Thursday Thrillers: Day 2 of the NAHL Showcase

Day two of the NAHL Showcase is wrapped up and the 13 contests brought all of the action! Read more about the exciting games below.

New Hampshire 5 @ Houston 2 - The New Hampshire Mountains Kings traveled south for a Thursday matinee matchup with the Houston Bulls. The New Hampshire offense came out hot, first period goals from Deke Davidson and Dominik White gave the Mountain Kings a 2-0 advantage early in the matchup. Penalties plagued the first frame but both teams' penalty kill units kept any power play goals off the scoreboard. Houston answered back halfway through the second period with Isaia Castron finding the back of the net for his first goal of the season. The one goal deficit didn’t last long as Benjamin Short and Colin Simpson each added goals for the Mountain Kings giving New Hampshire a 4-1 lead heading into the final 20. The Bulls once again opened the scoring for the period with Romain Lellouche bringing the score to 4-2. With less than a minute left Aidan Patton secured the Mountain Kings victory off an assist from Davidson to bring the final score to 5-2 in favor of the Mountain Kings. 

Minnesota 1 @ Odessa 0 - Minnesota Mallards goalie Max Pitts secured his first shutout, making 28 saves in a 1-0 victory over the Odessa Jackalopes. The Mallards came out shooting in the first period putting 12 shots on goal to the Jackalopes 7 but both teams remained scoreless thanks to defensive efforts on both sides. Minnesota’s Ryan Lucarelli scored the lone goal of the matchup early in the second period from an assist by Ty Gordon. The Jackalopes fought hard in the third period taking 11 shots but the Mallards stood strong to protect their one goal lead and take home the victory. 

New Mexico 3 @ St. Cloud 2 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves earned their first victory of the season in a back and forth battle against the St. Cloud Norsemen. New Mexico came out to an early advantage with Conner Boulay and Koen Harold each scoring their first goals of the season and giving the Ice Wolves a 2-0 lead. St. Cloud answered in the second frame when Dante Rodriguez found Dominykas Sadauskas to cut the deficit in half. However the Ice Wolves brought their lead back to two when Max Stracar found the back of the net with :36 remaining in the period. Mate Tardi’s power play goal halfway through the final period was not enough for a Norsemen comeback and New Mexico came away with the 3-2 win. 

Kenai River 3 @ Northeast 7 - The Northeast Generals bounced back this week, using a high scoring third period to best the Kenai Brown Bears. Kenai got onto the scoreboard first with a goal from Filip Kinter while outshooting the General 12-8 giving the Brown Bears a 1-0 edge at the end of the first. The Generals found their rhythm in the middle period, goals from Kody Moyer and Emil Szepesi gave Northeast the upper hand. The lead didn’t last long courtesy of the Kenai’s Ryan McPartland who tied the matchup at 2-2 heading into the final twenty minutes. An early power play goal from Logan Poulin was the first of four straight Generals goals. Nate Porter, Keegan Gregory and Matthew Lacombe each lit the lamp in a span of four minutes to give the Generals a 6-2 lead. Kenai didn’t back down with Oliver Pietras cutting the deficit in half with two minutes left to play, but Braydon Hutloff brought the Generals back to a four goal advantage with a goal in the final minute and Northeast earned their fourth win of the season by a score of 7-3.                                                         

New Jersey 3 @ El Paso 1 - The New Jersey Titans looked to carry over their recent success into their matchup with the El Paso Rhinos. The first period started with offensive opportunities from both teams, but the Titans would be the first to convert. Hudson Slenker buried a quick wrist shot minutes into the first frame to give New Jersey the early lead. Both teams traded off quality penalty kills in the remainder of the first period, sending the Rhinos to the first intermission facing a 1-0 deficit. The second period started with each team struggling to get past the other's defensive lines. The second frame saw its first goal when Joshua Kitsis found the net on a power-play goal, doubling the Titans' lead. The teams exchanged penalties, which led to a 4-on-4 goal from Maxin St. Pierre, giving the Rhinos some needed momentum. The Titans found themself on the power play multiple times in the second period. Kaden Julik would be the one to take advantage of the opportunity, scoring a power-play goal in the latter half of the frame, bringing the Titans' lead back to two before heading into the locker room for the second intermission. The third period saw a barrage of penalties from both teams, but again, the penalty kill units came out in full force to silence the offense. Both attacking lines struggled to take advantage of the power play. The third frame would remain scoreless, securing the New Jersey Titans’ 3-1 victory over El Paso. The Titans will try to keep the streak alive against the Aberdeen Wings, while the Rhinos will try to bounce back in their matchup with the Maryland Black Bears. 

Fairbanks 1 @ Philadelphia 2 (SO) - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs hoped to keep their undefeated start to the season alive as they took on the Philadelphia Rebels. The first frame saw each team's respective defenses playing lights out. Each team limited offensive opportunities until Fairbanks found themself in penalty trouble early. The Ice Dogs would prevail with the help of goaltender Alex Woller, as they killed three-straight penalties to close out the first period. The second period looked to mimic the scoreless first frame until Mason Knaffla broke the deadlock, putting the Ice Dogs up by one. The Rebels would then collect a series of penalty kills before they finally found themself on the power play. Emmet McClaine would be the one to capitalize, scoring a power-play equalizer late in the second period. The Ice Dogs found a rhythm heading into the third frame, but it wouldn’t be long before tensions boiled over. The third period saw a series of penalties from both sides. Both offenses would be limited throughout the game, and more so in the third frame. The period saw a total of 15 shots, none of which found the net, sending the game to overtime. The defensive showcase between the teams carried over into overtime, leading the game to a shootout. Philadelphia’s Oscar Djurberg would find the net on his game-winner to close out a very close match. Rebels goaltender Mathieu Raymond was the defining factor of this matchup, saving 32 out of 33 shots faced. Philadelphia will take on the Watertown Shamrocks after handing Fairbanks their first loss of the season. 

Maryland 2 @ Janesville 3 (OT) - The undefeated Maryland Black Bears looked to keep their streak alive as they took on the Janesville Jets. The Black Bears offense would not waste any time getting on the attack. Brayden Wade scored the opening goal of the game less than two minutes into the first period. The even-strength goal gave Maryland the early lead. The Black Bears carried this momentum to build their lead, as Matthew Shpungin scored a power-play goal midway through the period. Maryland’s defense proved to be a strong unit as they only allowed five shots from Janesville in the first period. The Jets would bounce back in the second period, as Hans Hedlund found the net with an even-strength goal, cutting the Maryland lead in half. Hedlund’s goal ignited the offensive edge that the Jets needed. Sean Truby evened up the score with an even-strength equalizer to close the second frame. The Jets would continue to apply pressure in the third period, but they were stumped by Maryland goaltender Cole Werthman, saving eight shots. Janesville also excelled on defense, only allowing two shots from the Black Bears in the third frame. The defensive nature of the third period would send this nail-biter to overtime. This thriller of an overtime matchup saw both teams fail to convert on breakaways early, but Janesville would prevail with Hans Hedlund scoring his second goal of the night, handing the Black Bears their first loss of the season. Janesville will take on the Lone Star Brahmas on Friday, while Maryland will look to get their groove back against the El Paso Rhinos.

Anchorage 5 @ Amarillo 3 - The Anchorage Wolverines continued their trip to the lower-48, taking on the Amarillo Wranglers. A defensive first period saw each defense shutting down their opposition. Offensive opportunities were hard to come by in the first period, but it would be the special teams unit that would shine for the Wranglers. The Wolverines saw a trifecta of penalties in the first frame, which would lead to Ralfs Veidemanis scoring a 5-on-3 power-play goal in the final minutes of the period. The Wranglers outshot the Wolverines 7-6 in the first frame. Both offenses found their footing in the fast-paced second period. The frame opened up with a quick even-strength goal from Balint Lobenwein to tie the game for the Wolverines. The even score would not last long as Amarillo responded with an even-strength goal of their own by Truan Conrad. Anchorage refused to quit as Harout Arutyunyan scored an equalizer to build momentum for the Wolverines. They would build off this offensive prowess with a power-play goal from Caleb Mahar, giving the Wolverines their first lead of the night. This Anchorage momentum was put to a halt by a short-handed goal from Hugo Råsten, tying up the game before the third period. The Wolverines wouldn’t allow Amarillo to capitalize on their newfound momentum. John Scott buried one early in the third frame to earn back the lead for Anchorage. The Wolverines kept rolling as Jack McKenna tacked on another even-strength goal for Anchorage, extending their lead. The Wolverines goaltender Filip Hornáček secured their 5-3 victory with 15 saves in the final frame. Anchorage hopes to carry over this success to their matchup with the Bismarck Bobcats on Friday, while Amarillo hopes to turn things around ahead of their interstate meeting with the Austin Bruins. 

Minnesota W 3 @ Shreveport 5 - The undefeated Minnesota Wilderness took on the Shreveport Mudbugs, who had put together a winning streak of their own. The Mudbugs came into this matchup determined to get the job done, and it did not take them long to find the net. Antoine Cormier scored an even-strength goal on the Mudbugs first shot of the night, giving them the early lead. Shreveport continued to show their offensive strength as William - Alexis Tremblay scored a goal of his own minutes later. Jason Simons would add his name to the score sheet as he scored an unassisted power-play goal with minutes left in the first period, extending Shreveport’s lead to three. The teams would share offensive opportunities to kick off the second period, but neither team could convert until William - Alexis Tremblay scored his second goal of the night midway through the frame. Minnesota would eventually find some offensive momentum minutes later. Alfred Carlsson found the back of the net with a quick wrist shot to get the Wilderness on the board. Minnesota kept the offense rolling as they found the net a second time with Frantisek Netusil scoring an even-strength strike to close out the second frame. The third period kicked off with the Mudbugs playing all-out defense. Minnesota saw many opportunities, but could not convert against the Shreveport defensive line until they got a chance on the power play. Frantisek Netusil scored his second consecutive goal of the night, bringing the Wilderness within one goal of the Mudbugs. Shreveport would not allow Minnesota to get any closer to their lead, as Eli Shulman scored a cross-ice open-netter to give the Wilderness their first loss of the season. The Mudbugs will face the Pueblo Peppers, hoping to extend their winning streak, while the Minnesota Wilderness will play the St. Cloud Norsemen on Friday.

Corpus Christi 7 @ Elmira 4  - Corpus Christi IceRays pick up the win on the road against the Elmira Aviators. The South division leading Icerays started the game out white hot as they got an early goal from William Kerr who buried a loose puck past goaltender JD Low. Michael Azzarone, Liam Mcguern, and Oliver Czaja also scored in the frame, the latter expanding his team lead to five goals on the season. Elmira wouldn’t lay down though, as they came out with some fire after the intermission, getting plenty of good looks at the net. Iceray’s goalie Vladislav Bryzgalov turned all the early shots away. The Icerays would turn things around in their favor again when Nikita Konevych put in a rebound past relief goaltender Conor O’Brian to make their lead 5-0. Justin Thibault would score as well a little over halfway through the period to increase the lead even further. Elmira wasn’t going to go away quietly though, as two goals by Timofei Korober and Jacob Baratta would score to give Elmira some life heading into the second intermission. Elmira needed to get off to a quick start in the third if they had any chance at mounting a comeback, and fortunately that’s exactly what happened as Adam Sebastian Kurka scored twice in the first five minutes to breathe some air in their lungs. But, even though they would keep up the attack all through the period, Konevych would score his second of the game to regain a three goal lead. Additionally, Bryzgalov would stop every shot that came his way for the rest of the period to get us to the final score of 7-4. Azzarone would lead the Icerays in scoring with three points (1G, 2A) while Bryzgalov saved 35 out of 39 for an .897 save percentage in the win. Adam Sebastian Kurka would lead the Aviators with two goals, while O’Brian stopped 9 out of 12 shots in a relief effort in the loss.

Oklahoma 1 @ Johnstown 5 - The Johnstown Tomahawks successfully defend their home ice against the Oklahoma Warriors, picking up their first win of the season. Dylan Bourque got the start net for Johnstown while Nathan St-Pierre would defend the pipes for Oklahoma, getting his first start of the season. The first period of this game would set the tone for the rest of it as the teams would exchange scoring chances back-and-forth. However, Johnstown’s Jack Genovese would score just over five minutes into the first to give Johnstown an early lead. The period would end without any other goals being scored, but the pace was set for both teams. The second period was where things got a little chippy as both teams ran into penalty trouble. Johnstown having four total in the period, while Oklahoma would have two. This was not an issue for Johnstown as Evan Kensey would score a shorthanded goal while killing off a Ryan Tartaglione high sticking penalty. Fellow Tomahawk Justin Chiras would score later in the period as well to give Johnstown a 3-0 lead. In the third period, Oklahoma’s Jackson Hone would score on a pass from Jeremy Sprung to cut the lead down to two but Bourque with Stan tall through the rest of the period. Johnstown’s Ethan Coots would score a few minutes later on an assist from Kensey to regain the three goal advantage and Connor Griffin would score an empty net also assisted by Kensey to bring us to the final score of 5-1. Kensey would lead the Tomahawks with three points on the day (1G, 2A) while Borque would save 28 out of 29 for a .966 save percentage in the win. Hone would score the lone goal for Oklahoma as St-Pierre would save 30 out of 34 in the loss.

Danbury 7 @ Wisconsin 3 - The Danbury Hat Tricks outshot, and out scored the Wisconsin Wendigo to get the victory on the road. Danbury entered the game wanting to establish control of the game early and they did just that with a goal from both Jackson Arango and Gus Rabe halfway through the period. Wisconsin forward Kaden Mote would answer to cut the lead in half. However, Danbury would get its two goal lead back thanks to Brent Beswick who scored on the power play before the end of the first period. Penalties would be an issue for both teams in this game so it seemed like this game would come down to who could be the most disciplined. Wisconsin would take another penalty early in the second period, which Rabe capitalized on to extend the lead even further thanks to the man advantage. The rest of the second period was rough and chippy, but we would not see another goal until very late in the period when Danbury forward William Cronberger would beat Wisconsin goaltender Luke Quinn. Scoring would go back-and-forth in the third period with Wisconsin’s Eric Palmer cutting into the mounting lead a little under halfway through the period. However, being true to his team’s name, Rabe would score his third goal and net himself a hat trick. In the waning minutes of the game, Aidan Hickok would score his first goal for the season for Wisconsin, but it was shortly followed by Beswick’s second of the game to get us to our final score of 7 to 3. Rabe (3G), Beswick (2G, 1A), and Tristan Konobelj (3A) all tied for the team lead in points for Danbury in this game while goaltender Kristof Krnac would save 21 out of 24 shots he faced in the win. Luke Quinn would save 34 out of 41 shots in the loss.

Ogden 6 @ Springfield 2 - The Ogden Mustangs leave Springfield with a win after defeating the Jr. Blues in a complete team effort. In this game, we saw both goaltenders get their first start of the season as Jack Foy was in net for Ogden and Brady Cates would be in between the pipes for Springfield. At first, it looked like we would be getting a goaltending battle as both teams put up double-digit shots in the first period, and it was Ogden forward Cooper Struckel who would get the lone goal of the period, scoring on the power-play from a long-range shot that beat Cates glove side. The 18-year-old netminder might not have seen it coming based on the angle, but either way, it opened the scoring for Ogden after just a little over a minute of play. He would bounce back and have a good end to the period. In the second period, Struckel would again be the first person on the board scoring another power-play goal this time from a sharp angle at the goal line that just squeaked past Cates. Springfield would answer quickly as Mason Benedict would get on the board, scoring a goal in which he came out of the zone, went back in and then rifled a shot past Foy. Momentum would pick back up in Ogden’s favor as Jakub Habla would get his first of the season with assists from Reuben Clark and Bryce Dahl. That would be all the scoring we would see in the second period. Ogden came out of the second intermission looking to put this game away as halfway through the period they would score three unanswered goals. Bryce Dahl, Aidan Miller, and Henry Colbert would all score to give Ogden a comfortable lead a little over halfway through the third period. James Marshall would end up scoring a goal with just under three minutes left to play for Springfield, but Ogden was able to salt the rest of the game away leading to a 6 to 2 victory. Struckel (2G) and Dahl (1G, 1A) would lead Ogden in scoring, while Foy stopped 23 out of 25 for a .920 save percentage to pick up the victory. Cates would save 31 out of 37 for a .838 save percentage in the loss.