Friday Finals: Mudbugs Clinch Playoff Berth

Shreveport 3 @ Oklahoma 2 (OT): Hayden Nichol was the overtime hero as the Shreveport Mudbugs punched their ticket to the Robertson Cup playoffs with a 3-2 win over the Oklahoma Warriors. Nick Marino and Connor Smith traded goals in the opening frame to get the scoring started. Then Brent Litchard and William Ahlrik did the same in the second period. After a scoreless third, that set up Nichol’s 18th and most important goal of the season. Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau earned the win in the crease with 36 saves. Daniel Duris suffered the loss as he stopped 32 shots.

Aberdeen 1 @ Bismarck 5: Tommy Cronin scored twice and added an assist as the Bismarck Bobcats rolled to a 5-1 win over the Aberdeen Wings. Kade Kohanski also had two goals on the night while Ian Engel chipped in a goal as well for Bismarck. Leonid Bulgakov provided the lone tally for the Wings. Stephen Peck stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced while Adam Dybal was much busier, making 41 saves on the evening.

Colorado 2 @ Lone Star 4: Ivan Zadvernyuk and Jacob MacDonald each had a goal and an assist as the Lone Star Brahmas doubled up the Colorado Grit by a score of 4-2. Anthony Cappello and Justin Kerr also contributed to the offense with goals in the contest. Jordan Gudridge and Christian Carter provided the offense for the Grit. Jack Wieneke made 17 saves to earn the win in goal for the Brahmas while Jack Erickson stopped 33 shots for Colorado in the loss.

New Mexico 5 @ Corpus Christi 3: Rasmus Leijonhielm netted a pair of goals as the Ice Wolves gave their playoff chances a boost with a 5-3 win over the IceRays. Graham Harris, Ty Tuccitto and Ryan Johnson all got on the scoresheet for New Mexico. Stefan Kuznetsov potted a pair of goals and Zachary Polshakov also grabbed a goal for the IceRays. Jackson Fuller was the winner in goal, denying 36 shots. Bryant Marks was saddled with the loss, he made 23 saves.

Austin 2 @ Minot 0: Trent Wiemken was sensational as he turned aside all 37 shots fired in his direction in the Bruins 2-0 shutout victory over the Minotauros. Will Diamond and Jackson Rilei each netted goals in the second period and that’s all the scoring Austin would need to pull out the win on the road. Brady James stopped 20 shots for Minot.

Chippewa 3 @ Anchorage 5: Three unanswered goals in the third period was the difference as the Anchorage Wolverines won a crucial game against the Chippewa Steel by a score of 5-3. Jacob Ligi and Bryce Monrean traded goals in the later stages of the first period to send us to the intermission tied at one. In the second, Gavin Middendorf and Aidan Willis scored to give the Steel a two goal advantage. Camden Shasby would find the back of the net before the horn to bring the Wolverines within one but then in the third it was Artem Shchipanov and Fyodor Nikolayenya who scored back to back goals early in the final frame that gave Anchorage the lead for good. Tai Ushio added an empty tally in the final moments of action. Liam Beerman out dueled Ajay White as Beerman made 28 saves in the win while White stopped 34 shots in the loss.

Fairbanks 3 @ Kenai River 1: Kyle Rohrer scored twice as the Fairbanks Ice Dogs defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears by a score of 3-1 on Friday night. Luca Ricciardi also tallied a goal for the Ice Dogs in the win. Dylan Contreras provided the lone goal for the Brown Bears. Marcus Ouellet picked up the win in between the pipes as he stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced. Conor Sullivan and Marks Slavinskis-Repe combined to make 26 saves on the night for Kenai River

North Iowa 3 @ St. Cloud 2 (OT): Jack Seaverson buried his 2nd overtime winner of the season to lift the Bulls past St. Cloud 3-2 on the road. Tyler Greyer buried the lone goal in the opening frame to keep the Norsemen ahead through 20 minutes. That score would hold until Seaverson and Eli Miller scored consecutive goals to give North Iowa their first lead in the 3rd. Hagen Moe scored minutes after Miller’s go-ahead goal, sending the game to an eventual overtime. Santo Simmchen was spectacular between the pipes for North Iowa, stopping 45 of 47 shots faced in the win. Ryan Manzella made 26 saves in the loss. 

Wisconsin 4 @ Springfield 0: The Windigo stormed into Springfield, blanking the Jr. Blues 4-0, backed by a 25-save shutout from Linards Lipskis. Logan Nickolaus and Quinn Disher wasted no time putting the visitors ahead, scoring goals 15 seconds apart midway through the opening period. Tyler Grahme extended the lead just over a minute into the 2nd period. Disher netted his 2nd of the night in the final frame to provide more insurance. JJ Cataldo made 21 saves in the losing effort for Springfield. 

Odessa 4 @ Amarillo 3 (OT): Cameron Dunn buried a rebound and the OT game winner in the blue paint just 8 seconds into the extra period. After a scoreless 1st period both offenses got rolling as Amarillo’s Grayson Gerhard and Roman Zap tickled twine while Dunn and Marcus Fechko buried for the Jacks. Kowin Belsterling gave the visitors their 1st lead of the night early in the final frame before Roman Zap tied things back up with under two minutes remaining in regulation. Ivan Zhigalov was the victor between the pipes, stopping 30 of 33 shots faced. Connor McDonough made 30 saves for the Wranglers. 

Janesville 3 @ Minnesota 1: Janesville forward Mason Kesselring had a goal and assist to help the Jets edge past Minnesota 3-1 Friday night. The game remained scoreless until Minnesota’s Gustavs Ozolins found the back of the net 1:41 into the 2nd period. Kesselring and Nick Messina both scored before the 2nd intermission to provide Janesville a lead heading into the 3rd. Jake Merens netted his 15th of the season to ice the game and silence any comeback bid. Matthew Alberti was stellar in Janesville’s crease, stopping 35 of 36 shots faced in the win. Nick Erickson made 24 saves in the victory.

New Jersey 5 @ Danbury 1: The New Jersey Titans had added two goals in both the second and third periods to take a 5-1 win over the Danbury Hat Tricks. Dominick Rivelli scored the lone goal of the first period for New Jersey. In the second, it was all Titans with Matej Teply and Ryan Friedman scoring to take a 3-0 lead. In the third, Arhip Sidarovich netted another New Jersey goal to make the score 4-0. Alexios Georgaklis scored the only Danbury goal for a 4-1 score. Soon after, Domink Bartecko scored the final goal of the game for a 5-1 New Jersey win. New Jersey goaltender Dylan Krick stopped 21 shots in net. 

Johnstown 4 @ Northeast 2: The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Northeast Generals in a 4-2 game. Tyler Ramm got the scoring going for Northeast in the opening period. Nearing the end of the period, Will Lawrence and Alexey Yarmulnik both scored to get the Tomahawks ahead 2-1. In the second Jaden Johnson and Taybor Aldrich scored for Johnstown to extend their lead, 4-1. Just past the halfway mark of the second, Jake Gutwirth scored for Northeast. Johnstown netminder Jacob Osborne was fantastic in net stopping 34 shots. 

Rochester 3 @ Maine 2: The Rochester Jr. Americans upset the Maine Nordiques on the road in a 3-2 win. Maine got on the scoresheet with Shane Kozlina in the first period. In the second, Massimo Gentile evened the game 1-1. The third period saw Landon Brownlee and Adam Gionta score for the Jr. Americans to get the lead 3-1. With under a minute remaining in the contest, Nils Forselius scored for Maine. Rochester goalie Danick Leroux turned away 17 shots on his way to the win. 

New Hampshire 1 @ Maryland 4: The Maryland Black Bears protected home ice in a 4-1 win against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. Ryder Nienhuis started the scoring for Maryland in the first period. After a quiet second, Luke Rubin added to the Black Bears lead, 2-0. Matthew Hale got the Mountain Kings on the board, 2-1. Maryland went back to work adding back-to-back goals with Tyler Stern and Riley Ruh for a 4-1 final score. Maryland goaltender Owen Lepak stopped 18 shots in the victory. 

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