Friday Finals: Wilderness take over Midwest lead with shutout
Odessa Jackalopes goalie Quentin Sigurdson stopped 40 of 41 shots and then stopped all seven shooters in the shootout to lift Odessa to a 2-1 win in El Paso on Friday.
Chippewa 0 @ Minnesota 4: A highly anticipated matchup where both squads combined for 13 straight victories saw the Wilderness come out on top convincingly 4-0 on home ice. A red-hot Ashton Dahms got Minnesota on the board 14:50 into the 1st period with his 9th goal of the season. After a scoreless middle frame, Harper Searles doubled the lead 5:10 into the 3rd before he tallied two more to put the game out of reach and secure his first North American Hockey League hat trick. Nick Erickson kept out all 27 shots he faced to secure his first shutout of the season while Ajay White kept out 26 for the Steel.
Odessa 2 @ El Paso 1 (SO) – Jackalopes goalie Quentin Sigurdson stopped 40 of 41 shots and then stopped all seven shooters in the shootout to lift Odessa to a 2-1 win in El Paso on Friday. Both goals in regulation came in the 1st period as Camden Bajzer scored for the Rhinos, with Christian Tavare answering for Odessa. Svante Strandberg had the lone goal in the shootout of the 14 combined shooters. Kael DePape made 30 saves in the loss.
Maine 5 @ Danbury 1 – Maine stayed hot with a 5-1 win in Danbury as five different players lit the lamp. After an opening goal in the 1st period from Danbury’s Hayden Stocks, it was all Nordiques as they took a 3-1 lead with 2nd period goals from Charles Tardif, David Helledy, and Anderson Sandquist. The lead increased to 5-1 with two goals in the 3rd period from Matthew Lewis and Nicholas Bernardo. Carter Richardson made 20 saves in the win.
Corpus Christi 2 @ New Mexico 5 – The Ice Wolves kept pace with the South leaders as five different players scored in a 5-2 home win over the IceRays. Anthony Cafarelli opened the scoring for Corpus Christi late in the 1st period. That was answered by New Mexico with back-to-back goals from Bryce Johnson and Graham Harris to make it 2-1. Early in the 3rd period, the IceRays tied the game at 2-2 on a goal from Stepan Kuznetsov, but the Ice Wolves pulled away later in the 3rd period with goals from Ryan Johnson, Olivier Lamothe, and Ryan Seelinger. Andy Vlaha made 22 saves in the win.
Oklahoma 3 @ Amarillo 5 – Connor McNaughton and Roman Zap each scored twice to lead the Wranglers to a 5-3 home win over the Warriors. Amarillo jumped ahead 2-0 on goals from Ben Ivey and McNaughton. Oklahoma got on the board late in the 2nd period thanks to a goal from Kaden Nelson. In the 3rd period, Zap’s first goal made it 3-1 for Amarillo. Oklahoma would then tie the game at 3-3 with back-to-back goals from Riley Brueck and Drew Sutton. Late in the 3rd period, goals from Zap and McNaughton secured the win. Connor McDonough made 25 saves in the win.
Northeast 4 @ Philadelphia 5 – The Rebels jumped out to a 4-1 lead and survived a late comeback attempt from the Generals in a 5-4 win. The Generals were on the board first as Jett Otwell scored :20 seconds into the 1st period. The Rebels would then rattle off four straight goals as Otto Polakovs, Billy Sheridan, Max Hamstad, and Tyler Stern all scored. The Generals made it a game with goals later in the contest from Emerson Miller, Ryan Remick, and Sixten Jennersjo, but another goal from Stern proved to be the game-winner. Luke Fursten made 31 saves in the win.
Shreveport 3 @ Lone Star 2 – The Mudbugs climbed to within two points of the Brahmas in the standings thanks to 19 saves from Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau in a 3-2 road win. The Brahmas scored first in the opening period with a goal from Charlie Masek. Shreveport would answer twice with back-to-back goals from Chase Murray and Hayden Nichol to make it 2-1. Early in the 3rd period, a goal from Justin Kerr tied the game for the Brahmas. Late in the 3rd period, the game-winner came off the stick of Liam Fleet, who scored his first goal of the season. Devis Rolovs made 17 saves in the loss.
New Hampshire 3 @ Maryland 4 (OT) – Maryland moved back into sole possession of 1st place in the East Division thanks to a 4-3 overtime win on Friday. The teams were even at 1-1 through one period as Dylan Gordon scored for Maryland with Linas Dedinas answering for New Hampshire. The Mountain Kings took a 2-1 lead in the 2nd period with a goal from Brandon Spaulding. In the 3rd period, goals from Dimitry Kebreau and Adam Schankula have Maryland the edge back at 3-2. Jack Costanzo tied the game at 3-3 later in the period for the Mountain Kings. In the overtime, Ryder Nienhuis would net the game-winner on a 2-on-1. Colin Ronan made 23 saves in the win.
New Jersey 5 @ Rochester 2 – Titans goalie Zakari Brice made 31 saves to lead his team to a 5-2 road win in Rochester on Friday. Rochester took a 2-1 lead early in the 2nd period with goals from Adam Gionta and Matteo Disipio, while Johnny McMahon scored for New Jersey. Midway through the game, the Titans took control scoring four unanswered goals to win the game as Dominick Rivelli and Ethan Wongus scored in the 2nd period and Ryan Novo and Matt Henry added 3rd period goals.
Aberdeen 7 @ North Iowa 2 - It was all Aberdeen as they dominated North Iowa 7-2 on Friday night. Riley Sharun led the way for the Wings with two goals and an assist. Logan Gravnik also had a three point night with a goal and two helpers of his own. Grant Kohnen also found the back of the net twice while Nikolai Tishkevich registered a goal and an assist and Leonid Bulgakov lit the lamp for Aberdeen. Jackson Schouten had a goal and an assist for North Iowa while Simone Dadie chipped a goal in the loss. Adam Dybal picked up the win in goal as he had 18 saves in the contest while Santo Simmchen and Connor Graham combined to make 37 stops.
Austin 3 @ Bismarck 4 (OT) - For the second straight night, Evan Hunter buried the game winning goal in overtime as the Bismarck Bobcats took home another victory in extra time, this time over the Austin Bruins. Tyson Smith and Kade Kohanski got Bismarck out to a 2-0 lead in the opening period. Isaak Brassard and Matthew Rafalski traded goals in the middle frame as Bismarck went to the locker room with a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Alex Laurenza and Austin Salani found the back of the net in the third period to tie the game and force overtime before Hunter’s game winning tally in the final seconds of overtime. Stephen Peck grabbed the win in goal for Bismarck as he made 20 saves while Matthew MacArthur stopped 25 shots in the loss.
St. Cloud 1 @ Minot 2 (SO) - The Minot Minotauros came away with a 2-1 victory in a shootout over the St. Cloud Norsemen. The Norsemen got on the board first with a goal from Lucca Munoz in the second period. That would stand as the game’s only goal until late in the third period as John Small scored a big goal for the home side, tying the game at one and forcing overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, we went to a skills competition where Joel Lehtinen scored the only goal of the contest to give Minot the extra point. Brady James stopped 20 shots in 65 minutes and all three shooters in the shootout to earn the win in goal. Ryan Manzella was good in his own right with 29 stops for St. Cloud
Janesville 4 @ Anchorage 1: The Jets picked up their first win of their Alaskan road trip by handily taking down the Wolverines 4-1. After a scoreless opening frame, Noah Gibbs broke the deadlock with his 4th of the season midway through the 2nd period. Merril Steenari doubled the lead with just 8 seconds remaining in the period. The Jets continued to fuel pressure onto the Wolverines in the 3rd and found a third goal off the stick of Nick Sajevic just 40 seconds into the period. Fyodor Nikolayenya got Anchorage on the board midway through the period but Steenari iced the game with his 2nd of the contest with less than three minutes remaining. Matthew Alberti held strong between the pipes for Janesville, stopping all but one of 34 shots faced. Liam Beerman kept out 23 in the loss.
Springfield 5 @ Fairbanks 4 (SO): The Jr. Blues headed into the 3rd period down a pair of goals but fought back to tie the game and steal the extra point in the shootout. The Ice Dogs dominated play in the opening period as Kyle Rohrer and Marc Lund both tickled twine to make it 2-0. Springfield’s Hadley Hudak and Anthony Ruklic kept it close in the 2nd but Wyatt Carlson kept back that two-goal lead for Fairbanks with a score. Schmuck and Isaac Keller both found the back of the net in the final frame to even the scores and send the game to extra time. Noah Wood was the lone goal scorer in the shootout for Springfield while his netminder JJ Cataldo stopped all three shootout attempts and 38 shots in regulation for the win. Tyler Krivstov stopped 29 shots in the loss.
Wisconsin 4 @ Kenai River 6: In a highly offensive affair, the Brown Bears were able to snap their five-game losing streak and pick up a 6-4 victory over the Windigo. Maxwell Martin and Tyler Grahme both found the back of the net for Wisconsin in the 1st while Kenai’s Andy Larson kept it a one-goal game with his 4th of the season. Martin brought the lead back to two for Wisconsin early on in the 2nd before Jackson Ebbott and Nicholas Stevens helped the Brown Bears tie the game heading into the 3rd. Martin tallied another for his hat trick but Roope Tuomioksa, Larson, and Joe Manning all lit the lamp for Kenai to lift them past Wisconsin. Petter Wickstrom was the victor between the pipes, stopping 22 of 24 shots faced. Linards Lipskis kept out 20 of 26 in the loss.
