Saturday Scores: IceRays Move Into First Place Tie

Danbury 5 @ New Hampshire 6 (OT) - Thomas Quast was the hero for New Hampshire, scoring the game-winning goal in overtime to put the Mountain Kings past the Hat Tricks 6-5 at home. Neither team wasted any time to light their lanterns as each team scored three goals in the first period. The two continued to trade blows, scoring a goal in the second and third periods and forcing overtime tied 5-5. Ryan Lukko led the way for the Hat tricks, scoring his first and second goals of the season. Meanwhile, it was more of a team effort for the Mountain Kings, as a different player scored each goal.

Corpus Christi 2 @ Colorado 1 (OT) - Corpus Christi goalie Nikita Volsky and Colorado goalie Peter Sterling went the distance, but one of them had to lose. Each goalie was on the ice for 64 minutes, saved at least 25 shots on goal, and survived three power plays. Corpus Christi got the board first with a Cody Kempf goal eight minutes into the game, and Colorado answered back with a George Poirier goal four minutes into the second. Neither scored the rest of the way, setting the stage for overtime, which ended off of Lars Petter-Eckholm finding the back of the net for an IceRays victory.

Northeast 4 @ Johnstown 5 (OT) - Despite having 25 more shots on goal, the Northeast Generals fell to the Johnstown Tomahawks 5-4 on the road. The Generals captured a 2-0 advantage in the first period but lost the lead in the second after the Tomahawks scored three unanswered goals. Two goals came from Adam Ondris, his sixth and seventh of the season. Johnstown added another goal in the third, and goalie Zack Ferris put it away.

Elmira 3 @ Maine 8 - For the second straight game, the Maine Nordiques have scored a season-high number of goals, topping the Elmira Aviators 8-3. The previous high for the Nordiques, set in their last game, was six goals. Ethan Wongus was doing everything for the Nordiques in their win, scoring two goals and dishing out two assists. The performance was Wongus' first multi-goal game of the season. Elmira only produced three goals, although they had 11 power play opportunities, muted by the effort of Nordiques goalie Carter Richardson, who saved 29 of 32 shots of goal.

Watertown 2 @ North Iowa 4 - The Watertown Shamrocks had nine more shots on goal and six power-play opportunities but could only score two goals against Jack Hiroshorn in their 4-2 loss to the North Iowa Bulls. Hirshorn earned 37 saves on 39 shots on goal. While he didn't get the ultimate satisfaction of putting a puck in the net, North Iowa's Sangyeob Kim helped the Bulls' offense move, dishing out two assists in the win, increasing his assist total to seven of the season.

Rochester 4 @ Maryland 1 - The Rochester Jr Americans prevailed to win 4-1 over the Maryland Black Bears in a game that had 12 penalties and a total of 59 penalty minutes. Despite having seven power play opportunities, the Black Bears didn't capitalize on a single one. Jr Americans goalie Florian Wade was great between the bars for Rochester, saving 33 of 34 shots on goal. Offensively, the Jr Americans had success thanks to Adam Gionta, who produced a goal and an assist, and Calle Karlsson, who scored his tenth goal of the season and extended his team lead in points to 22.

New Jersey 1 @ Philadelphia 4 - Philadelphia goalie Owen Crudale shut the New Jersey Titans down in the Rebels 4-1 home win. Even though Philadelphia had eight fewer shots on goal than New Jersey, they found more offensive success. Ruslan Jamaldinov led the way for the Rebels, scoring his sixth and seventh goals of the season. The performance was Jamaldinov's second multi-goal game of the season.

Shreveport 1 @ Oklahoma 2 - Oklahoma's Caiden Mech and Ben Likness each contributed a goal in the Warriors' 2-1 home win over the Shreveport Mudbugs. The Mudbugs had nine more shots on goal but only scored once with Lim Doyles' second goal of the season. It was Oklahoma goalie Kyle Jones, perhaps the strongest Warrior on the ice, defending the cage for 60 minutes and capturing 32 saves on 33 shots on goal.

Bismarck 5 @ Minnesota M 0 - Five separate goal scorers powered the Bismarck Bobcats to a weekend sweep, defeating the Minnesota Mallards by a final score of 5-0 on Saturday night. In the first, Keanu Krenn opened the scoring for the Bobcats, and just over three minutes later, Brendan Ruskowski doubled the Bobcats lead, and just past the midway point of the period, Josh Lehto buried his fourth of the season on the man advantage to give the Bobcats a three-goal lead after 20 minutes. The lone goal of the second came off the stick of Zane Rowan, and the Bobcats lead grew to four goals after two periods. Early in the third, Drew Roelofs potted his second of the season to seal the deal for the Bobcats. Tomas Anderson would stop all 16 in the win, while Zane Spaniol stopped 39 in the loss.

Wisconsin 4 @ Janesville 5 (SO) - 60 minutes would not give a winner, but the Janesville Jets would earn a weekend split with a 5-4 shootout win over the Wisconsin Windigo on Saturday night. Less than a minute in, Alexios Georgaklis would open the scoring for the Windigo. That would hold until just past the midway point of the period, where two goals in 27 seconds from Sullivan Miller and Trevor Aberwald flipped the game from a one goal Windigo lead to a Janesville lead. With just over two minutes to play, Noah Gibbs would double the Janesville lead, but Cashen Naeve would cut the lead in half just before the end of the period. In the second, Jacob Eilers would restore the two goal Janesville lead, but with just under a minute left in the period, Theodore Richardson would cut the lead in half once again. The lone goal of the third period just past the midway point of the period came off the stick of Braydon Beahm, and that would send the game to bonus hockey, where Rylan Brady would be the shootout hero for the Jets.

Austin 2 @ Aberdeen 1 - The Austin Bruins earned a weekend split, defeating the Aberdeen Wings by a final score of 2-1 on Saturday night. Leonid Bulgakov would start the scoring for the Wings with just under five minutes to go, and that goal would be the only one in the opening frame, and the Wings would head to the locker room up a goal. With under a minute to go in the second, Ryan Lund would net his second of the season on the man advantage to send the game to the second intermission tied at a goal apiece. Just past the midway point of the period, EJ Paddington would net what would be the eventual game winner. Aberdeen would fight to equalize, but a late major penalty would take most of the steam out of the comeback, and the Bruins would hold on for the win.

St. Cloud 4 @ Minot 3 - A three point night from Carter Lundie gave the St. Cloud Norsemen a win over the Minot Minotauros by a final score of 4-3 on Saturday night, earning a weekend split. Early in the first, Jesse Juhola would break the ice for Minot, but with under four minutes to go, Krisjanis Sarts would net his first NAHL goal to tie the game for the Norsemen, with the single assist for Lundie, and the game would be tied after 20 minutes. In the second, Lundie would score to give the Norsemen the lead, but John Small would equalize for Minot with his first of the period, and Small would net his second just three minutes later to give the Minotauros the lead. Just 65 seconds after Small scored his second, Alex Sandhu would equalize for the Norsemen and the game would come to the second intermission tied at three goals apiece. Just past the midway point of the third, Lundie sent a pass to Bronson Hunt, and he buried what would be the eventual game winner. 

New Mexico 2 @ El Paso 1 (SO) - The New Mexico Ice Wolves earned a weekend sweep, defeating the El Paso Rhinos by a final score of 2-1 in a shootout on Saturday night. The first period brought plenty of chances, but stellar goaltending brought the game to the intermission deadlocked at zero. The lone goal of the second belonged to Beckett Hinchsliff, and the Rhinos found themselves up a goal after two periods. The lone goal of the third belonged to Ben Polomsky for the Ice Wolves, and 60 minutes would not be enough, so the game would head to bonus hockey, where Andrey Moskvitin would be the shootout hero for the Ice Wolves.

Minnesota W 3 @ Anchorage 6 - Two goals from Daniel Bagnole powered the Anchorage Wolverines to a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Wilderness on Saturday night. The first period brought plenty of opportunities, but stellar goaltending brought the game to the first intermission deadlocked. The second would start well for the visitors, as Ben Roulette would put the Wilderness up one. That lead would not last too long, as goals two minutes apart from Cole Christian and Drew Nelson gave the Wolverines a lead. Frantisek Netusil scored his league leading 16th goal to equalize, and with under two minutes left in the second, Jakeb Lynch would give the Wilderness the one goal lead after two periods. The third period would be all Anchorage, as Bagnole would equalize, and two goals a minute apart from Jakub Bednarik and Bagnole would flip the momentum, and Toby Carlson would seal the deal for Anchorage.

Springfield 3 @ Fairbanks 2 (SO) - 60 minutes would not be enough, but the visiting Springfield Jr. Blues would earn the weekend split with a 3-2 shootout win on Saturday night. Just over five minutes into the first, Cole Burke opened the scoring for Fairbanks, but with just over five minutes to go, Owen Lowe would equalize for the Jr. Blues, but with just 42 seconds left, Brent Gulenchyn would give the home squad the lead after the first. The second would bring plenty of chances, but stellar goaltending from Matt Schoephoerster and Charlie Menard would result in no goals coming from it. Early in the third, Jagur McClelland would knot the game on the man advantage, and the game would head to overtime, where Drew Berres would be the eventual hero in the shootout.

Chippewa 3 @ Kenai River 1 - The Chippewa Steel completed a three-game weekend sweep of the Kenai River Brown Bears, winning by a final of 3-1 on Saturday night. The lone goal of the first came from Camden Davis for the Steel. Just under three minutes into the second, Carter McCormick equalized for Kenai River, but Hunter Whisenand regained the one goal Steel lead. In the third, Kenai River would fight for an equalizer, but Gavin Middendorf would seal the Chippewa win and sweep with an empty net goal.

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