Saturday Scores: Rochester Pulls Off Impossible Comeback

Adam Gionta's (top) overtime goal sealed the comeback win for Rochester while Sangyeob Kim's (bottom) two goals helped North Iowa snap their losing skid

New Jersey 4 @ Danbury 2 - Forward Ryan Friedman took advantage of the power play and scored a pair of goals in the New Jersey Titans' 4-2 win over the Danbury Hat Tricks. Forward Jeremy Sprung and defenseman Lucas Marshall also lit the lantern in what was the Titans' fifth-straight win. On the other side of the ice, forwards David Utkin and Brendan Boring each captured a goal for the Hat Tricks in the loss. New Jersey goalie Austin McNichols, who shut out the Hat Tricks the day prior, allowed just two goals in 32 of 34 shots. The Titans are still fourth in the East Division with 58 points, and Danbury holds onto the eighth-place spot following their fourth-straight defeat.

Shreveport 2 @ Colorado 3 (OT) - Shreveport Forward David Ehrhard scored his second goal of the game with a little more than thirty seconds left in the contest to tie it, but the Mudbugs ultimately fell to the Colorado Grit 3-2 in overtime. Following Ehrand's initial goal in the first period, a pair of defensemen put the Grit out in front in the second period. Luke Helgeson and Braden Junker each slapped in a goal to take the lead for Colorado. In overtime, another defenseman came up clutch for the Grit. Alexander German scored the game-winning goal in a power play. Despite the loss, the Mudbugs are still in second place in the South Division, with 62 points, and Colorado maintains sixth place, with 46.

New Hampshire 5 @ Rochester 6 (OT) - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings had a comfortable 5-0 lead in the first period, but it slowly slipped away as the Rochester Jr Americans came back to win 6-5 in overtime. Forward Calle Karlsson, who scored two goals in Rochester's playoff-clinching win the day prior, slapped in another pair of goals in the victory. Defensemen Dexter Kichline, Liam Chapman, and forward Keanan Dewberry also scored goals in New Hampshire's fourth-straight win. For New Hampshire, forward Frank Dancona led the way in the opening flurry of goals, scoring two. The win extends Rochester's lead in the East Division, as the Jr Americans are now five points ahead of the Maryland Black Bears with 68. New Hampshire, which has now lost three in a row, is sixth.

Maryland 1 @ Elmira 2 - Looking to clinch a playoff spot and potentially challenge the Rochester Jr Americans for the first-place spot in the East Division, the Maryland Black Bears were upset by the last-place Elmira Aviators in a 2-1 defeat. Forward Harrison Smith scored Maryland's lone goal in the first period, his eighth of the season. Forward Charlie Vincent then tied it up for Elmira in the second period. With a man advantage in the third period, forward Jett Otwell scored his 13th goal of the year and gave the Aviators a 2-1 lead. The win was given to goalie Wesley Jefferson-Swint II, his fourth of the season. He allowed just one goal in 28 of 29 shots.

Philadelphia 3 @ Northeast 1 - Even with nine fewer shots on goal, the Philadelphia Rebels pulled through to beat the Northeast Generals 3-1. Forward Charles Panchisin got the scoring started for the Rebels in the first period with his 13th goal of the season. Defenseman Ryan Vaites and forward Brock Jones also got in on the action, each scoring a goal in the win. The lone goal for the Generals came from forward Rich Rucireto, his 23rd of the season and second game in a row with a goal. Philadelphia goalie Owen Crudale was the start of the game, saving 31 of 32 shots on goal to secure his 15th win of the season. The victory moves the Rebels up to tied for eighth in the East Division with the Danbury Hat Tricks, and Northeast stays put at seventh. 

Johnstown 2 @ Maine 1 - Maine would have a shocking 20 shots in the first period, with only one finding the back of the net. It would take nearly the entire frame before Ethan Wongus would light the lamp for the Nordiques. The second period would go scoreless and it wouldn't be until later in the third when Ryan Flaherty would tie the game for the Tomahawks. Shortly after, Markas Samenas would convert on the Johnstown powerplay to give his team their first lead of the game. This would stand as the game-winning goal and Nick Avakyan would pick up the victory, making 30 saves in the process.

Minnesota M 3 @ North Iowa 5 - The Bulls would get going early, with Cole Wirun scoring a minute into the game. The Mallards would find an equalizer later in the period, behind Benjamin Tauscher's tally. In the second, both teams would exchange goals, as Jordan Brothers would put Minnesota up, not before Vince Kalscheur would tie the game. North Iowa would build off of this, as Eli Miller and Sangyeob Kim would build on to the lead. Late in the third, Eli Bailey would score to cut the deficit to one, but an empty netter from Kim would seal the North Iowa victory.

Corpus Christi 3 @ Oklahoma 4 (SO) - The first period would be full of action, with Riley Fast grabbing the early lead for Oklahoma. Minutes later, Cooper Conway would answer to tie the game, but Paul Wiczek would take the lead back for Oklahoma. Early in the second, Jack McClellan would add on to the Warriors' lead. Going into the second intermission, the IceRays would only be down one thanks to Pier-Olivier Allard. Late in the third, Corpus Christi would complete the comeback and tie the game, with a shot from Stepan Kuznetsov. There would be no score in overtime and there would be only one goal in the shootout, coming from Ethan Gonyeau. Billy Stuski would pick up the outstanding win, making an amazing 48 saves en route to a shootout win.

Springfield 1 @ Wisconsin 4 - Wisconsin would set the tone early in this contest, with a pair of goals from Theodore Richardson and Hunter Hayes. In the dying seconds of the first, Springfield would get on the board, with a goal from Luke Sawicky. From then on, the Windigo would cruise to the win, picking up goals from John Halverson and Logan Nickolaus in the second and third periods respectively. Beau Altman would stop 18 of 19 shots that he saw in Saturday's win.

Minot 5 @ Watertown 4 (SO) - Minot would be excellent on the penalty kill, even notching two shorthanded goals in the first period, coming from Billy Batten and John Small. Also in the first, Cam Markham would get Watertown on the board heading into the intermission. Batten would score again in the second, this time on the powerplay. Travis Lefere would step up for the Shamrocks, scoring two goals in the second to tie this game. Dane Ramirez would regain the Minot lead in the third, but a buzzer-beater from Lefere would send this game to overtime. Despite Lefere completing the hattrick, the Minotauros would pick up the win in the shootout, thanks to a winning goal from Jesse Juhola.

Fairbanks 2 @ Janesville 3 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs gave the hosting Janesville Jets plenty of opportunities to score on Saturday night. The Jets had seven power play opportunities during this contest. They only converted once on the man advantage, but they did enough to skate away with a 3-2 win. Jets goalie Christian Kirsch earned First Star honors on Saturday as he saved 35 shots in the win over Fairbanks on home ice.

St. Cloud 3 @ Austin 5 - The St. Cloud Norsemen and Austin Bruins played a rather close game all things considered on Friday. Both teams recorded fewer than 30 shots on goal on Saturday night. And they combined for just three power play chances. However, the hosting Bruins made the most of the few chances they received against the Norsemen. A four-goal flurry in the second period carried Austin to a 5-3 win over St. Cloud. Alex Laurenza led the way for Austin as he scored a goal and two assists on Saturday night.

Aberdeen 2 @ Bismarck 6 - The Bismarck Bobcats did not let the visiting Aberdeen Wings get any sort of rhythm going early on Saturday night. The Bobcats scored twice in the first period to take a 2-0 lead into the locker room. And they followed that performance up with four goals in the middle frame, breaking the game wide open. The Wings did score two goals in the third to make it a bit closer than things indicated. In the end, it was too little, too late. The Bobcats were led offensively by Kyle Doll and Evan Hunter, who each recorded two points.

Kenai River 5 @ Minnesota W 1 - The Kenai River Brown Bears visited the Minnesota Wilderness on Saturday night and made themselves at home on the ice. Kenai River received seven power play opportunities in this contest, converting on three of them. Moreover, they outshoot the Wilderness 42-27. Brown Bears goalie Mitchell McCusker stopped 26 shots while defenseman John Ross provided three assists on Saturday night to lead their team to victory.

Odessa 2 @ New Mexico 3 - The Odessa Jackalopes and New Mexico Ice Wolves didn’t give each other a ton of opportunities on Saturday night. Either team had a claim to victory for much of the game. In the end, the hosting Ice Wolves did enough to claim a 3-2 win. Andrew Earl’s second period goal stood as the game winner. And the effort was led by goalie Jackson Fuller, who stopped 33 shots from the visiting Jackalopes.

Anchorage 4 @ Chippewa 5 - The Anchorage Werewolves and Chippewa Steel went back and forth on Saturday night. The Werewolves took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission during this contest. However, the Steel did not allow the visiting Werewolves to take over on their ice. Chippewa scored three goals in the second period to give themselves a 4-3 lead. Anchorage scored in the third, but an early third-period goal from Ryder McIntosh put the Steel over the edge on Saturday.

Lone Star 1 @ El Paso 2 - The Lone Star Brahmas did everything they could to win on Saturday night. The Brahmas held the hosting El Paso Rhinos to 18 shots the entire game. They kept El Paso from receiving a large amount of scoring chances. However, they took seven penalties on Saturday, which led to their downfall. The Rhinos scored both of their goals with the man advantage as goalie Brendan Holahan made 30 saves to claim a victory for El Paso.

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