Saturday Scores: Hat Tricks Inch Closer to Playoff Position

New Jersey 6 @ New Hampshire 1 - Six separate goal scorers powered the New Jersey Titans to a 6-1 victory over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Saturday. A pair of goals opened the scoring for the Titans in the first, coming from Alex Papaspyropoulos and Jeremy Sprung. In the second, it would once again be all Titans, as Ryan Novo, Jayar Luedke, and Jack Hillier would blow the game open, while Nicholas Reif would get one back for New Hampshire. The lone goal of the third for the Titans belonged to Archer Brown, and he sealed the deal to earn the Titans the weekend split.

Janesville 0 @ Wisconsin 4 - A pair of Zachary Cline goals would be enough to seal the deal for the Wisconsin Windigo, defeating the Janesville Jets by a final of 4-0. The lone goal of the first for the Windigo came courtesy of Ronnie Hill, and the home squad lead by a goal after 20 minutes. In the second, it would be all Windigo, as goals from Cline and Michael Ryan expanded their lead, and it now sat at three heading into the final frame. Janesville would fight desperately to claw back into the game, but Cline would score his second of the night to put the game away for the Windigo, earning them the weekend sweep

Danbury 5 @ Elmira 4 - A physical, East Division battle saw the Danbury Hat Tricks claw back in the third period, scoring three goals to defeat the Elmira Aviators by a final of 5-4 to earn the weekend split. The lone goal of the first belonged to Niko Tournas, and the visitors led by a goal after 20 minutes. The second, however, would be all Elmira, as Clarence Beltz, Chase Murray, Matthew Maglio, and Curtiss Sturgeon would all score, while Alexis Billequay got one back for Danbury, to give Elmira a two goal lead after 40 minutes. But, Danbury would not go down fighting, as Max Pendy, Tournas, and David Utkin all tallied goals to complete the comeback.

Minot 2 @ North Iowa 1 - The Minot Minotauros defeated the North Iowa Bulls by a final of 2-1 on Saturday, earning the weekend sweep. In the first, Minot opened the scoring, coming off the stick of Jack O’Hanisain. In the second, teams would trade goals, as Austin Osiowy would equalize for North Iowa, but Adam Mahler would strike on the power play, the eventual game winner. North Iowa fought desperately to equalize, but 9 saves from Minot goaltender Will Mizenko shut the door to a comeback.

Johnstown 2 @ Maryland 3 - A three-goal second period would be enough for the Maryland Black Bears to earn the weekend split with the Johnstown Tomahawks, winning Saturday by a final of 3-2. The first period was a physical back and forth battle, but 11 saves from Johnstown goalie Zack Ferris and six saves from Maryland goalie Ryan Denes kept the game scoreless. The second, however, did not have a lack of scoring, as just under four minutes in, Tanner Duncan broke the ice, and then goals 35 seconds apart from Luke Janus and Travis Bryson blew the doors open, but with less than one second left, Jacob Ingstrup would get one back for Johnstown. In the third, Adam Ondris brought the Tomahawks within one, but that would be the closest they get.

Rochester 6 @ Philadelphia 1 - A pair of goals from Calle Karlsson and Adam Gionta powered the Rochester Jr. Americans to a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Rebels, earning a weekend split. Goals in the first, a pair from Karlsson, one on the man advantage, and another from Gionta on the man advantage, gave the visitors a great start, and a three goal lead after 20 minutes. In the second, Gionta, Keanan Dewberry, and Jaden Dyke all scored to give the Jr. Americans the six goal lead heading into the final frame. Brock Jones would get one back for the Rebels, but the dominant first 40 minutes would be more than enough for Rochester to secure the win.

Springfield 2 @ Chippewa 3 - A pair of late goals from Patrick Vogt and Lukas Bellinger secured the weekend sweep for the Chippewa Steel, defeating the Springfield Jr. Blues by a final of 3-2 on Saturday. In the first, plenty of chances were had, but nine saves from Springfield goaltender Frank Murphy and five saves from Chippewa goalie Devin Shakar kept the game scoreless heading into the second. The lone goal of the second belonged to the Steel, as Ryder McIntosh buried a nice feed from Colton Mauser to give the home squad the lead heading into the third period. However, Springfield would not go down fighting, as Junsu Kwak and Tyler Smith would both score to give them the lead, but once again, here come the Steel, as Patrick Vogl would score on the man advantage to tie the game, and Lukas Bellinger would score with under three minutes to go, and that would be the eventual game winner.

Watertown 6 @ Minnesota M 1 - In a battle of two of the newest squads in the league, the Watertown Shamrocks had six different goal scorers, defeating the Minnesota Mallards by a final of 6-1. In the first, William Shephard and Dmitrijs Dilevka each scored to stake the Shamrocks to a two goal lead after 20 minutes. The lone goal of the second came off the stick of Ryan Murphy for Watertown, and the visitors lead grew to three heading into the final 20 minutes. The third period would be similarly dominant, as Noah Sergott, Ryan Gingher, and Eliott Mikesch would all score for Watertown, while Ty Gordon would get one back for the Mallards.

St. Cloud 2 @ Austin 1 (OT) - Fans at Riverside Arena Saturday night saw their Austin Bruins for 1:20 as they fell in overtime to the St. Cloud Norsemen in a tight race. That goal came from Zander Lipsett, who scored off an assist from Ludvig Mellgren. The Norsemen cut that lead with a goal from Tyler Wishart on the powerplay. Another scoreless period in the final 20 minutes of regulation sent the game into overtime, and the Norsemen took the series split thanks to Kyle Miller, who hit the game-winning goal.

Lone Star 2 @ Shreveport 1 (OT) - The Lone Star Brahmas took another overtime victory this weekend over the Shreveport Mudbugs. For a majority of regulation, the Mudbugs had a 1-0 lead with Charlie Fink hitting an early goal in the first period. The tying goal didn’t come until 0:53 in the third period with a one-timer from Trey Gnetz. That game would remain tied coming out of regulation, and in overtime the Brahmas looked to Friday night’s hero again to win it. Saxton Tess won the game in overtime for the Brahmas for the second night in a row, capping off a series sweep.

Oklahoma 2 @ Amarillo 4 - Three goals to end regulation helped the Amarillo Wranglers defeat the Oklahoma Warriors. Early in the first period, a rebounded shot landed right on the stick of Cole Saterdalen, putting it in the net for an early Wranglers’ lead. Midway into the second period, the Warriors tied the game with Riley Fast on the powerplay. Ben Likness four minutes later would split the Wranglers defense to give the Warriors the lead on the breakaway, but Noah Wood would retie the game another four minutes after. The Wranglers picked up steam, and Alexander Aleslov took the lead back for the Wranglers in the final minutes of the third period. Despite the Warriors outshooting the Wranglers in the final period to try and retake the lead, Daniel Rassega with two minutes left in regulation put the dagger in for the Warriors.

Bismarck 4 @ Aberdeen 1 - Shaking off an ugly loss on Friday night, the Bismarck Bobcats split the series with a rebound victory against the Aberdeen Wings. Jumping out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to Wyatt Sypniewski, the Bobcats’ offense smothered the Wings defense and goaltenders. That lead went up another goal after a deflection on the powerplay went into the back of the net, Evan Hunter being credited with the goal. In the second period, a poke check sent the puck to Keanu Krenn, who scored on the breakaway for the 3-0 lead. Another deflection and rebound to Louie Kamienski brought the Bobcats to 4-0 in the final seconds of the period, this being Kamienski’s fourth goal in four games. Needing some offense, the Wings got an early third period score from Nikolai Tishkevich, but couldn’t find another spark as the Bobcats closed out the period for the win.

New Mexico 5 @ Odessa 3 - Saturday night was an offensive showcase between the New Mexico Ice Wolves and Odessa Jackalopes, with 82 shots and 11 power plays between both teams. The Jackalopes drew first blood with Jerem Jacobs on the unassisted goal. Ethan Hull in the final minutes of the first period tied the game to send it into the second period 1-1. The second period was all Ice Wolves, expanding their lead by two goals from Nayan Pai and Liam Waugh. The final period of regulation looked to be the same story, a powerplay goal from Toivo Laaksonen and a goal from Jake Kasay bringing the Ice Wolves’ lead to four. The Jackalopes saw some offense in the end, two goals from Marcus Fechko and Kowin Belsterling, but it was too little too late as they ran out of time to make a comeback.

Colorado 6 @ El Paso 2 - The Colorado Grit set off fireworks offensively against the El Paso Rhinos, scoring three goals in 1:25 in the third period. The first two periods were a back-and-forth affair: the Grit scoring first off Lucas Mann and the Rhinos tying on the powerplay thanks to Beckett Hinchsliff. Entering the second period, the Grit took back the lead with a shot from Luke Helgeson finding the back of the net, but Hinchsliff once again tied the game three minutes later. The Grit continued to fight and for the third time took the lead again with George Poirier scoring his 16th of the season. A close game heading into the final period of regulation quickly spiraled out of hand for the Rhinos. Poirier unassisted began the scoring, followed by William Johnson 26 seconds later, and the final goal came from Nicholas Noble, highlighting what originally would’ve been a tight race between two good teams.

Kenai River 1 @ Fairbanks 2 (OT) - A late comeback from the Fairbanks Ice Dogs paid off, winning in overtime against the Kenai River Brown Bears. Despite both teams registering plenty of shots, the first goal came 3:51 into the third period from Michael Fiedorczuk of the Brown Bears. A shutout loomed for the Brown Bears, but a late powerplay helped Cole Burke tie the game for the Ice Dogs in the final minute of regulation, sending both teams back on the ice for overtime. Two minutes into overtime, team-leading scorer Luca Ricciardi secured the comeback victory for the Ice Dogs. Both teams goaltenders played well: Brown Bears Owen Zenone stopped 40 of 42 shots faced, and Ice Dogs' Mason McElroy stopped 35 of 36 shots faced.

Boxscores