Overtime Thrillers Highlight Third Day of Showcase
New Jersey 2 @ Anchorage 4 - In a rematch of the 2022 Robertson Cup, in which New Jersey took the title with a 3-0 win, the Anchorage Wolverines (2-1-1) prevailed, defeating the New Jersey Titans (1-5-1) 4-2 on Friday at the NAHL showcase. The Wolverines' lead was established quickly, thanks to a goal from Anchorage forward Taisetsu Ushio four minutes into the first period. The goal came from a power play awarded to the Wolverines from an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty called on the Titans before a faceoff. It was the second power play goal scored for Anchorage in their young season, improving their conversion rate to 12.5, which ranks 25th in the league. The lead then grew to 3-0 after goals from Anchorage forward Romulus Riego De Dios and defenseman Brock Devlin, each their first of the season. The latter goal saw the puck pinball off of two skates in front of Titans goalie Charlie Mistretta before it found its way into the net. Everything was going the Wolverines' way. The Titans fought back with a power play goal of their own from New Jersey forward Alex Papaspyropoulos with 18 seconds left in the second period and then another Papaspyropoulos goal stemming from a 4-on-2 fastbreak. The two goals in the loss made Papaspyropoulos the Titans' leading scorer with three goals on the season. Anchorage added one more goal in the third period from forward Cole Christian, his first of the season, which wrapped things up for the Wolverines. The loss was the Titans' fifth of the season, their third of the showcase, while Anchorage brought their season and showcase win total to two.
Maine 0 @ Lone Star 3 - In a lopsided affair, the reigning Robertson Cup Champions, the Lone Star Brahmas blanked the Maine Nordiques 3-0 Friday afternoon. The Brahmas got things rolling early, thanks to a pair of first period goals from Kyle Isenberg and Charlie Emmons to put them up 2-0. Owen Kerr kept it going in the second by netting one to further their lead. With the final frame backed by solid defense, the score would hold true as Lone Star would go onto win. Despite the loss, Nordiques’ netminder Carter Richardson was stellar in goal, stopping 40 of 43 shots. Jack Spicer earned the shutout for the Brahmas’, stopping all 15 attempts.
El Paso 3 @ Maryland 4 - The best way to eat an elephant may be one bite at a time, but the best way to defeat a Rhino is one goal at a time— or at least that was the method the Maryland Black Bears used to defeat the El Paso Rhinos 4-3 on Friday. Maryland were the clear leaders in the weekend tilt as the Black Bears led in goals, shots on net, saves, and penalty minutes. Luke Rubin and Kareem El Bashir recorded the first period scores for the Black Bears with a Ben Norris goal for the Rhinos sandwiched in between the time the goals occurred. The second period saw AJ Reed collect his first pot of the season for the Rhinos, while Duke Gentzler recorded his third on an unassisted do-it-yourself goal to put El Paso up by one. The lead did not stand for long, though, as Mason Stenger put the puck in the back of the net just two minutes later to tie the score going into the second break. The Black Bears played a suffocating third period, allowing only three shots for the Rhinos, none of which were able to get past the blue ice. Harrison Smith’s attempt was true as he scored the difference maker in the third period to secure the victory for Maryland. Joey LoVullo had a busy night between the pipes for the Rhinos, stopping 27 of 31 shots in the drop. Logan Hughes took advantage of a comparatively quiet night in goal for the Black Bears, stopping 18 of 21 in a full 60 minutes of ice time to record the win.
Rochester 1 @ Fairbanks 2 - Fairbanks defeated Rochester 2-1 this afternoon in a game part of this week's annual NAHL Showcase. Fairbanks opened the scoring early in the first period with a shorthanded goal while killing a major penalty. The tally gave Brent Gulenchyn his fifth goal of the young season and moved him into the Ice Dog team lead in goals. However, The Jr. Americans answered just 18 seconds later on the power play as Landon Brownlee potted his second goal of the year. Those two goals were the only tallies of the game's first 59 minutes as the goaltenders took over. Fairbanks' Mason McElroy stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced while Rochester's Florian Wade made 27 saves. Just as the contest appeared to be headed to overtime, Ice Dog defenseman Caden Pendo slipped one passed Wade. Fairbanks took the lead with just 33 seconds to play. The Ice Dogs walked away with their second consecutive win in the Showcase while the Jr. Americans dropped to 0-2-1 on the week.
Philadelphia 4 @ New Mexico 3 - Ryan Bunting put the Rebels on the board in the first with an assist by Billy Sheridan. During the second period, Sean Gibbons put the Ice Wolves on the board with help from Bryce Johnson. Luke Janviriya increased the lead for Philadelphia assisted by Ruslan Jamaldinov. During the third, Nicholas Bianchi scored a goal assisted by Sheridan. Drew Belleson put another goal on the board for the Rebels with some help from Caesar Bjork. Tim Hewko added another goal for New Mexico with an assist from Noah Mertz. Adrian Marek scored one last goal for the Ice Wolves assisted by Michael Kull, but they fell to the Rebels. Owen Crudale had 41 saves for the Rebels while Jackson Fuller had 25 saves for the Ice Wolves.
Danbury 1 @ Kenai River 5 - Kenai River Brown Bears' deep lineup and solid goaltending led them over the Danbury Hat Tricks comfortably. After a scoreless first period, Jack Clarke's first of the season was quickly matched by Danbury's Gates Omicioli. After that, it was all Kenai River as nine different Brown Bears got on the scoresheet during the night, with Brady Engelkes, Luke Lizak, James Lyver, and Thomas Gunderson getting goals. Mitchell Mccusker held things down in net, stopping 26 of 27 and not allowing a goal at even strength.
Northeast 5 @ Odessa 1 - The Northeast Generals defeated the Odessa Jackalopes by a final score of 5-1 on Friday afternoon. Just over three and a half minutes in, a second chance rebound found its way to Benjamin Campeau, and he would break the seal shorthanded to put the Generals up 1-0, but that lead would be short lived, as just 23 seconds later, a Marcus Fechko centering pass found Braden Pietila, and he buried it with the man advantage to tie the game at a goal apiece. Just past the midway point of the period, Cole McKenna buried his first NAHL goal on a two man advantage to put the Generals back up by a goal, and 2-1 would be the score after 20 minutes. Not long after the Generals killed off a seven minute Odessa powerplay, Campeau would notch his second of the game to double the Generals lead to 3-1, and that would be the score after 40 minutes. Just before the midway point of the third, Rich Rucireto would bury one to give the Generals a 3 goal lead, and with just under 2 minutes left, Grady Logue would net an empty net goal to put the game away. Ryan Nolan tallied 17 saves in the win, and Aries Carangi tallied 26 in the loss.
Amarillo 4 @ New Hampshire 1 - The Amarillo Wranglers stayed undefeated with their victory over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. Salvatore Cerrato kicked off the scoring with an assist from Carl Jacobson just under two minutes into the first period. Corson Maguire ten minutes later notched his third goal of the season, assisted by Gerhard Grayson and Emils Skeltins. Cerrato would get his second goal of the game early in the second period, giving the Wranglers a 3-0 lead with half of regulation to play. Maguire and Grayson would help Trace Day find the back of the net at the end of the second to make it 4-0 Wranglers with only 20 minutes left. The only goal of the third period would come from Kim Hilmersson for his third of the season, stopping the shutout. Maguire, Grayson, and Cerrato all led the game in scoring, each earning two points.
Oklahoma 1 @ Wisconsin 3 - The Wisconsin Windigo faced off against the Oklahoma Warriors Friday evening in Blaine. Wisconsin kicked off the scoring late in the first period with a snipe from Michael Ryan. With ten seconds to go in the first, Elliot Guelly passed the puck over to Braydon Beham who hit the back of the net to make the score 2-0. At the beginning of the second period, Wisconsin’s Cashen Naeve shot the puck which deflected off a Warriors defenseman and bounced into the net. The Warriors attempted to make a comeback midway through the second period with a powerplay goal from Landon Fleming. This comeback wasn’t successful though as the rest of the game remained scoreless. Wisconsin emerged victorious with a final of 3-1 to defeat Oklahoma. Both teams' goalies had an impressive night with Lucas Szyska of Wisconsin saving 20 out of 21 shots to secure the win while the Warriors’ Billy Stuski saved 28 out of 31 in the loss.
Colorado 3 @ Chippewa 2 - In a back-and-forth game on both sides of the ice, the Colorado Grit just edged the Chippewa Steel Friday evening by a final score of 3-2. Both teams got off to an early start, beginning with Anthony Preskar scoring 2:21 into the opening frame to put the Steel up. Not long after, Alexander German would put the Grit on the board. Gavin Middendorf netted his third goal of the season in the second period, allowing Chippewa to regain the lead. Heading into the third, William Johnson put one past the goaltender to again tie it up at two apiece. After solid defense from both teams, Nicholas Noble was the game’s hero in the end to break the tie, scoring for Colorado with just 3 seconds remaining. Peter Sterling was solid in net for the Grit, padding aside 27 of 29 to earn the victory.
Corpus Christi 1 @ Springfield 0 - Everything is bigger in Texas, except for the amount of goals needed to win a hockey game. The Corpus Christi IceRays followed this mantra in their nail biting 1-0 win over the Springfield Jr. Blues on Friday evening. Whether defensively heavy or offensively sluggish, neither the first period nor the second recorded anything in the way of a score. It was not until 6:44 in the final frame that Troy Pelton potted his first goal of the game and the season. Pierson Sobush picked up his third assist of the season on the tally. The only thing more impressive than the inaugural goal was the shoutout from IceRays netminder Nikita Volsky, who was a perfect 27 saves on 27 shots on his way to picking up the goose egg. Jr. Blues goaltender Frank Murphy also put on an applaud-worthy performance as he stopped 17 of 18 shots.
