Saturday Scores: Chippewa Secures a Big Road Win Against Anchorage

Philadelphia 2 @ New Jersey 0 - The Philadelphia Rebels secured a much-needed road shutout win Saturday night, using some late magic to put the game away over the New Jersey Titans. In what turned into a tight defensive battle, shots came plenty for both sides, yet true scoring opportunities remained limited. After the first two periods, the scoreboard reflected that story, with neither team finding the back of the net despite a combined 42 shots. Philadelphia, desperate for an offensive spark, finally broke through early in the third. Cam Wilson opened the scoring for the Rebels, burying a feed from Mikey Conlon to give Philadelphia the lead. The momentum carried forward, and later in the period, Wilson struck again, extending the lead to two and putting the game seemingly out of reach for the Titans. From there, Philadelphia showed out defensively, protecting the shutout and flipping the script on a Titans team that had blanked them the night before. In net, Tyler Rounds stood tall for New Jersey, turning away 24 shots from the Philadelphia offense and keeping his team within striking distance. However, it was not enough to overcome the stellar effort of Ben Varsa, who was rock solid between the pipes for the Rebels. Varsa stopped all 33 shots he faced to earn the shutout victory, snapping a seven-game losing skid for Philadelphia and giving them a much-needed confidence boost heading into the next stretch of the season.

Northeast 1 @ New Hampshire 2 - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings escaped with a hard-fought 2-1 win Saturday night in a tightly contested matchup against the Northeast Generals. In what was a physical, gritty game from start to finish, penalties and special teams proved to be the difference. In the opening period, New Hampshire struck first. Cael Knutson capitalized on a power play, burying the puck to give the Mountain Kings an early advantage. Later in the frame, Spencer Hirsch answered for the Generals, evening the score at one apiece heading into the second. Early in the middle period, New Hampshire once again took advantage of the man-up as Alexander Duhon converted on the team’s second power-play goal of the night, tacking back the lead at 2-1. From there, the game tightened into a defensive battle, with both sides refusing to give up what could have been a pivotal goal. Northeast poured on the pressure late, testing New Hampshire netminder Vladimir Nikitin, but he stood tall and finished the night with 31 saves. At the other end, Will Mizenko kept the Generals within striking distance, stopping 22 of 24 shots faced. The Mountain Kings held strong in the final minutes to secure the victory, snapping a six-game losing streak in the process. Meanwhile, the Generals saw their four-game winning streak come to an end.

Rochester 0 @ Maine 2 - The Maine Nordiques pulled away with a shutout victory Saturday night over the Rochester Jr. Americans. The battle was a penalty-ridden affair, with the two sides combining for 84 penalty minutes, forcing both teams to rely on strong special teams to limit scoring chances. Defense dominated early in the game, as neither side could find the early difference-maker in the first period. Maine, however, found some magic early in the second. Austin Borggaard buried one on the power play to give the Nordiques the lead, with Jack Klevby and Pete Luecke setting up the play to make it 1-0. The Nordiques added to the lead later in the period as Marshall McCharles put home the insurance marker, trying to put Rochester away early. The rest of the game, despite several power-play and special-teams opportunities, saw the Jr. Americans’ chances were limited by Maine’s strong defensive effort. Ultimately, neither team was able to find the back of the net the rest of the way, resulting in a 2-0 final. Florian Wade made 17 saves for Rochester against a tough Nordiques squad, while Lukas Fursten spotlighted an impressive 20-save shutout to earn the victory. With the win, Maine extended its team winning streak to five in a row, continuing to prove itself as a force in the East Division.

Danbury 2 @ Elmira 7 - The Elmira Aviators dominated at home Saturday night with an impressive offensive display over the Danbury Hat Tricks. Elmira got on the board early and often, never losing control of the game from the opening puck drop. Cody Powels opened the scoring midway through the first with a power-play goal, assisted by Brenden Bedorf and Evan Dantas. Quin Pine then added to the lead for Elmira, with Greg Johnson and Shawn Laperriere picking up the helpers. In the second, the Aviators picked up right where they left off. Laperriere made it a three-goal game halfway through the period, with Johnson and Pine each earning an assist on the play. Danbury fought back before the end of the second, scoring back-to-back goals just minutes apart to cut the deficit to one. Willem Kerr got the first one for the Hat Tricks off feeds from Jeremy Sprung and Ryan Lukko. Ben Dempster followed a few shifts later on the penalty kill, with the setup coming from Gavin O’Hara. Despite the close score entering the third, Elmira’s offense took over, netting four goals in the final frame to seal the win. Luke Rubin struck first early in the period, with Dantas and Matt Maglio assisting on the finish. Maximus McGuire followed later on to extend the lead further, set up by Andrew Horn and Jack Kohlman. Max Campbell then jumped in on the action, scoring a pair of power-play goals to close out the night. Cael Primanti and Horn each notched an assist, while McGuire added two of his own. Ultimately, the Aviators’ offense was too much for Danbury’s defense and goaltender Jon Dukaric, who made 26 saves but could not slow down the attack. Aiden McKenna stood tall in net for Elmira, making 31 saves to help earn the win and snap the Aviators’ losing streak. For Danbury, it’s back to the drawing board as they drop their fourth straight.

Johnstown 2 @ Maryland 5 - The Johnstown Tomahawks went on the road to take on the red-hot Maryland Black Bears, who are looking to extend their win streak to 10 straight games. The Black Bears scored immediately to start the contest. Brayden Wade found the back of the net at the 18:55 minute mark to give Maryland the quick lead. Later in the frame, Tanner Duncan would score an unassisted goal for the Black Bears. Right before the end of the period, Maryland would score again thanks to Joshua Frenette at the 1:44 mark. In the second period, the Tomahawks got on the board with a power-play goal from Alex Gomes, Shane Tronoski, and Jack Genovese picking up the assist. The Black Bears would answer back with a goal from recent Army commit Jaden Sikura. The final period would feature Ryan Franks securing his second goal of the season for the Black Bears, giving his team a 5-1 lead. However, the Tomahawks would not go out without a fight. Second-year veteran Charlie Zetterkvist tallied a power-play goal for Johnstown with less than four minutes on the clock. The Black Bears defended their den and secured a dominating 10-straight wins.

 

North Iowa 3 @ St. Cloud 4 - The North Iowa Bulls went on the road to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen. The game started with just one goal in the first period. Cole Bies scored for the Norsemen, with Vinny Hart assisting. The scoring would continue in the second period with St. Cloud scoring quickly on the power play. Alex Sandu finds the back of the net 43 seconds into the middle frame. Later in the period, Norsemen Tanner Hunt finds the back of the net to give St. Cloud a 3-0 lead. However, less than a minute later, North Iowa would get on the board thanks to a goal by Vitaliy Korolyuk. The Norsemen wasted no time answering back, and Hunt would score his second goal of the contest at the 3:03 minute mark in the second period. The Bulls would fire back with a goal from Fugi Suzuki, and North Iowa was able to cut the Norsemen’s lead in half, 4-2. In the final period, the Bulls would score on the power play with a goal from Brody Dietz to make it a one-point game. Despite the comeback push, the Bulls fell short, and the Norsemen would secure a 4-3 victory. 

El Paso 8 @ Oklahoma 3 - The El Paso Rhinos looked to avenge their overtime loss from Friday against the Oklahoma Warriors. The Rhinos were successful, taking a commanding 8-3 win on the road despite the Warriors having the edge in shots, 46-38. The Rhinos struck just over a minute in with a goal by Gaige Giblin, his first of the season. Roughly 30 seconds later, Nolan Smith scored for the Rhinos, taking a 2-0 lead. The Warriors answered five minutes later on a goal by Dominic Kiss. Both teams would add another tally before the end of the period, resulting in El Paso taking a 3-2 lead after the first. In the second, Troy Hunka and Ian Kastamo would add two more goals for El Paso to give them a 5-2 lead. The Warriors would sneak one in with eighteen seconds left by Ben Likeness, his eighth goal of the season. The third was all Rhinos as they would tally three more goals. Greyson Settipane notched a goal at the 14:57 minute mark, followed by Gaige Giblin five minutes later for the Rhinos. With less than eight minutes on the clock, Kastamo tallied his second goal of the night and helped to give El Paso a commanding win over the Oklahoma Warriors to split the weekend.

Bismarck 4 @ Minnesota M 3 (SO) - The Bismarck Bobcats went on the road to Minnesota to take on the Mallards. The Mallards would strike first with a goal from Bryce Wiitala. The Bobcats would answer less than a minute later with a goal from Charlie Kresl. In the second period, the Bobcats would score again, this time on a power play. Frantisek Broz scored the goal, thanks to an assist by Nate Garski. In the final period, the Mallards would tie the game with a goal from Joseph Delaurentis at the 4:19 minute mark. Less than a minute later, the Mallards would take the lead with another goal from Bryce Wiitala, his second unassisted goal of the game. However, the Bobcats clawed back with a goal by Frantisek Broz less than a minute following the late push by the Mallards. Overtime would go scoreless, leading to a shootout, with the Bobcats winning on their fourth shot. Brown commit, George Poirier, scored the game-winning shootout goal. The Bobcats would beat the Mallards in a 4-3 thriller.

Shreveport 1 @ Corpus Christi 2 (SO) - The Corpus Christi Ice Rays hosted the Shreveport Mudbugs in another tightly contested game. The Ice Rays would come away with the 2-1 win in the shootout, sweeping the Mudbugs on the weekend. The Ice Rays struck first at 13:18 in the first period on a power-play goal by Grayson Gerhard, his second of the weekend. He was assisted by Easton Swift and Johnny Maruna. The Mudbugs would answer in the second period at 1:11 left with a goal by Duke Ehrhard, his third of the season, assisted by Evan Hoglund. The third saw no scoring as the teams started the extra frame with a 1-1 deadlock. Ultimately, the game would be decided in a shootout with Chase Nehring breaking the deadlock for the Ice Rays for the weekend sweep at home.

Springfield 3 @ Janesville 4 (SO) - After coming off a 4-2 loss the night before, the Jets were looking to secure a split on home ice. The contest kicked off with Janesville’s Grant Dillard getting on the board at the 11-minute mark for his team. However, less than two minutes later, Springfield’s Niko Laus tied up the contest in the first frame. Heading into the second period, the Jr. Blues strike first thanks to a goal by Logan Sutton. With less than three minutes on the clock, the Jets’ scoring leader, Hans Hedlund, scores short-handed to tie up the contest for Janesville. As the game headed into the third period, both teams were hungry to secure the game-winning goal. Springfield’s third-year veteran, Zach Howard, tallies a goal on the man advantage at the 12:50 minute mark. However, less than three minutes later, Janesville’s Murray Marvin-Cordes tied up the contest and kept Janesville alive in the contest. The matchup eventually went into overtime and was forced into a shootout. Dillard and Joseph Hyten were able to secure goals in the shootout, securing the Jets’ first shootout victory of the season. Christopher Prater of the Jets stopped 35 out of 38 shots on the night, while Springfield’s Amril Valiullin spotlighted a 25-save performance.

Odessa 4 @ Amarillo 5 (OT) - The Amarillo Wranglers looked to bounce back Saturday night with another tight game versus the Odessa Jackalopes. Nicholas Puricelli would open the scoring for the Jackalopes with a power-play goal four minutes in. The Wranglers would respond eight minutes later with a power-play goal by the Captain, Jacob Miller, to tie it up 1-1. In the second, the Wranglers would take their first lead of the night at 12:34 on a goal by Tiernan O’Rourke, his first of the season. The Jackalopes would even it up 11 seconds later thanks to a tally by Jack L’Esperance. The Wranglers would take back the lead with four minutes left in the second when newcomer, Cru Smith, scored his first goal of the season. The Wranglers head into the third frame with a 3-2 lead. In the third, the Jackalopes would tie the game up once again with a power-play goal by Puricelli, his second of the night. Four minutes later, the Jackalopes would take the lead 4-3 when Caden Ghiossi tallied a goal. The Wranglers did not give up and tied up the game with forty seconds left in the game on a goal by Ty Izadi. Extra time was needed for this one; the Wranglers were able to secure the overtime victory with 10 seconds left on the clock when Jake Boulanger scored his first goal of the season. The Wranglers even up the series as both teams head to battle on Sunday night.

Wisconsin 4 @ Minnesota W 2 - The Wisconsin Windigo continued their two-game set on the road against the leaders in the Midwest Division, the Minnesota Wilderness. After securing a 4-3 overtime victory last night against the Wilderness, Wisconsin was looking to continue its winning ways. The first period was scoreless on both sides, with both teams trading chances. Heading into the middle frame, the Windigo kicked off the scoring when Ryan Mottau found the back of the net at the 15:28 minute mark on the power play. However, the Wilderness were able to respond thanks to a power-play goal themselves, thanks to Talan Blanck. With 18 seconds on the clock in the second, Blanck tallies his second goal of the contest to give the Wilderness a 2-1 lead heading into the final frame. Quickly into the third period, Brendan Finley finds the back of the net on the man advantage, tying the game. Shortly after, Wisconsin’s Mottau tallied his second of the night to give the Windigo a 3-2 lead. Heading into the final minutes of the contest, Callen Grilz scored his first goal of the season and extended Wisconsin’s lead to 4-2. The Wilderness would eventually fall, and the Windigo would secure a sweep on the weekend.

Lone Star 2 @ New Mexico 3 (SO) - The New Mexico Ice Wolves looked to avenge their overtime loss from Friday night against the Lone Star Brahmas. The first period was all Brahmas with the first goal coming four minutes in by Van Martin. Alexander Oliver added to the Brahmas' lead on the power play and notched his first goal of the season. The Brahmas took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. The second period saw no scoring with the Brahmas continuing their 2-0 lead into the third. The Ice Wolves finally answered back on the power play in the third, thanks to a goal by Andy Earl, his eighth of the season. Four minutes later, the Ice Wolves even the score at two with a goal by Sean Gibbons. An extra session was needed, but it was not enough as the game went to a shootout. The Ice Wolves take the extra point on a goal by Earl in the shootout, avenging their loss the previous night and splitting the weekend with the Brahmas.

Aberdeen 5 @ Minot 1 - The Aberdeen Wings, who are looking for a bounce back after last night’s loss, continue their series with the Minot Minotauros. The Wings showed up on the scoresheet first with a goal by Easton Edwards at the 4:16 minute mark of the first frame. Moving into the middle period, Aberdeen was able to extend its lead thanks to goals by Matthew Martin and Jonathan Doucette. With less than three minutes on the clock in the second, Mario Fate tallied the Tauros’ first goal of the contest and helped to cut the deficit. Heading into the final 20 minutes, Martin scores his second goal of the night, this time on the power play. With less than two minutes on the clock, Aberdeen’s newcomer, Caden Lee, tallies his first goal of the night, extending his point streak to three straight games. The Wings walked away with a decisive 5-1 victory. Between the pipes, Aberdeen’s Willum Braun turned away 31 out of 32 shots.

Chippewa 3 @ Anchorage 2 (OT) - Looking to snap their nine-game losing streak, Chippewa was hungry to secure crucial points while on their Alaska road trip. The contest kicked off with Anchorage’s Sam Evert finding the back of the net first at the 13:13 minute mark in the first. However, Chippewa responded five minutes later, thanks to Jake McIntosh scoring his first goal of the season. The Steel were able to secure a lead heading into the second period when Lukas Bellinger tallied a goal at the 3:33 minute mark. The second frame was scoreless for both teams, with both teams trading chances. Heading into the third period, Anchorage was looking to tighten up the contest. Ian Christian of the Wolverines was able to find the back of the net to tie up the contest while notching his first tally of the season. As the contest eventually moved into overtime, Chippewa was able to get things done when Gage Martell found the back of the net for the first time this season at a critical moment for the team. The Steel secured their first win in the past 10 games, and Chippewa's Alex Reedy stopped a season-high of 52 shots during the contest.

Kenai River 2 @ Fairbanks 5 -  In a battle for the Alaska Airlines Club 49 Cup, both teams are looking to pick up crucial points in this in-state rivalry. The matchup kicked off with the Brown Bears finding the back of the net first. Kristians Utnans scores at the 2:17 minute mark in the first frame to give the Brown Bears a 1-0 lead heading into the middle frame. The second period is when the scoring frenzy commenced. Fairbanks’ veteran, Kyle Rohrer, gets the scoring started with a tally within the first two minutes of the frame. Chris Hodges scored seven minutes later for the Ice Dogs, with the Captain, Luca Ricciardi, finding the back of the net a minute following Hodges. The Brown Bears were able to tighten up the contest when Joe Gillespie tallied his first goal of the season. However, the Ice Dogs were able to pull away thanks to a goal by Matthew Volkman and Mason Knaffla in the final two minutes of the period. The third period featured the teams exchanging scoring opportunities; however, the Ice Dogs were able to secure a big weekend sweep at home at the Big Dipper Ice Arena.