Friday Finals: Jr. Americans, Tomahawks and Ice Wolves Punch Playoff Tickets
Max Martin added two more goals in a Windigo win. (Johnstown front cover photo courtesy Phil Andraychak)
Minnesota 3 @ Anchorage 4: Kade Shea scored twice as the Anchorage Wolverines notched their 12th straight victory with a 4-3 decision over the Minnesota Wilderness. Fyodor Nikolayenya and Cole Christian each grabbed a goal and an assist. Beau Janzig and Ren Iorque both potted a goal and a helper for the Wilderness. Daniel Astapovich also scored for Minnesota. Liam Beerman took the win in goal as he saved 21 shots. Nick Erickson was given the loss as he made 18 stops for the Wilderness.
Fairbanks 5 @ Kenai River 4 (SO): Nolan Abraham scored twice in regulation and then again in the shootout as the Ice Dogs edged the Brown Bears 5-4. Adam Timm had a goal and an assist for the victors while Luca Ricciardi also netted a goal. Luke Lizak potted a pair of goals for Kenai River while Joel Hanson and Dylan Contreras also lit the lamp. Tyler Krivtsov earned the win in goal as he made 28 saves. Marks Slavinskis-Repe was saddled with the loss as he also had 28 saves on the evening.
Maine 3 @ Danbury 4: The Jr. Hat Tricks trailed by three goals heading into the final frame and rallied back to take down the Nordiques 4-3 in dramatic fashion. Nicholas Bernardo had Maine up 1-0 through 20 minutes with his 6th goal of the season. Jake Bernadet and Charles Tardif extended the lead in the middle frame with goals. It was all Danbury in the 3rd as Noah Ziskie, Wyatt Stefan, Andrew Horn, and Stefan scored consecutive goals. Lukas Fursten picked up the win making 27 saves on 30 shots. Thomas Heaney made 22 saves in the loss.
Philadelphia 0 @ Maryland 5: The Black Bears defended home ice in dominant fashion, shutting out the Rebels 5-0. Dimitry Kebreau and Evan Sofikitis made it 2-0 through 20 minutes of play with goals. Jeremi Tremblay potted a pair of goals in the 2nd while Kebreau tallied his 2nd of the game to provide more insurance heading into the final frame. Owen Lepak kept out a perfect 12 for 12 shots faced in the shutout while Jakub Krbecek and Owen Crudale combined for 40 saves in the loss.
Johnstown 4 @ Rochester 3 (SO): Jacob Osborne stopped Massimo Gentile in the 5th round of the shootout to lift Johnstown past Rochester 4-3 on the road. Jaden Dyke and Matteo Disipio had the Jr. Americans up a pair of goals through one period. Gabe Randel extended the lead early in the 2nd before Will Moore and Chase Sandhu drew the Tomahawks closer with goals before intermission. Sandhu netted his 2nd of the game early in the final frame to sent the contest to overtime and an eventual shootout. Osborne made an impressive 47 saves in the win while Cole O’Donnell kept out 20 shots in the loss.
Northeast 2 @ New Jersey 5: Dominick Rivelli tallied a hat trick and scored in every period to help lift the Titans past the Generals 5-2. Rivelli (2) and Ethan Wongus got the offense rolling early for New Jersey while Brendal Kimball got Northeast on the board. Sixten Jennersjo cut the deficit to one goal before Kyle Kim found his 1st goal of the season to re-extend the lead. Rivelli put the finishing touches on his hat trick and the win with a goal in the final period. Zakari Brice kept out 24 of 26 shots faced for the Titans while Peter Wickström Stumer and Toby Hopp combined for 37 stops.
Chippewa 5 @ Springfield 1: Cam Springer tallied three goals in Chippewa’s convincing 5-1 victory on the road over the Jr. Blues. After a scoreless 1st, Springer and Jacob Ligi had the Steel up a pair through 40 minutes with goals. Springer potted a pair in the 3rd while Anston Astashevich added another to further the lead. Springfield’s lone goal came in the 3rd period off the stick of Dylan Glinski, his 5th of the season. Carter Wishart had an impressive night in Chippewa’s crease, stopping 42 of 43 shots faced. Matt Schoephoerster kept out 34 shots in the loss.
Wisconsin 4 @ Janesville 0: Max Beckford stopped all 25 shots he faced to secure the shutout and help lift the Windigo past Janesville 4-0. Lucas Busch broke the deadlock 17:11 into the opening period with his 2nd goal of the season. After a scoreless 2nd period the Windigo caught fire as Max Martin buried a pair while Jack Thomas added another. Matthew Alberti made 26 saves in the loss for Janesville.
Austin 1 @ North Iowa 2: Santo Simmchen made an impressive 43 saves on 44 shots faced to help North Iowa take down the Bruins 2-1. After a scoreless 1st period, Yibin Yoo found the back of the net 11:10 into the 2nd period. Jack Seaverson doubled the lead just 42 seconds into the 3rd. Austin Salani cut the deficit in half but Austin was unable to mount the complete comeback. Trent Wiemken made 15 saves in the loss.
Oklahoma 1 @ Shreveport 3: The Shreveport Mudbugs netted a goal in all three periods to win 3-1 over the Oklahoma Warriors. In the opening period, Hayden Nichol scored his 22nd goal of the year to get the Mudbugs on the board 1-0. In the middle period, Cart McKay added another goal in favor of Shreveport to extend the lead to 2-0. Later in the period, Oklahoma got on the scoresheet with a goal from Max Dronen to end the 2nd period, 2-1. In the third, Hayden Nichol struck again to add the final goal of the contest. Mudbugs goaltender Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau was fantastic in net, stopping 22 shots in the win.
Corpus Christi 4 @ Odessa 3: The Corpus Christi IceRays edged the Odessa Jackalopes on the road in a 4-3 final score. Odessa got ahead 2-0 in the first period with THomas Wright and James Richman scoring. In the second, Pierson Sobush scored twice to notch up the score 2-2. Later in the second, Nick Metelkin scored to get Odessa ahead again, 3-2. In the third, Stepan Kuznetsov tied the game at 17:52 for a 3-3 score. Nearing the end of regulation, Zakhar Polshakov scored the game winner for a 4-3 final. Odessa netminder Maksim Bely stopped 26 shots in the win.
El Paso 1 @ Lone Star 2: The El Paso Rhinos and Lone Star Brahmas went down to the wire in overtime where the Brahmas reigned supreme winning 2-1. After a scoreless first, Camden Bajzer scored to get El Paso ahead 1-0. Just past the midway mark of the third, Jacob MacDonald evened the game 1-1, which ended up forcing overtime. In the extra frame, MacDonald struck again, scoring the game winning goal for a 2-1 final. Lone Star goalie Deivs Rolovs blocked 24 shots on his way to an overtime win.
Amarillo 5 @ Colorado 1: The Amarillo Wranglers hit the road to Colorado where they defeated the Grit in a 5-1 score. The first period saw goals from Connor McNaughton and Ben Ivey as the Wranglers took a 2-0 lead. In the second period, Luke Morris and Ben Ivey added two more goals for Amarillo, 4-0. In the third, Lucas Mann got the Grit on the scoresheet to make the score 4-1. Later in the period, Morley Phillips added the final goal of the contest for a 5-1 final. Wranglers goaltender Connor McDonough backstopped 29 shots in the win.
