Saturday Scores: Late Rally Puts Jackalopes in Win Column

Rochester 5 @ New Hampshire 1 - The Rochester Jr Americans efficiently put away the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Saturday, winning by a score of 5-1 at the Tri-Town Ice Arena. New Hampshire goalie Sebastian Bodnar allowed five goals on their home ice, an early theme of the Mountain Kings' season so far. Rochester forward Andrew Gibbons, who's scored a goal in each of the Jr. Americans' four games this season and is tied for first in NAHL for goals scored, went to the top shelf 14 minutes into the first period to put Rochester up 1-0. Gibbons lit the lamp again later in the third period to bring his season goal total to five. New Hampshire couldn't take advantage of the five power play opportunities they got, a rarity for the Mountain Kings early on this season, who hold the highest power play success rate in the NAHL at 29.4% among teams who've played four games. The Mountain Kings' lone goal of the evening came from forward Oli Genest, his fourth of the season.  

Amarillo 2 @ Colorado 1 (OT) - The Amarillo Wranglers kept their undefeated record alive with a wild 2-1 road buzzer-beater overtime win over the Colorado Grit on Saturday at the Greeley Ice Haus. The Colorado Grit hung in there with the first-place Amarillo Wranglers for the entire game until the final ten seconds of overtime. One misplay was all it took for the Wranglers to squeak out their NAHL-leading fourth win.Amarillo forward Aidan Dres punched in the Wranglers first score of the game, finding an open space and taking advantage for his second goal of the season with three minutes left in the first period. The next period and a half was a lockdown display from Amarillo goalie Charlie Zolin and Colorado goalie Jack Erickson. The two workhorses of the NAHL early this season, Erickson ranks first and Zolin second in game minutes for goalies. Furthermore, Zolin allowed just one goal off of 36 shots on goal, on-brand for Zolin, who has a .952 save percentage this season, which leads goalies who've played in four games. The third period turned to overtime, with both teams tied at one apiece. Colorado owned most of overtime, shooting four shots on goal to the Wranglers two. However, Zolin kept up his imposing defense, so Colorado called a timeout with twenty-two seconds left before shootouts to draw up one more play. At this point, everyone in the Greeley Ice Haus was on their feet. A final faceoff was called in front of Zolin. Colorado forward Chris Graves pushed the puck, but it was deflected, and suddenly, it shot out toward Erickson across the ice. In a mad dash, Colorado defenseman Evan Smutney got to the puck first but lost it to Amarillo defenseman Salvatore Cerrato, who whipped around to score the final goal with just 1.3 seconds left. The win places Amarillo atop the NAHL with eight points, and Colorado tied for tenth with four points.

Minnesota W 5 @ Chippewa 9 - The Chippewa Steel had eight different players score a goal in their win against the Minnesota Wilderness on Saturday at the Chippewa Area Ice Arena. While eight separate players were scoring the goals, one in particular was consistently setting them up. Chippewa forward Tomas Trunda dished out four assists and capped off his night by scoring the Steel's ninth goal. Chippewa forward Jackson Lackas also produced mightily for Steel, scoring two goals and two assists. Lackas now leads the Steel in three categories: three goals, five assists, and eight points. Lackas, Trunda, and Chippewa forward Jacob Ligi all currently rank in the top six in total points among NAHL skaters. The Wilderness subbed in two goalies, Simon Zille, and Nicklas Erickson, looking for ways to facilitate the Steel's damage. Still, both yielded similar results, with Zille allowing five goals and Erickson allowing four.  A big win for Chippewa, which makes them tied for third in the Midwest Division with five points.

Elmira 3 @ Northeast 1 - The Elmira Aviators turned it on late in a 3-1 win over the Northeast Generals on Saturday at the Canton Ice House. The Generals slashed 41 shots on goal but only came away with one score against Elmira goalie Carson Barnes, the most efficient game for Barnes so far this season, saving 97.6% of the shots he faced. Northeast forward Thomas Klochkov scored the sole goal for the Aviators in the first period. They held on to the lead until Elmira forward Bryce Terry scored on a wrist shot with 10 minutes left in the second period, tying the game. Elmira defensemen Felix-Antoine Pomerleau and forward Sean Williams scored in the next two goals in the third period to put the game away for the Aviators. Neither team converted on a power play, as Elmira went 0 for 2 and Northeast went 0 for 5. Elmira is tied for second place with six points in the East Division following the win, while Northeast is now tied for sixth place with three points.

New Jersey 3 @ Maine 4 - The Maine Nordiques remain tied for first in the East Division following heroic efforts from goalie Carter Richardson and forward Tomek Haula in 4-3 shootout victory over the New Jersey Titans on Saturday at The Colisee. Already a three-headed race for first in the East Division, the Nordiques looked to keep up with the Philadelphia Rebels and Rochester Jr. Americans with a win against the Titans, even if it took more than three periods— and overtime. It was a back-and-forth matchup from the get-go, with the scoring starting with Maine defenseman Luke Chappelle finding the back of the net about four minutes into the contest. New Jersey forward Ryan Novo scored his first of two goals later on in the first period to tie it up 1-1. Maine forwards Ethan Wongus and Laurent Trepanier, who both rank in the top seven for total points among skaters in the NAHL, each scored a goal in the second period in between Novo's second goal to make it 3-2 Nordiques heading into the third period. The game became tied when a New Jersey defenseman, Odin Ford, tipped a goal from the blue line right as a power play expired. Time expired in the third period and turned to overtime with the score 3-3. No team would get the puck to hit the back of the net in OT, so it was time for a shootout and for heroics. Maine goalie Carter Richardson held down the Nordiques cage, blocking the first shootout attempt from lefty New Jersey forward Jeremy Sprung. Then Maine forward Tomek Haula, wasting no time, rushed New Jersey goalie Austin McNicholas and cashed in the go-ahead score. Richardson slammed the door shut and prevented two more attempts from the Titans to seal the win.

Danbury 0 @ Maryland 3 - The Maryland Black Bears shut out the Danbury Hat Tricks 3-0 thanks to a commanding performance from goalie Benji Motew on Saturday at the Piney Orchard Ice Arena. Motew captured his first career shutout in the NAHL against the Hat Tricks, defeating 15 shots on goal. Among qualified goalies Motew's save percentage of .951 ranks as the 8th highest in the NAHL. Maryland's offensive production came from forwards Harrison Smith, Kareem El Bashir, and Isac Nielsen. El Bashir leads the Black Bears with three goals this season, a third of the way to a new career high in the NAHL in just four games played. As previously stated, the Hat Tricks were limited in their shots on goals, the most in a period being eight in the third, amassing three and four in the first and second, respectively. The win for the Black Bears ties them for fourth in the East Division with six points, while the loss for the Hat Tricks pushes them to sixth in the division with three points. 

Kenai River 5 @ Springfield 2 - Kenai River rode a strong first period to 5-2 victory over Springfield. The Brown Bears came out flying last night as James Lyver struck twice in the first four minutes of play. The pair were Lyver’s third and fourth goals of the season. The first period scoring for Kenai Rivers was not done. Michael Fiedorczuk and Dario Lass each potted their first goals of the NAHL year. It was a power play goal for Lass and his third point of the period. The Brown Bears led 4-0 after one. Springfield pulled a goal back through Logan Ganz at 6:08 in the second period before cutting the deficit to 4-2 with a Jagur McClelland tally just 1:32 into the third period. Greye Rampton sealed the game with an empty net goal, and his fourth of the season, in the dying seconds. Kenai River killed all six penalties they took and Mitchell Mccusker stopped 34 of 36 shots he faced in the win.

Austin 5 @ North Iowa 1 - Austin took down North Iowa 5-1 Saturday. The Bruins broke the ice midway through the first period as Connor Beckwith scored his first of the year. Austin struck again just under three minutes later. EJ Paddington found the back of the net to put his team up a pair. The score remained 2-0 into the second period but did not stay there long. Austin was awarded a power play and Alex Laurenza capitalized. The rest of the middle frame went by without a goal. North Iowa finally struck 47:40 into the contest. Luke Gustafson got the goal to slash the Bulls defect to 3-1. However, Austin responded 30 seconds later as Paddington scored his second goal of the game. Laurenza also added his second power play tally of the evening to push the score to its 5-1 final. Jack Solomon stopped 11 of 12 shots in the win while Jack Hirshorn made 17 saves on 22 attempts.

Minnesota M 7 @ St. Cloud 3 - The Mallards opened the scoring on the power play as Hunter Hayes scored for the second time in 2024-25. St. Cloud answered just over a minute later as Hudson Blue scored a power play tally of his own. The second period did not go as planned for the Norseman. Minnesota struck three times in the final 7:40 of the period. Landon Steffen scored the first of the three goals before Brady Borgestad grabbed a shorthanded tally and Mason LeBel a power play marker. The Mallards led 5-1 after two. Erik Muller continued the scoring avalanche for Minnesota with another power play goal just 1:23 into the third period. The teams then traded goals twice to get to the 7-3 final score. Wes Berg and Sam Crane scored for St. Cloud while Eli Bailey and Drew Bowe registered goals for Minnesota. Richard Rafaj stopped 28 of 31 shots in the Mallard win.

Johnstown 3 @ Philadelphia 5 - The Rebels were powered by a three-goal third period in the win. However, Johnstown opened the scoring 6:14 into that game as Adam Ondris potted his second goal of the young season. Philly struck right back just over two minutes later. Ryan Bunting got the goal to tie the game at one. The second period’s scoring went nearly identical to the first. Johnstown’s Ryan Flaherty scored his fourth of the year before Ruslan Jamaldinov grabbed his third of the season. The game moved to the final frame knotted at two. Billy Sheridan began the third-period onslaught for the Rebels breaking the tie at 10:39. Philadelphia then scored twice in two minutes to push their lead to three. Brock Jones and Charles Panchisin each netted their second goals of the season. Nick Jarmain added a late goal for the Tomahawks to push the game to its 5-3 final. Johnston goaltender Daniel Heroux stopped 33 of 37 shots he faced while Owen Crudale made 37 saves in the win for Philadelphia.

Bismarck 4 @ Watertown 3 - Bismarck took down Watertown 4-3 Saturday in a back-and-forth affair. The Shamrocks opened the scoring at 12:12 in the first period as Samuel Lyons found the back of the net. Bismarck answered in the dying minutes of period with Wyatt Sypniewski’s first tally of the season. The Bobcats took their first lead of the game thanks to Keanu Krenn’s goal early in the second. Once again a go-ahead goal was answered before the intermission. Watertown’s Vincent Bronzo evened the game at two with less than two minutes to play in the frame. Bismarck once again took the upper hand, this time in the final period, as Sypniewski grabbed his second goal of the game. Alexander Kim then scored for the Bobcats seven minutes later to push his side up a pair of goals. Watertown’s Ryan Whiterabbit added a tally with under one minute to play in the game but it would not be enough to overcome the Shamrock deficit. Watertown’s River Leslie-Toogood made 36 saves in a losing effort while Vladislav Bryzgalov stopped 19 of the 22 shots he faced in the win.

Fairbanks 5 @ Wisconsin 2 - Fairbanks defeated Wisconsin 5-2 on the backs of strong performances by Adam Timm and Brent Gulenchyn. Timm opened the scoring 13:25 into the opening period However, Wisconsin answered with Braydon Beahm less than a minute later to knot the game at one. The second period saw Fairbanks explode for three goals in six minutes. Justin Collins struck first before Gulenchyn scored the only power play goal in 11 tries for the Ice Dogs. Timm rounded out the second-period scoring with his second goal of the game to give Fairbanks a 4-1 lead. Martin Klicka and the Windigo pulled one back halfway through the final frame but it would not be enough. DJ Ott’s empty netter pushed the game to its 5-2 final. Roman White stopped 18 of 22 shots in the loss while Mason McElroy made 19 saves in the 21 shots he faced.

Odessa 5 @ Oklahoma 4 (SO) - Two extra attacker goals were enough to bring the Odessa Jackalopes to a 5-4 shootout win over the Oklahoma Warriors on Saturday night. In the 1st, two goals 57 seconds apart from Sebastian Speck and Carter Sproule put the home side up after 20 minutes. In the 2nd, Travis Bryson scored his first NAHL goal to put Oklahoma up 3-0, but just 78 seconds later, Kowin Belsterling responded for Odessa to cut the deficit to 3-1 after 40 minutes. In the 3rd, Zachary Benayon scored to cut the Oklahoma lead in half, but Louie Kamienski would score less than two minutes later to put Oklahoma back up by two. With 2:03 remaining, a Trey Gnetz point blast would cut the deficit to 4-3, and 20 seconds later, Jeremy Jacobs would net his first career NAHL goal to tie the game. Overtime would not be enough to settle the game, and this game would head to a shootout to decide the extra point, where Belsterling would be the shootout hero to give Odessa the extra point.

Anchorage 3 @ Janesville 5 - Five separate goal scorers powered the Janesville Jets to a 5-3 win over the Anchorage Wolverines on Saturday night. In the 1st period, a power play goal from Grady Magner and the first NAHL goal for Hans Hedlund put the home side up 2-0 after 20 minutes. In the 2nd period, Sullivan Miller put Janesville up 3-0, but just 80 seconds later, Jack Darby cut the deficit to 3-1. Two and a half minutes later, Trevor Aberwald would net his first NAHL goal to put Janesville back up 4-1. In the 3rd, Toby Carlson would net his first NAHL goal to cut the score to 4-2, and Daniel Bagnole would cut it to 4-3, but Jayar Luedke would seal the game and send the home faithful home happy. Mattew Alberti tallied 29 saves in the win, while Roberto Leonardo Henriquez tallied 25 in the loss

El Paso 3 @ Shreveport 1 - El Paso completed the weekend split with a 3-1 win over Shreveport on Saturday night at Georges Pond Hirsch Coliseum. Just two and a half minutes into the first, Alexandre Pellerin scored a power play goal to put El Paso up 1-0, but just past the halfway point, Noah Ribeiro would tally his first career goal to send the game to the first intermission tied at one goal apiece. With just over five minutes left in the 3rd, Duke Gentzler would tally the eventual game winning goal for El Paso, and A.J Reed would seal the deal for El Paso with 24 seconds left with an empty net goal. Michael Manzi tallied 29 saves in the winning effort, while Aden Gariepy tallied 18 in the loss.

Corpus Christi 2 @ New Mexico 3 - An action packed first period that saw four goals in the opening 20 minutes, the New Mexico Ice Wolves defeated the Corpus Christi IceRays by a final score of 3-2 on Saturday night at Outpost Ice Arenas. In the first period, Lars Petter-Eckholm tallied his first NAHL goal on the power play to put the Ice Rays up 1-0, but 2 minutes later Ethan Hull tied the game back up. With just over a minute left, Andrew Earl would net his first NAHL goal to put New Mexico back on top 2-1, but with just 6 seconds left in the period, Gavin O’Hara would pot his first career goal to send the game to the first intermission deadlocked at two goals apiece. With just over three minutes left in the 2nd, Johnny Johannson would prove to be the difference maker, also netting his first career NAHL goal, which would be the game winner to send the home faithful home happy. Brendan Holahan would stop 19 in the win, while Nikita Volsky tallied 26 in the loss.

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