Saturday Scores: Jr. Blues Continue Winning Ways

Maine 4 @ Johnstown 1 - The Maine Nordiques’ lockdown defense in the third period propelled them to a win over the Johnstown Tomahawks. Despite being outshot in the first period, the Nordiques led after 20 minutes with Damon Myers scoring the lone goal. Sam Blanton early in the second period tied the game, but that lead lasted seven minutes until Ethn Wongus gave the Nordiques the lead again 11:17 into the period. Going into the third period, the Nordiques scored twice off Grant Kohnen midway through the period, and Wongus hitting an empty-net goal in the final minute for his second of the night. The Tomahawks were limited to just two shots on goal in the third period, stopping any chance of a comeback.

Elmira 2 @ Danbury 4 - The Danbury Hat Tricks completed the weekend sweep of the Elmira Aviators. The first period was scoreless, even though both teams combined for 22 shots on goal. Niko Tournas kicked off the scoring in the second at four minutes in for his 21st of the season. Gavin Duckworth tied the game later on, but Kai Elkie and Tournas again scored to give the Hat Tricks a 3-1 lead heading into the final period. At 5:19 into the third, Tournas found the back of the net for a third time for his first hat trick of the season. Jett Otwell gave some hope of a rush to tie the game with the Aviators’ second goal of the game, but ultimately came up short.

Northeast 6 @ New Jersey 3 - After a close loss Friday evening, the Northeast Generals came back to split the series against the New Jersey Titans. Joseph McGraw scored the only goal of the first period, giving the Generals an early lead. The Titans took the momentum going into the second period, quickly taking the lead with two goals from Ryan Novo and Owen Leahy. Grady Logue tied the game soon after, but Alex Papaspyropoulos in the final minutes of the second brought the Titans lead back to one goal. That momentum swung back to the Generals in the third period. McGraw scored his second of the game at 8:59, and Kai Dunits and Benjamin Campeau extended the Generals new lead in two minutes. McGraw hit the final goal for his first hat-trick of the season.

Philadelphia 2 @ Rochester 5 - A tight matchup saw the Rochester Jr Americans prevail over the Philadelphia Rebels. The Americans jumped to an early 1-0 lead in the first period from Jaden Dyke, and extended it going into the second with Ryan Shaw getting a goal. The Rebels cut the lead off a one-timer from Hudson Weber-Stewart, and the final minutes saw both teams trade goals from Owen King of the Jr Americans and Caesar Bjork of the Rebels. The final nail in the coffin for the Rebels didn’t come until the final three minutes, with two goals extending their lead to three goals from JC Humphreys and Gabriel Cull. Jr Americans goaltender Danick Leroux stopped 34 of 36 shots.

Chippewa 2 @ Springfield 5 - Five unanswered goals wasn’t enough for the Chippewa Steel to overcome, losing the Saturday matchup to the Springfield Jr. Blues. Tyler Smith in 19 seconds scored the first of five for the Jr. Blues, followed by Niko Laus late in the period. Three goals in just over five minutes followed in the second period, from Logan Opgrand, Gaige Giblin, and Owen Lowe. The Steel tried to stop the bleeding, getting two late second period goals from Ryder McIntosh and Lukas Bellinger, but a defensive clamp down by the Jr. Blues stopped any potential comeback.

Minot 3 @ St. Cloud 0 - Capping off a weekend sweep, the Minot Minotauros shut out the St. Cloud Norsemen Saturday evening. Billy Batten on the powerplay scored the first goal of the game, with Ian Spencer and Adam Mahler on the assist. In the second period, leading scorer Jesse Juhola scored his 16th goal of the season, and Spencer for his 14th to win the game 3-0 for the Minotauros. Minotauros Goaltender Lukas Swedin stopped all 23 shots faced, and Connor Roff of the Norsemen stooped 25 of 28 even with the Minotauros going on the powerplay eight times.

New Hampshire 3 @ Maryland 4 - A heavily contested matchup saw the Maryland Black Bears beat the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. The first and second periods had the Black Bears and Mountain Kings have the momentum, respectively. Isac Nielsen and Dylan Gordon in the first period gave the Black Bears a 2-0 lead. Oli Genest and Frank DAncona tied the game in the second period with their own goals. Whilst tied in the third period, Kim Hilmersson broke the tie 1:34 into the third period for his 16th of the season. The Black Bears, now down a goal late, tied the game with Riley Fast hitting the go-ahead goal. Going on the powerplay a few minutes later, Tanner Duncan scored with the man-advantage, giving the Black Bears the lead again which they wouldn’t lose for the rest of regulation.

Minnesota M 1 @ Watertown 3 - The Watertown Shamrocks showed their prowess Saturday against the Minnesota Mallards in the 3-1 victory. The only goal of the first two periods came from Carter Sproule only in the first period. The rest of the scoring began in the third period, Marek Thompson tying the game for the Mallards 5:38 into the period. Late in the third period, Cam Markham gave the Shamrocks a late lead, and Sproule in the final minute hit the empty-netter to cap off the win. The Shamrocks offense suffocated the Mallards defense, outshooting them by 20 shots, 48 to 28.

Colorado 0 @ Oklahoma 3 - The man advantage was cooking on all cylinders for the Oklahoma Warriors on Saturday night, as three goals on the man advantage would be all they needed to defeat the Colorado Grit by a final of 3-0. The lone goal of the first came off the stick of Travis Bryson, converting a nice feed from Nate Farrell. In the second, it would be Joey DeRosa converting a feed from Luke Rubin to double the Warriors lead. Late in the period, Farrell would bury the third man advantage goal of the night for Oklahoma, this time receiving the feed from Bryson and burying it. 33 saves from Oklahoma goaltender Billy Stuski would earn him his first shutout of the season, and Oklahoma would secure the all important four points on the weekend.

Corpus Christi 3 @ Shreveport 4 - A two goal 3rd period from Carter McKay would help the Shreveport Mudbugs earn a weekend sweep of the Corpus Christi IceRays, winning by a final of 4-3 on Saturday night. In the first, plenty of chances would be had, but no goals were scored, as nice saves each from Vlad Bryzgalov for Corpus Christi and Nikola Golch for Shreveport would keep the game scoreless. The lone goal of the second for Corpus Christi belonged to Will Reardon, and the visitors led after 40 minutes. Early in the third, Aiden Puley would tie the game, and then Pierson Sobush would regain the lead for Corpus Christi. With under two minutes to go, McKay would tie the game once again, and then with just two seconds to go, McKay would net his second of the night to send the home crowd home happy.

Aberdeen 1 @ Bismarck 5 - A pair of goals from Jakub Kopecky and Josh Lehto gave the Bismarck Bobcats a all important weekend sweep, defeating the Aberdeen Wings by a final of 5-1 on Saturday. The lone goal of the first belonged to Kopecky, and Bismarck led by a goal. In the second, Kyle Murray-Smith equalized for Aberdeen, but Kopecky would bury his second alongside goals from Wyatt Sypniewski and Lehto, and Bismarck led 4-1 after 40 minutes. The lone goal of the third belonged to Lehto, and Bismarck secured themselves a weekend sweep.

Lone Star 2 @ New Mexico 1 (SO) - A night after Lone Star defeated New Mexico in overtime, once again 60 minutes would not be enough, but this time an overtime would not declare a winner, as the Brahmas defeated the Ice Wolves by a final of 2-1 in a shootout. Goals would be traded in the first, Leo Bergstrom for Lone Star and Nayan Pai for New Mexico, and the final 40 minutes would be scoreless, sending us to a shootout, where Ryan Comishock would be the shootout hero for Lone Star.

Odessa 9 @ El Paso 4 - The Odessa Jackalopes continued their offensive onslaught on Saturday night, defeating the El Paso Rhinos by a final of 9-4 to complete the sweep. A pair of first period goals for Christian Tavare and one from Charlie Smith for Odessa, and goals from Roope Tuomioksa and Trent Anfinson for El Paso, brought the game skidding to the first intermission with Odessa holding onto a one goal lead. Another high scoring 2nd period would be soon to follow, as Tavare would complete his hat trick, along with goals from Jordan Larkee and Jack L’Esperance for Odessa, while Benjamin Winkelmann and Ryder Many Grey Horses would score for El Paso, but the Odessa lead would be doubled after 40 minutes. In the third, it would be all Odessa, as Caden Ghiossi, Jordan Murray, and Charlie Smith would all tally third period goals to complete the onslaught.

Janesville 1 @ Anchorage 9 - A night after Janesville took Anchorage to overtime, Anchorage responded by scoring early and often, as five first period goals delivered the Wolverines a 9-1 win on Saturday night. Phillippe Lalonde opened the scoring for Janesville, but from there it would be all Anchorage, as Patrick Tolan, Jason Bourdukofsky, Cole Frawner, Jakub Bednarik, and Duke Gentzler would all tally first period goals to bring the home side into the first intermission up four, and from there it would continue, as second period goals from Bednarik and Romulus Riego De Dios gave the Wolverines a six goal lead, and then Landon Greenough and Brody Dietz would seal the game with third period tallies

Fairbanks 0 @ Kenai River 2 - Goals from Sam Anderson and Colten Nestler would give Kenai River a weekend sweep of in state rivals Fairbanks, defeating Fairbanks by a final of 2-0 on Saturday. Anderson would break the ice in the first, and Nestler would double the lead for the Brown Bears. Solid goaltending was had from both sides, as Charlie Menard stopped 26 of 28 and Owen Zenone would stop all 29 for Kenai River. 

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