Friday Finals: Minotauros pick up big win
Minot Minotauros 4 @ Brookings Blizzard 2 – Four 2nd period goals were the difference as the Minot Minotauros snapped an eight-game losing streak and climbed back into 4th place with a 4-2 win in Brookings on Friday. After an opening goal from Nick DeCenzo for the Blizzard, it was Minot’s newcomers who gave them a spark. Playing in the first game in a Minot uniform both Troy Degler and Jacob Howie scored to make it 2-1, followed by a shorthanded goal from Jack McCann to make it 3-1. Conor Andrle scored to make it 3-2, but a goal late in the 2nd period from Kyle Kruenegel would be all the Minotauros would need. Boxscore
Bismarck Bobcats 4 @ Aberdeen Wings 5 (OT) – Kyle Haak scored twice including the game-winning goal just over a minute into overtime as Aberdeen pulled even in the standings with the Bobcats thanks to a 5-4 win. After no scoring in the 1st period, Aberdeen went up 3-2 in a wild 2nd period on goals from Haak, Tanner Okeson and Jake Horton. Bismarck countered with goals from Brendan Harris and Tyler Dunagan. After TJ Roo made it 4-2 midway through the 3rd period, the game seemed in hand for the Wings until Bismarck scored twice in the final two minutes of regulation with goals from Nate Repensky and Matt Anders. Boxscore
Kenai River Brown Bears 3 @ Austin Bruins 5 – In a battle of 1st place teams, it was the Bruins who rode the hot play of rookie Guillaume Leclerc to a 5-3 win over the Brown Bears. Austin led 4-1 after two periods thanks to two goals from Leclerc and others from Lucas Kohls and Drew Anderson. Albin Karlsson had the lone Brown Bears goal through two frames. Kenai made a game of it in the 3rd period, scoring twice to draw within 4-3 on goals from Christian Luiten and Frankie Spellman, but it would not be enough as Jake Arroyo added an empty-net goal to secure the win. Boxscore
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 2 @ Wenatchee Wild 3 – Veteran goalie Gustaf Johansson made his Wild debut in grand style stopping 36 shots as Wenatchee snapped a seven-game skid with a 3-2 win over the visiting Ice Dogs. The Wild led 2-0 after one period on goals from Gadel Gumerov and the red-hot Troy Loggins. Fairbanks cut the lead to 2-1 early in the 2nd period on the goal from Doug Rose, but Wenatchee would answer late in the period on the eventual game-winner from Nicholas Rivera. A 3rd period goal from Victor Munter would not be enough for Fairbanks, who fell to 10-6 on the season. Boxscore
Corpus Christi IceRays 1 @ Odessa Jackalopes 3 – Yoshihiro Kuroiwa made 25 saves and Leo Lumm scored twice to help the Jackalopes snap a 17-game home losing streak with their second straight win over the IceRays by a 3-1 score. After an opening goal from IceRays forward Nick Monfils, it was all Jackalopes. In the 2nd period, Alex Alger opened the scoring, followed by Lumm’s first goal in the 2nd period and another late in the 3rd period. Lukas Laub also picked up two assists in the win for Odessa. Boxscore
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 4 @ Wichita Falls Wildcats 1 – There is a three-way tie for 1st place in the South after Rio Grande Valley went into Wichita Falls and beat the Wildcats, 4-1. Goaltender Olli Kalkaja made 21 saves in the win. The Killer Bees jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the game on goals from Sean Mostrom and Evan Schmidbauer. The Wildcats responded with their only goal of the night from Josh Haverstrom, but the Killer Bees poured it on the 3rd period with two more goals from Marcus Ericsson and Ben Greiner. The win gave Rio Grande Valley 23 points, which ties them with Amarillo and Wichita Falls for 1st place. Boxscore
Topeka RoadRunners 0 @ Amarillo Bulls 4 – Collin Delia showed why he is a goaltender of the month candidate thanks to yet another shutout as Amarillo moved into a tie for 1st place in the South with a 4-0 blanking of the visiting RoadRunners. It took almost two periods for the first goal to be scored, but the Bulls got it thanks to Tyler Gernhofer’s power play goal. Amarillo then added three goals in the 3rd period from Mike Davis, Mitchell Vanderburgh and Carter Penzien. The Bulls held a 35-25 shots advantage. Boxscore
Minnesota Wilderness 2 @ Soo Eagles 0 – Another goaltender of the month candidate, Minnesota’s Kasimir Kaskisuo showed why he is toward the top of the statistics as he posted his league-leading 4th shutout of the season, making 22 saves as the Wilderness blanked the Soo to move within one point of 1st place in the Midwest. Forward Jakob Romo provided all the scoring Minnesota would need as he scored in the 1st period and again in the 3rd period. The Wilderness killed off another six power plays making them a perfect 54 for 54 on the season. Paige Skoog made 33 saves in the Eagles loss. Boxscore
Minnesota Magicians 4 @ Janesville Jets 5 (SO) – The Magicians battled hard to get a point and take the game to a shootout, but it was the Jets who got shootout goals from Robin Hoglund and Jordan Himley, which gave them the 5-4 win. Minnesota led 2-0 on goals from Kris McKinzie and Derick Kuchera. The Jets responded with goals from Grant Stueve and Adam Winborg to make it 2-2 after two periods. After Thomas Delaney scored for the Magicians, the Jets got goals from Michael Louria and Zach Keryluk to put the home side ahead 4-3, but a goal with :25 seconds to go in regulation from Eetu Karvinen would send the game into extras. Boxscore
Michigan Warriors 3 @ Springfield Jr. Blues 4 (OT) – The Jr. Blues scored four unanswered goals to pull out a come-from-behind 4-3 home win in overtime over the Michigan Warriors. Scott Cuthrell scored twice and TJ Stuntz added another to put Michigan up 3-0 early in the 2nd period. However, the Jr. Blues mounted a comeback with two 2nd period goals from Trevor Stone and Mike Severson to cut the lead to 3-2 and added a 3rd period tally from Josh Lammon. That set up overtime heroics from Springfield’s leading scorer Patrick Curry, who notched his sixth goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining in the extra session. Boxscore
