Friday Final: The Brown Bears defeat the Wilderness in Overtime

Photo Credit: Ashliey Purcell

New Hampshire 4 @ Northeast 3 (OT) - The Northeast Generals hosted the New Hampshire Mountain Kings for their fifth matchup of the season. The Mountain Kings had won three of their four previous matchups. The first period was quiet, with neither team scoring. In the second period, Generals forward Andrew Gibbons scored the first goal of the game on the power play at 16:48. Less than a minute later, his teammate, forward Tyler Kelly, scored to extend the Generals’ lead to two goals. At 15:01, Mountain Kings forward Jaden Johnson scored to close the Generals’ lead to one goal. Mountain Kings defenseman Rogiero Cacciarelli scored on the power play at 6:56 to end the period in a two-goal tie. Gibbons gave the Generals their third goal of the game in the third at 5:09, and Mountain Kings forward Aidan Petroff tied up the score with an unassisted goal with 45 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Mountain Kings forward Van Martin scored at 2:42 to win the game for New Hampshire. Jason Cai started between the pipes for the Mountain Kings and made 27 saves on 30 shots. Keagin Wilson started in net for the Generals and made 34 saves on 38 shots.

Danbury 2 @ Elmira 4 - The Elmira Aviators hosted the Danbury Hat Tricks for their fifth matchup of the season. The Aviators won three of their previous four matchups. Neither team managed to score in the first period. In the second period, Aviators forward Matt Maglio scored on the power play at 18:07. Elmira forward Yianni Koukouves scored at 5:38 to extend the Aviators’ lead to two goals by the end of the second. In the third period, Koukouves scored his second of the game on a power play at 17:10. Danbury forward Kai Elkie scored an unassisted goal at 6:34 to get the Hat Tricks on the board. Danbury forward Patrik Ula scored a goal at 1:19 to close Elmira’s lead down to one goal. However, the Hat Tricks were unable to score again, and Elmira forward Jack Kohlmann scored with 21 seconds remaining in the third for a final score of 4-2 for Elmira. Aiden McKenna started in the net for the Aviators and made 20 saves on 22 shots. Jon Dukaric started in the net for the Hat Tricks and made 20 saves on 24 shots.

Philadelphia 4 @ Rochester 3 - The Rochester Jr. Americans hosted the Philadelphia Rebels for their fifth matchup of the season. Rochester won all four of their previous matchups. The Rebels dominated the first period, with forward Jordan Brothers opening up the scoring at 14:28, defenseman Joe Stauber scoring on the power play at 10:01, forward Jake Schultz scoring at 8:56, and forward Dylan Moran scoring an unassisted goal at 2:34 to end the period 4-0. In the second period, Rochester started attempting a comeback with forward Ryan Shaw scoring on the power play at 9:19 and forward Logan Keup scoring at 3:05 to close Philadelphia’s lead down to two goals. In the third period, Rochester forward Owen King scored the lone goal at 8:10. The Jr. Americans were unable to complete a successful comeback with the Rebels blazing forward from the start of the game. Ilja Nikitins started in net for Philadelphia and made 31 saves on 34 shots. Jensen Carlstrom started in the net for Rochester and made 13 saves on 17 shots.

Maine 5 @ Maryland 4 (OT) - The Maine Nordiques earned a 5-4 overtime win over the Maryland Black Bears on Friday night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena. Maine opened the scoring in the first period with two goals from Joe Gasperko. Damon Myers added another goal, assisted by Jack O’Brien, to give the Nordiques a 3-0 lead after one. Maryland responded in the second period with three goals to tie the game. Michael Sandruck scored, assisted by Daniel Johnson and Jonathan Lanza. Anthony Pellitteri followed with helpers from Tanner Duncan and Harrison Smith. Owen Drury tied the game on the power play, assisted by Jaden Sikura and Liam Doherty. In the third period, Maryland took the lead when Harrison Smith scored, assisted by Tanner Duncan and Ryan Franks. Maine answered on the power play as Jack Klevby scored, assisted by Austin Borggaard and Damon Myers, forcing overtime. Just 24 seconds into overtime, Austin Borggaard scored the game-winning goal, assisted by Ryan Santiago and Damon Myers, to secure the win for Maine.

New Jersey 5 @ Johnstown 2 - The Johnstown Tomahawks hosted the New Jersey Titans for their fifth matchup of the season. The Titans won three of their previous four matchups. New Jersey forward Skogen Schrott opened up the scoring in the first with a power play goal at 8:58. Johnstown forward Drew Peterson tied up the score with a goal at 4:00. In the second period, the Titans took the lead with a pair of goals from forward Nikolas Doumas at 17:27 and an unassisted goal from defenseman Ty Creech at 13:39. In the third period, Johnstown forward Charlie Zetterkvist scored at 14:57. New Jersey defenseman Eduard Gubeladze scored at 10:53 and his teammate, forward Sebastian Vitali, scored at 4:05 to end the game in a 5-2 win for the Titans. Tyler Rounds started in the net for New Jersey and made 24 saves on 26 shots. Nikita Oleksiienko started in net for Johnstown and made 13 saves on 16 shots before Zach Ferris closed out the game with 14 saves on 16 shots.

Minot 0 @ Watertown 3 - The Watertown Shamrocks shut out the Minot Minotauros 3-0 on Friday night at Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. Watertown opened the scoring in the first period when Brody Josselyn scored, assisted by Kyle Greene and Joe Rice. Watertown added to its lead in the second period as Kyle Greene found the net, assisted by Joe Rice and Justin Bartley. Payton Struck sealed the victory late in the third period with an empty-net goal, assisted by Joe Rice and Owen Chartier.

Wisconsin 5 @ Chippewa 2 (SO) - The Wisconsin Windigo earned a 5-4 shootout win over the Chippewa Steel on Friday night at Chippewa Ice Arena. Chippewa opened the scoring in the first period when Nate Hart scored, assisted by Andrew Bjerstad and Tom Manzella. Chippewa responded with a goal from Mason Johnson, assisted by Austin Boyce and Ben Norris, to tie the game. Wisconsin took the lead in the second period with goals from Jordan Stange, assisted by Beau Kralovec and Jackson Ernst, and Joshua Sardo, assisted by Will Doherty. Chippewa tied the game in the third period with Mason Johnson scoring his second goal, assisted by Gage Martell. Austin Boyce then scored on the power play, assisted by Mason Johnson, to give Chippewa the lead. Wisconsin answered late with two goals to force overtime. Declan Burns scored, assisted by Peyton Mithmuangneua and Henry Steele, before Will Doherty tied the game, assisted by Joshua Sardo. After a scoreless overtime, Wisconsin earned the win in the shootout.

Austin 7 @ Minnesota M 2 - The Austin Bruins picked up a 7-2 win over the Minnesota Mallards on Friday night at Forest Lake Sport Center. Austin took control early, scoring five goals in the first period. Hudson Routh opened the scoring, assisted by Jake Spaetz and Alvin Elisson. Matsvei Marshchanok followed with a shorthanded goal. EJ Paddington scored next, assisted by Michael Coleman. Gavin Hruza added a power-play goal, assisted by EJ Paddington and Matsvei Marshchanok. Zander Lipsett capped the period with a power-play goal, assisted by Michael Coleman and Sam Kline. Minnesota got on the board in the third period with a goal from Justin Watson, assisted by Tyler Kusznier. Minnesota added another on the power play as Cohen Hoening scored, assisted by Deke Davidson. Austin closed out the scoring with two more power-play goals from EJ Paddington, the first assisted by Gavin Hruza and Matsvei Marshchanok, and the second assisted by Siamion Marshchanok.

Janesville 4 @ Springfield 2 - The Janesville Jets secured a big win on the road Friday night, taking down the Jr. Blues in Springfield by a final score of 4-2. Joseph Hyten continued his offensive dominance for the Jets, posting a goal and two assists in the contest to put his team-leading point total up to 51. Janesville jumped within two points of Anchorage for fifth place in the Midwest Division with 39 points with the win and has now won four of its last five games. The Jr. Blues fall two points behind third-place Wisconsin in the Central Division with the loss, sitting in fourth place with 47 points. Zach Howard got Springfield on the board early in the first period. His 18th goal of the season put the Jr. Blues ahead 1-0 4:29 into the game. Janesville had a response in the later stages of the period. Sammy Smith (eighth) notched a power-play marker with just over seven minutes to go in the opening frame. Hyten (23) followed up on Smith just 36 seconds later to give the Jets a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Neither team found any offense in the middle frame. The Jr. Blues outshot Janesville 15-9 in the period. Janesville needed just 14 seconds to double its lead in the final period. Grant Dillard scored his 12th of the campaign to put the Jets ahead 3-1. Hyten assisted on Dillard’s goal. Springfield kept pushing after Dillard’s goal. Simonas Valivonis got his team back within a goal with his second goal of the season with 15:25 remaining to set up a thrilling finish. Janesville goaltender Kaenan Smith and the rest of the Jets’ defense stood tall for the remainder of the game. Dillard (13th) provided the empty-net dagger with 18 seconds left to seal the 4-2 win for Janesville.

St. Cloud 3 @ North Iowa 6 - The North Iowa Bulls sent the fans home happy Friday night, putting up an impressive offensive performance in a 6-3 win over the St. Cloud Norsemen. Marat Mikhin and Fuji Suzuki had their fingerprints all over the scoresheet. Mikhin chalked up three assists while Suzuki notched two goals. The Bulls take sole possession of fifth place in the Central Division with the win and Minot’s loss, sitting at 36 points. St. Cloud remains four points back of sixth-place Minot with the loss at 30 points. The Bulls' offense got going early and did not let off the gas. Suzuki (21st), Jack Holland (third) and Denis Kuzmenkov (12th) all scored for the Bulls in the first period. St. Cloud found offense in the period off the stick of Sam Crane (14th). Crane’s goal was the lone tally by the Norsemen in the period, sending the teams to break with North Iowa ahead 3-1. The Norsemen got back within a goal thanks to William Esterbrooks’ 11th marker of the season just over three minutes into the middle frame. The Bulls restored their two-goal advantage 10 minutes later off the stick of Bobby Thornton (third).   The goal was the last offense of the period, giving the Bulls a 4-2 lead after 40 minutes. North Iowa finally pulled ahead by three goals just under two minutes into the third period. Niko Russ scored his fourth of the year to give his team much-needed separation. Suzuki (22nd) provided the dagger via a short-handed goal with just under 14 minutes remaining to extend the Bulls’ advantage to 6-2. Avry Shaw (sixth) got one back for the Norsemen late, but it was not enough to spark a comeback as North Iowa skated away with a 6-3 win.

Oklahoma 4 @ Amarillo 6 - A frantic comeback attempt fell just short for the Oklahoma Warriors Friday night, as the Amarillo Wranglers narrowly escaped disaster with a 6-4 win. Amarillo entered the third period with a comfortable 5-1 lead, but three quick Warrior goals turned a blowout win into a photo finish. Caden Hegarty was a monster offensively for the Wranglers, scoring four of Amarillo’s six goals on the night. Amarillo pulled within three points of Oklahoma for seventh place in the South Division with 36 points with the win and has now won two-straight games. Oklahoma’s losing streak hits three with the loss. Hegarty (11th) got the scoring started just under six minutes into the game. He was followed up by Danylo Dolin (fifth) nearly two minutes later to put the Wranglers ahead 2-0 early in the game. Oklahoma got a response just in time. Keaton Martin notched his second of the season with 11 seconds left in the opening period to get the Warriors within a goal heading to the middle 20 minutes. The second period was the Hegarty show. He lit the lamp three times in the period, bringing his goal total on the season to 14 and game total to four. Hegarty was the only player for either side to score in the period, giving Amarillo a 5-1 lead after 40 minutes. The comfortable Amarillo quickly evaporated in the third period. Goals from Oklahoma’s Jackson Hone (ninth), Jakub Galonor (11th), and Jakub Kristek (first) in a 1:52 span suddenly turned a 5-1 game into a 5-4 game with 12:56 to play. Amarillo stabilized thanks to Jake Boulanger’s eighth goal of the year with 9:07 remaining to give the Wranglers some breathing room back. Wrangler goaltender Casimir Weckstrom and the Amarillo defense provided the sigh of relief, shutting down the remaining Oklahoma attack and sealing the 6-4 win.

Bismarck 3 @ Aberdeen 5 - The Aberdeen Wings came out on top of a heavyweight matchup Friday night, downing the defending Robertson Cup-champion Bismarck Bobcats with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory. The Wings fell behind early, but a three-goal second period got them back in the game to set up a game-winning goal from Cooper Anderson in the third period. Matthew Martin led the way offensively for the Wings, posting two goals in Friday’s Central Division showdown. Aberdeen has now won two straight games and is suddenly within three points of Bismarck for second place in the Central Division. Bismarck’s losing streak has now hit two games, losing four points of ground to Aberdeen in that span. The Bobcats flexed their championship pedigree in the first period. Noah Ziskie (12th and 13th) potted two goals in the final 5:33 of the opening 20 minutes to give Bismarck a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Aberdeen found its game early in the second period. A goal from Owen Pitters (21st) and two goals from Martin (19th and 20th) before the 12-minute mark suddenly gave the Wings a 3-2 lead. Bismarck was not phased by the adversity. Frantisek Broz notched his ninth goal of the campaign with 3:32 remaining to tie the game at 3-3, setting up a thrilling third period. Anderson potted the Superman goal for Aberdeen with 15:47 remaining in the game. The goal was Anderson’s sixth of the season and gave his squad the lead back. The Bobcats scratched and clawed for the equalizer in the final ticks of the game, but Aberdeen goaltender Willium Braun turned away all nine shots he faced in the period. Taven James iced the game with just under four minutes left on his fifth goal of the season, giving Aberdeen the insurance it needed to finalize the 5-3 win over the defending-champion Bobcats.

Odessa 4 @ Lone Star 3 (SO) - The Odessa Jackalopes took home a nailbiter against the Lone Star Brahmas that needed a shootout to decide. In an evenly played South Division matchup, Odessa had clutch moments when they were needed the most and managed to pull out this victory against the division leaders. Jack L’Esperence scored the first tally just minutes into the game with a rocket from the point on the power play. 17 minutes and 12 seconds later, neither team could bury another goal, and so the Jackalopes entered the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. Jack Tavares evened the score less than a minute into the second frame with a power-play goal of his own off an excellent pass from Samuel Lussier. Not long after, Alex Thomas delivered the returning blow on yet another man advantage to regain the Jackalopes lead. In the final minutes of the second, Brandon Catalano then picked up a goal to give Odessa a big 3-1 lead heading into the final frame. The Brahmas showed some great resilience in the third, and that started with a Dylan McFadden doorstep tuck on the power play. Leo Isaksson then delivered the tying goal for the Brahmas with a wonky shot that slipped past the goaltender. The final twelve minutes of regulation went by, overtime did the same, and a shootout was needed. The shootout started with a save by Nicolas Rempel for the Brahmas. Denver Damphousse then mishandled the puck and failed to convert against Ben Vatis. L’Esperance then converted with a wicked wrister above the pad of Rempel. Vatis then made a save on Vladimir Saibel before Rempel did the same against Jeremy Jacobs. McFadden, needing a goal to extend the shootout, was unable to score, and the Jackalopes took home the extra point. The Brahmas have had an excellent season, but they fell into the grips of a textbook trap game. A scrappy Jackalopes team made sure this game stayed close and went the distance. In the end, they were able to stay cool and make the big plays that decided this bout.

Shreveport 6 @ New Mexico 4 - The Shreveport Mudbugs took care of business on the road with a statement victory over the New Mexico Ice Wolves. Despite an evenly played game on paper and a good late push from the Wolves, the Mudbugs were able to hang on and seal the ‘W.’ Owen Case kicked this one off just a minute and a half into the game with a cannon from the point that took a couple of fortunate bounces on its way to the net. A few minutes later, Jeremiah Roberts extended the Mudbugs' lead with a wicked backhand shot after stickhandling through multiple Ice Wolves. Sean Gibbons cut the lead for the Ice Wolves in the final minutes of the first period after an excellent feed from Andy Earl on the power play. The next goal was a big one, and it was scored by Vincent Diiulio, assisted by Liam Wolf-Taulbee, about five minutes into the second frame. With just over a minute left in the period, Duke Ehrhard took a hard hit at the point but sprang back up and ripped home a wrister on the power play for the fourth Shreveport tally. Roberts kicked off the third period for his second goal of the game, and Greiner tacked on just seconds later to provide the Mudbugs with a 6-1 lead early in the third period. Down, but not out, the Ice Wolves started their push. First, it was Daniel McGillvary with a long and deceptive shot that beat the goaltender. Then, Brock Fairbanks put home a perfect pass from Sean Smith. Just a minute later, Smith connected with Fairbanks again, who took a shot from the point and cut the lead yet again. Despite the momentum, the Ice Wolves needed two more goals that they couldn’t find, and the game ended in the Mudbugs’ favor. No lead is safe in hockey, but some of them are certainly harder to surmount than others. Hats off to the Ice Wolves for showing a high level of resilience to keep this one interesting, but the Mudbugs simply had too much of a lead to catch up to.

Corpus Christi 2 @ El Paso 4 -  The El Paso Rhinos put together an impressive come-from-behind victory on home ice against the Corpus Christi IceRays. After falling behind quickly in the second period, the Rhinos managed to storm back and score four unanswered before landing the victory. The first period was an entertaining one, but neither team could score the first goal of the game. That trend was snapped quickly in the second period thanks to Marc-Alexandre Richard. Johnny Maruna followed with a power-play goal that extended the IceRays lead to 2-0. The Rhinos were able to respond quickly with a short-handed goal from Troy Hunka. Hunka then converted yet again to even the score with six minutes remaining until the second intermission. The score tied, 20 minutes left in regulation, and Ian Kastamo was the one to break the seal on the period with the man advantage. At around the midpoint of the final frame, Gaige Giblin scored some insurance with a deflection off Jackson Potulny’s shot. The IceRays couldn’t find a way to gain any late momentum, and the Rhinos completed the comeback upon the final buzzer. There are many bright spots for the Rhinos in this one, but none brighter than Troy Hunka and his two-goal, three-point game. This year has been a stellar one for Hunka, and his contribution to this win is yet another testament to that.

Fairbanks 0 @ Anchorage 3 - In a battle between division rivals, the Anchorage Wolverines host the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in the Sullivan Arena this weekend. The contest kicked off with Anchorage’s Duke Gentzler striking first with a tally 25 seconds into the period. Following him nine minutes later, Harout Arutyunyan extended the Wolverines' lead to 2-0 heading into the middle period. The second period would be quiet, with both teams trading chances. Heading into the final period, the first-year skater, Rylan Bydal, finds twine to give the Wolverines some insurance. Anchorage would shut out the Ice Dogs in 3-0 fashion. Between the pipes, Kai Weigel stopped all 24 shots on net, picking up his first shutout of his NAHL career.

Minnesota W 2 @ Kenai River 3 (OT) - In an overtime thriller, the Brown Bears take down the Midwest Division leader in extra minutes. The Minnesota Wilderness would strike first, with Theo Kiss scoring on the man advantage midway through the frame. The Brown Bears would respond with back-to-back goals. Kallen Ray evened the score at the 6:26 minute mark. Following him a minute later, Holden Gallagher secures the Kenai River lead with a tally. Moving into the middle period, Minnesota would light the lamp with Cayden Neice scoring his first goal of the season. As the contest moved into the third period, both teams traded chances; however, the game would be forced into overtime. A little over 30 seconds into the extra frame, Kenai River’s Parker Newman would score the game-winning goal, lifting the Brown Bears to their first victory over the Wilderness this season.