Saturday Scores: Day 4 of the NAHL Showcase

Day four of the NAHL Showcase is wrapped up, and the 14 contests brought all of the action! Read more about the exciting games below.

Ogden 3 @ New Mexico 1 - The Ogden Mustangs continue to roll as they get the win against the New Mexico Ice Wolves on the road. Both Ogden’s Jack Foy and New Mexico’s Connor Roff shut down the opposition early but it would be the Mustangs’ Jakub Habla to open the scoring late in the period. It would be answered by New Mexico’s Anthony Leech who scored his second goal of the season with just under 30 seconds left in the period to tie the game. The second period was as much of a chess match as the first but eventually Ogden would break through when forward Sam Gero scored a little over halfway through the period. In the waiting minutes of the second, the Mustangs would score again when Henry Colbert got one past Roff. New Mexico turned on the heat in the third period as they outshot Ogden 12 to nine in the third but Foy would continue to shine, stopping every shot that came his way to earn Ogden the 3-1 victory. 

Odessa 5 @ Billings 4 (OT) - The Odessa Jackalopes steal  victory against the Billings Cattle Punchers in overtime. This game was between two teams that have gotten off to hot starts on the season, and it showed through the contest. Devin Winders would kick off the high scoring contest, getting a goal on the power play just over halfway through the period. Both Odessa’s Benjamin Vatis and Billings’ Nicholas Rempel wouldn’t allow another goal for the rest of the period, as they were just getting warmed up for the high shot total, they both would have. Billings would get another goal early into the second period on a power play from Micah Seery. Landon Rogers would score not long after to have the Cattle Punchers take a 3-0 lead. Just when it seemed like things were going off the rails the Jackalopes would get two goals back to back from Lukas Goodfellow and Rian Lahar (both their first goals of the season) to get some desperately needed momentum. The second period would end with no more goals being scored halfway through the third period Odessa’s Max Pieninkeroinen would net a power-play goal to tie the game. Late in the period Landon Rogers would score his second goal of the contest to seemingly give Billings the lead they needed, before Odessa would tie it again was a goal from Andrew Breeze seven seconds later, which would eventually take us to overtime. In the extra frame Adam Matar would score his first goal of the season in dramatic fashion to cement the win for Odessa.

Grand Junction 5 @ El Paso 2 - The Grand Junction River Hawks came into El Paso and defeated the Rhinos 5-2, scoring two goals in the first and third period in the process Grand Junction got off to a hot start as Kaden Harrold scored his first goal of the season with just over a minute and a half gone in the game. Later on, Luke Zimpfer would also score his first of the season to increase their lead to two. Goaltender Roman Batih only faced six shots in the first period but he did stop them all. He wouldn’t be so lucky in the second as El Paso really ramped up the offense getting 17 shots on net. They would also get on the board after Alexi Gregoire scored on the power-play early to cut the lead in half. Zimpfer would again get one past El Paso goaltender Logan Hughes. The score was his second of the game just under five minutes later. With a new strategy of throwing everything at the net, Justin Ouellet would score for the Rhinos to ensure the game was still within reach going into the second intermission. Their comeback would fall short as Grand Junction’s Will Cymbaluk one scoring even strength goal just under halfway through the period. Later , the River Hawks’ Holden Gallagher would score on the power-play with just five minutes left as Batih would not allow another goal in the game to bring us to our final of 5-2. 

Amarillo 1 @ Minot 3 - The Minot Minotauros secured another NAHL Showcase victory, this time over the Amarillo Wrangles after outshooting them in every period. Minot wasted no time going on the offensive as they had 18 shots on it in the first period but Amarillo goaltender Adam Frank was sharp in the period like he would be for the rest of the game only allowing a goal from Joey Dellacroce late in the period. While Amarillo’ offense was stifled, they would end up scoring a goal shortly after to answer, as Truan Conrad, got one past Minotauros goaltender Lukas Hoglind, sending the game into the first intermission at a tie of 1-1. Amarillo stepped up their offense in the second period getting seven shots on net, while Minot had the same success they had in the first period with 19 shots, but neither Frank or Hoglind would see it though, keeping the game time going into the third period. Frank again stood on his head in the second period until very late as Minot’s Jax Warren would score with 1:46 left to break the tie. Not long after, Briggs Knott would score an empty net goal as Amarillo got extremely close to pulling off the upset. Frank would end up saving 51 out of 53 shots in the loss while Hoglind stopped 18 out of 19 in the win. 

Shreveport 4 @ Idaho Falls 2 - The Shreveport Mudbugs got back in the win column with a 4-2 victory over the Idaho Falls Spud Kings. Jeremiah Roberts opened the scoring early in the first period, while Jonah Jasser added another late in the frame to give Shreveport a two-goal advantage heading into the second period. But Idaho Falls offense came into the second period ready to respond. Cooper Zinda found the Spud Kings first goal with an assist from Nikita Antonov, while Brett Kazmierski connected with Bravery Esplin to even the score at 2-2. The stalemate did not last for long, just three minutes later Emerson LaRoche found the back of the net for the Mud Bugs giving them a 3-2 lead at the end of the period. Despite Idaho Falls having the advantage in shots-on-goal in the final period, Mitchell Reid scored Shreveport's fourth goal of the afternoon, sealing the Mudbugs 4-2 victory. 

Oklahoma 3 @ Pueblo 5 - The Pueblo Peppers secured their second straight win, besting the Oklahoma Warriors 5-3. The Peppers made the most of the limited offensive opportunities the Warriors allowed, capitalizing on two of their five shots. Remington Chisholm scored the first Pueblo goal, while Jonathon Pylypuik added another to give the Peppers a 2-0 lead. Luke Vanderroest got the Warriors on the scoreboard early in the second period, the teams battled back and forth until Marcus Jackson broke the tie, putting the Peppers back in front heading into the final period. Pueblo picked up where it left off in the third period, as Blake Schultz added another goal to extend the Peppers’ lead. Oklahoma responded with two straight goals from Max Gagnon, bringing the Warriors within one with just over five minutes remaining. With the Warriors pushing for the equalizer, Jake McIntosh found the back of the net with under 30 seconds to play, securing a 5-3 Peppers victory. 

Houston 7 @ Minnesota M 5 - The Houston Bulls came out on top in a high scoring matchup with the Minnesota Mallards. The scoring started early as Minnesota’s Mavrik Duhaime cashed in on a power play opportunity while Jake Voris responded for the Bulls tying the game at one at the end of one. The second period featured a combined eight goals, with four from Minnesota and four from Houston. The Mallards had four different goal scorers throughout the period, while Marat Mikhin scored two of the Bulls’ four goals. With the score tied at five, both teams continued to fight for the lead until James Proctor capitalized on a power-play opportunity to put the Bulls ahead late in the period. Filip Rysz added a goal shortly after, capping off the night for Houston with the Bulls’ seventh goal of the contest. 

Lone Star 6 @ Janesville 3 - The Lone Star Brahmas extended their win streak to four games as a three goal opening period lifted them over the Janesville Jets. The Jets struck first, as Nikita Shcherbakov opened the scoring early in the period to give Janesville the initial lead. However, the Brahmas controlled the remainder of the period, with Hugo Zetterlund striking first on the power play off an assist from Leo Lunblad. Jackson Vaites followed with another goal on the same power play while Alexander Oliver finished off the first period scoring for the Brahmas. Janesville struck first early in the second when Henry Minucci found Hans Hedlund to cut the deficit in half. But with his first goal of the season Austin Forney restored the Brahmas two goal advantage heading into the final twenty minutes. Janesville came out strong once again in the third period, with Matthew McGovern finding the back of the net to bring the Jets within one. Lone Star responded with Dimitri Tioumentsev adding a goal to extend the Brahmas’ lead while Vincenzo Capano hit the empty net to ensure the 6-3 win. 

Watertown 3 @ Corpus Christi 0 - The Watertown Shamrock shutout the Corpus IceRays behind a 20-save performance from goalie Mason Gudridge. The Shamrocks opened the scoring in the first period when Vincent Curasi found the back of the net off an assist from Kyle Greene. Justin Bartley, doubled the Shamrocks lead in the second period as Justin Bartley, before Jordan Brothers added the final goal in the third period to complete the 3-0 shutout.

Kenai River 4 @ Aberdeen 5 (SO) - The Aberdeen Wings battle back to a shootout victory over the Kenai River Brown Bears. The contest opened with the Brown Bears controlling the opening frame after Aberdeen found twine first. Filip Henriksson showed up on the scoresheet first with his first tally of the season a little over three minutes into the contest. The Brown Bears would go on to score three straight goals to have the advantage into the middle frame thanks to Karim Kazhibekov, Filip Kinter, and Braden Hansberger. In the second period, the Wings would light the lamp quickly into the frame, thanks to a tally by Brody Dustin. Kenai River later in the middle frame doubled their lead off a tally by Oliver Pietras. As the matchup moved into the last period of regulation, the Wings got to work and were able to even the score thanks to two back-to-back goals by Filip Henriksson and Melker Hof. The matchup would move into overtime and an eventual shootout. It would take seven rounds for the Aberdeen Wings to eventually be lifted to a shootout victory. The Aberdeen skater who delivered for the South Dakota club was Filip Henriksson with a shootout goal. The Wings continued their winning ways at the NAHL Showcase and secured a sweep while in Blaine, Minnesota.

Anchorage 1 @ Bismarck 5 - The Bismarck Bobcats claw to a big 5-1 victory thanks to a hat trick performance by Brenden Espenell on Saturday afternoon. The contest opened with the Merrimack College commit finding the back of the net four minutes into the contest. With a one-goal lead, the Bobcats would add to the scoresheet in the second frame when Carson Clukies lit the lamp for the first time this season. Shortly after Clukies’ goal, Anchorage’s Aiden Lawson finds twine on the power play for the Wolverines. With the deficit cut in half for Anchorage, the Alaska-based team would look to continue that offensive edge in the third. However, the Bobcats scored three power-play tallies in the final period to secure the victory. Getting things started in the frame was Espenell six minutes into the final period of regulation. 10 minutes later, Espenell added to the Bobcats’ advantage with another power-play goal, securing a hat trick in the process. Bismarck’s final dagger would come from Isak Forslund scoring on the man advantage with a little over three minutes to spare for his team. The Bobcats make a statement and end their NAHL Showcase going 2-1.

St. Cloud 3 @ Minnesota W 0 - The St. Cloud Norsemen secure their first win of the season with a big 3-0 victory against another team from the State of Hockey on Saturday night at the Super Rink. The Norsemen were able to capitalize on a three-goal first period in the contest against the Wilderness. Daylin Cline got the scoring started with his first tally of the season three minutes into the contest. Less than two minutes later, Samuel Misak added to the lead with his first tally of the year. The final goal of the night for both teams would come from Mate Tardi as he lit the lamp in power-play fashion midway through the opening period. Both teams traded chances for the remainder of the contest with the Wilderness controlling the second and third periods; however, they could not find the net. The Norsemen skate to a 3-0 victory, and Carter Gardocki notches his first shutout of the year with a 33-save performance.

Wisconsin 2 @ Austin 3 - The Wisconsin Windigo showcased a tight performance against the Austin Bruins thanks to a two-goal middle frame on Saturday night. The contest opened with both teams trading chances in the opening frame. Austin outshot Wisconsin 11-7. In the second period, both teams were able to light the lamp twice. Thomas Fellman got the scoring started with a tally seven minutes into the period. Less than a minute later, Austin’s Logan Lambrecht evened the score for the Bruins. Moments later, Brett Ludvigsen lit the lamp to give Austin their first lead of the night with a goal around the six-minute mark. Less than a minute later, the Windigo would even the score with a power-play tally by Devin Berg in the second frame. As the matchup moved into the third period, the Bruins would secure the win when Andrew Leung scored on the man advantage.

USNTDP 0 @ Fairbanks 4 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs continued the NAHL’s winning ways against the National Development Program on Saturday night. The contest opened with back-to-back goals by the Ice Dogs in the first period. Ryan Shanahan got the scoring started with a little less than six minutes on the clock for Fairbanks. 40 seconds later, Luke Osborn added to the lead with a power-play tally for the Ice Dogs. Moving into the second frame, Ian Christian would add to the Fairbanks’ lead with a goal in the final 90 seconds of the period. In the final 20 minutes of the contest, the Ice Dogs would add one more to the scoresheet with another tally by Shanahan. The Ice Dogs skate to a big 4-0 win thanks to a big performance between the pipes by Izaak Kalis. He turned aside all 47 shots by the USNTDP to help lift his team to a big victory.