Saturday Scores: Brahmas Blank Warriors to Extend Win Streak

El Paso 3 @ Colorado 5 - The Colorado Grit scrummed their way to a 5-3 win over the El Paso Rhinos on Saturday evening. El Paso’s offense featured a two-goal performance A.J. Reed who scored his eighth and ninth goals of the year for Colorado. Reed’s first goal opened up the scoring in the game as he put El Paso out to a 1-0 lead, a lead which was erased late in the first period by Colorado’s George Poirier. Reed’s second goal of the night put El Paso back ahead before being erased once again by Colorado’s William Johnson. Nolan Smith deposited quickly after Johnson to give Colorado the 3-2 lead. Benjamin Winkelmann opened his El Paso scoring account as he secured the 3-3 equalizing goal. However, Winkelmann’s goal would not prove to be the difference as Alec Babineu and Luc Bydel scored late in the third to secure the 5-3 win for Colorado.

Philadelphia 1 @ Maine 3 - The Maine Nordiques brought the brooms to Philly as they captured a solid 3-1 over the Rebels to complete the series sweep on Saturday night. A sloppy first period saw neither team contribute a goal, but both teams combined for 22 penalty minutes in the first frame alone. A much cleaner second period saw a trade of goals from Ceaser Bjork and Shane Kozlina for Philadelphia and Maine, respectively. The third period also saw a pair of goals, but this time only for the Nordiques as Michael Stenburg scored the difference maker midway though the final frame, while Laurent Trepanier scored the no doubter with less than a minute in the game to put Maine up by two. Philadelphia netminder Owen Crudale made 25 saves on 27 shots, but it was Maine backstopper Carter Richardson who pulled out (almost) all the stops as he made 28 saves on 29 shots to secure the 3-1 for the Maine Nordiques.

Maryland 2 @ Rochester 3 (SO) - History did not repeat itself, but looked at itself in the mirror as the Rochester Jr. Americans toppled the Maryland Black Bears in a 3-2 shootout win on Saturday night. The familiar sounding result comes as a flipped script as Maryland defeated Rochester in a shoot out the night prior, but it was a turning of the tides in the result on Saturday. An early strike from Liam Chapman put Rochester up 1-0 midway through the first period. Although early, Chapman’s goal only became bigger as it stood as the game’s only moniker until Calle Karlsson’s 15th marker of the year put Rochester up 2-0. Some people say a two goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey, including Maryland’s Tanner Duncan who scored a pair of back-to-back unanswered goals to tie the game and force overtime. Just as on Friday night, the overtime period provided no answer, resulting in the game to fall to a shootout. While Matthew Croxal kept Maryland alive in the shootout after being put up against the wall by Rochester’s Wyatt Stefan in the first round, last night’s hero Adam Gionta mirrored his history as he used his final ace to put the Rochester Jr. Americans through and secured the 3-2 extra time win.

New Hampshire 7 @ Elmira 4 - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings triggered an avalanche of goals to claim victory over the Elmira Aviators with a 7-4 win on Saturday evening. Superstar forward Oli Genest flashed familiar shades of success as his first period goal put New Hampshire up 1-0 to end the first frame. Genest’s goal was wrapped up with a pair of assists to combine for a three point evening, pushing his current game point streak to five after a tough night on December 13th ended a season high 15-game point streak. The eventful first frame also featured a spirited tilt between Cole Roenick and Chase Murray, both of whom were ejected for fighting after receiving 10-minute misconducts. The latter periods blew the first out of the water with a combined ten goals between both teams. Six goals came from the New Hampshire bench, while four came from the Elmira side. New Hampshire’s high offensive campaign featured two scores from Gerorgios Stavrianeas and Jaden Davis, as well as single tallies from Jack MacDonald and Alex Gelhar. Gavin Duckworth scored a singular goal for Elmira, but it was Curtiss Sturgeon who scored three goals to complete his first career hat trick with the Aviators. Sam Scopa made 35 saves on 39 shots to secure the win for New Hampshire, while Wesley Jefferson-Swint-II and Carson Barnes combined for 25 saves on 31 shots in the loss for Elmira.

Danbury 7 @ Northeast 3 - The Danbury Hat Tricks completed the weekend sweep as they picked up a 7-3 win over the Northeast Generals on Saturday night. Danbury scored the first five goals of the night unanswered as they took a 5-0 lead over Northeast. The Hat Tricks scores came from Ameen Ghosheh, Gavin O’Hara, Kai Elkie and Chance Uzzell. Grady Logue responded with a goal of his own to get Northeast on the board and end the period 5-1. Benjamin Campeau scored a tally in back-to-back games as he attempted to cut into Danbury’s 5-2 lead. Ben Dempster tickled the twine to increase Danbury’s lead to four again, before being cut back down to three not long after in the final frame. Ghosheh scored his second goal of the night with just less than a couple minutes to put the nail in the coffin for Danbury. Ryan Nolen made 23 saves on 28 shots before being relieved by Nathan McFall, who made four saves on five shots for Northeast. Tyler Spokane made an impressive 22 saves on 25 shots to seal the 7-3 win for Danbury.

Bismarck 2 @ St. Cloud (OT) - The St. Cloud Norsemen took a 3-2 overtime thriller over the Bismarck Bobcats on Saturday evening. The back and forth scoring saw goals from Julian Beaumont and Jakub Kopecky for Bismarck, and Mason LeBel and Carter Lundie for St. Cloud. Hudson Blue came through in overtime for the St. Cloud Norsemen to take the exciting affair. Kai Weigel and Tomas Anderosn combined for 17 saves on 20 shots for Bismarck, while Beck Liden and Connor Roll combined to make 25 saves on 27 shots in the match for St. Cloud.

Fairbanks 4 @ Chippewa 3 - It would take ten minutes before Cole Burke would lead the Ice Dogs to an early lead. Four minutes into the second frame, the Steel would score two goals in 5 seconds from Brandon Webber and Ryder McIntosh to take the lead. Luca Ricciardi would go on to equalize the score heading into the intermission. Jackson Fox would regain the lead for Fairbanks and Oliver Darna would give the Ice Dogs the lead minutes later. A powerplay goal from Zach Sondreal would cut the Steel deficit to one, but they would be unable to make a comeback. Charlie Menard would make 25 saves in victory while Devin Shakar made 44 saves on the other end.

Austin 2 @ Watertown 3 - Both teams would wait to light the lamp in the second period, where there would be an explosion of goals. The Bruins would strike early from a powerplay marker from EJ Paddington, which would soon be answered by Spencer Sasenbury. Grant Gardner would give the Shamrocks their first lead of the game minutes later but a goal later on from Alex Laurenza would tie this game once again. Midway through the third, Owen Chartier would light the lamp on the powerplay and this would stand as the game-winner. 

Kenai River 2 @ Wisconsin 3 - Midway through the first, both teams would capitalize on special teams, as Logan Nickolaus would draw first blood for Wisconsin, but John Ross would score on the continuing powerplay to tie the game. Luke Baker would give the Windigo the lead minutes into the second frame, but once again this game would be tied, thanks to Michael Fiedorczuk. Nickolaus would score his second goal of the game in the third and this time Kenai River was unable to respond. Wisconsin would hold on to the 3-2 victory, with Beau Altman making 24 saves in the process.

Springfield 5 @ Janesville 2 - Early in the first period, Andon Coles would give the Jr. Blues the lead and Roy Chung would add to the lead later on into the opening frame. Joseph Hyten would cut the lead to one a few minutes after. This momentum would carry into the second, as Luke Brierly would tie the game just 42 seconds into the second. This would be short lived, as back to back goals from Logan Sutton and Zach Peller would put the Jr. Blues back up by two goals. Another goal from Coles would put Springfield up three and they would hold on to this lead until the final buzzer. Frank Murphy would have a great game, making 41 saves on the night.

Minnesota M 4 @ Aberdeen 2 - Aberdeen would take the lead early into the contest, with a goal from Sebastian Lillsund. It wouldn’t be until the second when Jace Fitzgerald would tie it up on the powerplay. Luke Backel would get a powerplay marker of his own to even this one up heading into the final frame. With quick goals from Dakotah Baiey and a shorthanded goal from Hunter Hayes, it put this game out of reach. Bailey would add an empty netter and Zane Spanoil would close the door with 40 saves.

Anchorage 5 @ Minnesota W 6 (OT) - Both teams would start the game firing, as Noah Dziver and Daniel Bagnole would exchange goals. It wouldn’t be later until two consecutive goals from Brady Zugec and Frantisek Netusil would put the Wilderness up by two. In the second, Nate Murray would get a goal on the man advantage, with Brock Devlin getting a powerplay goal of his own to cut the lead to two. Romulus Riego De Dios would cut the lead to one in the third, and Ian Chrisitan would tie it up. Luke Margenau would regain the Minnesota lead but a late goal from Toby Carlson would send this to overtime. In overtime, Jakeb Lynch would score late to secure the win for Minnesota.

Shreveport 2 @ New Mexico 1 - The Shreveport Mudbugs earned a victory over the New Mexico Ice Wolves on Saturday night. After a scoreless first period, Ryan Baert broke through early in the second, netting the first goal of the night for Shreveport. Mason Wright, with an assist from Baert, added another tally late in the period making the score 2-0 at the end of the second. New Mexico attempted a comeback in the third period with a goal from Andrew Earl just 30 seconds into play. The comeback fell short with the Mudbugs’ ultimately clinching a 2-1 victory. The Mudbugs’ goaltender Aden Gariepy finished the night with 27 saves on 28 shots, while the Ice Wolves’ Jackson Fuller stopped 15 of the 17 shots he faced.

Oklahoma 0 @ Lone Star 4 - The Lone Star Brahmas secured a commanding 4-0 victory over the Oklahoma Warriors on Saturday night. After a quiet first period, Vladimir Saibel netted a goal early in the second, and August Classon added another later on to give the Brahmas a 2-0 advantage heading into the third. The Brahmas continued their dominance in the third period, with Owen Kerr finding the back of the net early and Charlie Masek adding another goal less than two minutes later to seal the win. Oklahoma’s goaltender Kyle Jones made an impressive 43 saves out of 47 shots in the loss, while Lone Star’s netminder Ryan Cameron saved all 34 shots he faced earning himself a shutout.

Amarillo 2 @ Corpus Christi 4 - The Corpus Christi IceRays earned a hard-fought win over the Amarillo Wranglers Saturday evening. Corpus Christi opened the scoring early in the first with Pierson Sobush finding the back of the net on the powerplay. Amarillo retaliated back quickly with Jake Boulanger netting a goal off a pass from Hayden Hedquist to tie the game. Will Wellburn scored later in the period on the powerplay to give the Wrangler’s a 2-1 lead. The IceRays made a comeback in the second period with Cody Kempf evening the score with a power play goal, assisted by Cooper Conway and Sobush. Raymond Perrault netted a goal late in the second period to help Corpus reclaim the lead. Carter Krenke extended the IceRays’ lead in the third, capitalizing on a rebound off a shot by Conway. Amarillo’s netminder Charles-Antoine Girard stopped 33 out of 37 shots he faced, while Corpus Christi’s Waylon Esche saved 24 out of 26 shots.

North Iowa 3 @ Minot 5 - The Minot Minotauros claimed a 5-3 win over the North Iowa Bulls on Saturday night. North Iowa opened the scoring with a goal from Evan Johnson. Minot responded back late in the first with a power-play goal from Jesse Juhola to tie the game at 1-1. In the second period, North Iowa briefly reclaimed the lead with Sangyeob Kim finding the back of the net. Minot’s Ian Spencer netted a goal while short-handed less than 3 minutes later to bring the game to a tie once again. Minot took control in the third period with Adam Mahler scoring early on and Parker Newman extending the lead midway through the period. North Iowa responded back with a goal from Cole Wirun, but Minot sealed their victory with an empty-net goal from Gavin Middendorf. The Bulls’ goaltender Jack Hirshorn made an impressive 46 saves out of the 50 shots he faced, while the Minotauros’ netminder Lukas Swedin saved 33 out of 36 shots.

Boxscores