Saturday Scores: Lone Star Clinches Playoff Berth
by Brian Gornick, Trevor Jolley & Michael Seitz
Maryland 7 @ New Hampshire 0 - Maryland jumped all over New Hampshire and never looked back in a 7-0 blowout victory. The Black Bears started strong in this game, striking just 88 seconds into the opening frame. Matthew Croxall grabbed his third goal of the season to give Marland the lead. Next it was Kareem El Bashir scoring his 15th of the season to put his side up a pair. The three-goal first period came to an end with Isac Niesen potting his 16th tally of the year with just nine seconds to play. Maryland entered the first intermission leading 3-0. The second period remained uneventful until Nielsen struck for the second time in the game. The goal again came late in the period and pushed the Black Bear lead to four. Maryland added three more goals in the final frame. San Osei’s first, Sebastian Specks’s 19th and Harrison Smith’s seventh were the tallies to push the final to 7-0. Goaltender Marko Bilic stopped all 34 shots New Hampshire threw his way. The Moutnain Kings saw their two goalies combine to stop 38 of the 45 shots they faced. Maryland improves to 61 points on the season and sits second in the East Division. New Hampshire remains in sixth place in the East with 43 points.
New Mexico 6 @ Colorado 2 - New Mexico’s overwhelming start drove the Ice Wolves over the Grit 6-2. New Mexico came out of the gates on fire scoring the first six goals of the game. Ethan Hull got the scoring started 6:56 into the first period with his 10th of the season. Andrew Earl was next to strike just three minutes later. Nayan Pai’s eighth goal of the season ended the three-goal Ice Wolves first period as New Mexico led 3-0 after 20 minutes. The middle frame provided Colorado with no relief, either. The Ice Wolves scored three times in the opening four minutes of the second with the trio of goals coming in the span of just 57 seconds. Tim Hewko found the back of the net at 2:59 into the frame before Stanley Hubbard struck gold at 3:39. Earl grabbed his second of the game and 14th of the season at 3:56 to end the quick strike and give New Mexico a 6-0 lead. The Grit did find a pair of goals to make the final score look a bit more respectable. Alexander German was responsible for both Colorado goals pushing his season total up to eight. New Mexico’s Jackson Fuller stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced in the game. Colorado began the game with Richard Rafaj in net. He made four saves in seven tries. Nolan Franis replaced Rafaj and made 31 stops on 34 shots. The Ice Wolves improve to 47 points and are tied with El Paso for fourth in the South Division with 47 points. Colorado sits right behind those two teams in sixth place with 43 points.
Philadelphia 3 @ Johnstown 4 - A three-goal third period propelled Johnstown from behind over Philadelphia. The Tomahawks opened the scoring just 2:28 into the game as Jack Genovese potted his fourth of the year. Philadelphia answered just over a minute later. Hudson Weber-Stewart found the back of the net for the Rebels to tie the game. Philly then took the lead later in the frame as Ryan Bunting scored his 16th goal of the campaign. The second period ticked by scoreless as the Rebels took that 2-1 lead into the final frame. The final frame saw Johnstown find a tying goal just under four minutes into the period. The tally was Genovese’s second of the game. Philadelphia then retook the lead six minutes later thanks to Charles Panchisin’s 11th of the season. The back-and-forth continued as the Tomahawks re-tied the game with Andrew Cowgill finding the back of the net for the second time this year. Johnstown finally grabbed the lead back 28 seconds later. Ryan Flaherty scored his 16th of the year for the eventual game-winning goal. Nick Avakyan stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced in the win for Johnstown while Owen Crudale made 30 saves for Philly. The Tomahawks collect their 47th and 48th points of the season and sit fifth in the East Division. Philadelphia remains in ninth place with 37 points.
Elmira 2 @ New Jersey 3 - New Jersey rode a 37-save performance for goaltender Austin McNicholas to a win over Elmira. Owen Leahy got the scoring started for the Titans about six minutes into the game. The goal was Leahy’s 16th as the Titans led 1-0 after 20 minutes. Jersey doubled their lead just 56 seconds into the middle frame with Ryan Friedman potting his 14th of the year. Elmira would punch back twice on the power play. Bryce Terry and Jett Otwell scored their eighth and 12th tallies of the season to tie the game at two apiece 14:44 into the second period. The Titans went into the break back in front. Nikita Meshcheryakov scored with less than two minutes to play to push New Jersey ahead 3-2. The final score stayed at that 3-2 marker as both goaltenders stood tall in the final 20 minutes. McNicholas carried his side with those 37 saves while Wesley Jefferson-Swint II made 18 stops for the Aviators. The Titans improve to 54 points and still sit fourth in the East Divisions. Elmira remains with 36 points and are last in the East.
Northeast 2 @ Rochester 8 - Rochester rode an offensive explosion to an easy win over Northeast. The Jr. Americans were out and running early thanks to Gabe Randel’s goal 1:55 into the game. The contest remained 1-0 until 16:02 when Alex Zakrzewski doubled Rochester’s advantage. The Jr. Americans led 2-0 after a period. That lead continued to balloon in the middle frame. Ryan Shaw scored his seventh of the season two minutes into the period before Calle Karlsson found his 22nd of the year to make it 4-0. Northeast finally got on the board thanks to Spencer Hirsch’s 10th of the campaign. However, any momentum The Generals received from the Hirsch goal was quickly extinguished as Rochester scored three times in the final 3:29 of the period. First, it was Shaw’s second goal of the period to make it 5-1. Then, Jaden Dyke scored his 15th and 16th at 17:43 and 19:53 to put the Jr. Americans ahead 7-1 after 40 minutes. The teams traded goals in the third period as Gabe Randel found his fifth for Rochester and Hirsch scored his second of the game for Northeast to push the game to its 8-2 final. Danick Leroux stopped 25 of 27 shots he faced for Rochester in the win while Ryan Nolan made 40 stops and Carson Barnes four in the loss for Northeast. The victory keeps the Jr. Americans in first place in the East Division with 64 points. The Generals remain at 40 points and sit seventh in the division. Northeast sits three points behind sixth-place New Hampshire but has played two more games.
Fairbanks 6 @ Springfield 2 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs after a close loss on Friday rebounded Saturday night against the Springfield Jr. Blues. Slow offense wouldn’t slow the Ice Dogs in the first period, running with a 3-0 lead in the first period with goals from Cole Burke, Brent Gulenchyn, and Kyle Rohrer. Aidan Bergner early in the second period brought that lead up to four with his goal, but Jr. Blues forward Niko Laus put his team on the board right after. Two more goals, Rohrer with his second of the night and Rylan Oster put forward a commanding 6-1 lead after 40 minutes. The final period mainly saw the Ice Dogs play strong defense, and burn the clock, yet it didn’t stop Conner Broadhead give the Jr. Blues one more goal as regulation expired.
North Iowa 0 @ St. Cloud 4 - The luck of the puck didn’t fall for the North Iowa Bulls, as they were shut out by the St. Cloud Norsemen. Both teams held strong defensively in the first period, but it didn’t stop the Norsemen picking up a 1-0 lead thanks to Alex Sandhu finding the back of the net. The Bulls picked up a roughing penalty in the first second of the second period, and Sam Crane capitalized on it for the Norsemen, extending their lead to two. Late in the second period, Kyle Miller scored the third goal of the night. With the game all but finished by the end of the third period, Vinny Hart struck the final blow late, capping off the shutout victory. Norsemen goaltender Beck Liden earned the shutout, credited for stopping all 39 shots faced.
Minnesota M 0 @ Austin 5 - The Austin Bruins offense was suffocating against the Minnesota Mallard, giving the latter no room to score in a shootout loss. The Bruins first goal came on the powerplay, with Alex Laurenza registering his 30th goal of the season. He’d be joined in the period by teammates Augustus Elbert, who scored his first of the season, and Ashton Bynum, also on the power play. Connor Beckwith in the second period extended the lead to four goals, and Luc Malkhassian in the third period put the dagger in with his first of the game, and the Bruins third power play goal. The Bruins offense put out a statement, 3/8 on the powerplay and outshooting the Mallards 53-20.
Kenai River 2 @ Janesville 4 - Three goals in the final ten minutes of regulation won it for the Janesville Jets against the Kenai River Brown Bears. The Brown Bears controlled the game for much of regulation, having a lead with a first period goal from Wes Berg and a second period goal from Thomas Gunderson. The Jets got on the board late in the second with Sammy Smith scoring off assists from Bauer Murphy and Trevor Aberwald. In the third period, Jets forward Nick Messina scored three goals in the final ten minutes. The first was a one-timer on the powerplay, the second was a short-handed goal, and the last one was an empty-net for the game win and the hat trick.
Corpus Christi 3 @ Amarillo 6 - The Amarillo Wranglers came back to split the weekend series against the Corpus Christi IceRays. Cole Saterdalen scored the only goal of the first period for the Wranglers, giving them an early lead after 20 minutes. Despite the IceRays tying the game halfway in the second period from a Caden Morgan goal, the Wranglers stole the lead right back with Morley Phillips scoring a minute after. Jacob Miller with 28 seconds left gave the Wranglers their third of the game. Five goals would be scored in the third period, in a back-and-forth tandem. It began with Daniel Rassega of the Wranglers, followed by Michael Valdez of the Ice Rays eight minutes after. Phillips scored his second of the game after, and while the Ice Rays put up a fight in the end with Carter Krenke bringing the deficit to two with a minute left, Saterdalen in the last second ended the night with another goal.
Watertown 4 @ Aberdeen 5 - The Aberdeen Wings one-upped the Watertown Shamrocks as they claimed a 5-4 victory on Saturday night. An early offensive effort from Nikolai Tishkevich and Briggs Orr set the tone for Aberdeen as they took a lead which would never be broken by Watertown. Carter Sproule buried for the Shamrocks early in the second, but Sebastian Lillsund responded just a few minutes later to put Aberdeen back out to a two goal lead. Zach Boren and Dmitrijs Dilevka found the back of the net in the third period for Watertown, along with Sproule whose second of the game brought the Shamrocks within one, but Reece Allman and Ryder Many Grey Horses padded the Wings’ lead to secure the weekend win for Aberdeen.
Minot 2 @ Bismarck 0 - The Minot Minotauros were perfect against the Bismarck Bobcats as they secured a 2-0 win on Saturday night. After a scoreless first period, Ian Spencer broke the ice and got Minot on the board in the second period, followed by Gavin Middendorf whose 59th minute goal put the icing on the cake for the Minotauros. The spotlight of the game was on Minot goaltender Lukas Swedin, who had all the answers as he turned aside all 30 shots to pick up the shutout in game two of his back-to-back starts against Bismarck.
Anchorage 6 @ Minnesota W 4 - The Anchorage Wolverines were able to outlast the Minnesota Wilderness as they picked up a 6-4 win on Saturday evening. Minnesota posted two goals in the first period, but it was Anchorage who propelled to the win with a four goal second period. The four unanswered goals came in thirteen minutes from the sticks of Taisetsu Ushio, Cole Christian, Patrick Tolan, and Landon Greenough. Minnesota's scattered scoring featured Owen Smith and Avery Anderson’s pair in the first period, as well as Olle Karlson and Ben Doll depositing in the second and third period, respectively. Aaron Van Wie and Daniel Bagnole’s third period tallies were enough to push Anchorage to the win.
Shreveport 3 @ Lone Star 6 - Cooper Faughnan recorded a hat trick as the Lone Star Brahmas picked up a 6-3 win on Saturday night. After falling to Shreveport the night before, Lone Star flipped the script from the previous night as two players combined for five goals. Faughnan’s first hat trick was aided by Saxton Tess, who deposited two goals of his own to fall just short on his hat trick bid. Owen Kerr also found his way onto the statsheet for Lone Star in the first period with a goal. Bode Wise, Brent Litchard and Jonah Jasser found the back of the net for Shreveport in the Saturday loss.
Odessa 10 @ El Paso 4 - The Odessa Jackalopes dashed the El Paso Rhinos in a lopsided 10-4 win on Saturday night. Seven different scorers found the back of the net for Odessa on the night, including Nicholas Arrington, Charlie Smith, Christian Tavare, Jeremy Jacobs, James Richman, Marcus Fechko and Jordan Larkee. Jacobs had himself a night as scored a trio of goals to record his first hat trick with the Jackalopes Andrew Delladonna had a two goal night for El Paso, with solo goals coming from Jacob Solano and Rasmus Nousianinen. Marcus Fecho only deposited a single goal for the Lopes, but added three apples to record four points on the evening, his highest point outing of the season. Logan Hughes and Brendan Holahan combined for 25 saves on 35 shots for El Paso, while William Karphed’s second game of the weekend saw him record 26 saves on 30 shots to pick up the win for Odessa.
