Thrilling Games Close Out 2024 Showcase

Oklahoma 0 @ Watertown 6 - The Watertown Shamrocks defeated the Oklahoma Warriors Saturday morning 6-0. The Shamrocks opened the scoring early then put one more on the board just before the conclusion of the first period. They went on to score 4 more goals in the second period, but the Warriors held them scoreless in the third. Watertown showed depth with six different skaters contributing goals. The Shamrocks went 4 for 8 on the power play. Ryan Whiterabbit had a great game with 4 assists. The Shamrocks goaltender, River Leslie-Toogood, earned his first NAHL shutout with 27 saves.

Amarillo 2 @ Fairbanks 4 - Amarillo entered this early morning matchup having won their first six games of the season. But all good things come to an end, and the Wranglers watched their losing streak end on Saturday. Amarillo did get out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period. However, Fairbanks scored four unanswered goals to pick up the win. Caden Pendo provided three assists for Fairbanks while Ian Norkevicus scored twice for the Ice Dogs on Saturday.

Aberdeen 4 @ El Paso 2 - Luke Backel’s goal and assist led the Aberdeen Wings over the El Paso Rhinos by a score of 4-2. Jibber Kohl, Gavin Reed and Ryan Flaherty also got on the scoresheet for the Wings. Jacob Solano and Caleb Klein were the goal scorers for the Rhinos. Damon Cunningham was given the win in goal as he made 20 saves. Michael Manzi was dealt the loss despite making 41 saves.

St. Cloud 3 @ Lone Star 4 (SO) - With the Brahmas playing the second night of their back to back, they looked to take down the red-hot Norsemen. There would be minimal fatigue at the start, with Camden Prier and Anthony Cappello netting a goal each to get the ball rolling for the Brahmas. In the second, Carter Lundie would net a powerplay goal to cut the lead in half. It would be short lived, as Kristo Pitkanen would strike on the power play to regain the two goal lead. Lundie gets his second goal of the game late in the second to get St. Cloud within one. In the third, Peyton Mithmuagneua would net a short handed goal to tie this one up. After 60 minutes, the game would head into overtime, where neither team would score. The Brahmas would prevail in the shootout, backed by Jack Spicer’s 18 saves in goal. Beck Liden would also have 18 saves in the loss.

Anchorage 5 @ Colorado 1 - The Anchorage Wolverines (3-1-1) successfully swept their three opponents in the NAHL showcase picking up their last win against the Colorado Grit (2-2-2) by a score of 5-1 on Saturday. Despite getting on the board early with a goal from Colorado forward Kennan Reyelts, the Grit's offense was catatonic for all three periods, amassing just 13 total shots on goal. This has been a recent theme, as Colorado's shots on goal trended down in each of their three showcase games, descending from 27 on Thursday against the Minnesota Mallards and 20 on Friday against the Chippewa Steel. Another sore spot for the Grit was at the goalie position, calling on Jack Erickson after Peter Sterling allowed four goals. The showcase couldn't have gone better for the Wolverines, scoring 4+ goals in every contest and capturing their first three wins of the season, placing them tied for fourth in the Midwest division with seven points. The loss was Colorado's second in the showcase, ranking them fourth in the South division, with seven points also.

Shreveport 3 @ Chippewa 4 - Chippewa defeated Shreveport 4-3 yesterday afternoon in the NAHL Showcase. Goaltenders Aden Gariepy and Tyler Spokane kept the game scoreless through a period before Shreveport broke the ice. David Ehrhard scored the game’s opening goal 55 seconds into the second period. Chippewa answered nine minutes later as Jackson Lackas potted his fourth of the young season. The Mudbugs took the lead late in the middle frame. Aiden Puley slipped one passed Spokane with under three minutes to play in the period. However, Shreveport’s lead did not last long as the Steel found three unanswered tallies. Tomas Trunda’s third of the year at 4:07 of the final period tied the game at two before Jacob Ligi’s fourth at 5:47 gave Chippewa the lead. The Steel added a fourth, and what would become the game-winning, goal six minutes later via Ryder McIntosh. Bryce Boucher pulled the Mudbugs back within one with just under three minutes to play in the game, but it would not be enough. Spokane stopped 32 of 35 shots in the win while Gariepy made 29 stops.

North Iowa 4 @ Corpus Christi 3 (SO) - A hat-trick and the shootout winning goal from Sangyeob Kim propelled the North Iowa Bulls past the Corpus Christi IceRays Saturday afternoon. The IceRays scored the only goal in the first half of regulation early in the first period off a Pierson Sobush goal; Max Ranstrom assisted on the goal for his fifth of the season. Kim notched his first goal 13 minutes into the second period to tie the match 1-1. Sobush a few minutes later scored his second of the game, giving the lead back to the IceRays, but Kim was unrelenting with his second goal a minute after. The game would be tied 2-2 after two periods of play. Ranstrom would contribute to the scoresheet for the IceRays once more, scoring early in the third period to give the IceRays the lead for the third time. Looked to once again by the Bulls, Kim found the back of the net halfway through the third period, sending the game to overtime. A scoreless overtime brought both teams to the shootout, and the Bulls first scored off Denis Hodas. Kim would follow after with his game-winning fourth goal of the game, leading both teams in scoring with his first hat-trick in the North American Hockey League.

Odessa 3 @ Wisconsin 6 - The NAHL’s annual Showcase continued Saturday afternoon, as the Wisconsin Windigo defeated the Odessa Jackalopes 6-3 in an offensive battle. Zachary Cline kicked things off for the Windigo, netting one midway through the first to give them an early lead. Not long after, Nicholas Arrington put the Jackalopes on the board to even it up. A busy second period saw Odessa go up by a pair of goals, courtesy of Nick Metelkin and David Hamr. Down by two, Wisconsin looked to do some damage and did just that by scoring three straight. Lucas Busch, Alexios Georgakalis, and Beau Kralovec each netted one a piece. With anybody’s game headed into the final period, it would be Wisconsin who had the final laugh, as Daniil Dolzhenko scored his first of the year to put them up. Luke Baker then sealed the deal later, as the Windigo wound up taking this one. Netminder Connor Doyle padded aside 21/24 en route to the victory.   

New Mexico 1 @ Austin 2 (OT) - Alex Laurenza’s overtime goal clinched an undefeated start for the Austin Bruins and dropped the New Mexico Ice Wolves to 1-4. After a scoreless first, Emil Samuelsson notched his first of the season, shorthanded. New Mexico tied the game with Johnny Johanson scoring from Liam Waugh. Laurenza, from Luc Malkhassian and Ludvig Mellgren clinched the game!

Bismarck 3 @ Janesville 2 (SO) - 60 minutes plus overtime would not decide a winner, as the Bismarck Bobcats won their 5th straight game, defeating the Janesville Jets by a final score of 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday afternoon. The 1st frame brought plenty of opportunities, but both goaltenders stood strong to send the game to the first intermission deadlocked. In the 2nd, Janesville would net a pair of goals, one from James Taylor, the other coming off the stick of Jayar Luedke, but just over two minutes later, Jakub Kopecky would rally to cut the Bobcat deficit in half, and send the game to the second intermission with a 2-1 Janesville lead. Bismarck continued firing in the third, and they finally got rewarded with 33 seconds remaining, as a Julian Beaumont power play, extra attacker goal would send the game to overtime. Five minutes of overtime brought plenty of opportunities, but no goals, sending the game to a shootout. Evan Hunter and Wyatt Sypniewski would both score in the shootout, giving Bismarck the extra point. Tomas Anderson stopped 22 in the win, while his counterpart Mattew Alberti stopped 57, including 17 in just the third alone, in the losing effort.

 

Minot 0 @ Springfield 3 - The Springfield Jr. Blues outplayed the Minot Minotauros in Blaine Saturday afternoon. The Jr. Blues struck early in the first period when Jagur McClelland stole the puck from a Minotaruos defensemen and found the back of the net. The Minotauros held the Jr. Blues in the second period, but three minutes into the third, Logan Ganz scored on a partial breakaway, giving him the second goal of the evening. Ganz scored an empty net goal late in the third, making the final score 3-0 for the Jr. Blues. Matt Schoephoerster, the Jr. Blues goaltender, saved 32 shots in the win.

Kenai River 4 @ Minnesota M 5 (OT) - Fans witnessed quite the game on Saturday afternoon between Kenai River and Minnesota. The Brown Bears scored twice in the opening period to grab a 2-0 advantage heading into the second. However, Minnesota scored three goals in the second period to take the lead. Though Kenai River tied the game before the third, they fell behind again in the third. Kenai River forced overtime but could not win the game. Mallards forward Hunter Hayes scored the overtime winner to help Minnesota skate away victorious.

USNTDP 1 @ Minnesota W 4 - The Minnesota Wilderness ended the event with a win over the United States National Team Development Team. The 4-1 victory was kickstarted by Nate Murray’s third goal of the season. Lucas Jendek added to the lead with his fourth tally of the year. Caleb Kim made it a 3-0 game in the third with his first of the season. JP Hurlbert brought USA within two but River Freeman’s empty net goal solidified the win for the Wilderness. Niklas. Erickson was nearly perfect as he finished the evening with 23 saves. Joseph Slavick took the loss with 16 saves.

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