Friday Finals: Nordiques Blank Tomahawks to Win Fifth Straight

Elmira 1 @ Danbury 4 - The Elmira Aviators came up short tonight against the Danbury Hat Tricks. University of New Hampshire commit Kai Elkie scored the lone goal of the first period for his seventh of the season, making it 1-0 Hat Tricks after 20 minutes. Ameen Ghosheh opened the scoring in the second period with an unassisted goal. Despite it being his seventh of the season, Ghosheh has been red hot lately: five goals over his last five games. The Hat Tricks’ leading scorer, Niko Tournas notched his 19th of the season a few minutes after to make it 3-0. A little reprieve came for the Aviators in the third period from Cooper Eberhardt, but Tournas came in with the dagger to end the game in the final minutes.

Maine 1 @ Johnstown 0 - The Maine Nordiques shutout the Johnstown Tomahawks Friday evening. The only score of the game was attributed to Connor McNaughton for his eighth of the season, assisted by Michael Stenberg and Tomek Haula late into the first period. The Tomahawks’ defense did a good job of limiting the Nordiques scoring chances, allowing only 13 shots on goal but Nordiques goaltender was spectacular as Carter Richardson earned the shutout, stopping all 28 shots.

New Hampshire 5 @ Maryland 7 - The Maryland Black Bears’ special teams helped put the game away Friday against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. The Black Bears’ top scorers, Sebastian Speck and Kareem El Bashir tipped off the scoring with a goal each in the first period. Matthew Croxall with his first goal of the season extended the lead to 3-0 early in the second period, but the Mountain Kings bounced back with two power play goals from Damon Bossie. With their lead down to one goal, the Black Bears got some distance with Tanner Duncan notching his first goal of the game at 12:44 in the period, followed by another Mountain Kings goal from Kim Hilmersson, and another Black Bears goal by Duncan for his second. The game was tied in the third period after the Mountain Kings scored from Hilmersson again and Jaden Davis, but the power play of the Black Bears in the final six minutes saw Croxall get his second of the game and the lead. Tyler Stern put away the empty-net goal to end the game.

Northeast 4 @ New Jersey 5 - Tonight’s game between the Northeast Generals and New Jersey Titans was a high scoring affair, five goals in the second period. Jack Hillier and Nikita Meshcheryakov scored in the first period, making it 2-0 Titans. An early second period goal from Kody Moyer cut the Titans lead in half, and halfway into the period a barrage of goals came. Nikolai Meshkantsov scored his 28th goal of the season to raise the Titans’ lead again, but in three minutes the game was quickly tied off William-Francisco Parent and Kai Dunits scoring for the Generals. Despite the offensive push from the Generals, the Titans left the period with the lead off a goal from Owen Leahy. James Schneid gave the Titans a 5-3 quickly going into the final period, and it was enough to get the win despite Vinny Ipro bringing the Generals within one score with less than two minutes of play.

Philadelphia 2 @ Rochester 3 - Despite a late push from the Philadelphia Rebels, the Rochester Jr Americans held onto their early lead to win.  In the first ten minutes, the Jr Americans took the early 2-0 lead off go ahead goals from Keanan Dewberry and Jaden Dyke, while limiting the Rebels to only eight shots on goal. Calle Karlsson scored his 16th of the season in the second period to extend that lead to 3 goals. The Rebels saw some life in the third period, cutting the Jr Americans’ lead to one with goals from Caesar Bjork and Ryan Bunting, but couldn’t pull through in the end. Both teams goaltenders played well in the game: Rebels’ Owen Crudale 37 for 40 on shots faced, and Jr Americans’ Florian Wade stopped 30 of 32.

Minnesota M 0 @ Watertown 3 - The Watertown Shamrocks shutout the Minnesota Mallards Friday. Carter Sproule with his tenth of the season took the only goal in the first two periods. Ryan Gingher and Zach Boren combined together midway in the third period to win the game for the Shamrocks 3-0. Shamrocks goaltender Phileas Lachat stopped all 28 shots faced, but Mallards goalie Ryan Mitchell shouldn’t be counted out too for his excellent play, stopping 39 of 42 shots. The Shamrocks have been on a turnaround lately. Despite having only six wins on the season, they’ve won three of their last four games.

Colorado 1 @ Oklahoma 2 - The Oklahoma Warriors hit the buzzer beater to win a close nail biter against the Colorado Grit. Travis Bryson on the powerplay midway through the first period scored the only goal in 40 minutes for his 18th of the season. The next goal came at 11:16 into the third period, with the Grit tying the game off a standalone Lucca Ori goal. With overtime seeming likely, Nate Farrell and Travis Bryson found Dominik Kiss to score with only 12 seconds left in regulation, giving the Warriors a hard fought victory.

Minot 4 @ St. Cloud 1 - The Minot Minotauros earned a dominant victory over the St. Cloud Norsemen Friday. The Norsemen held the lead after the first period, the only goal from Mason LeBel. The Minotauros tied the game in the second period with their own lone goal from Jesse Juhola. Going into the third period tied, the Minotauros took only 23 seconds to get the lead, with Braeden Jockims earning his first of the season. Jack Edwards six minutes later extended the lead to 3-1 Minotauros for his second of the season. To cap the game, Gavin Middendorf found the back of the net with 1:57 remaining. The Minotauros’ defense played a big role, limiting the Norsemen to 18 shots to their own 34.

Chippewa 2 @ Springfield 3 (OT) - The Springfield Jr. Blues prevailed over the Chippewa Steel in a tight overtime race. The Jr. Blues struck first, Jack Klevby scoring halfway through the first period for the lead. The second period was all Steel, with Jacob Ligi and Colton Mauser giving their team the lead, but the Jr. Blues took it back in the final period of play. Jagur McClelland for his 16th of the season tied the game to send it into overtime. Overtime lasted for less than two minutes, but Logan Ganz on an unassisted goal won it for the Jr. Blues. The Jr. Blues killed off seven power plays for the Steel, and despite being outshot 37 to 40 earned the first win of the series.

Corpus Christi 4 @ Shreveport 9 - Two third period goals from Carter McKay and Seth Murch, part of a six goal onslaught, powered the Shreveport Mudbugs to a 9-4 victory over the Corpus Christi IceRays on Friday night. The lone goal of the first belonged to Mason Wright for Shreveport, and the home squad led after 20 minutes. That lead would not last long, as just over a minute into the second, Troy Pelton would equalize for the IceRays. Just past the midway point of the second, Gleb Akimov would retake the lead for the Mudbugs, but just over two minutes after that, Pierson Sobush would score his first of the night to tie the game once again. With just under three minutes to go in the period, Ian Emery would bury his sixth of the season to give the Mudbugs the lead after 40 minutes. Early in the third, three goals in three minutes, two from McKay and one from Murch, flipped the game from a one goal Mudbugs lead to four. Sobush would get one back 20 seconds after McKay, but later in the period, Murch would net his second of the period, and Lucas Deeb and Jonah Jasser would add tallies for Shreveport. Cooper Conway would get one back late for the IceRays, but it would be too little too late for them.

Aberdeen 1 @ Bismarck 2 - A spirited Central Division battle saw the Bismarck Bobcats defeat the Aberdeen Wings by a final of 2-1 on Friday night. The lone goal in the first belonged to the Wings, as Leonid Bulgakov buried his 23^rd of the season to give the visitors the lead. In the second, plenty of opportunities would be had from both sides, but seven saves from Damon Cunningham in net for Aberdeen, and six from Tomas Anderson for Bismarck, kept the game in favor of Aberdeen heading into the final frame. Just before the midway point, two quick goals from Julian Beaumont and Charlie Sandven suddenly gave the Bobcats the lead. The Wings would desperately fight for a equalizer, but seven saves in the final frame from Anderson would seal the deal for the Bobcats.

Lone Star 2 @ New Mexico 1 (OT) - A physical, back and forth, South Division battle saw the Lone Star Brahmas defeat the New Mexico Ice Wolves by a final of 2-1 in overtime. The first periods was extremely well matched, as four saves in the first period from Lone Star netminder Jack Spicer and nine from Jackson Fuller for New Mexico saw the game skid into the first deadlocked at zero goals apiece. Much would be the same in the second, as eight saves from Spicer and four more from Fuller would keep the game scoreless heading into the final frame. A shorthanded goal from Damon Bickler for New Mexico finally broke the ice just before the midway point, but two and a half minutes later, Ryan Comishock would tie the game, sending it to overtime, where Justin Kerr would be the hero for the visitors, burying a feed from Comishock on the man advantage in the extra session to give the Brahmas the all important extra point.

Minnesota W 0 @ Wisconsin 4 - Four separate goal scorers and a 25-save shutout from Lucas Szyska powered the Wisconsin Windigo to a weekend split with the Minnesota Wilderness, defeating the Wilderness by a final of 4-0 on Friday night. In the first, the lone goal for the Windigo belonged to Ben Aucoin, and the Windigo led by a goal after 20 minutes. In the second, goals seven minutes apart from Beau Kralovec and Jordan Brothers extended the Windigo lead to three, and early in the third, Harper Frey would seal the deal.

Odessa 5 @ El Paso 3 - A high scoring South Division battle saw the Odessa Jackalopes defeat the El Paso Rhinos by a final of 7-4 on Friday. Early in the first, Hunter Toms would open the scoring for Odessa, but 34 seconds would be all it took for Roope Tuomioksa to tie the game for El Paso, and the game would skid into the first intermission deadlocked. The second brought Odessa goals from Jack L’Esperance, Nicholas Puricelli, and Jeremy Jacobs, but Trent Anfinson would get one back for the Rhinos to keep it a two goal game heading into the third period. Three more Odessa goals would be scored, this time coming from David Hamr, Marcus Fechko, and Caden Ghiossi. Tyler Kedzo and Beckett Hinchsliff would score for El Paso, but it would be too little too late.

Janesville 3 @ Anchorage 4 (OT) - 60 minutes would not be enough in this Midwest division showdown, as the Anchorage Wolverines defeated the Janesville Jets by a final of 4-3 in overtime on Friday. The lone goal of the first came off the stick of Jakub Bednarik, and the Wolverines would lead by one after 20 minutes. The lone goal of the second belonged to Janesville, this time coming off the stick of Joseph Hyten, and the game would head into the third tied at one. Early in the third, Toby Carlson would break the seal, but back to back goals from Luke Brierley and Nick Messina would flip the game into a Janesville lead. Drew Nelson would tie the game with just over three minutes to play, sending the game to overtime, where Brock Devlin would be the hero for Anchorage.

Fairbanks 3 @ Kenai River 0 - Three separate goal scorers and a 29 save shutout from Charlie Menard delivered the Fairbanks Ice Dogs a 3-0 victory over the Kenai River Brown Bears on Friday. The lone goal of the first belonged to Rylan Oster for Fairbanks. In the second, Gage Leonard would double the lead for Fairbanks. Early in the third, Wyatt Carlson would seal the deal for Fairbanks. 

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