Friday Finals: Brown Bears beat Fairbanks in front of packed house

Fairbanks 3 @ Kenai River 4 – The Kenai River Brown Bears picked up a big 4-3 home win over their Alaskan rivals, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, in front of 1,575 fans on Friday.  The Bears jumped to a 3-0 lead before Fairbanks came back to tie the game. Kenai River got the game-winner from Vincent Stefan with just over five minutes remaining.  Brad Duwe made his first appearance with the Brown Bears and it didn't take long for him to have an impact. He assisted on the first goal by Zac Lazzaro,  In the second period, the Brown Bears ran the lead out to 3-0 when Carson Vance, on assists from Chris Nuth and Stefan, clanged in a goal off the pipe, and Lazzaro scored a power-play goal with helpers from Lucas Kohls and Ryan Walker.  Chandler Madry and Garret Clemment closed the second period with goals for Fairbanks.  With 10:22 left in the game, Colton Wolter tied it at three.The biggest scoring chance came with 5:24 left in the game, when Kenai Central product Zack Zulkanycz squeezed up the right board and found Stefan wide open in front of the net on the weak side for the game-winner.  Bears goalie Gusaf Johansson picked up the win with his 32 saves, while Fairbanks goalie Kevin Aldridge made 26 saves. Boxscore

Jamestown 4 @ Fresno 3 – The 1st place Ironmen jumped out to a 3-1 lead and hung on to win a big road game in Fresno.  The Ironmen had goals from four different players including Nathan Ropelewski and Ryan Urso, who scored 1st period goals.  James Mathias answered in the 1st period for Fresno.  Tyler Dunagan scored a shorthanded goal in the 2nd period to make the score 3-1.  Jacob McDowell answered for the Monsters before Nico Sierra scored the eventual game-winner late in the 2nd period. Boxscore

Johnstown 4 @ Wenatchee 3 (OT) – The North Division continued its winning ways on the West Coast on Friday as Jordan Watt scored less than a minute into overtime in Johnstown’s 4-3 overtime win in Wenatchee.  Andrew McDonald scored the opening two goals for the Tomahawks, while Wenatchee’s Jacob Barber did the same for the Wild.  Mitch Kontny gave Johnstown a 3-2 lead with a goal late in the 2nd period, but Barber completed the hat-trick for Wenatchee in the 3rd period to send the game to OT. Boxscore

Austin 1 @ Minot 2 (SO) – Tyler Parks made 29 saves through regulation and overtime and then stopped all five shooters in the shootout as the Minotauros won their fifth straight game with a 2-1 shootout win over division-leading Austin.  Both goals in regulation came in the 1st period and both on the power play.  Matt Audette scored for Minot, while AJ Reid answered back for Austin just three minutes later.  Cameron Rowat scored as the first shooter for Minot in the shootout and that is all they would need. Boxscore

Bismarck 1 @ Aberdeen 3 – The Wings outshot the Bobcats 47-27 on their way to a 3-1 win in front of almost 1,300 fans in Aberdeen.  After a scoreless 1st period Aberdeen took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd period with a goal from Jake Horton.  Mike Dockry answered back for Bismarck on the power play five minutes later.  However, the 3rd period was all Wings as they fired 14 shots on goal and got goals from Peter Krieger and Jonathan Grebosky.  Marcus Zelzer made 26 saves in the win, while Aaron Nelson made 44 saves in the loss. Boxscore

Wichita Falls 4 @ Topeka 3 (OT) – The Wildcats scored the final three goals of the game, including Conor O’Neil’s overtime winner as Wichita Falls beat Topeka on Friday, 4-3.  The RoadRunners jumped out to a 3-1 lead early through the 2nd period on goals from Tyler Andrew, Michal Pastor and Sean Gaffney.  Robson Cramer scored for the Wildcats late in the 1st period to keep the game within reach.  Will Vosejpka cut the lead to 3-2 and Oliver Jansen made it 3-3 before O’Neil’s overtime heroics. Boxscore

Texas 6 @ Odessa 1 – The Tornado scored four, 3rd period goals to break open the game on their way to a 6-1 win in Odessa on Friday, handing the Jackalopes their 7th straight loss.  Scott Conway and Justin Greenberg led the way for the Tornado with three points apiece.  Greenberg opened the scoring in the 2nd period for the Tornado, which was answered by Odessa’s Pat Thompson.  Conway scored the first of his two to give Texas a 2-1 lead after two periods. Drew Mayer, Brandon Hawkins, Cameron Brown and Conway all score in the 3rd period. Boxscore

Kalamazoo 2 @ Janesville 1 (OT) – Danny Hamburg scored 3:47 into overtime to give the Jr. K-Wings a 2-1 overtime win in Janesville.  In a very tight and defensive game, both teams had to work hard to get shots on goal.  Janesville’s lone goal came in the 1st period as Mike Sullivan scored to give the Jets a 1-0 lead.  Josh Dangel answered back in the 2nd period with a goal to tie the game at 1-1.  The rest of the game was highlighted by the goalies as Kalamazoo’s Alex Okicki made 26 saves and Janesville’s Austin Priebe made 23 saves. Boxscore

Brookings 3 @ Coulee Region 5 – Eddie Matsushima scored twice and Blake Cates made 38 saves as Coulee Region beat Brookings on Friday, 5-3.  The Blizzard jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Tyler Cayemberg and Drew Brevig.  Jesse Tredinnick cut the lead to 2-1 for the Chill before Eric Brenk scored to make it 3-1 for Brookings.  Two goals from Matsushima and others from Jake Kauppila and Mac Jansen gave the Chill the 5-3 win. Boxscore

Springfield 2 @ Soo 5 – Four, 2nd period goals propelled the Eagles to a 5-2 home win over Springfield on Friday night.  Robin Hoglund had a goal and two assists including the game’s first goal.  Brett Skibba answered back for the Jr. Blues to tie the game at 1-1.  Three straight goals from Jared Van Wormer, Eric Rivard and Alex Taulien have the Eagles a 4-1 lead.  Oliver Takacsi-Nagy scored to make it 4-2, but a late goal from Kyle Loridon gave the Eagles the final 5-2 winning margin. Boxscore