling made 30 saves as the Jets got revenge from their loss on Thursday thanks to a 5-1 win on Friday. The Jets took a 2-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Joseph Kramer and Chris Pelosi. The Brown Bears cut the lead down to 2-1 in the 2nd period thanks to a goal from Carson Triggs. Later in the 2nd period, the Jets went back up by two thanks to a power play goal from Noah Gibbs. In the 3rd period, the Jets put the game on ice as Geno McEnery scored his first NAHL goal and Kyle Kudma also scored. Brown Bears goalie Bryant Marks made 38 saves in the loss.
Anchorage 2 @ Chippewa 5 - Adam Gajan was sensational in goal as he denied 48 shots to help the Chippewa Steel earn a 5-2 win over the Anchorage Wolverines. Jackson Bisson netted two goals for the Steel while Matthew Brille logged a goal and an assist in the victory. J.J. Grainda and Kade Nielsen also picked up goals for Chippewa. Jackson Reineke and Mason LeBel provided the offense for the Wolverines. Shane Soderwall took the loss in net, as he made 35 saves.
El Paso 3 @ Corpus Christi 2 - El Paso scored three unanswered goals to spoil the home opener in Corpus Christi as the Rhinos beat the IceRays by a score of 3-2. Oliver Stumpel and Michael Casey netted first period goals for the home squad to give Corpus Christi the early lead. In the second it was El Paso getting two goals of their own to tie the game at two after 40 minutes. Tristan Kimmen and Donovan O’Neil were the goal scorers. Early in the final frame Jacob Zwirecki scored his first goal of the season and it would prove to be the game winner. Hunter Garvey grabbed the win in goal with 23 saves. Stefan Carney was dealt the loss, he made 21 stops.
Bismarck 4 @ Aberdeen 1 - The Bismarck Bobcats picked up their first win of the season as they topped the Aberdeen Wings by a score of 4-1. Alexander Gullichsen got the scoring started for the home squad with his third of the year. The Bobcats would respond with two goals in the second period, coming off the sticks of Evan Hunter and Eddie Shepler. Bismarck would add two more tallies in the third period as well Drew Holt and Landon Fandel each picked up their first goals of the year. Linards Lipskis took home the win in the crease as he made 23 saves. Florian Wade was the losing netminder as he made 23 stops.
Odessa 2 @ New Mexico 5 - Sully Scholle scored two goals as the New Mexico Ice Wolves topped the Odessa Jackalopes in their home opener 5-2 on Friday night. The two teams combined for four first period goals as Ryan Mansfield and Adam Armijo got on the board for Odessa but New Mexico countered with goals from Ryan Johnson and Scholle. Yusaku Ando’s first goal of the season gave the Ice Wolves their first lead of the night with Hunter Hastings and Scholle adding empty net goals in the final seconds. Carsen Stokes made 28 saves to pick up the win in the blue paint. Quentin Sigurdson also made 28 saves in the loss for the Jackalopes.
North Iowa 2 @ Minot 3 - The Minot Minotauros outlasted the North Iowa Bulls with a 3-2 win in their home opener. Max Martin and Cooper Rice scored in the opening 20 minutes for Minot as they took a 2-0 lead to the dressing room. Simone Dadie and Justin Mexico struck back for the Bulls to even the contest after two periods of play. Then just 1:24 into the final frame, Braden Fischer netted his first goal of the season and it would stand to be the game winner as the Minotauros grab the win. Lawton Zacher stopped 19 shots in the win for Minot. Mitch Day was given the loss as he made 28 saves.
