Friday Finals: Windigo Win Again

Danbury 2 @ Maryland 3 (OT) - Maryland came out on top in an OT thriller against the Danbury Hat Tricks at home in a game that was defined by late heroics and big moments. The Black Bears scored the opening goal of the game courtesy of Kieran Litterick’s team-high second goal of the season. Danbury tied up the game about halfway through the second period as Gates Omicoli found the back of the net fresh off a weekend that saw him record a hat-trick. It would be all Danbury from there, as Kareem El Bashir scored in the final 80 seconds of the game to send the contest into overtime; Litterick, who opened the scoring, would also be the one to close it out with a goal that gave them Black Bears their second OT win of the year.

Rochester 6 @ New Hampshire 5 - The Rochester Jr. Americans picked up where they left off last week by opening the first period with four goals, setting the tone for what would ultimately be a close game. Four different Americans added their names to the goal list during that first frame, as Jaden Dyke, Calle Karlsson, Benjamin Darche, and Owen King found the back of the net. The Mountain Kings wouldn’t go down without a fight if the second period does anything to go by, as New Hampshire added three goals of their own to tie the game at four goals apiece. A huge part of that comeback was the performance of Alexander Duhon, who found the back of the net twice in the span of a minute to put his team back in the game. The third goal of the period for the Mountain Kings came from Rogiero Cacciarelli, who barely beat the buzzer in time for the goal to count. The third frame saw each team score again with goals by Jack MacDonald for New Hampshire and Andrew Gibbons for Rochester, but the Mountain Kings would ultimately come up short in the end, falling by a score of 6-5.

New Jersey 3 @ Maine 4 - The Maine Nordiques pulled out a close win over the New Jersey Titans on Friday night at home, scoring two third period goals that acted as the difference at the final buzzer. The team opened the scoring in the first period on a goal by Laurent Trepanier, his third of the season. The Titans would control most of the second period thanks to goals by Logan Renkowski and Owen Leahy that put the Titans in the driver’s seat heading into the third period by a score of 2-1. Maine would regain the lead about halfway through the final frame as Evil Tavernier found the back of the net to break the tie and Arhip Sidarovich scored the game winner with just under 10 minutes left in the game. The win keeps the Nordiques on top of the East Division standings, a title they hope to maintain as they take on the Titans again tomorrow night.

Johnstown 1 @ Philadelphia 3 - The Johnstown Tomahawks took on the Philadelphia Rebels for the first time this season as part of a two-game weekend series. Philadelphia found the net late in the first period on a goal by Brayton Frick that served as the lone goal of the frame, while Johnstown took the liberty of tying the game in the same late-period fashion in the second. The Rebels pulled away after the puck dropped in the third period, as goals by Caesar Bjork and Ruslan Jamaldinov would put away the Tomahawks in the teams’ first meeting of the season.

Kenai River 1 @ Chippewa 5 - The home team went on a roll tonight as the Chippewa Steel defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears by a score of 5-1 with the majority of the damage being done in the first period. Three different members of the Steel added goals to their season stat lines in the first frame, as Jacob Luigi, Georgie Peterson, and Jackson Lackas scored to put the Steel up early. The lone goal in the second period belonged to the Brown Bears as Carter McCormick’s goal put the team on the scoreboard, but the performance by the Steel in the first frame would be too much to overcome for the Bears, as goals by Gavin Middendorf and Jacob Luigi put the game out of reach for the Bears. The game served as a bit of a blow to the Midwest Division leading Brown Bears, but they’ll look to bounce back into form against Maryland on Wednesday.

Bismarck 6 @ Watertown 1 - The Bobcats took control of this one early with a commanding performance in the first period that saw the team score four goals from four different players across the frame, including Wyatt Sypniewski, Brendan Ruskowski, Jakub Kopecky, and Josh Lehto. The team added another tally in the second period with Jan Gaspar’s first goal of the season in the team’s season opener. Watertown’s lone goal came off the stick of Rylan Anaruk, but the score would do little to stop the bleeding from the monster first period by the Bobcats. Bismarck added a late sixth goal in the third period bringing the final score to 6-1.

Odessa 2 @ Oklahoma 4 - The Oklahoma Warriors used a three goal first period en-route to their 4-2 win against the Odessa Jackalopes Friday night. Sebastian Speck, Louie Kamienski and Domink Kiss all found the back of the net within four minutes of each other late in the first period to take a 3-0 lead for the Warriors. The suddenly hot offense would cool off as a stagnant offensive game saw a scoreless second period, and half of the third period as well. The Jackalopes would fight back with a pair of powerplay goals from Marcus Fechko and Trey Gnetz, but Carter Sproule would eventually pad the lead for the Warriors with his final goal of the night. Warriors goaltender Billy Stuski made 30 out of 32 saves for the win, while Jackalopes goaltender William Karphed stopped 24 of 28 shots in the loss. Penalties proved to be an important factor in the game, as three of the six total goals were power play goals.

St. Cloud 8 @ Minnesota M 4 - The St. Cloud Norsemen dismantled the Minnesota Mallards in the host team’s NAHL Debut on Friday night. The Norsemen made themselves right at home against their statehood rivals as they took a 3-0 lead in the first period with goals from Sam Crane, Carter Lundie and Branson Hunt. However, the second period was when things got entertaining. Teams traded blows and danced together as they scored a total seven goals combined in the 20-minute frame, with all seven goals coming from a different player each time. Hunter Hayes and Sam Crane traded tallies in the third period, but the attempt to comeback was too much for the young Mallards to handle as they dropped the contest to the Norsemen. Visiting Norsemen goaltender Branson Appleman turned aside 34 out of the 38 shots he faced in the win, while Mallards goaltender Ryan Sanborne stopped 35 of 38 shots.

Anchorage 2 @ Springfield 3 (OT) - The Springfield Jr, Blues defeated the Anchorage Wolverines in a thrilling overtime affair Friday night.  After over 40-minutes of scoreless hockey, the Jr. Blues got on the board with a strike from Owen Lowe, his first of the season. Jean-Sebastien Packresponded with another goal to boost the lead to 2-0, before Jackson Stimple and Taisetsu Ushio got their Wolverines on the board to tie the game at 2-2 with goals just 20 seconds apart. After 6o minutes, it was apparent that more time was needed, so the teams went to overtime. However, not much magic was needed, as Logan Ganz scored halfway through the overtime period to put the icing on the cake for the Jr Blues and win the game. Springfield goaltender Frank Murphy played lights out, stopping 40 out of 42 shots faced on the night.  Anchorage goalie Vaugh Makar stopped 29 out of 32 shots in his performance on the night as well.

Fairbanks 6 @ Janesville 2 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs took care of business against the Janesville Jets on Friday Night with a no-doubt 6-2 win. Sullivan Miller opened up the scoring for the Jets less than a minute into the game, a favor which would be returned by the Ice Dogs as they recorded tallies from Arsenii Vorobev, Brent Gulenchyn and Luca Ricciardi to end the first frame 3-1. The Ice Dogs and Jets also recorded a pair of goals in the second period with deposits from Wyatt Carlson of the Ice Dogs and Grady Magner of the Jets. Although the Jets fought resiliently, the Ice Dogs tacked on two more goals to their score to end the night with a score of 6-2, with special thanks to Guelchyn and Riccardi. Ice Dogs goaltender Kevin Jones denied 31 out of 33 shots to claim the win, and Jets goaltender Matthew Alberti stopped 26 of 32 shots to round out the evening for the Jets.

Elmira 5 @ Northeast 3 - The Elmira Aviators hung on to defeat the Northeast Generals Friday night. Not every win is pretty, but they count just the same, and the Aviators couldn’t be more happy about that. A four goal first period saw the Aviators fly out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Ben Costantino and Alexis Billequey, but were soon answered in the waning moments of the period by Generals scorers Jake Gutwirth and Luke Gallo. The second period was scarily quiet compared to the first, with only a single goal coming from the Aviator’s Charlie Fink. This lone goal would serve to be more important than nearly any other, as this goal gave the Aviators the lead at 3-2. After trading a pair of goals in the third period, the Generals fought tooth and nail, eventually having no choice but to pull their goaltender. The Generals did everything in their power, but Matthew Maglio of the Aviators eventually buried the empty net goal to secure the hard fought two points for his team. In a well contested matchup, goaltender Carson Barnes picked up the win with 32 out of 29 shots saved for the Aviators.

El Paso 3 @ Shreveport 4 - It is often said you eat an elephant one bite at a time. But what do you do with a rhino? Well for the Shreveport Mudbugs, the answer is clear- you score one goal at a time. Duke Gentzler tucked an early shot into the back of the net to give the Rhinos the 1-0 lead less than two minutes into the game  This lead would remain untouched until the second period, when Brent Litchardand and Gleb Akimov put home a pair of pucks to give the Mudbugs the lead for a short period of time. However, the Rhinos moved back into a tie with the Mudbugs on a Rasmus Nousiainen goal. Going into the third and final period, Ryan Warner put the puck in the back of the net for the Rhinos, but was quickly mirrored by Cole Hutchinson who tied the game up for the Mudbugs. A competitive and full third period appeared to see both sides about ready for overtime. However, it was not to be, as Lucas Deeb broke through for the Mudbugs to take the lead with nine seconds in the game. Unable to recoup with nine seconds left, the Mudbugs were able to come away with the win.  Rhinos goalie Joey LoVullo stopped 30 out of 34 shots on the night, and Nikola Gates stopped 29 out of 32 shots on way to the heart-stopping thriller of a win.

Wisconsin 5 @ Minnesota W 4 - In a back-and-forth game, the Wisconsin Windigo narrowly defeated the Minnesota Wilderness Friday evening by a final score of 5-4. Braydon Beahm opened the scoring early in the first, scoring exactly one minute in to put the Windigo up early. It wouldn’t take long however for the Wilderness to tie it up, thanks to a goal by Karson Young. Logan Nickolaus netted one late, giving Wisconsin a one goal advantage heading into the second period. Elliot Gulley extended the lead to 3-1, before Avery Anderson put one past Wisconsin to bring them within one again. In an intense third, the Windigo looked to run away with the win, courtesy of a goal from Cashen Naeve. Minnesota wouldn’t succumb to defeat quite yet though, as Frantisek Netusil’s goal with about 7 minutes remaining made it a one-goal game. Theodore Richardson netted one late to put the Windigo up 5-3, however Netusil scored his second of the game with 39 seconds left to make it 5-4. In the end, Wisconsin was able to hang on backed by Lucas Szyszka and his 30-save performance.

Corpus Christi 4 @ New Mexico 2 - Fans certainly were in for a treat Friday night at Outpost Ice Arenas, as the Corpus Christi IceRays edged the New Mexico Ice Wolves 4- 2. After a first period backed by defense, Carter Krenke netted one late for Corpus Christi to give them the lead. However, 11 seconds into the second period, Bryce Johnson quickly tied it up. Michael Valdez scored to take the lead again for the IceRays, before Noah Mertz put one in late to even it up for a second time. Heading into the third and final period, Matthew Green and Pierson Sobush put a pair of goals in the back of the net, as Corpus Christi would be victorious. Nikita Volsky padded away 19 to earn the win.

Amarillo 5 @ Colorado 2 - In what started out as a back-and-forth game, the Amarillo Wranglers ran away with a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Grit. Trace Day got the Wranglers on the board first, however Nicholas Noble scored late in the first for the Grit to tie the game at one apiece. Corson McGuire slid one past to net the game’s lone goal of the second period, with Amarillo gaining back the lead. Early in the third period, Carl Jacobson put the Wranglers up two, but Noble came back with his second of the outing to bring the Grit back within one. A series of goals courtesy of Cole Semeniuk and Nolan Davis sealed the deal for Amarillo to put a comeback out of reach. Charlie Zolin was spectacular in the crease, saving 31 of 33.

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