Friday Finals: Steel Take Opener of Crucial Series

Janesville 1 @ Wisconsin 4 - A pair of goals from Hunter Hayes powered the Wisconsin Windigo to a 4-1 win over the Janesville Jets on Friday. In the first, an early Hayes goal would give the Windigo the lead, but just a minute later, Kamden Kaiser would equalize for the Jets. Just before the end of the first, Hayes would score again to give the Windigo the lead heading into the first intermission. The lone goal of the second would double the lead for the Windigo, this time coming off the stick of Zachary Cline, giving the Windigo a 3-1 lead heading into the final frame. Janesville would battle, but a early Cashen Naeve goal would seal the deal for the Windigo. Beau Altman was a steadying force for the Windigo, tallying 16 saves in the win.  

Danbury 3 @ Elmira 4 - A physical, hard fought, East Division battle saw the home Elmira Aviators defeat the Danbury Hat Tricks by a final of 4-3. A high flying first period saw Thomas Weekes open the scoring for the home squad, and then 30 seconds later Gavin Duckworth doubled the Aviator lead. Joey Mallozzi would get one back for Danbury to halve the home squad lead heading into the locker room after 20 minutes. In the middle frame, the teams would trade goals, as Niko Tournas would bury for the Hat Tricks, and Charlie Vincent for the home squad, to give the Aviators the lead heading into the final frame. In the third, teams would trade goals again, Tournas for Danbury and Curtiss Sturgeon for Elmira.

Northeast 2 @ Maine 3 - The Maine Nordiques defeated the Northeast Generals by a final of 3-2 on Friday night. In the first, the lone goal belonged to the visitors, coming off the stick of Grady Logue. The second frame would be all Maine, as Ethan Wongus and Luke Chappelle would each score to give the Nordiques the lead heading into the final frame. In the third, Joseph Gasperko would seal the deal for the home squad, while William-Francisco Parent would get a late consolation goal for the Generals.

Johnstown 5 @ Maryland 3 - A pair of Nick White goals powered the Johnstown Tomahawks to a 5-3 win over the Maryland Black Bears on Friday. The first period would be all Johnstown, as Hank Reed, Adam Ondris, and Jack Genovese would all tally goals to give the visitors the lead, and they didn’t look back. Maryland would cut one back in the second off the stick of Victor Mannebrant. In the third, teams would trade a pair of goals, as White would score his pair of goals, and Tanner Duncan and Isac Nielsen would score for the Black Bears.

New Jersey 2 @ New Hampshire 7 - A pair of Georgios Stavrianeas goals powered the New Hampshire Mountain Kings to a 7-3 win over the New Jersey Titans. In the first, Stavrianeas, Thomas Quast, and Jaden Johnson scored for the Mountain Kings, while Alex Papaspyropoulos would get one back for the Titans. In the second, the lead expanded, as Damon Bossie , Stavrianeas, and Tommie McDonough would all score for New Hampshire, while Ryan Friedman would get one back for the Titans. The lone goal of the third belonged to Oli Genest for the Mountain Kings, sealing a dominant win.

Rochester 1 @ Philadelphia 4 - A pair of Ryan Bunting goals powered the Philadelphia Rebels to a 4-1 win over the Rochester Jr. Americans on Friday. In the first, teams would trade goals, as Brock Jones would score for the Rebels, while Jaden Dyke would score for Rochester. The second would bring plenty of chances, but no goals, bringing the game to the third, where Bunting would score twice, as well as a goal from Caesar Bjork to seal the win for the Rebels

Springfield 2 @ Chippewa 3 - The Chippewa Steel defeated the Springfield Jr. Blues by a final of 3-2 on Friday night. The first period brought plenty of opportunities, but no goals. In the second, goals from Niko Laus and Tyler Smith for Springfield gave the visitors a two goal lead heading into the final frame. However, the Steel would not go down without a fight, and Colton Mauser, Matic Percic, and Zach Sondreal would all score to give the home squad the all important two league points.

Austin 6 @ St. Cloud 4 - TwoS goals from Alex Laurenza and Ashton Bynum would power the Austin Bruins to a 6-4 win over the St.Cloud Norsemen on Friday. In the first, Laurenza, Bynum and Emil Samuelsson would all score for the Bruins, while Krisjanis Sarts would get one back for the Norsemen. In the second, Bynum, Laurenza, and Nathan Williams would all score for Austin, while Bronson Hunt would get one back for St. Cloud. In the third, Tim Runtso and Kyle Miller would each get one back for the Norsemen, but it would be too little too late.

Watertown 7 @ Minnesota M 4 - Fans at tonight’s game between the Watertown Shamrocks and Minnesota Mallards weren’t disappointed with the lack of scoring, 11 goals between both teams. Travis Lefere notched an early goal 48 seconds in, and Tobias Faith grabbed his first goal of the season to tie the game 1-1. The Mallards swung the momentum in their favor going into the second, with Jordan Brothers giving them the lead 1:53 into the period. That momentum was smothered with three unanswered goals from the Shamrocks. Ryan Gingher, Joseph Rice, and Grant Gardner all put their names on the score sheet. With the game rapidly running away from them, the Mallards got some breathing room in the third from Jules Delepoulle scoring early. In the final six minutes, the Shamrock’s scoring picked up again, and Rice found the net for his second goal. Faith tried to stop the bleeding for his team with his own second goal, but Cam Markham and Owen Chartier 26 seconds apart placed the final nails in the coffin for the Mallards.

Minot 6 @ North Iowa 2 - Minot Minotauros goaltender Lukas Swedin held strong in net against the North Iowa Bulls Friday night, leading them to a hard fought win. The Minotauros didn’t flinch after going down a goal in the first period off a Jack Seaverson goal, taking their lead in the final minutes of the period with Jack O’Hanisain tying the game, and Braeden Jockims taking the lead. Jockims opened the second period scoring with his second goal of the night 5:31 in. Bulls forward Noah Diemer would later on cut the Minotauros’ lead to one. A tight race in the third period went downhill for the Bulls, team-leading scorers Jesse Juhola and Gavin Middendorf combining for three goals, the latter scoring two, capping off a six-goal night for the Minotauros. Swedin stopped 30 of 32 shots.

Lone Star 4 @ Shreveport 3 (SO) - The Lone Star Brahmas won in the shootout Friday night against the Shreveport Mudbugs. David Ehrhard and Evan Adams scored only six seconds apart in the first period to propel the Mudbugs to an early 2-0 lead. That lead by the end of the period vanished after Owen Kerr and Brody Neish chipped away with their own goals. The second and third periods saw one goal scored in each: Brahmas’ Elias Kumlin in the second and Mudbugs’ Lucas Deeb in the third, sending the game into overtime. Going into the shootout after a scoreless overtime, the winning goal came from Saxton Tess.

Oklahoma 3 @ Amarillo 5 - Three unanswered goals propelled the Amarillo Wranglers to a comeback victory over the Oklahoma Warriors. The Warriors jumped to an early 2-0 lead, with Luke Rubin and Ben Likness scoring. Marc LaFrance with just over a minute left scored his first goal since November to get the Wranglers on the board. A defensive slugfest early in the second gave way to scoring in the later half, Noah Wood starting the scoring to tie the game for the Wranglers. While Riley Fast gave the Warriors the lead again soon after, Morley Phillips and an unassisted Daniel Rassega snatched the lead back. Wood midway through the third period scored his second, capping off the comeback.

Bismarck 3 @ Aberdeen 5 - Despite being outshot 34-22, the Aberdeen Wings took advantage of their scoring chances to win against the league-leading Bismarck Bobcats. Gavin Reed of the Wings scored the only goal of the period after a largely back-and-forth affair. Following Reed would be his teammate in the second period, Cooper Anderson, making it a 2-0 lead for the Wings. Former Oklahoma Warrior Louie Kamienski 11 minutes later would put the Bobcats on the board for his 18th goal of the season. Going into the third 2-1 Wings, the Bobcats tied the game early thanks to Tommy Cronin. The Wings took carefully aimed shots with the puck, hitting the mark three times out of only eight shots in the final period. Cade Moxham and Leonid Bulgakov each put their names on the score sheet, and while Alexandr Kim tried to retake the lead late, Moxham again scored to end a statement victory for the Wings.

New Mexico 2 @ Odessa 0 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves shutout the Odessa Jackalopes in a game with 74 shots combined. The first goal of the game came at 1:13 in the second period, with Jake Kasay finding the back of the net. Andrey Moskvitin midway in the third period scored the final goal, capping off a low-scoring but high-octane matchup. Both goaltenders played well, the Jackalopes’ William Karphed stopped 30 of 32 shots. The Ice Wolves played a goalie tandem of Gavin Schahn and Jackson Fuller, each stopping all their shots at 14 and 23, respectively.

Colorado 3 @ El Paso 4 (OT) - After almost going into a shootout, the El Paso Rhinos won in overtime against the Colorado Grit. Benjamin Winkelmann began the scoring seven minutes into the first period, followed later on by Lucas Mann unassisted to end the first 20 minutes tied. The Grit rallied early in the second period, scoring two more goals from Nolan Smith and Evan Smutney. Going down 3-1 quickly, the Rhinos cut the Grit lead to one thanks to Roope Tuomioksa. The last goal in regulation saw the game tied early in the third, the Rhinos tying thanks to Andrew DellaDonna. Overtime looked to be headed for a shootout, neither team giving any ground. That ended with Harper Lolacher hitting the game winner in the final minute, giving the Rhinos the first win in the series.

Kenai River 5 @ Fairbanks 4 (OT) - The Kenai River Brown Bears won in overtime against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in a late night Alaskan matchup. The Brown Bears drew first blood off a Gavin Jensen goal, followed shortly after with the Ice Dogs first goal from Kyle Rohrer. Going into the second period tied one apiece, Jensen scored his second of the game earlier, but the Ice Dogs continued to answer each lead change with their own goal, scoring from Cole Burke. Wes Berg gave the Brown Bears the lead with six minutes left in the period with his first goal, making it 3-2 after 40 minutes. The Ice Dogs came into the final period on fire, scoring two goals from Gage Leonard and Brent Gulenchyn, but Joseph Yoon of the Brown Bears sent the game into overtime with a tying goal. Despite being outshot by 20 shots tonight, the Brown Bears won in overtime thanks to Jensen, who secured his hat trick with the game-winning goal 4:20 in overtime. 

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