Saturday Scores: Swedin Solidifies Sweep With Shutout

Northeast 3 @ Danbury 2 - The Northeast Generals snuck away with a revenge win on Danbury ice as they took a 3-2 over the Hat Tricks on Saturday night. New and familiar names alike graced the statsheet in game two of the weekend. Joseph McGraw and Kai Elkie made their return to the scoreboard just as they did in the game before each for Northeast and Danbury, respectively. Niko Tournas buried in the first period as well for one of his three points on the night, but combined with McGraw for Danbury’s only goals of the night. Cole Mckenna scored his third goal of the year to tie things up, while Rich Rucierto’s 20th marker of the year served as not only the go-ahead for Northeast, but the game-winning goal as well. A scoreless third period allowed Northeast to ride the coattails of Ryan Nolan, who made 21 stops on 23 shots to claim a slick win.

Elmira 5 @ New Hampshire 3 - The Elmira Aviators solidified the second half of the weekend series with the New Hampshire Mountain Kings with a 5-3 win on Saturday night. Elmira dominated the first half of the game as they took a concise 4-0 lead spanning deep into the second period. Luke Sakala and Thomas Weekes buried their third goals of the season, while Byrce Terry dished in his seventh and Curtiss Sturgeon hot-handed his 13th tally of the season in the early action. Thomas Quast scored his fourth goal of the season to get New Hampshire on the board to close the second stanza. Taybor Aldrick opened the final frame with a tally just 1:22 after opening puck drop, followed by Marco Baccardi who opened his Mountain King account to put New Hampshire within one. Momentum mounting, Clarence Beltz came through with the penultimate minute dagger to dash any New Hampshire comeback hopes, sealing the deal for Elmira.

Maryland 4 @ New Jersey 3 (OT) - The Maryland Black Bears outlasted the New Jersey Titans with a 4-3 overtime win on Saturday night. Nikolai Meshkantsov notched his third goal in three games for New Jersey, but the early 1-0 lead was quickly erased with a pair of smooth tallies from Trey Hinton and Kareem El Bashir. The second frame saw a trading of goals as Ryan Friedman and Tyler Stern each tickled the twine for New Jersey and Maryland, respectively. Maryland’s one goal lead was erased with some heroic efforts from Blake Jones whose overtime-forcing goal came as only his second of the year. After nearly being forced into a shootout, Harrison Smith scored the golden goal with just 14 seconds left in overtime to push the Black Bears through to the weekend win.

Minnesota M 0 @ North Iowa 3 - The North Iowa Bulls blanked the Minnesota Mallards as they diced, smothered and covered their way to a spotless 3-0 win on Saturday night. After a scoreless opening frame, North Iowa got to their game as they played a solid second period bolstered by scores from Anthony McIntosh and Noah Diemer. Sangyeob Kim put one more in the back of the net for the Bulls just for good measure halfway through the third period. Goaltender Kyle Ozgun made a perfect, resounding 30 saves on 30 shots.

Johnstown 3 @ Philadelphia 2 - The Johnstown Tomahawks flipped the script on the Philadelphia Rebels as they skated to a 3-2 victory on Saturday night. The condensed scoring was organized nicely as a scoreless first period reversed into a second period featuring all three Johnstown goals, which then bled into a third period with both Philadelphia goals. Neither team scored in the same period. Johnstown’s sturdy second was constructed with goals from Lukas Klemm, Cullen Emery and Sam Blanton, while Philadelphia’s punctual third saw scores from Jared Coccimiglio and Abzal Alibek. Owen Crudale pulled all the spots as he could as made a standing-O worthy 49 saves on 52 shots in the loss for Philadelphia, but it was Nick Avakyn who made a sturdy 23 saves in 25 shots to emerge victorious for Johnstown

Springfield 1 @ Wisconsin 2 - The Wisconsin Windigo snuck away with a 2-1 win over the Springfield Jr. Blues on Saturday night. A two-goal first frame proved to be enough for Wisconsin as their only scores of the night came in the opening stanza. Braydon Beahm tucked his 28th goal of the year, while Ben Aucoin contributed with his eighth goal of the campaign to post the 2-0 lead. Jack Klevby got the Windigo within one in the second period, but his lone answer could not fight on its own as Wisconsin failed to convert an equalizer late in the game. Matt Schoephoerster made 16 saves on 18 shorts on the evening for Springfield, while Lucas Szyszka made 24 saves on 25 shots to secure the win in back-to-back starts.

Watertown 0 @ Austin 2 - After dropping the first contest to open the weekend, the Austin Bruins returned to their winning ways against the Watertown Shamrocks as they picked up a perfect 2-0 win on Saturday night. After 36:46 minutes of scoreless hockey, Gustav Svantesson converted a wicked shot to put the Austin Bruins out to a 1-0 lead. Svantesson’s goals in both yesterday and today's game stands as his first and only showing of a goal in back-to-back games for Austin. Svantesson’s clutch marker also seemed that it may be the difference maker between a win and a loss, before familiar face Alex Laurenza netted his 25th goal of the year with just 41 seconds left to close the coffin for Austin. Carl Axelsson was making donuts as he turned away all 28 shots to emerge with the shutout win for the Bruins.

Odessa 0 @ Shreveport 3 - Shreveport completed the weekend sweep of Odessa thanks to a 3-0 victory. The Mudbugs opened the scoring 7:47 into the opening frame. Andrej Paricka’s fifth goal of the season proved to be the game-winning tally. Shreveport took that 1-0 lead into the first intermision. The score remained the same through a scoreless middle frame before the Mudbugs struck twice early in the third. Kyan Haldenby and Seth Murch each scored their 11^th goals of the year inside the first four minutes of the third. Nikola Goich recorded a 24-save shutout for Shreveport while Aries Carangi made 25 saves for Odessa in a strong effort. The Mudbugs continue to pile on the points, collecting their 46^th and 47^th in the win. Shreveport sits third in the South Division. The Jackalopes remain at 36 points and sit sixth in the South.

New Mexico 5 @ Amarillo 2 - New Mexico’s fast start propelled them passed Amarillo. The Ice Wolves grabbed a pair of goals in the opening 20 minutes to jump out to an early lead. Toivo Laaksonen struck first with his sixth of the season before Sean Gibbons potted his fifth to give the Ice Wolves a two-goal advantage. The Wranglers answered back six minutes into the second period with Morley Phillips’ eighth goal of the year. That tally was then quickly answered by New Mexico’s Herman Asberg. The teams again traded goals in the back half of the middle frame. Salvatore Cerrato scored his 10^th of the year for Amarillo and Liam Waugh his third for the Ice Wolves. The final period went scoreless for nearly 19 minutes until Francois De Villiers grabbed an empty-net goal to push the score to its 5-2 final. Jackson Fuller stopped 28 of 30 shots he faced for New Mexico in the win. Charles-Antoine made 20 stops for the Wranglers. New Mexico now sits in fifth place in the South Division with 37 points while Amarillo remains in last in the South with 30 points.

Minot 3 @ Aberdeen 0 - Minot rides Lukas Swedin’s 43 saves to a 3-0 victory over Aberdeen. The Minotauros opened the scoring 10:28 into the game as Billy Batten moved into a tie for the team lead in goals with 16. Gavin Middendorf added a second Minot tally in the dying second of the period to give his side a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. The game then went scoreless for just over 30 minutes before Middendorf struck for the second time in the game. The goal pushed him into the tie for the team lead in goals as well. Swedin continued to play perfectly in his shutout bid while Aberdeen’s Damon Cunningham made 19 stops in the contest. Minot improves to 51 points on the season. The Minotauros sit third in the Central Division, just one point behind Austin for second place. Aberdeen remains in fourth place in Central with 41 points.

St. Cloud 4 @ Bismarck 1 - Beck Liden’s solid game in net led St. Cloud over first-place Bismarck 4-1. The Norseman jumped in front 11:47 into the game. Mason LeBel grabbed his team-leading 14^th goal to break the ice. Alex Sandhu was next to find the back of the net late in the second period. The goal gave St. Cloud a 2-0 lead after 40 minutes. Bismarck slashed their deficit back to one just 24 seconds into the third period thanks to Keanu Krenn’s ninth goal of the season. However, St. Cloud responded just over two minutes later as Martins Klaucans found the back of the net for the first time this season. Andrew Cumming finished the scoring with an empty-net goal at the tail end of the third. Liden stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced for the Norsemen while Tomas Anderson made 16 stops for Bismarck. St. Cloud remains in fifth place in the Central Division, now with 34 points, following the win. Bismarck stays in first in the Central with 58 points. The Bobcats have a six-point cushion over second-place Austin.

Chippewa 5 @ Minnesota W 2 - Chippewa’s three unanswered goals lifted the Steel to a 5-2 win over Minnesota. The Wilderness opened the scoring just over seven minutes into the game. The power play goal was Nate Murray’s 12^th of the year. Chippewa then answered later in the opening frame via Tomas Trunda. The game went to the first intermission tied at one apiece. The Steel took their first lead of the night in the second period thanks to Camden Davis’ 13^th of the year. He was swiftly answered four minutes later by Minnesota’s Logan Nagle who tied the game on the power play. Connor Jalbert then put the Steel back into the lead with his eighth of the year. Chippewa took a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Matic Percic and Ryder McIntosh were responsible for the two third-period markers for the Steel to cushion their lead and push the final to 5-2. Devin Shakar stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the win while Niklas Erickson made 20 saves. Chippewa improves to 38 points on the yea while Minnesota remains with 37. The Steel leapfrog the Wilderness, now sitting fifth in the Midwest Division with Minnesota dropping to sixth place.

Oklahoma 0 @ Lone Star 4 - Lone Star puts together another dominant win over Oklahoma. The Brahmas opened the scoring with just 1:30 to play in the first period. Cooper Faughnan potted the goal, his third of the year, as Lone Star took the one-goal advantage into the first intermission. The game then went scoreless over nearly the next 30 minutes before the Brahmas struck twice in under a minute. Saxton Tess scored his ninth of the season at 8:05 in the third period. He was followed by Leo Bergstrom’s eighth 45 seconds later. Elias Kumlin added the fourth and final goal later in the final frame to push the score to its 4-0 final. Lone Star continues their South Division supremacy as their 55 points put them first in the division. The Brahmas remain two points clear of Corpus Christi. Oklahoma sits eighth in the South with 33 points following the loss.

El Paso 2 @ Corpus Christi 3 (SO) - Corpus Christi outlasted El Paso in a shootout to stay on the heels of first-place Lone Star. The IceRays struck first just over five minutes into the game. Michael Valdez’s fifth of the season put Corpus Christi up. The Rhinos struck back on the power play in the middle part of the second period. Jacob Solano grabbed the goal to tie the game at one. However, the IceRays did not wait long to punch back as Colin Watson scored just 1:28 after Solano. Paavo Hiltunen tied the game once again with just seconds remaining in the middle frame. The teams ended 40 minutes knotted at two. That was the end to the goals as goaltenders Waylon Esche and Logan Hughes locked the game down. Esche stopped 30 shots in the eventual IceRay win while Hughes made 32 saves. Corpus Christi made quick work of El Paso in the shootout with Matteus Soderbom and Stepan Kuznetsov each score while Esche stoned both Rhino shooters. Corpus Christi improves to 53 points and trail Lone Star by two for first place in the South Division.

Janesville 5 @ Fairbanks 4 (OT) - Janesville rode four straight goals in Fairbanks to upset the Ice Dogs. Fairbanks did open the scoring, though, as Luca Ricciardi extended his team lead in goals to 14. Grady Magner began the Janesville run of goals 11:26 into the opening frame. The teams entered the first intermission knotted at one. The second period saw Janesville strike for three consecutive goals. Joseph Hyten scored at 6:22 before James Taylor and Jayar Luedke each found the back of the net at 13:18 and 14:48 of the middle period. Luedke’s goal put him in the solo team lead on Janesville with 11. Fairbanks pulled one back late in the second. Brent Gulenchyn scored the goal to cut the Jet lead to 4-2. The Ice Dogs continued to chip away as Ryan Oster potted his third of the season with seven minutes to play. Ricciardi would force overtime with his second goal of the game. The tally came with just one second to play in regulation. The Jets thwarted the Fairbanks comeback effort nearly four minutes into overtime as Grady Magner played hero with his ninth goal of the season. Matthew Alberti made 32 saves in the winning effort while Mason McElroy stopped 21 of 26 shots faced. Janesville collects points 21 and 22 with the win while Fairbanks grabs point #47 with the overtime loss. The Jets remain in eighth place in the Midwest Division while the Ice Dogs sit in third.

Anchorage 1 @ Kenai River 3 - A three-goal third period lifted Kenai River over Anchorage. The Wolverines broke the ice just over 12 minutes into the game as Jakub Bednarik scored his 14^th of the season. That was the only goal of the first 40 minutes as both goaltenders locked down their respective cages. Kenai River finally broke though 8:35 into the final period. Carter McCormick scored the goal, his fifth, before the Brown Bears struck again. Dario Lass found the back of the net in what proved to be the game-winning goal. Andrew Larson added an empty-net goal for Kenai River to push the game to its 3-1 final. Mitchell Mccusker stopped 31 of the 32 shots he faced for the Brown Bears in the win while Roberto Leonardo Henriquez made 30 saves for the Wolverines. Kenai River improves to 31 points with the win and sits seventh in the Midwest Division. Anchorage remains at 51 points and second place in the Midwest. The Wolverines sit two points behind first-place Wisconsin with two games in hand. 

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