Friday Finals: Minot tops Austin to move into 1st place tie
Anthony Cafarelli scored two goals and had an assist as the IceRays picked up a big 4-2 home win over the Warriors on Friday night.
Austin 1 @ Minot 4 - Three first period goals set the tone early as the Minot Minotauros defeated the Austin Bruins by a score of 4-1, as the Minotauros moved into a 1st place tie with the Bruins. Trevor Stachowiak, Chad Muller and Colby Woogk all tickled the twine in the opening 20 to give Minot a big cushion that they rode for the rest of the night. Kaden Muir scored for Austin to get them within two going into the 3rd period but an empty net goal from Cayden Casey sealed the game for the home squad. Brady James stopped 18 shots to grab the win in goal while Trent Wiemken suffered the loss as he made 25 saves.
Oklahoma 2 @ Corpus Christi 4 – Anthony Cafarelli scored two goals and had an assist as the IceRays picked up a big 4-2 home win over the Warriors. The IceRays got a 1st period goal from Gage Parillo, a 2nd period goal from Dylan Jensen and two goals in the 3rd period from Cafarelli. Oklahoma goals came from William Ahlrik and Nathan Rickey. Vilgot Holm picked up the win in goal, making 20 saves.
Chippewa 4 @ Kenai River 3 (OT) – Gavin Middendorf had the overtime-winning goal and an assist as the Steel snapped their six-game losing streak with a 4-3 road win in Kenai River. The Steel never trailed in the game and got goals in regulation from Matt Grannan, Aidan Willis, and Peyton Platter, while Marko Giourof, Dylan Contreras, and Brock MacDonald scored for the Brown Bears in the loss. Carter Wishart made 44 saves in the win, while Conor Sullivan made 31 saves in the loss.
Fairbanks 2 @ Anchorage 5 – Fyodor Nikolayenya scored two goals to lead the Wolverines to a 5-2 home win over the Ice Dogs. Anchorage opened up a 2-0 lead with goals from Luke Anderson and Bryce Monrean. Fairbanks answered back with goals from Cole Burke and Wyatt Carlson to make it 2-2. The Wolverines then scored the final three goals of the game, which included two from Nikolayenya and one from Cole Christian. Liam Beerman made 34 saves in the win.
El Paso 2 @ Lone Star 6 – Brock James had a hat-trick and Bryce Ingles scored twice as the Brahmas scored the final four goals of the game to widen their lead atop the South Division thanks to a 6-2 win over the 2nd place Rhinos. Ingles opened the scoring with back-to-back goals to make it 2-0. The Rhinos tied the game at 2-2 with goals in the 2nd period from Luke Lindsay and James Hooley III. The Brahmas would then pull away with four straight goals, including three from James and one from Anthony Cappello. Deivs Rolovs made 17 saves in the win.
Amarillo 3 @ New Mexico 2 – The Wranglers moved into a tie for 3rd place in the South Division thanks to a 3-2 road win in New Mexico. Connor McNaughton opened the scoring for the Wranglers in the 1st period. The Ice Wolves answered back in the 2nd period to tie the game at 1-1 as Rasmus Leijonhielm scored. In the 3rd period, the Wranglers secured the win with goals from Jack Ivey and Roman Zap. Ryan Seelinger had the other Ice Wolves goal. Wranglers goalie Connor McDonough made 22 saves in the win.
Colorado 1 @ Odessa 0 – Colorado Grit goaltender Jack Erickson was the star of the night, stopping all 41 shots that came his way as his team snapped a seven-game losing streak thanks to a 1-0 shutout win on the road in Odessa. The lone goal of the game came late in the 1st period as Christian Carter scored with an assist to Makhai Sparks. Jackalopes goalie Quentin Sigurdson made 23 saves in the loss.
Minnesota 4 @ Janesville 5 – Christian Venticinque scored two goals to lead the Jets to a 5-4 home win over the Wilderness. The Jets got a 1st period goal from Haden Kruse and then scored three times in the 2nd period, including two goals from Venticinque and once from Nick Sajevic. Max Wagener would add the game-winning goal in the 3rd period. The Wilderness got two goals from Peteris Purmalis and others from Daniel Astopovich and Ashton Dahms. Matthew Alberti made 18 saves in the win.
Springfield 5 @ Wisconsin 4 (OT) – Isaac Keller scored two goals to lead the Springfield Jr. Blues to a 5-4 overtime win on the road in Eagle River. The teams traded goals throughout regulation as Fuller struck twice and Anthony Ruklic and Niko Laus also scoring for the Jr. Blues. The Windigo got two goals apiece from Maxwell Martin and Will Schumacher. In overtime, the game-winner would come from Jr. Blues forward Landry Schmuck. JJ Cataldo picked up the win in goal, making 27 saves.
Bismarck 4 @ North Iowa 2 - Patrick Johnson led all skaters with three points as the Bismarck Bobcats knocked off the North Iowa Bulls by a score of 4-2. Tamas Toth found the back of the net twice in the victory while Ian Engel also got on the scoresheet with his first tally of the year. Jack Seaverson had a goal and an assist for North Iowa while Carter Theissen picked up his first goal of the season. Klayton Knapp and Stephen Peck combined to make 27 save for the Bobcats while Santo Simmchen was dealt the loss after making 23 stops.
St. Cloud 2 @ Aberdeen 4 - Grant Kohnen potted a pair of goals as the Aberdeen Wings defeated the St. Cloud Norsemen 4-2 on Friday night. Jackson Anderson got involved with a goal and an assist for the Wings. Weston Turner chipped in a goal as well in the win. Adam Dybal stopped 33 shots to earn the win between the pipes. Niklas Miller and Keaton Orrey supplied the goals for the Norsemen in the loss while Ryan Manzella turned aside 24 shots.
Rochester 5 @ Maine 1 - Florian Wade was nearly perfect as the netminder stopped 40 of the 41 shots fired in his direction as the Jr. Americans topped the Nordiques 5-1. Noah Von Scheidt led the offense with a goal and an assist. Matteo Disipio, Adam Gionta, Luca Leighton and Landon Brownlee all found the back of the net for Rochester in the win. Kellen Murphy provided the lone goal for Maine in the loss.
New Jersey 4 @ Maryland 2 - Despite being outshot 40-19 it was the New Jersey Titans that doubled Maryland Black Bears 4-2 on Friday night. Cooper Everhardt and Riley Fitzgerald scored in the opening period to give the Titans a 2-0 lead. Magnus Gadowsky brought the black bears within one with his first goal of the year. However Jack Hillier got the titans back out front by a pair with his second. One minute later, Jeremi Tremblay got on the scoreboard for Maryland to make it a one goal game heading into the third. Dominick Rivelli notched his seventh of the season and that helped secured a Titans victory. Dylan Krick denied 38 shots in the crease while Colin Ronan made 15 saves in the loss
Danbury 3 @ New Hampshire 5 - After digging themselves in a two-goal deficit, the New Hampshire Mountain Kings stormed back in the third period to take a 5-3 decision over the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks. Wyatt Stefan scored twice in the opening period while Emerson Molas also found the back of the net to give Danbury a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play. Brandon Spaulding got the Mountain Kings within one heading into the third. Then it was a barrage of goals from New Hampshire as Nick Reif, Kim Hilmersson and Spaulding all lit the lamp to cap off the comeback victory. Jack DesRuisseaux scored his first NAHL goal as well in the contest. Pete Sterling got the win in goal as he stopped all 17 shots he faced in relief. Miles Roberts was given the loss as he made 30 stops.
Philadelphia 1 @ Johnstown 4 - Will Moore notched a goal and an assist as the Tomahawks cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Rebels. Lukas Klemm, Reid Lune and Justin Gibson all found the back of the net for Johnstown while Justin Rapp contributed two assists. Jared Coccimiglio provided all the offense for Philadelphia with his fifth goal of the season. Jacob Osborne stopped 34 of 35 to pick up the win in the blue paint while Lukas Fursten also had 34 saves on the evening.
