Ice Wolves, IceRays, Mountain Kings and Tomahawks Grab Edge in Play-In Series
New Hampshire and Corpus Christi celebrate their Game 1 wins Photo Credits: Cover: Zach Price. Inside article: Ron Morin (top) and Luke Markert (bottom)
New Hampshire 1 @ Maine 0 (New Hampshire leads series 1-0): In an intense back and forth matchup in Game 1 of the East Division Play-In Series, the New Hampshire Mountain Kings broke loose in the third to blank the Maine Nordiques 1-0. After stellar defense and goaltending by both opponents, Jack MacDonald lit the lamp to break the scoreless tie 13:37 into the third period for New Hampshire. With little time to spare, the Nordiques looked to send the game to overtime, however the clock hit zero and the Mountain Kings hung on to win this one. Sam Caulfield was nothing short of outstanding in the crease, stopping all 47 shots thrown his way to earn the shutout. Despite the loss, Carter Richardson played great, padding aside 28/29.
Johnstown 6 @ New Jersey 3 (Johnstown leads series 1-0): Game 1 of the East Division Play-In series was certainly a thriller between Johnstown and New Jersey, as the Tomahawks triumphed 6-3 over the Titans, largely in part due to a 4-goal second period. Adam Ondris opened the scoring for Johnstown, netting one halfway through the first. Ryan Friedman, however, was quick to even the score for New Jersey. The goals didn’t stop for the Tomahawks in the middle frame, as Andrew Cowgill, Adam Csabi, Charlie Zetterkvist, and Ondris saw shots hit the back of the net. Lucas Marshall got one back, but the Titans had their work cut out for them going into the final period. There, Alex Papaspyropoulos gave the team a glimmer of hope to tie, but Nick White would seal the deal late for Johnstown to solidify the 6-3 victory.
Colorado 1 @ Corpus Christi 2 (Corpus Christi leads series 1-0): Late game heroics were the solution for Corpus Christi as the Ice Rays pulled off a third period comeback to secure a 2-1 win over Colorado on Friday evening. Lucas Mann put Colorado on the board early in the first period, giving the Grit a lead that would stand for more than half the game. However, Corpus Christi was not going down without a fight, as Cooper Conway found the back of the net less than a minute into the final frame. Battle was heavy on both sides, but the chips eventually fell the Ice Rays’ way as Troy Pelton’s dagger with just over five minutes left proved to be the goal that made all the difference on the evening. Peter Sterling made a determined 24 saves on 26 shots in the slim loss for Colorado, while Benji Motew continued his stellar season for Corpus Christi and picked up 27 saves on 28 shots as his near-perfect performance secured the win for the Ice Rays.
El Paso 1 @ New Mexico 4 (New Mexico leads series 1-0): The New Mexico Ice Wolves scored four straight goals as they topped the El Paso Rhinos 4-1 on Friday evening. New Mexico took control of the game early and never looked back, as Jacob Guille deposited his first score to get New Mexico on the board. A three goal second period saw three different Ice Wolves get their names on the scoresheet, including Liam Waugh, Tolvo Laaksonen and Ben Pololmsky. Trent Anderson was able to find the back of the net early in the final frame for El Paso, but his one-time success was unable to be replicated and New Mexico locked the ice down to secure the three goal win. Brendan Holahan made 31 saves on 35 shots in the loss for El Paso, while Jackson Fuller breezed 19 saves on 20 shots to pick up the win for New Mexico
St. Cloud 1 @ Watertown 2 - In stunning fashion, the Watertown Shamrocks eliminated the St. Cloud Norsemen from playoff contention with just seconds remaining in the final period. The Norsemen looked to come away with a victory, as Same Crane opened the scoring late in the first. It wouldn’t take long for Antons Macijevskis to tie the game up for the Shamrocks. Following a scoreless middle frame, St. Cloud knew they needed to come away with this one to stay alive. However, Elliott Mikesch played the villain, putting Watertown up with just 45 seconds to spare. In the end, they hung onto to spoil St. Cloud’s payoff hopes, coming away with the 2-1 victory. Mason Gudridge was excellent int eh creasing, padding aside 29/30 in the win.
Minnesota M 1 @ Austin 3 - Nathan Williams scored twice as the Austin Bruins took down the Minnesota Mallards by a score of 3-1. Jack Martens scored his first of the season in the opening period to give the Mallards the lead in the first. The Bruins peppered Ryan Mitchell to the tune of 42 shots through two periods but were unable to crack the code. Williams finally solved the puzzle in the third and so did Jake Spraetz who netted the eventual game winning goal. Williams would add an empty netter. Jack Solomon got the win with 22 saves while Mitchell was stuck with the tough loss despite making 50 saves.
Wisconsin 3 @ Janesville 2 - The Wisconsin Windigo took home this latest battle of Wisconsin as Braydon Beahm scored first in the opening frame to give Wisconsin a 1-0 lead after 20. Nick Messina and Wyatt Herres traded goals in the second period to see the Windigo take a 2-1 lead into the third. Sullivan Miller scored 11 seconds into the final frame to tie the game but that was countered with Jackson Ernst’s 12th goal of the year just two minutes later. That would prove to be the game winner as Lucas Szyszka finished with 36 saves. Christian Kirsch stopped 22 shots for Janesville.
North Iowa 2 @ Aberdeen 5 - The Aberdeen Wings punched their ticket to the playoffs as they claimed the final playoff spot in the Central Division with a 6-2 win over North Iowa. Bryce Johnson scored twice for the Wings in the win. Jibber Kuhl, Ryder Many Grey Horses, Sebastian Lillsund and Nikolai Tishkevich also scored for Aberdeen. Cole Wirun and Fuji Suzuki netted goals for North Iowa in the loss.
Springfield 2 @ Minnesota W 5 - Noah Dziver collected a hat trick as the Minnesota Wilderness took a decisive 5-2 victory over the Springfield Jr. Blues on Friday evening. Tyler Smith potted his ninth marker of the year to put Springfield ahead early in the first period. Dziver responded just three minutes later with a goal of his own to tie the square one a piece, followed by Brady Zugec, whose first period score put Minnesota up by one. Jagr McClelland struck early in the second for Springfield to tie the score, but eventually Minnesota's hot handed offense proved to be too much for Springfield as the wilderness scored three unanswered goals to secure the win on the evening. Frank Murphy made an impressive 37 saves on 41 shots in the loss for Springfield, while Valdemar Anderson turned aside 31 pucks on 33 shots and picked up the win for the Wilderness.
Bismarck 4 @ Minot 1 - The NAHL regular season champion Bismarck Bobcats claimed a decisive victory at home over the Minot Minotauros Friday evening. The Bobcats opened the scoring in the first period with back-to-back goals from Keanu Krenn and Kyle Doll. Bismarck extended their lead in the second with Zane Rowan finding the back of the net. Louie Kamienski followed suit just a few minutes later, bringing Bismarck to a 4-1 lead. The Minotauros attempted to make a comeback with a goal from Landon Fleming at the end of the second. Minot’s attempt came up short with the Bobcats securing a strong 4-1 win. Minot’s goaltender Lukas Swedin saved an impressive 41 shots out of 45 total, while Bismarck’s netminder Kai Weigel made 25 saves on 26 shots.
Chippewa 5 @ Anchorage 6 (SO) - The Anchorage Wolverines claimed a hard fought victory over the Chippewa Steel. Chippewa kicked off the night’s scoring with goals from Jackson Lackas, Patrick Vogl, and Connor Jalbert throughout the first period. With just under a minute left in the first, Taisetsu Ushio found the back of the net putting Anchorage within two. Anchorage struck again early in the first with a goal from Duke Gentzler. Chippewa was able to capitalize on multiple power plays with Colton Mauser and Ryder McIntosh each netting a goal making the score 5-2 Steel at the end of the second. The Wolverines managed to make a comeback in the third with Daniel Bagnole, Ushio, and Cole Frawner all scoring to make the game 5-5 and forcing it into overtime. After a scoreless extra period, the game went into a shootout where Andrew Karkoc and Jason Bourdukofsky each netted a goal for Anchorage giving them a strong victory and keeping Chippewa from clinching a playoff spot just yet.
Kenai River 3 @ Fairbanks 6 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs earned a strong road victory over the Kenai River Brown Bears Friday night. Fairbanks opened the scoring with an early power play goal by Kyle Rohrer followed by another power goal late in the period from Ian Norkevicus. In the second, the Ice Dogs added two more tallies on the board from Luc Plante and Cam VanSickle. Michael Fiedorczuk and William Etserbrooks also netted the first two goals of the night for Kenai River early on and towards the end of the second period. In the third, the Ice Dogs came out dominant with Plante on the power play and Rohrer scoring goals 28 seconds apart. Kenai River attempted to make a come back with a goal from Brady Engelkes, but the attempt fell short and the Ice Dogs clinched the win.
