Friday Finals: Maine makes statement win on the road

New Hampshire 5 @ Northeast 1 - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings capitalized on three power play goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the Northeast Generals Friday night. Damon Bossie got things rolling for New Hampshire with a goal halfway through the first, before Jake Boulanger tied it for Northeast just 13 seconds later. From there on, it was all the Mountain Kings as Jake Hutchen made it 2-1 before the end of the period. William-Francisco Parent, Tanner Anctil, and Hutchen each tacked on one in the second. There were no goals in the final period, as the 5-1 score held true for New Hampshire. Goaltender Sam Scopa was outstanding in net, padding aside 33/34 shots in to earn the win.

New Jersey 7 @ Elmira 1 - A dominant offensive outing from the New Jersey Titans led them to a 7-1 win over the Elmira Aviators. Alex Papaspyropoulos opened the scoring for the Titans in the first before Ben Constantino would quickly tie it for Elmira. Owen Leahy then regained the lead, as New Jersey wound up scoring six unanswered goals. Ryan Friedman tallied two in the second period, while Ryan netted one. Logan Renkowski and Nikolas Doumas sealed the deal in the third to continue the Titans dominance, as this game would end with a 7-1 final. Austin McNicholas was stellar in the crease, as his 32-save performance helped New Jersey earn the victory.

Rochester 1 @ Johnstown 2 - In a tense defensive battle, the Johnstown Tomahawks snuck away with a 2-1 win over the Rochester Jr. Americans Friday night. Adam Gionta opened the scoring just 27 seconds in the opening period to put Rochester up early. However, that would end up being the team’s only goal of the night. Dylan Shane tied it late for Johnstown in the first, before Ryan Flaherty tacked on another in the second. The Tomahawks would hang on to win 2-1, backed by Zack Ferris who stopped 32/33 shots in the win. Despite the loss, Danick Leroux stood tall, padding aside 24/26 for Rochester.

Maine 4 @ Maryland 1 - In what was a battle between the two top teams in the East for NATV’s Game of the Night, the Maine Nordiques got the best of the Maryland Black Bears 4-1 Friday night. Connor McNaughton and Ocean Fancy each netted their first of the year in the opening period to give Maine a 2-0 lead. Kieran Litterick looked to make some noise as hist shot hit the back of the net to cut the lead in half for Maryland. Shane Kozlina’s eighth goal of the young season quickly put the Nordiques up by a pair. Ethan Wongus solidified the win, scoring an empty netter late to make it 4-1. Matthew DellaRusso was excellent in net, saving 25/26 in the victory.

Danbury 5 @ Philadelphia 4 (SO) - In a true barnburner, fans were certainly in for a treat at Hollydell Ice Arena Friday night as the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks took down the Philadelphia Rebels 5-4 in a shootout. Ryan Bunting netted the first period’s lone goal to give the Rebels the lead. To open the second, Mason Lupo and Niko Tournas each scored to give Danbury their first lead of the night. Thomas Neu, however, hit the back of the net late to even it up. The Rebels added a pair of goals in the third period, thanks to Jared Coccimiglio and Caesar Bjork to give them the two-goal advantage. However, it wouldn’t take long as Tournas and Lupo each scored again for the Hat Tricks to tie it at four a piece. After a scoreless overtime, Danbury wound up winning it in the shootout to edge out Philadelphia.

Lone Star 6 @ Oklahoma 1 - The Lone Star Brahmas pounced on the Oklahoma Warriors with a 6-1-win Friday night. Vladimir Saibel opened the scoring in the first for Lone Star to give them an early lead. From there, the Brahmas domination continued as they scored four straight in the second. Kristo Pitkanen, Ryan Comishock, Anthony Cappelllo, and August Classon each netted one a piece to make it 5-0. Oklahoma got on the board in the third period, thanks to a shot from Sebastian Speck, before Elias Kumlin tacked on one more for Lone Star for good measure. In the end, the final would be 6-1. Netminder Jack Spicer was almost perfect in net, stopping 23/24 in the win.

Austin 0 @ St. Cloud 2 - Beck Liden stood tall in net, as his 25-save shutout helps the St. Cloud Norsemen defeat the Austin Bruins 2-0. Peyton Mithmuangneua’s fifth goal of the year put the Norsemen up late in the first. From there, Tyler Geyer netted one early in the second to extend the lead to 2-0. In the end, that score would hold true as no additional goals were scored, and St. Cloud would win. Despite the loss, Bruins netminder Jack Soloman played great, padding aside 22/24 shots.

Aberdeen 5 @ Minnesota M 3 - In a hard-fought Friday night battle, the Aberdeen Wings came up victorious 5-3 against the Minnesota Mallards. The game was initially back-and-forth, as the teams’ exchanged goals in the first, courtesy of Brady Estabrook and Hunter Hayes to make it 1-1. Sebastian Lillsund and Brady Borgestad each tacked on one in the second to remain even. In the final period, Marek Thompson gave Minnesota their first lead of the game, before Aberdeen took off offensively. Owen Pitters, Gavin Reed, and Luke Backel each scored as the Wings’ late action would lead them to the 5-3 win.

Chippewa 0 @ Springfield 2 - The Springfield Jr. Blues picked up their second shutout of the season after defeating the Chippewa Steel by a final score of 2-0. Springfield’s leading scorer in Logan Ganz would score both goals for the Jr. Blues, scoring one goal in each of the first two periods. The ‘04 NAHL veteran is a point per game player, bringing his season point to to 12 with eight goals and four assists. Between the pipes, ‘04 netminder Matt Schoephoerster turned away all 30 shots for the shutout, bringing his season numbers to .945 save percentage and a goals against average of 1.88. 

Minot 7 @ North Iowa 1 - The Minotauros kicked off the weekend with a demanding 7-1 victory over the North Iowa Bulls. Out shooting their opponent 44-16, Minot’s offense was clicking, scoring the first four goals of the contest before North Iowa’s Liam Bard would score with just under a minute left in the second frame. Despite getting the Bulls on the board, Minot would respond in the final 20 minutes of the game with three additional goals. Three players on Minot’s roster were able to record two or more points, including John Small (one goal, three assists), Ian Spencer (two goals, on assists) and Aidan Dres (two assists). 

Amarillo 1 @ Shreveport 5 - The Mubugs picked up their fifth consecutive win Friday night in a convincing 5-1 victory over the Wranglers. A trio of goals were scored in the 1st period as Kyan Haldenby and Gleb Akimov both found twine for Shreveport while Corson Maguire got Amarillo on the board. Aiden Puley and Brent Litchard extended the lead in the middle frame with goals. Akimov tallied his second of the evening in the 3rd period to seal the victory. Coming of being selected as South Division Star of the Week, Aden Gariepy continued to stay hot in between the pipes, stopping 27 of 28 shots faced. Charles-Antoine Girard made 34 saves in the loss. s

Watertown 2 @ Bismarck 5 - The Bismarck Bobcats have asserted their dominance in the Central Divsion once again, outshooting the Shamrocks 40-16 and defeating them 5-2 for their 10th consecutive victory. Joseph Rice had the visitors up a goal through 20 minutes with his first tuck of the season. It was all Bobcats in the middle frame as Wyatt Sypniewski scored and Alexander Kim potted a pair of goals. Keanu Krenn and Gabe Kenne continued the offensive attack in the 3rd while Cam Markham tallied Watertown’s second goal. Kai Wegel had a quiet night in net, stopping 14 of 16 shots faced. Jakub Kral and River Leslie-Toogood combined for 26 in Watertown’s crease. 

New Mexico 1 @ Odessa 4 - The Jackalopes held the Ice Wolves to 22 shots and put up four goals to improve their record to 5-5. Caden Ghiossi scored the lone goal in the opening frame, his second of the season, to put the Jackalopes ahead. Ethan Hull broke New Mexico’s scoreless drought late in the 2nd period to tie the game heading into the 3rd. Odessa got their offense rolling again in the 3rd as Kowin Belsterling, Max Treppo, and Jeremy Jacobs all found the back of the net. William Karphed kept out all but one of those 22 shots sent his way while Jackson Fuller kept out 25 of 28 in the loss. 

Colorado 1 @ Corpus Christi 3 - Despite trailing after 20 minutes of play, the IceRays rallied back to take down the Grit and improve their winstreak to four games. Landon West got Colorado on the board with his first goal of the season. Max Ranstrom and Aaron Arnold tickled twine for Corpus Christi in the 2nd to get the home crowd on their feet. Stepan Kuznetsov put the game to rest with a lead-extending goal late in the final frame. Nikita Volsky picked up his 8th win of the season while stopping 20 shots. Jack Erickson kept out 26 of 29 shots faced in the losing effort. 

Anchorage 4 @ Fairbanks 7 - The Ice Dogs fell down 2-0 early in the first period but rallied off five unanswered in the frame to put the game out of reach early and take down their in-state rivals. Andrew Karkoc and Samuel Evert both scored within three minutes of puck drop for the Wolverines. Justin Collins, Kyle Rohrer (2), Adam Timm, and Wyatt Carlson all got on the scoresheet to send the Fairbanks fans into a frenzy. Caden Pendo and Luca Ricciardi both tallied goals for the Ice Dogs later in the contest while Anchorage’s remaining offense came from Karkoc and Jackson Stimple. Mason McElroy was the victor between the pipes, stopping 37 shots in the process. Vaughn Makar and Roberto Leonardo Henriquez combined for 15 saves. 

Wisconsin 4 @ Kenai River 2 - The Windigo recorded a pair of late decisive goals midway through the 3rd period to secure the comeback victory on Alaskan soil. Gavin Jensen tallied the lone goal in the opening frame for the Brown Bears. Wisconsin’s Braydon Beahm and Kenai River’s Jackson Ebbott kept the story the same with goals in the middle frame. Riley Joslin and Braydon Beahm scored 101 seconds apart for the visitors to help provide them the lead while Theodore Richardson sealed the win with less than two minutes remaining in regulation. Beau Altman kept out 33 of 35 shots faced in the victory while Mitchell Mccusker made 20 saves for the Brown Bears.