Friday Finals: Mudbugs Sting IceRays to Win Ninth Straight

Corpus Christi 1 @ Shreveport 10: Brayden Cook registered a hat trick and finished with four points as the Mudbugs dominated the IceRays by a score of 10-1. Colin Vassal and Ryan Burke each tallied two goals while Jonah Jasser ended the night with four helpers. Hayden Nichol had a goal and two assists of his own while Kyan Haldenby and Maskim Sushcynski each picked up a goal for the Mudbugs. Griffin Zaske provided the lone goal for Corpus Christi. Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau earned the win in net as he made 22 saves. Logan Rose and Bryant Marks combined to stop 25 shots.

Bismarck 7 @ Aberdeen 4: Evan Hunter potted a pair of goals and tacked on an assist as the Bobcats struck down the Wings 7-4. Landon Fandel had a goal and two assists from the blue line while Matthew Rafalski had a goal and an assist of his own. Chase Beacom, Kade Kohanski and Keanu Krenn all found the back of the net as well for Bismarck. Leonid Bulgakov had a pair of goals for Aberdeen. Jibber Kuhl and Logan Grafik also visited the red light district for the Wings. Stephen Peck turned aside 22 shots for Bismarck while Adam Dybal made 24 saves for Aberdeen.

El Paso 2 @ Amarillo 3 (OT): Topi Puikkonen’s goal in overtime was the difference as Amarillo edged El Paso by a score of 3-2 on Friday night. It was a wild first period as the two teams went back and forth trading goals. Grayson Gerhard scored 54 seconds into the game to give Amarillo an early lead. Halfway through the frame Eddie Shepler tied the game with his 13th of the season. Jacob Miller put Amarillo back in front just a few minutes later with his fifth tally of the year. However that lead was also short-lived as Luke Lindsay knotted things up just 63 seconds later. The game would remain tied all the way to overtime before Puikkonen’s heroics gave Amarillo the extra point. Connor McDonough was the winner in net as he stopped 23 shots. Michael Manzi suffered the defeat in goal as he made 25 stops.

Odessa 3 @ Lone Star 2 (OT): The Odessa Jackalopes gutted out a huge win in their quest for the playoffs as Cameron Dunn netted the game winner in overtime to knock off the Lone Star Brahmas 3-2. Michael Kadlecik scored to open the scoring for Odessa. Ivan Zadvernyuk tied things up later in the frame but the Jackalopes would head to the locker room with the lead as Caden Morgan responded with a goal just 12 seconds later. Jacob MacDonald lit the lamp in the second period to tie the game and then we would go scoreless until the overtime period. That’s when Dunn was setup by Nick Metelkin to put the Jackalopes in the win column. Ivan Zhigalov was impressive as he stopped 41 shots to earn the win in goal. Deivs Rolovs suffered the loss as he made nine stops.

Oklahoma 5 @ Colorado 1: Five different Warriors found the back of the net as Oklahoma beat Colorado 5-1. Drew Sutton started the fun with his 17th of the season. Olivier Chessler potted his first of the season while Anthony Cafarelli and Carter Sproule also got on the scoresheet in the second period. Kaden Nelson added his 20th goal of the year in the third for Oklahoma. George Poirier had the only goal for Colorado in the loss. Daniel Duris earned the win in the blue paint as he made 21 saves. Peter Sterling was saddled with the loss as he had 26 saves.

Anchorage 5 @ Kenai River 3: Romulus Riego De Dios scored two goals as the Anchorage Wolverines defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears 5-3. Timothy Kim and Taisetsu Ushio each grabbed a goal and added an assist in the victory. Danny Bangle also got on the board for the Wolverines. Dylan Contreras led the Kenai offense with a goal and two assists. Brady Engelkes had a goal and an assist while Samuel Sisik also scored for the Brown Bears. Vaughn Makar got the win in between the pipes as he denied 25 shots. Conor Sullivan suffered the loss as he stopped 19 shots.

Chippewa 4 @ Fairbanks 6: The Fairbanks Ice Dogs held on to defeat the Chippewa Steel 6-4 late Friday night as Adam Timm led all skaters with four points. Reece Dordray notched two goals and an assist while Wyatt Carlson, Nik Gudmundson and Brent Gulenchyn all got on the board for the home squad. Peyton Platter led the Chippewa comeback with a goal and two assists. Joe Kelly and Connor Schneider also tickled the twine for the Steel. Tyler Krivtsov was the winner in net, making 30 saves while Ajay White turned aside 13 shots.

Philadelphia 3 @ Danbury 2 (SO): Jakub Krbecek kept out 36 shots in regulation and all three Danbury shootout attempts to lift the Rebels past Danbury 3-2. Charles Panchisiin had the visitors up a goal through 20 minutes with his 16th of the season. Danbury’s Noah Ziskie and Philadelphia’s Jared Coccimiglio traded goals in the middle frame. Wyatt Stefan sent the game to an eventual overtime and shootout by lighting the lamp early in the 3rd. Lukas Fursten kept out 26 shots for the Jr. Hat Tricks. 

New Hampshire 4 vs Johnstown 6: The Tomahawks buried four goals in the 2nd period which sparked a six-goal effort in their win against the Mountain Kings. Jack Costanzo had the visitors up 1-0 through 20 minutes with a goal. Johnstown’s Jaden Johnson, Cade Baker, Hunter Fetterolf, and Justin Rapp all lit the lamp in the middle frame while Costanzo netted his 2nd to stay within two goals. Will Moore and Sean Morgan had goals for the Tomahawks in the final frame while New Hampshire’s remaining goals came from Costanzo and Sean Bradley. Jacob Osborne was the victor between the pipes making 32 saves while Stefan Carney kept out 28 of 34 for the Mountain Kings. 

Northeast 5 @ New Jersey 2: The Generals scored five consecutive goals en route to their victory on the road against the Titans. Jaden Sikura tallied the lone goal in the opening 20 minutes to put the Generals ahead. Joseph McGraw, Ben Campeau, Frank D’Ancona, and Sixten Jennersjo all tickled twine to provide insurance for Northeast in the middle frame. Dominik Bartecko and Logan Renkowski scored for the Titans in the 3rd but they were unable to mount a comeback. Peter Wickström Stumer kept out an impressive 37 shots in the victory. Zakari Brice made 30 saves for the Titans. 

Maryland 0 @ Rochester 2: Danick Leroux kept out all 30 shots he faced to secure a shutout in Rochester’s 2-0 victory. The game remained scoreless through two periods and was locked at 0-0 until Luca Leighton found the back of the net for his 20th of the season. Alex Zakrzewski doubled the lead and sealed the victory with 58 seconds left in regulation. Owen Lepak made 24 saves in the loss. 

Minot 5 @ St. Cloud 1: The Minotauros scored at least a goal in all three periods en route to take down the Norsemen 5-1. Adam Mahler scored the lone goal in the opening frame to put the visitors ahead through 20 minutes. Niklas Ketonen and Joel Lehtinen extended the lead with scores in the middle frame. Ian Spencer and Jack O’Hanisain provided more insurance in the 3rd period. St. Cloud’s lone goal came 12 minutes into the 3rd period off the stick of Lucca Munoz. Brady James was nearly perfect in Minot’s crease, stopping all but one of 28 shots faced. Ryan Manzella made 25 saves for the Norsemen. 

Wisconsin 1 @ Janesville 2 (SO): Matthew Alberti stopped five shootout attempts and 36 shots in regulation to fuel the Jets past Wisconsin 2-1. Will Schumacher put the Windigo up 1-0 with 29 seconds left in the 1st period with his 27th goal of the season. Haden Kruse leveled the scores late in the final frame with his 18th goal of the season. Mason Kesselring, Conner Brown, and Christian Venticinque all were successful in the shootout for Janesville. Max Beckford made 34 saves in the loss for Wisconsin. 

Minnesota 2 @ Springfield 4: Despite being outshot by double digits, JJ Cataldo held strong in Springfield’s crease while the offense produced four goals in a home-ice win against the Wilderness. After a scoreless 1st period, Springfield’s Anthony Ruklic and Minnesota’s Daniel Astapovich traded goals in the middle frame. Brian Robertson, Niko Laus, and Landry Schmuck all buried for the Jr. Blues in the 3rd. Minnesota’s second goal came 18:37 into the final frame off the stick of Beau Janzig. Cataldo kept out 37 of 39 shots for Springfield while Nick Erickson made 23 saves for the Wilderness. 

North Iowa 1 @ Austin 5: Four different Bruins tickled twine in their 5-1 win against North Iowa. Ocean Wallace and Gustav Norén both scored in the 1st for Austin. Jackson Rilei extended the lead in the middle frame with his 3rd of the season. Austin Salani and Connor Brust provided more insurance in the 3rd period with goals. North Iowa’s lone score came from Eli Miller with a goal early on in the final frame. Vilgot Holm kept out 19 of 20 shots faced in the win while Santo Simmchen made 33 saves for the Bulls.

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