High Level Action Continues at NAHL Showcase
New Hampshire 1 @ Austin 4 - The Austin Bruins entered Thursday’s game having won their first two games of the season. And they were able to continue their winning ways in this late-morning contest. Austin raced out to a 3-0 lead entering the third period, with two goals coming in the second period. New Hampshire did score in the final frame, but it wasn’t enough. Bruins goaltender Devin Rustlie stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced to help his team to a 4-1 win.
Watertown 5 @ Rochester 4 (SO) - The Watertown Shamrocks secured their first win of the season with their shootout victory over the Rochester Jr. Americans. Travis Lefere started the scoring for the Shamrocks with a goal just 1:40 into the first period, while Calle Karlsson tied it up for the Jr. Americans with just 55 seconds on the clock in the first. Coming off a slower first period that saw only two goals almost a whole period apart, the second period featured four goals from four different players in just 10 minutes. Coming into the final frame, Owen Chartier scored his second tuck of the evening to put the Jr. Americans ahead, but the Jr. The Americans were not ready to be counted out with a clutch goal from Jayden DIke with just under two minutes remaining in the match to tie up. Kody Moyer was responsible for the heroics as he buried the final score of the night to propel his side to the victory,
Maine 2 @ St. Cloud 3 - The St. Cloud Norsemen pulled off the third period comeback yesterday afternoon against the Maine Nordiques in a thrilling matchup. The Nordiques earned the lone goal of the first period off Shane Kozlina, assisted on the goal by Laurent Trepanier. A powerplay goal early in the second period from Kyle Miller would tie the game 1-1, but the Nordiques took back the league seven minutes later thanks to Luke Chappelle earning his third goal of the season. The third period saw the Nordiques’ lead disappear quickly, with a goal scored 6:27 in the period from Peyton Mithmuagneua to tie the game 2-2. Vinny Hart notched his first goal of the season less than two minutes after on the powerplay, with Carter Lundie getting his third assist of the game. The Nordiques loss can be attributed to being consistently on the penalty kill: eight penalties called on them in the final two periods of play. Lundie led both teams in scoring with three points, all assists on each Norsemen goal.
Johnstown 1 @ Odessa 6 - A pair of goals and a 3 point game from Kowin Belsterling powered the Johnstown Tomahawks to a 6-1 win over the Odessa Jackalopes to kick off day 2 of the NAHL showcase Just over three minutes into the 1st, a Caden Morgan point blast broke the seal and put Odessa up 1-0. With just under five minutes left, a Marcus Fechko shot rebounded onto the stick of Zachary Benayon, and he doubled the Jackalopes lead to 2-0. With just over two minutes remaining in the period, a nifty point blast from Everett Pietila would send the Jackalopes to the locker room up 3-0 after 20 minutes. Just over three minutes into the 2nd, a Fechko power play goal would add to the Odessa lead, and make it 4-0. Just before the midway point of the period, Ryan Flaherty powered his way to the front of the net to bury the loose puck to cut the Johnstown deficit back to 3 goals, and 4-1 would be the score after 40 minutes. In the third, an early Kowin Belsterling short handed goal put the Jackalopes back up by 4. With just over five minutes remaining, Belsterling would tally his second of the period on the power play to put the Jackalopes up 6-1, and that would be the final. William Karphed tallied 32 saves in the winning effort, and Daniel Heroux tallied 23 in the loss.
Minot 1 @ El Paso 2 - It was a close affair between the Minot Minotauros and El Paso Rhinos on Thursday. Both teams sought their second straight victory, but only one team could lay claim to the win. In the end, El Paso skated away in triumph. They opened the scoring early in the contest when Cade DeWolf scored a little more than two minutes in the game. Minot brought it back level thanks to John Small’s second goal of the season around five minutes later. A scoreless second period saw the teams remain tied heading into the third. In the final frame, Jakub Jerman scored to give the Rhinos a lead they would not squander.
Northeast 3 @ Aberdeen 5 - The Aberdeen Wings defeated the Northeast Generals by a pair of goals on Thursday. Benjamin Campeau started off the scoring in the campaign with an early first period tally. Campeau scored just 20 seconds into the period, as the rest of the stretch played out scoreless. After ending the period 1-0 Generals, the second period was all Wings. Aberdeen took the lead with a pair of consecutive goals from Jibber Kuhl and Matthew Martin-Gaudreault, who both scored their first goals of the year. Going into the third period, the Generals tied the game at 3-3 with a goal from Jake Gutwirth, before Cade Moxham retook the lead for the Wings. Gutwirth tied the game up for a second time with another goal to make the score 4-4, but was once again denied as Leonid Bulgakov put the Generals on top once more, and Kuhl sealed the deal with his second goal of the evening. Generals netminder had a busy outing in the loss, stopping 37 of 41 shots on the drop for his side, while Wings netminder Willliam Braun was able to turn aside 21 of 24 shots to pick up the win.
Lone Star 3 @ New Jersey 1 - The Lone Star Brahmas got the bounceback win against the News Jersey Rebels yesterday afternoon. Ryan Shaw gave the Rebels the early lead in the first period, and for much of the period the Rebels held the lead. Saxton Tess with two seconds left got the unassisted goal, tying the game 1-1 at the end of the period. The second period was a defensive showdown, with both teams only getting four shots on goal apiece. The lone goal came from Ryan Comishock, assisted by August Classon. Only possessing a one goal lead heading into the third period, the Brahmas would only have to wait about four minutes for their lead to be extended off an Anthony Cappello goal, assisted by Owen Kerr. Neither team would score the rest of regulation, giving the 2024 Robertson Cup Champion Brahmas their second win of the regular season.
Minnesota M 3 @ Colorado 2 (OT) - The Minnesota Mallards defeated the Colorado Grit by a final score of 3-2 in overtime in the Thursday afternoon matinee matchup in the NAHL showcase. The 1st period brought plenty of opportunities, but both goaltenders held strong and the game headed to the 1st intermission tied at zero goals apiece. That wouldn't last long, as just two and a half minutes into the 2nd, Mason Lebel blasted one from the point on the powerplay, and the Mallards led 1-0. Just before the midway point, Justin Vlassis capitalized on a Mallards turnover deep in the zone, and he buried a second chance opportunity, his first NAHL goal, to tie the game for the Grit, 1-1. That tie would not last long, as just twenty seconds later a beautiful Jameson O’Flynn solo effort put the Mallards back up 2-1. With just over six minutes left, a power play blast from Cade Kozak tied the game once again at 2 goals a piece, and that would be the score heading into the 2nd intermission. In the third, plenty of opportunities went both ways, but the game would head to overtime tied at 2 goals apiece. Just under two minutes into the extra session, Erik Muller would be the overtime hero to send the Mallards home happy with a 3-2 win. Richard Rafaj tallied 25 saves in the win, while his counterpart Jack Erickson tallied 26 in the loss.
Elmira 4 @ New Mexico 1 - The NAHL Showcase continued on Thursday with a matchup between Elmira and New Mexico. Elmira came into the game having suffered a brutal 6-1 loss their last time out. On Thursday, though, they got some momentum back. New Mexico opened the scoring in the first period. However, the Aviators went on to score four unanswered to claim the victory. Ben Constantino scored two points in the win, while goalie Carson Barnes made 37 saves against New Mexico.
Philadelphia 2 @ Bismarck 4 - The Bismarck Bobcats must have gotten a new phone number, as the Philadelphia Rebels did not answer the Bobcat’s four goal streak in the 4-2 Bismarck win on Thursday. Brayton FIck opened up the scoring just a couple minutes into the game to put the Rebels out to an early 1-0 lead. However unfortunate for the Rebels, it’s not always sunny in Philadelphia, as Matthew Rafalski and Keanu Krenn responded just three and four minutes later with a one-two punch combo that left the Philly sqaud stunned. The combo was so effective that the Bobcats were able to hit it once more with a pair of empty netters late in the third period from Brendan Ruskowski and Julian Beaumont to extend the lead to 4-1. Thomas Neu finally deposited the puck in the twine, but with just ten seconds left in the game, it was too little too late, and the Bobcats had already sealed the deal. Philadelphia goaltender Beau Lane had a good showing, stopping 18 out of 20 shots, but the team’s two empty net goals cost them any chance they had of getting back in the game. On the other side, Tomas Anderson had a solid evening, stopping a casual 27 out of 29 shots to help his team stay undefeated on the season with the win.
Maryland 1 @ Amarillo 2 - Despite being outshot by 14, the Amarillo Wranglers hit the clutch third period goal to avoid overtime against the Maryland Black Bears. The Black Bears struck first, getting the power play goal from Mason Stenger 13:38 in the first period. Harrison Smith and Trey Hinton assisted on the goal for their fourth assist of the season each. Despite only getting three shots on goal in the second period, the Wranglers tied the game 1-1 with Aidan Dres earning an unassisted goal. The third period still saw the Wranglers fighting hard to get shots, but with only 14 seconds left of regulation, Corson Maguire scored the lead goal to secure the win. Maguire has been on a scoring streak: his goal being his fifth point in the Wranglers’ past three games. Wranglers goaltender Charlie Zolin can be credited heavily for the win, stopping 31 of 32 shots; 17 of those in the second period alone.
North Iowa 2 @ Oklahoma 4 - Four separate goal scorers powered the Oklahoma Warriors to a 4-2 win over the North Iowa Bulls on Thursday night to wrap up Day 2 of the NAHL showcase. Early in the first, a 3rd chance rebound found the stick of Cole Wirun, and he buried it to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. Just past the midway point of the 2nd, an Isaiah Socha centering pass found the stick of Ryan Andor, and he didn't miss to tie the game for Oklahoma. Just over two minutes later, a loose puck found it’s way to Carter Sproule, and he buried it to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. Early in the third, Sebastian Speck won a battle and got the puck to Travis Bryson, and he hit all 24 square feet of net to double the Warrior lead to 3-1. Just before the midway point of the period, Ollie Chessler buried a loose puck to give Oklahoma a 4-1 lead. Austin Osiowy would net his first NAHL goal, but Oklahoma would hold on to win 4-2. Kyle Jones tallied 17 saves in the win, while his counterpart Jack Hirschorn would stop 16 in the loss.
Danbury 1 @ Corpus Christi 3 - The action on Thursday came to an end with a clash between Danbury and Corpus Christi. The Ice Rays got off to a flying start with a two goal first period, including a goal from Stepan Kuznetsov, who scored his fourth of the season. Danbury cut the deficit in half during the second period, but Corpus Christi scored later in the period to re-establish a two-goal lead. Ice Rays puck-stopper Nikita Volsky turned aside 35 shots on Thursday evening to secure a 3-1 victory.
