Friday Finals: IceRays Win Clash of South Division Leaders

Philadelphia 3 @ Elmira 4 - Forward Andrew Delladonna continued his recent hot streak on Friday at the Lecom Event Center, leading the Elmira Aviators (7-6-1) past the Philadelphia Rebels (5-7-1-1) with two goals contributing to the Aviators' 4-3 victory. Deldonna has now scored five goals in his last four games, positioning him as the current scoring leader for the Aviators with six on the season. Delladonna also leads Elmira in points with 13. The Aviators got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period, eventually knocking out Philadelphia goalie Beau Lane in the second period after scoring another two goals. Lane's replacement was Owen Crudale, who didn't allow a goal in 10 attempts through the rest of the game. Down 4-1 entering the third period, forward Caesar Bjork scored a pair of goals for the Rebels, but it was too late as the Aviators hung for the one-goal win. The Aviators sit tied for fourth in the East Division with 15 points, while the Rebels are tied for sixth with 12 points.

Maryland 4 @ New Hampshire 2 - Despite New Hampshire forward Oli Genest taking over as the league-leading scorer, the Maryland Black Bears (9-5) trumped the New Hampshire Mountain Kings (4-9-0-1) by a score of 4-2 on Friday at the Tri-Town Ice Arena. Genest slashed his tenth and eleventh goals in the Mountain Kings loss, his second multi-goal game of the season. Maryland forward Josh Frenette also scored two goals, his first two of the season. The win puts the second-place Black Bears back on track in the East Division after dropping a pair of games to the first-place Maine Nordiques. The loss for the Mountain Kings is a familiar experience at this point, keeping the club in last place in the East Division.  

Johnstown 4 @ New Jersey 3 - The New Jersey Titans (7-7-0-1) let it fly against the Johnstown Tomahawks (5-8-1) on Friday at the Middletown Ice World Arena, slapping 58 shots on goal but came up short 4-3 thanks to Johnstown goalie Zack Ferris's heroics in the cage. The offense from the Titans was unrelenting, with every skater having at least one shot on goal except forward Nikolas Doumas. The Tomahawks were just more productive, getting out to a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to goals from forwards Taybor Aldrich and Jack Genovese, and they never relinquished it. The Tomahawks are currently tied for eighth in the East Division with 11 points and a -18 goal differential — the fourth worst in the league. The Titans sit tied for fourth with 15 points.

Danbury 1 @ Rochester 6 - Forward Owen King was a treat for the Rochester Jr Americans (6-4-2-2) on Friday at the Rochester Ice Center, scoring two goals and posting one assist in their 6-1 victory over the Danbury Hat Tricks (5-9-1). The Jr Americans outmatched the Hat Tricks in virtually every category, with seven more shots on goal and slashing three goals from six power play opportunities compared to Rochester's one-for-five power play efficiency. Danbury called on two goalies in the loss, pulling Jack Fielkoff after 49 minutes — and six goals allowed. His replacement didn't allow another goal for the remaining ten minutes of the game. Rochester owns third place in the East Division with 16 points and a seven-goal differential. The Hat Tricks are tied for eighth in the division, with a -16 goal differential, the second worst in the division.

Aberdeen 2 @ St. Cloud 4 - In a second versus third-place Central Division matchup, limited shots on goal in the first two periods held the Aberdeen Wings (8-2) back in their 4-2 loss to the St. Cloud Norsemen (7-2-1-2) on Friday at the St. Cloud Municipal Athletic. Just three shots on goal in the second period kept the Wings offense out of it. Coupled with the sparse offensive pressure, the Wings weren't effective during the power play, a problem Aberdeen has dealt with this season, posting a .111 power play success rate — 32nd in the league. On the other hand, the Norsemen have been quite effective during power plays, scoring two in this game, and have a .258 success rate this season — the 2nd best in the league. The Wings slapped across two goals in the third period courtesy of forwards Leonid Bulgakov and Luke Backel St. Cloud but ran out of time for a comeback. Aberdeen is third in the Central Division with 16 points, while St. Cloud holds the second-place spot with 17 points.

Austin 3 @ Watertown 2 (OT) - Avoiding an upset and extending the Watertown Shamrocks' (2-8-1-1) losing streak to seven games, the Austin Bruins (7-5) survived with a tense overtime finish Friday on the road at the Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. Through the first two periods, the Shamrocks led thanks to a goal from forward Grant Gardner 18 minutes into the first period, his first goal of the season. A goal from Austin forward Gavin Hruza knotted the contest up five minutes into the third, setting the stage for a dramatic final few minutes of regulation. Watertown forward Kody Moyer lit the lantern with an assist from defensemen William Shephard and Ryan Whiterabbit. The Shamrocks were five minutes away from ending their nearly month-long losing streak, except the Bruins scoring leader had other plans. With two minutes left, Austin forward EJ Paddington tied things up with a tipped puck finding the back of the net, his eighth of the season. The game extended to overtime, where it would conclude with a Bruins victory thanks to forward Connor Beckwith slapping in his third goal of the season. Austin pulls through to sit fourth in the Central Division with 14 points, while Watertown stays put in last place with six points.

New Mexico 1 @ Oklahoma 4 - The Oklahoma Warriors (3-7-1-2) handled the New Mexico Ice Wolves (2-9-1-1) on Friday at the Blazers Ice Centre, capturing their third win 4-1. The Warriors were firing off on all cylinders, with four separate skaters lighting the lantern and goalie Kyle Jones saving 28 of 29 shots on goal in an hour on the ice. The win for the Warriors doesn't have much effect on the standings in the South Division, as Oklahoma ranks eighth with nine points, and New Mexico sits in last place with six points. 

North Iowa 2 @ Minnesota M 6 - 2 goals from Hunter Hayes powered the Mallards to a 6-2 win over the North Iowa Bulls on Friday. The only goal in the first frame came off the stick of Erik Muller on the man advantage to give the Mallards the lead after one. In the second, just before the midway point, Hayes would net his first of the night to double the Mallards lead, and with just under six minutes to play in the period, Mason Lebel would net a power play goal to send the Mallards to the second intermission up 3-0. In the third, Cyril Pont would score to give the Mallards the 4 goal lead, but Liam Bard would claw one back on the man advantage. Goals 37 seconds apart from Hayes and Benjamin Tauscher would essentially seal the deal, but Vince Kalscheur would net his first NAHL goal to claw one back for the Bulls, but it would be too little too late. Richard Rafaj would stop 42 in the win, while Kyle Ozgun would stop 34 in the losing effort

Springfield 4 @ Janesville 2 - Excellent special teams and 4 separate goal scorers was the difference tonight, as the Springfield Jr. Blues defeated the Janesville Jets by a final score of 4-2 on Friday. Janesville would open the scoring on a Brown John tally, but just over five minutes later Cruz Martin would equalize on the power play to send the game to the first intermission tied at a goal apiece. Just over five minutes into the second, Roy Chung would tally yet another power play goal for the Jr. Blues to give them the 2-1 lead, and that would be the score after two periods. Early in the third, Niko Laus would give the Jr. Blues a two goal lead. With just under two to go, Grady Magner would cut the deficit in half, but a shorthanded, empty net goal from Zach Howard would seal the game for Springfield. Frank Murphy would stop 29 on the night in the win, while Christian Kirsch would stop 30 in the loss

Colorado 4 @ Amarillo 3 (SO) - 60 minutes would not be enough to decide a winner, but the Colorado Grit would get the extra point with a 4-3 shootout win over the Amarillo Wranglers on Friday night. The first period brought a goal from Gerhard Grayson to give the Wranglers the lead, but just before the midway point of the second, a power play tally from William Johnson would equalize the game. Just under five minutes into the third, Andrew Morton would give the Wranglers the lead,but just a minute later, Landon West would tally his first of the night to tie the game once again, but with just under three minutes to go, Will Wellburn would give the Wranglers a late lead, but West would tally his second to send the game to overtime, where Chris Graves would be the shootout hero to give the Grit the extra point.

Chippewa 3 @ Minnesota W 1 - Two power play goals powered the Chippewa Steel to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wilderness on Friday night. With just 34 seconds left in the first, Gavin Middendorf would tally the first power play goal for the Steel, and that would be the score after one. In the second, Hunter Whisenhand would tally the second power play goal, but just over two minutes later, Nate Murray would cut the Steel lead back to one, but that would be shortlived, as just 20 second after Murray cut the lead in half, Anthony Preskar restored the Steel two goal lead, and that would prove to be the difference. Devin Shakar tallied 18 saves in the win, while Valdemar Anderson and Niklas Erickson would combine for 25 in the loss

El Paso 1 @ Odessa 3 - A penalty filled South division rivalry saw the Odessa Jackalopes defeat the El Paso Rhinos by a final score of 3-1 on Friday night. The first period would bring only 1 goal, coming off the stick of Nick Metelkin to put the home squad up one after 20 minutes. The second period would also only bring a singular goal, that coming off the stick of Jacob Solano with under a minute to play to tie the game at one goal apiece. In the third, just before the halfway point, Nicholas Arrington would tally an empty net goal, and just four minutes later, Zachary Benayon would continue his hot streak, sealing the deal for the Jackalopes. William Karphed would tally 22 stops in the win, while Michael Manzi tallied 26 in the loss.

Lone Star 1 @ Corpus Christi 2 (SO) - 60 minutes would also not determine a winner tonight, as Corpus Christi defeated Lone Star by a final of 2-1 The first period brought the only goals, coming from Cody Kempff just 11 seconds in, and August Classon responding just over a minute later. The second and 3rd were filled with chances, but Nikita Volsky would have 34 saves in the win, while Jack Spicer would have 27 in the loss. Matteus Soderbom and Stepan Kuznetsov scored in the shootout for the Ice Rays

Wisconsin 3 @ Anchorage 6 - Two goals from Cole Christian powered the Anchorage Wolverines to a 6-3 win over the Wisconsin Windigo on Friday night. Just two and a half minutes in, Connor Jalbert opened the scoring for the Wolverines, but just over five minutes later, Braydon Beahm would even the score. With just 57 seconds left in the period, Christian would net his first of the evening to give the Wolverines a one goal lead after 20 minutes. Just 90 seconds into the second, Parker Newman would double the Wolverines lead, and then three goals in a minute and 18 seconds from Christian, Toby Carlson, and Jakub Bednarik quickly turned the game on it’s head. Lucas Busch and Theodore Richardson would get goals back, but the Wolverines would hold off a late surge to glide to the victory.

Fairbanks 4 @ Kenai River 2 - Four separate goal scorers powered the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to a 4-2 victory over the Kenai River Brown Bears on Friday. The first period was all Fairbanks, as just past the six minute mark, Adam Timm would break the ice, and then with just over two to go in the first, Wyatt Carlson would double the Fairbanks lead. Just 37 seconds into the second, Gavin Jensen would cut the Ice Dogs lead in half with his third of the year, but just over six minutes later, Luca Ricciardi would restore the two goal lead for Fairbanks. With just over three and a half to go in the second, Andy Larson would net his third of the year to make it a one goal game. The Brown Bears would push hard to claw back in to the game, but a empty net goal with six seconds left off the stick of Cole Burke would seal it for the Ice Dogs.

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