Friday Finals: North Iowa Pushes Winning Streak to Four

Danbury 2 @ New Hampshire 9 - Jack MacDonald had a performance fit for a king, leading New Hampshire to a blowout 9-2 victory over Danbury with his first career hat trick. Despite the discrepancy in the lopsided final score, the two teams had a roughly even amount of shots on goal. The Mountain Kings posted 32, four more than the Hat Tricks' 28. The game stayed tied until five minutes left in the first period. New Hampshire scored swiftly, gaining a 4-0 advantage within three minutes. The goals came from four skaters: Jaden Davis, Oli Genest, William-Francisco Parent, and Jack MacDonald. Danbury eventually pulled their goalie, Tyler Spokane, nine minutes into the second period after he allowed his seventh goal of the evening. Two of the Mountain Kings' goals came from power play, adding to their league-leading power play goal total on the season, which sits at 20.

Rochester 2 @ Maryland 3 - In a meeting between two of the top teams in the East Division, the second-place Maryland Black Bears snagged a 3-2 back-and-forth home win over the third-place Rochester Jr Americans. Maryland took the lead off a Victor Mannebratt goal with three minutes left. Mannebratt scored the last two Black Bears goals, accomplishing his first career multi-goal performance. The match featured great goalie play between Maryland's Benji Motew and Rochester's Danick Leroux, who each defended over 30 shots on goal.

Elmira 2 @ Maine 6 - The Maine Nordiques scored a season-high six goals in their win against the Elmire Aviators, each from a different skater. Nordiques hold the first-place position in the East Division but have had a bit of a rough stretch lately, losing three of their last five contests. Regardless of outcomes, the common theme through those five games has been the Maine's advantage in shots on goals. During that span, Maine averaged 19.6 more shots on goals each game than its opponent. In this game, the Nordiques had 46, 23 more than the Aviators.

Northeast 4 @ Johnstown 1 - After dropping the first two games in their four-game series, the Northeast Generals handled the Johnstown Tomahawks with a 4-1 victory. The four straight goals by Northeast were each scored by a different skater, the first coming off of a power play. Seven minutes into the game, Rich Rucireto slapped his seventh goal of the season on the power play. The Generals went one for three in power play opportunities against Johnstown, a microcosm of the Tomahawks' poor penalty kill performance all season. Johnstown currently ranks last in the NAHL defending the power play, holding a 72.3% success rate.

Philadelphia 3 @ New Jersey 4 - It came down to the wire, but the Philadelphia Rebels dropped their third-straight game, losing to the New Jersey Titans 4-3. The Titans held a 4-2 lead, but a Ryan Vaites goal for the Rebels with less than a minute left made things interesting. Philadelphia subbed its goalie out for another skater for the last 40 seconds but to no avail. This was the first of a four-game series between both teams, with each team aiming to improve their standing in the East Division. The Rebels are tied for sixth with 17 points, and the Titans hold fourth place with 21 points.

Shreveport 4 @ Oklahoma 7 - Oklahoma exploded for a season-high seven goals in its win over Shreveport. In their fifth win of the season, the Warriors had two players, Louie Kamienski and Travis Bryson, score multiple goals. However, while Oklahoma outscored the Mudbugs by three, they had three fewer shots on goal. The Warriors' 29 shots on goal were defended by two Shreveport goalies, Aden Gariepy, and Nikola Goich, and in two instances, the Mudbugs opted for an empty net. Gariepy allowed four goals, Goich allowed two, and Oklahoma scored one on an empty net.

Bismarck 4 @ Minnesota M 0 - Bismarck looked like the cat that ate the canary, or I guess the bobcat that ate the mallard, shutting out Minnesota 4-0. Bismarck handled the game from start to finish, shooting 17 more shots on goal than Minnesota, and had two players, Tristen Trevino and Charlie Vig, score their first goals of the season. Bismarck's goalie Tomas Anderson earned his third shutout and tenth win of the season, saving all 19 shots he saw. Anderson's three shutouts are tied for the most in the NAHL this season alongside the St. Cloud Norsemen's Beck Liden. The stat is especially impressive since Anderson has played in 11 games, the 18th most in the league.

Wisconsin 4 @ Janesville 1 - It was a meeting of first place against last place in the East Divison, as Wisconsin took care of business on the road against Janesville 4-1. The Windigo took the first two games of this four-game series and have outscored the Jets 15-6 through the first three games. Despite the loss, Janesville goalie Lucas Szyszka's performance stuck out, allowing three goals in 41 shots on goal; the fourth goal was scored on an empty net.

Watertown 2 @ North Iowa 6 - Davis Higly and Parker Osborn each came away with their first career multi-goal performances as North Iowa won on the road 6-2 against Watertown. An even total of shots on goal between the two teams, North Iowa, had 28 to Watertown's 27. The difference came in the goalies' performances. North Iowa's Kyle Ozgun stayed in the cage for the Bulls the entire 60 minutes while Watertown called to two goalies, Alexander Sabev and River Leslie-Toogood. Sabev allowed six goals, and Leslie-Toogood saved all four shots he defended. 

Odessa 5 @ Amarillo 2 - Five separate goal scorers gave the Odessa Jackalopes a weekend split with the Amarillo Wranglers, winning on Friday night by a final score of 5-2. Just before the midway point of the first, Corson Maguire would break the ice, opening the scoring for the home squad on the man advantage, but that lead would be shortlived, as just over two minutes later, Marcus Fechko would net the equalizer, but once again that would be shortlived, as just over two minutes after Fechko equalized, Morley Phillips would net his second of the season to give the Wranglers the advantage heading into the first intermission. The lone goal of the second would come just over six minutes in, and it would belong to Braden Pietila, and his third of the season would send the game to the second intermission deadlocked at two goals apiece. The game would quickly turn, as just before the midway point of the period, goals 18 seconds apart from Jordan Larkee and Zachary Benayon would flip a deadlocked game into a two goal Odessa lead. Amarillo would try to wrangle the game back, but Jeremy Jacobs would seal the deal with an empty net goal for the visitors with just under two to go. In net, William Karphed would tally 30 saves in the win, while his counterpart, Charlie Zolin, would net 31 in the losing effort.

Austin 3 @ Aberdeen 4 (OT) - Two goals from Kade Moxham would power the Aberdeen Wings to a 4-3 overtime victory Friday night over the Austin Bruins. The first period would start beautifully for the visitors, as Alex Laurenza would finish a nice feed from Luc Malkhassian to give the visitors an early lead. But, with just under a minute to go, Sebastian Lillsund would equalize for Aberdeen, but that would be shortlived, as with just seven seconds to go before the intermission, EJ Paddington would finish off an Ashton Bynum dish, to give the visitors the advantage after 20 minutes. Just before the midway point of the second, Owen Pitters would equalize for Aberdeen, and the game would go to the second intermission tied at 2 goals apiece. The third period would give Moxham his first of the night for Aberdeen with just over six minutes to go, but Malkhassian would tie the game just over a minute later. Furious battles over the last five minutes would not net a goal, and 60 minutes would not be enough, but overtime would end quickly, as just 29 seconds in, Moxham would be the hero for Aberdeen. Damon Cunningham would tally 24 saves in the win, and Jack Solomon would net 24 in the loss.

St. Cloud 2 @ Minot 4 - Two goals from Ian Spencer powered the Minot Minotauros to a 4-2 win over the St. Cloud Norsemen on Friday night. In the first, Spencer would net his first of the night, but just 14 seconds later, Hudson Blue would equalize, and just 48 seconds after that, Sam Crane would give the Norsemen the lead after 20 minutes. The second would bring plenty of opportunities, but no goals, and the Norsemen would remain on top after two periods. The third, however would be all Minot, as Jack O’Hanisain would tie the game just past the midway point, and then Landon Fleming would give the Minotauros the lead with just over five minutes to go, and with just under a minute to go, Spencer would net his second of the night on the empty net to seal the game for the Minotauros. Lukas Swedin would net the win with 33 saves, while Beck Liden would also net 33 saves in the losing effort

New Mexico 4 @ El Paso 3 - Two goals from Bryce Johnson would power the New Mexico Ice Wolves to a 4-3 victory over the El Paso Rhinos on Friday night. Early in the first, Ryder Many Grey Horses would break the ice for El Paso, and that lead would stand for almost 10 minutes, but Johnson would net his first of the night. With just under three minutes to go in the first, Sloan Farmer would put the Ice Wolves back up by a goal, but just 49 seconds later, Beckett Hinchsliff would tie the game once again. With just under a minute to go, Duke Gentzler would give the Rhinos the lead once again, but that would be shortlived, as with just 10 seconds to go in the period, Johnson would send the game to the first intermission deadlocked at three goals apiece. The second would bring plenty of chances, but no goals, sending the game to the third period deadlocked. With just over four minutes to go, Toivo Laaksonen would be the eventual hero for New Mexico, as his second of the season would be the game winner for New Mexico.

Corpus Christi 4 @ Colorado 2 - A Pierson Sobush hat trick powered the Corpus Christi IceRays to a 4-2 win over the Colorado Grit on Friday night. The lone goal of the first period would belong to Sobush, and Corpus Christi would lead by a goal after the first period. Early in the second, Chris Graves would tie the game up for Colorado, but 28 seconds later, Cody Kempf would put Corpus Christi back up by a goal, but just before the end of the period, Ben Rakowski would tally his second of the season to send the game to the second intermission deadlocked at two goals apiece. In the third, with just over four minutes to go, Sobush would give the IceRays the lead, and he would bury an empty net goal with just under a minute to go to seal the game.

Minnesota W 4 @ Anchorage 2 - Four different goal scorers powered the Minnesota Wilderness to a 4-2 victory over the Anchorage Wolverines on Friday night. In the first, Frantisek Netusil would continue his hot streak, putting the Wilderness up a goal. With just over five minutes to go in the period, Brock Devlin would equalize for Anchorage, but with just three seconds left, Joey Sylvester would put the Wilderness back on top after 20 minutes. The second would net a lone goal for the Wilderness, coming off the stick of Payton Struck, and the Wilderness would double their lead. Late in the third, Toby Carlson would get one back for Anchorage, but Luke Margenau would bury his second of the season to seal the game for the Wilderness.

Chippewa 3 @ Kenai River 2 (SO) - 60 minutes and an overtime session would not determine a winner, but the visiting Chippewa Steel would take the extra point with a 3-2 shootout win on Friday night. In the first, the lone goal would belong to the visitors, and it came off the stick of Gavin Middendorf on the man advantage to give the visitors the lead after 20 minutes. Just past the midway point of the second, Ryder McIntosh would double the Chippewa lead, but with just over four minutes to go, Joseph Yoon would chop the lead in half,and Chippewa would remain on top by a goal after two periods. Just past the midway point of the third, Brady Engelkes would tie the game for Kenai River, and send the game to bonus hockey. No goals would be scored in bonus hockey, and the game would proceed to a shootout, where Jackson Lackas would be the hero for Chippewa.

Springfield 2 @ Fairbanks 4 - Two goals from Cole Burke powered the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to a 4-2 victory over the Springfield Jr. Blues on Friday night. With under a minute left in the first period, Cruz Martin would give Springfield the lead, but the one goal lead would double early in the second as Jagur McClelland would net his sixth goal of the season. Two goals just over three minutes apart from Brendan Gillmore and Arsenii Vorobev would flip the game from a two goal Springfield lead to tied after 40 minutes. Just two and a half minutes into the third, Burke would net his first of the night shorthanded, and with 35 seconds remaining, Burke would net his second of the period to seal the deal for the home squad.

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