Friday Finals: Shamrocks Shock Bobcats

Rochester 4 @ Johnstown 2 - The first-place Jr Americans kept their lead in the East Division with a stifling 4-2 victory over the Johnstown Tomahawks. Despite the heroics from forward Sam Blanton and his two goals, the Tomahawks' offense struggled mightily. Johnstown only had 10 shots on goal, which paled in comparison to Rochester's 41. The win for the Jr Americans was mainly due to forward Calle Karlsson scoring two goals and recording an assist. While Rochester sits atop the East Division with 35 points, Johnstown is near the middle of the pack at sixth following the loss with 28 points.

Northeast 3 @ Maryland 4 (SO) - The Black Bears came out on top in a battle that went back and forth until the very last shot. Winning through a shootout, Maryland found themselves down 2-0 halfway through the second period but evened the score by the beginning of the third. A goal from Maryland forward Jaden Duprey and Northeast defenseman Vinny Ipri kept the game tied 3-3 and sent the contest to overtime. No scores in the fourth period meant it was time for a shootout, and similar to regulation, it was another back-and-forth affair, until Northeast failed to score its third shootout goal, and Maryland did, adding another victory to the Black Bears' record.

Danbury 6 @ New Hampshire 2 - It was a sizeable win for Danbury; the last time the Hat Tricks scored six or more goals in a game was in September. One skater scored four goals in the win - forward Andrew Gibbons. The first two goals of the game were by Gibbons, setting a tone early for the Hat Tricks' offense. Danbury outshot New Hampshire 31 to 23 and converted on 3 out of 4 of its power play opportunities. An upset of sorts; Danbury is last in the East Division with 18 points - five away from second to last, while New Hampshire sits at fifth with 29 points.

Elmira 4 @ New Jersey 1 - Both goaltenders, Elmira's Carson Barnes and New Jersey's Austin McNicholas, stepped up in a contest that featured 75 combined shots on goal between both teams. Both squads were shut out in the first, but the Aviators began to pull away in the second period, gaining a 2-1 advantage entering the third. Elmira added goals from forward Curtiss Sturgeon and defenseman Anthony White, his first of the season, to increase its lead to three, a tall task for New Jersey to come back from that late into the game. Elmira sits seventh in the East Division with 24 points, and New Jersey is fourth with 31 points.

Maine 2 @ Philadelphia 4 - Off to a hot start, the Nordiques were up 2-0 by the end of the first period, but after that, it was nothing but the Rebels. Philadelphia scored four unanswered, two coming in the second period and another pair in the third. The two goals in the final period were slapped in by forward Charles Panchisin, his second multi-goal performance of the season. Despite the quick turnaround in offensive momentum, Maine still ended up with many more shots on goal, 41 to the Rebels' 27. In the hunt for the first-place spot in the East Division, Maine is tied for third following the loss with 31 points, while Philadelphia sits ninth out of 10 teams with 23 points.

Bismarck 3 @ Watertown 4 - In one of the more shocking upsets all season, the Watertown Shamrocks, who sit at last place in the Central Division, conquered the first-place Bismarck Bobcats in near comeback fashion. The Shamrocks got out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first. Two goals came from forward Cam Markham. The Bobcats matched the effort in the second period, scoring three unanswered themselves, two from defenseman Chase Reid, to tie the game up 3-3 heading into the third period. The Bobcats didn't score again for the remainder of the contest, and the eventual game-winning goal was slapped in by Watertown forward Dmitrijs Dilevka. Bismarck still sits comfortably atop the Central Division with 43 points - six more than second place. Meanwhile, Watertown is in last place, eighth, with 11 points - seven points behind seventh. 

Anchorage 4 @ Wisconsin 1 - In a competitive matchup between two great teams in the league, Landon Greenough would put Anchorage up in the first period. Brock Devlin would add to the lead in the second period and a late period strike from Cole Frawner would give the Wolverines a three-goal lead. Daniel Bagnole would only add to the lead, not before Lucas Busch would put Wisconsin on the board. This wouldn’t be enough and the Wolverines would win behind Roberto Leonardo Henriquez’s 26 saves.

St. Cloud 0 @ Austin 5 - Austin would continue their good start to the season as Tyler Shaver would put the Bruins up midway through the first. In the second, Zander Lipsett and Luc Malkhassian would score minutes apart to keep growing the lead. A shorthanded goal from Alex Laurenza would give the Bruins a big lead after 40 minutes. Evan Malkhassian added another goal in the third to complete the shutout victory for Austin. Jack Solomon would stop every shot he faced, making 31 saves on the night.

Minnesota W 5 @ Janesville 1 - In the first, Sullivan Miller would score to put the Jets up midway through, which would not last long, as Noah Dziver would level this game after a powerplay marker. The Wilderness would once again capitalize on the man advantage, as Joey Sylvester would give his team the lead for the first time. After two goals in the third period from Jakeb Lynch, it would ice this game. Payton Struck would add an empty netter and Niklas Erickson would stop 21 shots in the process. 

Kenai River 4 @ Springfield 3 - Owen Lowe would get this game started early in the first period before Gavin Jensen would light the lamp to tie the game. Gaige Giblin would regain the Jr. Blues lead in the second period, but Samuel Sisik would tie this game once again. Not before Andrew Larson would give the Brown Bears the lead for the first time. On the powerplay, Jagur McClelland would score just five minutes into the third to tie it once again. In overtime, Brady Engelkes would break the tie just 18 seconds into the frame. Owen Zenone would grab 28 saves in the win.

Aberdeen 5 @ North Iowa 4 (OT) - A powerplay goal from Michael Malatino would kick this one off, and the Bulls would have the advantage early. Gustas Zemaitis would respond later in the first to level this game at one before Grant Walker would give the Wings the lead in the second. A powerplay goal from Ishan Mittoo would add to the lead. After goals from Kash Crawford and Denis Hodas would give the Bulls the lead again. Late in the third, Cade Moxham would send this game to overtime after he would score shorthanded. He would also be the one to end it, as late in the overtime period, he would win the game with his second of the night. Willum Braun would make 23 saves in the win.

Lone Star 3 @ Odessa 2 - Odessa would host the Lone Star Bahamas on Friday night and take the lead early in the contest, thanks to Hunter Toms just 10 minutes in. Odessa would carry the lead into the second before the Brahmas would turn this game around. Back-to-back goals from Emerson Marshall and Tyson Scanlon would give the Brahmas the advantage, with Noah Lasker adding another marker late in the second. Kowin Belsterling would give the Jackalopes some life, as his goal would cut the lead to one. Odessa was unable to find another, solidifying the Brahmas win.

Fairbanks 7 @ Chippewa 1 - Two goals from Brendan Gillmore would be enough for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to defeat the Chippewa Steel by a final score of 7-1. The first was all Fairbanks, as goals from Gillmore, Wyatt Carlson, Ingus Locmelis, and Luc Plante staked the Ice Dogs a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes, and the domination continued in the second, as goals from Gillmore, Thomas Corneillie and Cam VanSickle continued the Fairbanks domination, and the lead grew to seven after 40 minutes. Zach Sondreal would get one back for Chippewa, but it would be too little too late.

Oklahoma 5 @ Corpus Christi 7 - A back and forth slugfestival found the Corpus Christi IceRays on the winning end, defeating the Oklahoma Warriors by a final score of 7-5. The first period was all IceRays, as goals from Billy Biedermann and Troy Pelton gave the home squad the lead. The second would provide more goals, as goals from Grayson Gerhard, Cody Kempf and Nick Sinani staked the five spot for Corpus Christi, but goals from Travis Bryson, Max Petras, Nate Farrell, and Kyle Sorensen cut the lead to one. Bryson would briefly equalize it, but late goals from Cooper Conway and Troy Pelton sealed the deal.

Minnesota M 1 @ Minot 7 - Two goals from Adam Mahler and Brandon Funk delivered the Minot Minotauros the win on Friday night, defeating the Minnesota Mallards by a final score of 7-1. The first period would be back and forth, as goals from Mahler and Marek Thompson brought the game to the first intermission deadlocked at one. The lone goal of the second belonged to Connor Thue for Minot, and the Minotauros would pour it on in the third, as Ty James, Mahler, Funk, and John Small would all net goals for the Minotauros.

Shreveport 4 @ El Paso 6 - Six separate goal scorers gave the El Paso Rhinos a 6-4 win over the Shreveport Mudbugs on Friday night. In the first, Ryan Baert would open the scoring for Shreveport, but two goals in 12 seconds from Ben Norris and Duke Gentzler would bring the game to the first intermission favoring the Rhinos. Early in the second, two quick goals once again, this time 70 seconds apart from AJ Reed and Rasmus Nouslainen would give El Paso a three goal lead, but Lucas Deeb and Cole Hutchinson would answer to keep it a one goal game after two periods. The third would bring two more goals from the Rhinos, this time coming off the sticks of Beckett Hinchsliff and Paavo Hiltunen. Deeb would get one back for Shreveport, but the effort would fall just short for the Mudbugs

New Mexico 1 @ Colorado 3 - The Colorado Grit defeated the New Mexico Ice Wolves by a final score of 3-1 on Friday night. The lone goal of the first belonged to Stanley Hubbard for the Ice Wolves, but that lead would be short lived, as just under three minutes into the second, Chris Graves would find the equalizer for Colorado, and then Ben Rakowski and Nicholas Noble would tally goals in the middle frame as well. New Mexico would fight hard to equalize in the third, but the Grit held strong behind 11 third period saves from Jack Erickson, part of his 30 save winning effort.

Boxscores