Wednesday Wrap-up: Maine Secures the Victory in a Shootout

Photo Credit: Ron Morin

Northeast 3 @ Maine 4 (SO) - The Northeast Generals head north to take on the Maine Nordiques in a Wednesday night matchup. This marks the first time the two teams have seen each other this season. The contest kicked off with both teams trading chances in the opening frame. Maine outshot Northeast 12-8 in the first period. Moving into the second frame, the Nordiques struck first with a tally from Damon Myers five minutes into the period. The Generals responded with a short-handed goal by Owen O’Rear a minute and a half later. The Nordiques looked to take the lead again with Maine’s Josh Itri finding the back of the net at the 11:08 minute mark. The Generals once again respond, this time with a power-play goal by Alec Hall to end the frame. Moving into the third period, the Nordiques scored first again, this time with Luke Gallo finding twine. Midway through the third frame, Northeast’s Kody Moyer notches his first of the night, helping to even the contest 3-3. The game was forced into extra minutes and an eventual shootout. The shootout went to six rounds, where Maine’s Luke Gallo was the hero in the contest, helping to lift his team to a 4-3 victory.

Oklahoma 3 @ Lone Star 4 - The Lone Star Brahmas hosted the Oklahoma Warriors for the second time this season. The Brahmas hit the lamp first with a power-play tally by Vincenzo Capano early into the period. As the first 20 minutes came to a close, Lone Star featured a 1-0 lead. Moving into the second frame, William-Francisco Parent scored two goals back-to-back to give Oklahoma a 2-1 lead. One of his tallies was scored on the man advantage as well. However, after Parent’s second goal, Lone Star would even the score when Gustav Lexell found the back of the net with 5:22 on the clock on the power play. The matchup moved into the final 20 minutes of the contest, and Lone Star quickly found the lead again when Van Martin found twine at the 19:23 minute mark. Four minutes later, Capano scores his second power-play goal of the night to give Lone Star a 4-2 lead. Midway through the third period, Jaxson Kaebel tightened the contest for Oklahoma, scoring his second goal of the year. The Warriors would fall to the Brahmas 4-3 while on the road.

Wisconsin 6 @ Janesville 4 - Six different goal-scorers helped the Wisconsin Windigo take down the Janesville Jets by a final score of 6-4 on Thanksgiving Eve. The Windigo secured the road victory despite being outshot 37-28 in the contest. Wisconsin goaltender Easton Cody turned 33 of the 37 Janesville shots away, including 16 saves on 17 Jets shots in the second period. The win helped the Windigo jump the Fairbanks Ice Dogs for second place in the Midwest Division, entering Thanksgiving with 29 points. Janesville remains fifth place in the Midwest – a point behind fourth-place Springfield. Janesville got the scoring started just over four minutes after puck drop as Grant Dillard (eighth) beat Cody to give the Jets the early 1-0 lead. Declan Burns had Wisconsin’s answer with just under five minutes to go in the period with his first goal of the season. Burns’ goal eventually sent the teams to the break tied at one goal apiece. Janesville took the lead back just 30 seconds into the middle frame. Mason Minsky recorded his sixth goal of the year to put the Jets ahead 2-1. Just as in the opening period, Wisconsin had an answer. Goals from Aidan Hickok (second) and Riley Joslin (first) in the back half of the second period to give the Windigo its first lead heading to the final 20 minutes. The third period saw five goals combined between the two teams, all within the final 9:25. Joshua Sardo (second) and Theodore Richardson (seventh) each found the net to give Wisconsin a comfortable 5-2 lead. Janesville did not go away. Connor Hillig nabbed his fifth of the year late to cut the lead down to 5-3. Jackson Ernst put a stamp on the win for Wisconsin, becoming the sixth different goal-scorer for the Windigo on his fifth goal of the season with just 2:32 to play. The Jets added one more goal via the power play off the stick of Joseph Hyten, but the comeback effort was far too late as the Windigo skated away with a 6-4 win.

Austin 7 @ North Iowa 5 - It was the Marshchanok show for the Austin Bruins Wednesday night, as brothers Siamion Marshchanok and Matsvei Marshchanok each tallied four points in a high-scoring 7-5 victory over the North Iowa Bulls. The Marshchanok brothers carried the load for Austin, combining for eight points between them – Siamion Marshchanok with two goals plus two assists and Matsvei Marshchanok with one goal plus three assists. The Bruins move six points ahead of the fourth-place Bulls with their third-straight victory – good for 27 points. North Iowa has now lost three straight contests and sits in fourth place in the Central, three points ahead of Watertown. The Bruins got off to a hot start in the first period. Goals from Trace Day (fifth), Michael Coleman (sixth) and Siamion Marshchanok (10th) put Austin ahead 3-0 with just over six minutes to play in the opening 20 minutes. A power-play goal from North Iowa’s Michael Malatino (seventh) finally stopped the bleeding late in the first period to send the teams to the intermission with Austin ahead 3-1. Matsvei Marshchanok (ninth) restored his team’s three-goal advantage just under five minutes into the middle period, but was answered 2:21 later via the power play by North Iowa’s Denis Kuzmenkov (sixth) to bring the Bulls back within two goals. Siamion Marshchanok nabbed his second goal of the night and 11th of the season via the power play just over five minutes later to once again restore Austin’s three-goal cushion. Just as he did earlier in the period, Kuzmenkov notched a power-play goal (seventh) to bring the deficit back down to two goals for the Bulls at 5-3. A late short-handed goal by North Iowa’s Jack Holland (first) suddenly brought the Bulls within one goal heading to the final 20 minutes. The Bulls finally tied the game just over halfway through the third period thanks to Fugi Suzuki’s 11th goal of the season. Just as the Bulls had done earlier in the game, the Bruins responded shortly after a big goal. Gavin Hruza (fifth) restored Austin’s lead for good just 1:16 after Suzuki’s goal to make the score 6-5. Hruza added an empty-net goal with 16 seconds left to help his team survive the Bulls’ comeback effort with a 7-5 win.

Watertown 5 @ Aberdeen 2 - The Watertown Shamrocks provided an excellent showcase of resilience in their 5-2 Thanksgiving Eve matchup against the Aberdeen Wings. After taking an early deficit, Watertown spread out its offense and punched back to secure the win. The first period was a shooting gallery with the two squads combining for 25 shots. Ultimately, it was Aberdeen that came out on top in this frame. First, it was Caden Lee from Cooper Anderson and Owen Pitters at around the midpoint of the period to give Aberdeen the lead. Then, with just four minutes remaining, Zan Spari-Lebel extended the lead with Keaton Weis getting the lone assist. This tally would be the last of the game for the Wings. Not even two minutes from the start of the second period, Erick Comstock scored his first of the season to cut the deficit, and Justin Obrochta followed with a goal of his own with about nine minutes remaining in the period. The Shamrocks dominated the shot department 17-8 in the second frame, and in turn were able to tie the game at two. With both teams in need of a hero, it was Owen Chartier scoring both the game-winning goal and some insurance in the third period. Zach Boren scored with the empty net goal, and this game was put on ice. A great sign of a productive offense is how many contributors you can find in the scoresheet. It’s necessary to have star players to lead the offense, but it’s also imperative to have players throughout the lineup who can provide meaningful production. The Shamrocks had 10 different players record a point and four different goal scorers. Combine that with some exemplary goaltending from Mason Gudridge and just two trips to the penalty box, and the Shamrocks left happy

Minot 4 @ Bismarck 9 - The Bismarck Bobcats laid the hammer down on the Minot Minotauros in a 9-4 victory on Wednesday evening. Bismarck, with one of the best goal differentials in the entire NAHL, had their offensive prowess on full display enroute to a big win heading into the holiday weekend. The penalty box had plenty of visitors, and both teams were able to capitalize at different points of the contest. First, it was Ty James on the powerplay to give Minot their first lead of the game. Just a minute and a half later, Ben Rakowski evened the score with Noah Ziskie picking up the assist. Minot regained the lead at the midpoint of the period thanks to Mackley Morelli and his first goal of the season. The next goal came from Mark Evans on the power play to tie the game yet again, and this time Bismarck took their first lead of the contest on a late period goal from Trey Fredenberg. Ben Osiashvilli extended the Bismarck lead to 4-2, but just a minute later Ivan Sidorov got one back for the Minotauros. Dane Ramirez tied the game at four, but Jimmy Dodig regained the Bismarck lead in the dying moments of the second frame. With both teams struggling to hold a lead, the frustration continued and the penalties piled up. Because of this, Camden Alemond was able to score a powerplay goal early in the third period. Minutes later, George Poirier continued with a tally of his own. Yet again on the power play, Cooper Williams got in on the fun, and Szilveszter Lippai scored the final goal of the game with about five minutes remaining. If there’s anything the Bismarck Bobcats are thankful for, it’s their continued ability to spread out the offense and suffocate their opponents with their skill. The reigning champs have five players at a point per game or a near point per game pace. This game featured nine different goal scorers and a stunning 14 point-getters. George Poirier led the way with a goal and three assists, with six other players logging multiple points in this contest. The Bobcats advance to 15-6-1-0 as they remain on watch to defend the Robertson Cup.

Kenai River 3 @ Anchorage 6 - The Brown Bears head to Anchorage for a midweek game against the Wolverines. The first period featured Kenai River outshooting Anchorage 11-4 in the opening 20 minutes. No one found the back of the net, moving the game into the second period. The middle frame spotlighted a scoring affair between the two Alaskan teams. Anchorage’s Connor Jalbert scores his fourth tally of the year to give the Wolverines the lead. Responding to that lone goal, Kenai River’s Carter McCormick and David Greene tallied two goals midway through the period to give the Brown Bears the lead. In the final four minutes of the period, Luc Bydal evened the score with his 20th goal of the year for the Wolverines, and shortly behind him, Jason Bourdukosky extended Anchorage’s lead at the 2:16 minute mark. As the game headed into the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Wolverines quickly got to work. Anchorage’s Luc Bydal scores his second of the night, this time on the power play, 31 seconds into the period. Shortly behind him, Bowen Burke extends the Wolverines’ lead with a power-play tally himself. The Brown Bears were looking to respond, and halfway through the period, Koen Burkholder scored his first goal of the year to bring the contest 5-3 in favor of the Wolverines. The matchup wraps up with Anchorage’s Chase Trompeter scoring an empty-netter at the 1:37 minute mark of the final period. The Wolverines skate away with a decisive 6-3 victory.