Saturday Scores: Fifth Straight Win Helps Wilderness Sweep

Danbury 3 @ Johnstown 7 - Despite finding themselves down a pair early, the Johnstown Tomahawks connected on three powerplay goals en route to a 7-2 victory over the Danbury Hat Tricks. Danbury started out hot, as Luke Golisano and Chance Uzzell netted the first two of the game. However, from there it was all Johnstown as, as they stormed back to score seven straight. Adam Ondris put them within one, and a five-goal second period quickly ensued. Charlie Zetterkvist, Nick White, Taybor Aldrich, and Ryan Flaherty contributed to the Hat Tricks seeing pucks hit the back of the net. Sam Blanton then lit the lamp in the third to extend the lead. Uzzell attempted a comeback for Danbury, scoring his second of the game, but it wouldn’t be enough as Johnstown would win this one 7-3.

Philadelphia 2 @ Northeast 4 - Despite getting outshot 35-28, the Northeast Generals triumphed over the Philadelphia Rebels 4-2 Saturday night. William-Franciso Parent got things rolling for the Generals, netting the lone goal of the period to give them the lead. Rich Rucireto then tacked on another in the second to extend the lead. Halfway through the third, Billy Sheridan lit the lamp to put the Rebels within one, before Rucireto would quickly shut that down with his second of the game. Caesar Bjork gave Philadelphia a glimpse of hope with about five minutes remaining, however Jack Montaldo sealed the deal with an empty netter, as Northeast wound up in the victory column.

New Hampshire 2 @ Rochester 4 - Adam Gionta and Hugo Branthsson lead the way with a pair of goals apiece, as the Rochester Jr. Americans triumph over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings, 4-2. Gionta got the game rolling in the opening period, before Oli Genest and Jaden Johnson would put New Hampshire up late in the second. Gionta would score with just three seconds remaining in the middle frame to even the score. Halfway through the third, Branthsson broke the tie and later tacked on an empty netter to help Rochester secure the win. Florian Wade stood tall in net, padding aside 22/24 in the victory.

Maine 4 @ Elmira 2 - The Maine Nordiques got the best of the Elmira Aviators Saturday night, defeating them by a final of 4-2. Clarence Beltz opened the scoring for Elmira, before the Nordiques would quickly tie it with a rocket of a shot. Shane Kozlina and Laurent Trepanier each lit the lamp, as the Nordiques would extend their lead. However, Charlie Fink put the Aviators within one, with just a minute remaining in the second period. Connor McNaughton hit the back of the net early in the third, as Maine hung on for the victory.

Fairbanks 1 @ Springfield 3 - The Springfield Jr. Blues scored a pair in the first and never looked back, as they emerge victorious 3-1 versus the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Zach Peller and Michael Azzarone each lit the lamp to give the Jr. Blues a two-goal lead after the opening period. Luca Ricciardi scored midway through the second to put Fairbanks within one heading into the third. There, however, Jagur McClelland secured the win with an empty netter for Springfield. Netminder Frank Murphy was spectacular in the crease, stopping 35/36 shots thrown his way.

New Jersey 3 @ Maryland 4 (OT) - The Maryland Black Bears late overtime goal helped them to secure a 4-3 victory over the New Jersey Titans Saturday night. Titans’ Alex Papaspyropoulos was on a tear to open the game, as his pair of goals put New Jersey up by two. From there, the Black Bears strong second period saw them take their first lead. A goal from Markas Samenas, and two by Victor Mannebratt made it 3-2. Ryan Novo lit the lamp late in third to bring this one to overtime, where Kareem El Bashir scored with just seven seconds remaining to give Maryland the 4-3 win.

North Iowa 2 @ Austin 6 - Kamden Kaiser scored early in the first period for the Bruins assisted by Tyler Shaver and Ludvig Mellgren. In the second, Connor Beckwith scores for the Bruins early assisted by Nathan Williams and Jackson Rilei. Ashton Bynum increases Austin’s lead with help from Rilei and EJ Paddington. Luc Malkhassian puts another goal in the net for the Bruins assisted by Alex Laurenza and Ryan Lund. Cole Wirun puts North Iowa on the board with help from Matthew Munro. During the third, Evan Johnson scored for the Bulls assisted by Vince Kalschuer and Kash Crawford. Jake Spraetz assisted by Mellgren and Andrew Leung scored a goal for Austin. Nathan Williams snuck one last goal of the game in for the Austin Bruins with an assist from Emil Samuelsson. Jack Hirshorn made 32 saves for the North Iowa Bulls and Carl Axelsson made 23 saves for the Austin Bruins. 

Anchorage 2 @ Janesville 5 - In the first, Phillippe Lalonde scored for the Jets with an assist from Bauer Murphy. During the second, Connor Jalbert tied up the game with an unassisted goal for the Wolverines. In the third period, Joseph Hyten scored a goal early for the jets with an assist from Hans Hedlund. Jayar Luedke added another goal for the Jets with help from James Taylor and Lalonde. Anchorage’s Jakub Bednarik scored with help from Brock Devlin and Cole Christian. Noah Gibbs increased the lead for Janesville with a goal assisted by Murphy. Rhett Kodsi snuck one more goal near the end of the period with assists from Murphy and Hyten. William Lubimov made 36 saves for the Anchorage Wolverines and Matthew Alberti made 46 saves for the Janesville Jets.

Lone Star 2 @ Shreveport 1 - The first period remained scoreless. Lone Star’s Austin Classon scored a goal assisted by Charlie Masek early in the second. Noah Lasker increased the Brahmas’ lead with an assisted goal by Cooper Faughnan. In the third, Ian Emery put the Mudbugs on the board with a goal assisted by Seth Murch and David Ehrhard. Ryan Cameron made 19 saves for the Lone Star Brahmas and Nikola Goich made 15 saves for the Shreveport Mudbugs.

St. Cloud 2 @ Aberdeen 5 - There were no goals scored in the first period. In the second, Sebastian Lillsund scored a goal for the Wings assisted by Cooper Anderson and Brady Estabrook. Cade Moxham increased the lead for Aberdeen with a goal assisted by Luke Backel and Gavin Reed. Sam Kartch put the Norsemen on the board with a goal assisted by Gabe Gallivan. During the third, Nikolai Tishkevich scored a goal for the Wings with assists from Gustas Zemaitis and Ishan Mittoo. Mason LeBel assisted by Kyle Miller and Wes Berg scored a goal for the Norsemen. In the third period, Jack McDonough scored a goal assisted by Cole Saterdalen and Zemaitis. Grant Winkler scored another goal for Aberdeen with help from Lillsund and Reed. Beck Liden made 33 saves for the St. Cloud Norsemen and Damon Cunningham made 14 saves for the Aberdeen Wings. 

Watertown 1 @ Bismarck 4 - In the first, Jan Gasper scored for the Bobcats assisted by Kyle Doll and Olle Karlsson. Josh Lehto increased Bismarck’s lead with a goal assisted by Evan Hunter and Karlsson. During the second, Carter Sproule with assists from Joseph Rice and Ryan Gingher put Watertown on the board with a goal. In the third period, Doll scored a goal early with help from Gaspar. Julian Beaumont scored a goal for the Bobcats assisted by Ian Engel and Doll. Phileas Lachat made 22 saves for the Watertown Shamrocks, while Kai Weigel made 19 saves for the Bismarck Bobcats.

Kenai River 1 @ Minnesota W 6 - The Kenai River Brown Bears certainly hoped for a better outcome when they faced off with the Minnesota Wilderness on Saturday night. However, it simply wasn’t in the cards. William Esterbrooks scored the only goal for the Brown Bears in Minnesota on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Wilderness exploded with six goals – two in every period. Noah Dziver led the way offensively with two goals and an assist. Meanwhile, Niklas Erickson turned 38 shots aside in the win over the Brown Bears.

Corpus Christi 6 @ Odessa 2 - The Corpus Christi IceRays and Odessa Jackalopes played an intense game of hockey on Saturday night. The two sides combined for 11 power play opportunities in Odessa. However, it was the visiting IceRays who came away with an emphatic win. Carter Krenke and Pierson Sobush each scored twice, while Krenke also added an assist to lead the way. Furthermore, Corpus Christi received multi-point performances from Matthew Green, Will Reardon, and Grayson Gerhard in the win.

Colorado 3 @ New Mexico 4 (OT) - It was a back-and-forth affair between the Colorado Grit and New Mexico Ice Wolves on Saturday. The hosting Ice Wolves raced out to a 2-0 lead entering the first intermission, but the Grit equalized in the second. New Mexico regained the lead in the third period before Sheldon Rioux pulled Colorado level again. The two teams went to overtime to settle their differences. And it was New Mexico’s Herman Asberg who put the finishing touches on a win for the Ice Wolves.

Minot 8 @ Minnesota M 0 - The Minot Minotauros were the visiting team Saturday night when they faced the Minnesota Mallards. However, they were right at home once the puck dropped. Minot scored twice in the first period before blowing things wide open with a five-goal onslaught in the second period. In the end, the Minotauros skated away with a huge 8-0 win on the road. Forward Brandon Funk scored twice to lead the team offensively, while goalie Lukas Swedin turned in a 23-save shutout.

Wisconsin 2 @ Chippewa 4 - Things got off to a fast start on Saturday night between the Wisconsin Windego and Chippewa Steel. In fact, the two teams combined for five of the six goals scored on the night in the very first period. Chippewa skated into the locker room with a slim 3-2 lead, and extended it to two goals thanks to George Peterson’s second on the night in the second. Wisconsin looked to get back into the game, but Chippewa slammed the door to claim victory on home ice.

Amarillo 3 @ El Paso 5 - An all-Texas affair closed out Saturday night’s NAHL action. Amarillo and El Paso played a rather close first period before distance grew between the teams in the middle frame. The Rhinos scored four unanswered goals in the second period to make it a 5-1 game. The visiting Wranglers scored two goals before the end of the game, but the second period was their undoing. El Paso goalie Michael Manzi stopped 32 shots to help the Rhinos hold on for a 5-3 victory

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