Ice Rays and Tomahawks Advance to Division Semifinals
Corpus Christi celebrates their victory. Photo credits:Luke Markert
Johnstown 5 @ New Jersey 2 (Johnstown wins series 2-0): The Johnstown Tomahawks took care of business, sweeping the New Jersey Titans in the East Division Play-In series, 5-2. Jack Hiller got the ball rolling, lighting the lamp 7:16 in the opening period to give New Jersey the first lead of the game. From there, Dylan Shane saw his shot hit the back of the net in the second period to even things up. Nick Jarmain scored early on in the final period to give the Tomahawks the lead, before James Taylor quickly netted one to tie it once more. A trio of goals from Shane, Hank Reed, and White put the game too far out of reach for the Titans, as Johnstown triumphed to victory. Nick Avakyan stood tall in net, padding aside 43/45.
New Hampshire 1 @ Maine 2 (Series tied 1-1): The Maine Nordiques use a strong third period to come from behind and defeat the New Hampshire Mountain Kings 2-1, evening the East Division Play-In series at one apiece. After a scoreless opening period, Alex Gelhar got New Hampshire on the board 38-seconds into the second for the first lead of the game. Having some ground to make up, Zion Green evened the score for Maine, before Connor McNaughton quickly extended their lead. In the end, the Nordiques hung on to win this one, forcing a third game to decide who advances. Carter Richardson was stellar in the crease, stopping 26/27.
El Paso 5 @ New Mexico 4 (Series tied 1-1): Harper Lolacher’s goal in overtime helped keep the El Paso Rhinos season alive as they defeated the New Mexico Ice Wolves 5-4 in Game 2 of the South Division Play-In series. Roope Tuomioksa and Cade DeWolf got on the board in the first period for the Rhinos while Sean Gibbons kept the Ice Wolves within one with his first goal of the playoffs. A.J. Reed and Ethan Hull traded goals in the second period bit in the third after Jacob Solano gave El Paso a two goal lead, Francois De Villiers and Max Matthews scored to force overtime. It took just 1:58 for Lolacher to find the back of the net and even the series at one game apiece. Brendan Holahan stopped 41 shots to lift El Paso to victory while Jackson Fuller made 16 stops in the loss.
Colorado 3 @ Corpus Christi 7 (Corpus Christi wins series 2-0): The El Paso Rhinos flirted with elimination but called their own number as they secured an overtime win over the Corpus Christi Ice Rays in Game Two of the South Division play-ins on Saturday evening. Goals were given out like hotcakes in this matchup, and the first period was no shortage of the theme. Roope Tuomioksa and Cade DeWolf buried for El Paso, as Sean Gibbons sandwiched a tally of his own for Corpus Christi between the pair. A slightly more even-keel second period saw a trade of lone strikes, as El Paso’s A.J. Reed and Corpus Christi’s Ethan Hull scored for their respective squads. Jacob Solano scored an early third period goal to put El Paso up by two, forcing Corpus Christi to play their hand. Luckily for the Ice Rays, they had the right cards up their sleeve as Francois De Villiers and Max Matthews broke through to even the score and force overtime. Right cards in hand, it was ultimately Harper Lolacher who held the ace, as his overtime dagger for El Paso saved the Rhinos to fight one more day. El Paso and Corpus Christi will move on to a winner-take-all Game Three grudge match for a South division playoff spot.
Watertown 0 @ St. Cloud 5 - Despite being eliminated from playoff contention, the St. Cloud Norsemen powered through the Watertown Shamrocks Saturday night, shutting them out 5-0. Alex Sandhu started the action early, lighting the lamp in the opening minute of the game. From there, Mason LeBel extended the lead, this time scoring in the final minute of the period. Bronson Hunt netted one in the middle frame, before Tyler Wishart and Sam Crane furthered the lead late in the third, continuing St. Cloud’s domination. In the end, the shutout was secured backed by Beck Liden’s 23 save performance in net.
Austin 4 @ Minnesota M 2 - The Austin Bruins wrapped up their regular season with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Mallards. Ludvig Mullgren scored in the first while Trace Day found the back of the net in the second period. Gustav Svantesson and Mellgren scored again in the third to secure the victory for Austin. Arhip Sidarovich and Lucas Cernohous scored for the Mallards in the loss. Carl Axelsson got the win in between the pipes with 23 saves while Zane Spaniol suffered the loss as he made 32 stops.
Wisconsin 1 @ Janesville 5 - The Janesville Jets secured a win in the final game of the regular season over the Wisconsin Windigo as the Jets had a three goal outburst in the first as Grade Magner scored once and Nick Messina potted a pair of goals. Jackson Ernst scored in the second to bring the Windigo within two but Hans Hedlund and Sullivan Miller netted goals in the third as the Jets ended their season in the win column. Christian Kirsch was the winner in goal with 37 saves on 38 shots. Beau Altman was stuck with the loss as he stopped 32 saves.
North Iowa 2 @ Aberdeen 6 - After Cole Wirun netted the first goal of the game, the Aberdeen Wings scored six straight goals en route to a 6-2 decision over the North Iowa Bulls. Jack McDonough, Bryce Johnson and Nikolai Tiskevich scored in the second period. Keaton Weis, Gustas Zemaitis and Cade Moxham found the back of the net in third for Aberdeen. Theodore Manlove got a goal late for North Iowa. Willum Braun took home the decision with 36 saves for Aberdeen. Jack Hirshorn suffered the defeat despite making 40 saves.
Minot 1 @ Bismarck 4 - The Bismarck Bobcats topped the Minot Minotaurs in a 4-1 win for the second night in a row, securing the series win and wrapping up an eventful final weekend for the Bobcats. Alexandr Kim and Tommy Cronin both scored midway through the first period to Bismarck out to a comfortable two goal lead. Mackley Morelli notched his first goal of the season for Minot’s lone tally on the evening, but Evan Hunter and Louie Kamienski doubled the lead for Bismarck to secure the win in emphatic fashion.
Springfield 1 @ Minnesota W 3 - Minnesota came into Saturday night with their backs up against the wall, facing elimination and ending their season with a loss, anything less than a win was futile. Zach Homer wasted no time bringing the fight Minnesota as he scored just over three minutes into the game. Springfield was looking to play spoiler, though, as Jack Klevby responded in just four minutes to knot the score at one a piece. However, it was ultimately Logan Nagle who played spoiler for Minnesota, as he scored back to back goals in the second and third peruode to push the Wilderness to a wild two goal win. Although Minnesota needed a Chippewa loss to clinch playoffs, they controlled what they could and secured a hard-fought win to stave off elimination as much as they could.
Chippewa 6 @ Anchorage 3 - The Chippewa Steel are playoff bound as they doubled up the Anchorage Wolverines by a score of 6-3. Jackson Lackas set the tone early as he scored just 13 seconds into the game. Daniel Bagnole evened the game just over 90 seconds later but it was all Chippewa after that. The Steel would score five straight to go up 6-1 before Anchorage netted two goals in the final period to bring it within three. Jackson Lackas, Camden Davis, Connor Jalbert and two goals from George Peterson led the offensive onslaught for Chippewa. Andrew Karmic and Cole Christian scored in defeat for Anchorage. Charlie Tritt was big when he needed to be as he made 21 saves. William Lubimov and Michael Manzi teamed up to make 28 saves.
Kenai River 2 @ Fairbanks 6 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs wrapped up home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs as they beat Kenai River 6-2. Thomas Corneille, Cam VanSickle and Ian Norkevicus scored in the first period to give Fairbanks a big lead. Adam Timm and William Esterbrooks traded goals in the second period. Brady Engelkes scored to bring Kenai River within two but Rylan Oster and Jackson Fox made sure they wouldn’t get any closer by scoring in the third period. Charlie Menard earned the win in goal for Fairbanks by making 28 saves, Owen Zenone suffered the loss in the blue paint as he stopped 32 for Kenai River.
