Saturday Scores: Fairbanks back on track with weekend sweep
Kenai River Brown Bears 1 @ Fairbanks Ice Dogs 5 – Tayler Munson’s four-point night propelled the Ice Dogs to a 5-1 win in front of the sold out crowd and a weekend sweep of the Brown Bears. Fairbanks jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals from Viktor Liljgren and Ben Campbell. Matt Rudin answered back for Kenai River before the period was over to make it 2-1. Colton Wolter added a 2nd period goal and Munson and Hans Gorowsky added 3rd period goals to secure the win. Kevin Aldridge was strong again in net for the second straight game, making 32 saves. Boxscore
Michigan Warriors 5 @ Wenatchee Wild 1 – In front of almost 3,000 fans in Wenatchee, the Michigan Warriors earned a weekend split of their series with a convincing 5-1 win over the Wild. Dillon Kelley made 25 saves in the win. After a scoreless 1st period, Michigan scored three goals from TJ Stuntz, Alec Pellegrino and Connor Lyons in the 2nd period. That was answered by Wenatchee’s lone goal from Nick Anderson to make it 3-1 after two periods. Josh Shellman and Colin Larkin would add 3rd period goals to give the Warriors the win and take three of four points in their series in Wenatchee. Boxscore
Wichita Falls Wildcats 1 @ Lone Star Brahmas 2 – Jacob Nehama made 36 saves as the Brahmas snapped a four-game losing streak to beat Wichita Falls 2-1 to split their weekend series. The two teams exchanged goals :15 seconds apart in the 1st period as Kellen Wasell scored for the Brahmas and Evan Okeley scored his first goal of the season for the Wildcats. Donovan Gardiner added a late 2nd period goal, which turned out to be the game-winner as Nehama did the rest. Wichita Falls outshot Lone Star 37-17. Boxscore
Brookings Blizzard 1 @ Minot Minotauros 2 (SO) – In a goaltenders duel, it was Merrick Madsen’s 33 saves, which trumped Austin Priebe’s 25 saves as the Minotauros earned a weekend split with the Blizzard thanks to a 2-1 shootout win on Saturday. Cameron Rowat gave Minot a 1-0 lead in the 1st period, but that was answered by a 2nd period goal from Blizzard forward Russ Jordan who scored a power play goal to knot the game at 1-1. In the shootout, Colton Kramer was the only one of the nine shooters to score to give the win to the Minotauros, who sit one point ahead of Brookings in the standings. Boxscore
Minnesota Wilderness 2 @ Aberdeen Wings 1 – The bad news for the Wilderness is that their streak of 321 minutes and 31 seconds of not giving up a goal came to an end. The good news is that they won again, sweeping the Aberdeen Wings by a score of 2-1. The NAHL’s top goaltender, Kasimir Kaskisuo was stellar again between the pipes, stopping 26 of 27 shots. Aberdeen scored first on a goal from Austin Swingle. But, the Wilderness would respond back on the late 2nd period power play goal from Johno May and an early 3rd period goal from Jakob Romo. Chad Catt made 37 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Bismarck Bobcats 0 @ Austin Bruins 1 – The Bobcats will leave Austin not having scored a goal on the weekend, as the Bruins completed another shutout and a weekend sweep with a 1-0 win on Saturday night. Nick Lehr stopped all 17 shots that came his way for his first shutout of the season. The Bruins limited to normally potent Bismarck offense to just 17 shots on Saturday and 37 total for the weekend. Trey Dodd’s goal midway through the 3rd period was the only goal of the night. Aaron Nelson made 23 saves in the Bobcats loss. Boxscore
Odessa Jackalopes 1 @ Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 2 – The Killer Bees won their fifth straight game and swept their weekend series with the Jackalopes thanks to two 3rd period goals, which completed a 2-1 win. Nick Schmit made 21 saves in the win, while Eric Hancock played well in the loss, making 35 saves. Odessa lead early on Leo Lumm’s fifth goal of the season in the 1st period. However, Rio Grande Valley scored twice in the 3rd period. The first goal came from Aleksi Luhtalampi’s power play goal and then Ben Greiner scored the game-winner with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Boxscore
Janesville Jets 2 @ Minnesota Magicians 3 – The Magicians jumped out to a 3-0 lead and held off a late Jets flurry to win 3-2 on Saturday and split the weekend series with the Jets. Minnesota used balanced scoring to open up a 3-0 lead. Matt Colford scored on the power play in the 1st period, Tyler Lomberlin added a 2nd period goal and Eetu Karvinen scored early in the 3rd period to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead. Janesville cut the lead to 3-2 with late 3rd period tallies from Jordan Himley and Michael Louria, but could not find the equalizer against Bryan Nies, who made 22 saves in the win. Boxscore
Springfield Jr. Blues 5 @ Johnstown Tomahawks 6 – In a wild game in Johnstown, the Tomahawks erased a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Jr. Blues 6-5 and complete a weekend home sweep. After Matthew Meier gave Johnstown an early 1-0 lead, Springfield scored three straight goals from Patrick Curry, Michael Mylchreest and Davis Dekorte to take a 3-1 lead. The Tomahawks tied the game at 3-3 on goals from Shane Bednard and Omar Mullan. Mike Severson briefly gave Springfield the lead back, but then three straight goals from Johnstown secured the win as Brandon Reinholz scored twice and Garrison Sanipass had the other. Boxscore
