Saturday Scores: Titans, Jets start season with sweeps
New Jersey 2 @ Danbury 1 – The Titans picked up the weekend road sweep of Danbury thanks to another one-goal win as Titans goalie Dylan Krick made 19 saves. After a scoreless 1st period, Danbury was on the board first thanks to a goal from Jacob Roberson, which was his third of the weekend. New Jersey tied the game later in the period on a goal from Dominik Bartecko. The game-winner came late in the 3rd period from Kristofers Krumins. Danbury goalie CJ Kier made 23 saves in the loss.
Kenai River 6 @ Chippewa 1 – In the season opener for both teams, Brown Bears forward Dylan Contreras had a hat-trick and Hayden Walters added a goal and three assists as Kenai River beat Chippewa, 6-1. Contreras opened the scoring with a goal in the 1st period. He would also score in the 2nd period along with a goal from Blake Norris to make it 3-0. Joe Kelly scored for the Steel to make it 3-1 after two periods. In the 3rd period, goals from Nicholas Stevens, Walters, and Contreras secured the win. Conor Sullivan made 43 saves in the win.
Fairbanks 2 @ Janesville 5 – The Jets picked up the weekend sweep as five different players scored in a 5-2 win. The Jets opened up a 2-0 lead on goals from Nick Sajevic and Thomas Belzil. The Ice Dogs tied the game at 2-2 with back-to-back goals from Jake Smith and Marc Lund. The Jets pulled away with the final three goals of the game from Nick Messina, Ikki Kogawa, and Ryan Roethke. Matthew Alberti made 35 saves in the win.
Anchorage 5 @ Minnesota 1 – The Wolverines got goals from five different players and Jozef Zilinec made 31 saves in a 5-1 win over the Minnesota in both team’s season-opener. The Wolverines opened up a 4-0 lead with goals from Oliver Salo, Taisetsu Ushio, Fedya Nikalayenia, and Wilson Dalhaeimer. Oliver Stumpel would add the lone goal for the Wilderness in the 3rd period, which was answered by a goal from Cole Christian from the Wolverines to make it a 5-1 final.
El Paso 3 @ Colorado 2 – The Rhinos won their second straight game over the Grit as Michael Manzi made 23 saves and Frank Tafelski scored all three goals in the win. Tafelski, who is in his third NAHL season, scored once in each period, including the game-winner with under a minute left in regulation. Grit goals came from Romulus Riego De Dios and Bowen Burke. Jack Erickson made 19 saves in the loss.
Johnstown 3 @ Maryland 6 – The Black Bears earned a weekend split as they jumped out to a 5-1 lead and didn’t look back in a 6-3 win over Johnstown. Six different players scored for Maryland including Trayce Johnson, Keanu Krenn, and Jeremi Tremblay in the 1st period, Luke Janus and Dimitry Kebreau in the 2nd period and a goal from Tamas Toth in the 3rd period. The Tomahawks got goals from Justin Rapp, Nick White, and Alexey Yarmulnik. Jack Wieneke made 12 saves in the win.
Lone Star 4 @ New Mexico 0 – The Brahmas turned the tables on the Ice Wolves to earn the weekend split as goalie Delvs Rolovs made 9 saves in a 4-0 shutout win. The Brahmas jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three goals in the 1st period from Matyas Borak, Charlie Masek, and Justin Kerr. Connor Bergeron added a 2nd period goal to complete the scoring. Andy Vlaha made 16 saves in the loss.
Northeast 3 @ Maine 6 – The Nordiques earned a weekend split as they scored five goal in the 3rd period in a 6-3 win over the Generals. Maine held a 1-0 lead after two periods thanks to a goal from Jake Bernadet. In the 3rd period, the Nordiques exploded for five goals, including two from Kellen Murphy and others from Shane Kozlina, Charles Tardif, and Nick Romeo. Ryan Remick scored twice and Frank D’Ancona had the goals in the Generals loss. Thomas Heaney made 17 saves in the win.
Philadelphia 2 @ Rochester 5 – The Jr. Americans got goals from five different players as they picked up their first ever NAHL win in a 5-2 triumph over the Rebels. Massimo Gentile and Landon Brownlee scored in the 1st period, Conor Humphrey and Liam Chapman added 2nd period goals and Dexter Kichline scored in the 3rd period. The Rebels got goals from Max Hamstad and Greg Spitznagel in the loss. Cole O’Donnell and Florian Wade split the win in goal for Rochester.