Saturday Scores: The Bruins Battle to an Overtime Victory Against the Shamrocks

Photo Credit: Jeremy Elbert

Danbury 1 @ Maryland 8 (Maryland leads series 2-0) - The Maryland Black Bears make a big statement in game two of the East Division Semifinals against the Danbury Hat Tricks. The contest kicked off with the Black Bears scoring a trio of goals in the opening frame. First, the alternate captain, Tanner Duncan, finds twine on the man advantage midway through the opening frame for the Black Bears. 16 seconds later, Maryland would extend their lead, this time Brady Anes scoring a power-play tally. The final goal in the first period would be from Liam Doherty at the 8:53 minute mark of the first period. Moving into the middle frame, the Black Bears extended their commanding lead with back-to-back goals by Canisius commit Ryan Franks. The scoring for the Black Bears would wrap up, this time Graiden Insana scoring his first of the postseason at the 3:34 minute mark. The Hat Tricks would break their scoring deadlock with Gavin Burke finding twine with 39 seconds to spare in the middle frame. The final period featured the Black Bears adding onto their dominant lead. William Esterbrooks scores midway through the period, and Brady Anes scores his second on the night four minutes later. The Black Bears skate to a dominant 8-1 victory, and a 2-0 series lead into next weekend.

Northeast 0 @ Rochester 3 (Rochester leads series 2-0) - After coming off an overtime thriller the night before, the Northeast Generals were in the hunt to respond to a Friday night loss. The Jr. Americans kicked off the scoring in the opening frame thanks to a Matt Portz finding twine on a 2-on-1 entering the offensive zone. Portz lights the lamp to give Rochester the advantage. Moving into the second period, the Jr. Americans add to their lead off a rush six minutes into the frame. Ryan Flaherty scores his second of the postseason to double his team’s lead. In the final frame, both teams traded chances; however, it would not be until the last few minutes of the game that the Jr. Americans would find twine in an empty-netter style. With Northeast pulling their goaltender, they were hoping that the man advantage on the ice would allow them to cut the deficit. However, it would lead to Rochester’s Lukas Bellinger scoring in an unassisted fashion. The Jr. Americans skate to a 3-0 shutout victory. In net, Florian Wade turned aside all 26 shots for Rochester, earning his first postseason shutout.

Watertown 3 @ Austin 4 OT (Austin leads series 2-0) - With revenge on their mind, the Watertown Shamrocks looked to have puck luck in game two against the Austin Bruins. The contest kicked off with Austin striking first. John Flood opened the scoring less than four minutes into the frame. Watertown would respond minutes later, this time Owen Fask finding twine to even the score for the Shamrocks. Moving into the second frame, both teams traded chances, but neither could light the lamp. Austin outshot the Shamrocks 20 to 10. Moving into the final 20 minutes of regulation, special teams were a crucial factor for both teams. The scoring picked back up with the Air Force commit, Zander Lipsett, finding twine on the man advantage for Austin. The Shamrocks would respond midway through the period as Anton Macijevskis lit the lamp on the power play to make the score 2-2. Watertown would continue their scoring ways, this time with Joe Rice scoring shorthanded for the Shamrocks with five minutes left in regulation. The Bruins were not out of this fight as their team’s leading scorer, Siamion Marshchanok, converted on the man advantage to even the score 3-3 with less than four minutes left in the contest. As the game was forced into overtime, both teams were hungry to get it done. A little over one minute into the extra period, the Bruins’ captain scored from the blue line to secure the Bruins’ overtime victory. Austin now just needs one more win to punch their ticket to the Central Division Final.

Aberdeen 2 @ Bismarck 3 (series tied 1-1) - Looking to even the series up in game two, the Bismarck Bobcats are determined to strike back. The contest kicked off with the Bobcats lighting the lamp first. Bismarck’s Alex Lunski scores midway through the opening frame to give the Bobcats the lead. Following him five minutes later would be Royce Pietila, extending Bismarck’s scoring ways. Moving into the middle frame, Mark Evans finds twine on the man advantage for the Bobcats with 6:50 left on the clock. With a 3-0 deficit, the Aberdeen Wings would look to turn things around in the final frame. Seven minutes into the third period, Aberdeen lights the lamp thanks to Caden Lee. 10 minutes following that first goal for the Wings, Easton Edwards scored on the man advantage to make the contest within one for the South Dakota team. The Wings would eventually fall in 3-2 fashion; however, their third-period push put pressure on the North Dakota team.

Anchorage 0 @ Minnesota 5 (series tied 1-1) - With a home loss on their mind, the Minnesota Wilderness looks to respond to the Anchorage Wolverines on Saturday night. The scoring opened in the first frame as Talan Blanck lit the lamp 45 seconds into the contest for the Wilderness. The scoring ways for Minnesota continued in the frame as Avery Anderson found twine minutes later. The final goal in the first period would be scored by Zach Homer, a recent Canisius commit. The second period would be scoreless as both teams traded chances in the middle frame. Minnesota outshot Anchorage 15 to 12. Moving into the final frame, the power play was key for the Wilderness in scoring. Talan Blanck scores quickly in the third period, finding twine on the man advantage 20 seconds into the frame. Following him five minutes later, Logan Nagle lit the lamp on the power play to make the score 5-0. The Wilderness skated to a big 5-0 victory over the Anchorage Wolverines. Between the pipes, Ryan Gerlich turned aside 23 out of 23 shots.

Shreveport 1 @ Lone Star 5 (Lone Star leads series 2-0) - The Lone Star Brahmas continued their winning ways against the Mudbugs on Saturday night with a big five-goal performance. The contest kicked off with Shreveport striking first. Duke Ehrhard finds twine five minutes into the frame. That lone goal would be the last one of the night for the Mudbugs. Moving into the second frame, the Lone Star Brahmas scored a trio of goals. First, Vladimir Saibel lights the lamp on the man advantage to even the score. 16 minutes would pass before another lamp would be lit. This time, Denver Damphousse scores on the power play to give Lone Star their first lead of the night. Finally, with 15 seconds left in the second, Christian Venticinque adds to the lead with a goal to end the frame. Moving into the final period, Lone Star would tally two more thanks to Tyson Scanlon. The second-year forward scored on the man advantage with 2:29 to spare in the frame. He would add to the lead with an empty-netter a minute later. The Brahmas skate to a big 5-1 victory to round out the weekend.

El Paso 5 @ New Mexico 2 (El Paso leads series 2-0) - Earning their first victory in regulation this season at the Outpost Ice Arena, the El Paso Rhinos featured a big 5-2 victory against their South Division rivals. The scoring kicked off in the opening frame as Tommy Shore lit the lamp on the power play for the Rhinos. Moving into the second period, the Ice Wolves would strike back, this time Jeremy Sprung scoring his first postseason goal of the season for New Mexico. El Paso’s Raphael Laviolette finds twine over 10 minutes later to take back the lead. That lead would be short-lived as New Mexico’s Jake Kasay lit the lamp with 59 seconds to spare in the middle period. With the score tied in the second, both teams look to take the lead in the final frame. In the third, Jacob Solano scored on the man advantage quickly to give El Paso the lead again. The Rhinos' scoring would continue later in the frame, this time with Maryville commit Ethan Woolcott scoring with 2:10 left on the clock. The Ice Wolves would pull their goaltender, looking to take advantage of the man advantage on the ice. However, it would not be enough as the Rhinos scored an empty-netter with 29 seconds to spare in the final frame. Alexander Stephen scores his third in the postseason for El Paso. The Rhinos skate to a 2-0 series lead heading into home ice next weekend.

Wisconsin 1 @ Fairbanks 0 (Wisconsin leads series 2-0) - Looking to respond to a Friday night loss, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs are hungry to perform in front of a home crowd. With a scoreless opening frame, the Wisconsin Windigo would get the scoring started in the middle frame. Beau Kralovec scores his first of the postseason with Wisconsin. The Windigo would secure an eventual 1-0 thanks to Max Larsson’s work in net. The 6-foot netminder notches shutout number two in a row against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs during the Midwest Division Semifinals. Larsson showcased a 29-save performance on Saturday night.