Friday Finals: The Shreveport Mudbugs Skate to Shootout Win Despite Third Period Push by the New Mexico Ice Wolves

Danbury 3 @ Elmira 1 - The Danbury Hat Trick scored twice in the third period to defeat the Elmira Aviators 3-1. Ty Ferguson was on point for the Elmira Aviators in the opening period. The Hat Trick applied the pressure and was able to get 22 shots off, yet Ferguson had the answers, and after 20 minutes the game remained scoreless heading into the second period. The Aviators got the scoring started just over midway through the second period, when Adam Kurka found the back of the net. The game stayed quiet until the final five minutes of the period, when Gus Rabe scored his sixth goal of the season to tie it up and send it into the third. William Cronberger scored the winning goal at 11:17 of the third period, with Payton Tracy sealing the win with just seconds left in the third on an empty-netter. The Hat Tricks end the night at 3-5-0, while Elmira drops to 2-60 on the season.

New Jersey 2 @ New Hampshire 3 (OT) - Aiden Petroff comes up big for The Mountain Kings as he scores in overtime to push his team to 5-3-0 on the season. A pair of goals found their way past the netminders in the first period. New Jersey's Luke Schoen would strike first, pushing the Titans to a 1-0 lead. It appeared that the Titans would carry the lead into the second period, yet the Mountain Kings' Benjamin Short had other ideas as he found an answer with just 3 seconds left in the period, on a power-play goal. Physicality and penalties dominated the second period, with neither team able to put one in the back of the net. Martin Prizginatas would get things started for the Titans in the third period, as he scored his first goal of the season with Ryder O'Neil picking up the assist. Once again, it appeared that it would be the only goal of the period, yet with just 53 seconds left in the game, Ben Dias buried one to tie the game at two and send the game into OT. As the extra period began to wind down, the game was in desperate need of a hero, and it would find one in Aiden Petroff. With just a minute and one second left in overtime, Petroff located the puck off the stick of Short and sent it towards the net to give his team the win and score his first goal of the season. It was New Hampshire's perseverance and late heroics that allowed them to take the win and push the New Jersey Titans to 4-4 on the season.

Philadelphia 1 @ Northeast 4 - The Northeast Generals defeat the Philadelphia Rebels 4 - 1. Owen O'Rear started the scoring for the Generals in the first period. Getting his second of the season. Determined to extend that lead going into the second period, the Generals put the pressure on Philadelphia, and it paid off. With just 41 seconds remaining, Kody Moyer found the back of the net, putting his team up by two. The only goal for Philadelphia would come off the stick of Dylan Moran, just under two minutes into the second period. His team would not stay within one, though, for long, as Jack Montaldo scored his first goal of the season just four minutes later to put the Generals back up by two. The Generals would get one final goal from Ezman with just over two minutes to play in the period. The Generals are now 6-1 this season with the win in front of their home crowd tonight.

Minnesota M 1 @ Wisconsin 4 - The Wisconsin Windigo notched their first win since opening night against the Kenai River Brown Bears with a four-goal performance against the Minnesota Mallards on Friday night. The opening frame was scoreless as both teams traded chances. In the second period, Wisconsin’s Aidan Hickok opened the scoring on the power play with a tally in the final five minutes of the frame. In the third, the Mallards would even the score quickly when Josh Agnese scored his first of the season. Five minutes later, the Windigo would regain the lead with a tally by Gabriel Braun midway through the period. Not long after, Aidan Hickok would score his second of the night to extend Wisconsin’s lead to two. The final dagger of the night would be in the final minutes of the game as Artis Skrebels lights the lamp in empty-netter fashion for the Windigo. Between the pipes for Wisconsin, Harry Byers turned aside 31 out of 32 shots on net, earning the win in the blue paint for his team.

Maryland 4 @ Johnstown 3 (SO) - The Wisconsin Windigo notched their first win since opening night against the Kenai River Brown Bears with a four-goal performance against the Minnesota Mallards on Friday night. The opening frame was scoreless as both teams traded chances. In the second period, Wisconsin’s Aidan Hickok opened the scoring on the power play with a tally in the final five minutes of the frame. In the third, the Mallards would even the score quickly when Josh Agnese scored his first of the season. Five minutes later, the Windigo would regain the lead with a tally by Gabriel Braun midway through the period. Not long after, Aidan Hickok would score his second of the night to extend Wisconsin’s lead to two. The final dagger of the night would be in the final minutes of the game as Artis Skrebels lights the lamp in empty-netter fashion for the Windigo. Between the pipes for Wisconsin, Harry Byers turned aside 31 out of 32 shots on net, earning the win in the blue paint for his team.

Watertown 3 @ Bismarck 5 – The Bismarck Bobcats defeated the Watertown Shamrocks to stay atop the Central Division. Will Harker scored for the Bobcats five minutes in after moving the goalie and sinking the puck into the net. Soon after, Jake Caffrey scored on the power play to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead. Owen Chartier scored late in the period for the Shamrocks. However, the Bobcats answered quickly with a power-play goal from Maddox Malmquist, bringing the score to 3-1 at the end of the first period. Harker scored again early in the second period to give the Bobcats an even more commanding lead. Grady Dimberio scored his first goal of the season for the Shamrocks to end the scoring in the second period. Then, three minutes into the third period, Jakov Matijevic scored his first goal of the season for the Shamrocks to bring the score to 3-4. The Bobcats responded not even a minute later, as Caffrey scored again to secure the 5-3 lead.

El Paso 4 @ Oklahoma 2 - With a strong third-period push, El Paso skated to their first victory of the season. The contest opened with both teams getting on the board. Ben Osiashvili from Oklahoma opened the scoring in the first frame as El Paso’s Raphael Laviolette responded on the power play to even the score. In the middle period, the Warriors would regain the lead with a tally by Tyler Wilmoth four minutes into the frame. In the third and final period, the Rhinos would score three goals in the span of 90 seconds to gain the lead and eventual victory. Aidan Bergner lights the lamp in unassisted fashion first for the Rhinos. Following shortly behind him in finding the back of the net was Jacob Solano 20 seconds later. The final dagger of the night would come from Austin Michaud with 15 minutes on the clock. El Paso skates to a 4-2 win and carries momentum into Saturday night.

Anchorage 6 @ Janesville 4 - The Janesville Jets made a late push, but ultimately the Anchorage Wolverines walked away with a 6 - 4 win. Oliver Morris scored first in the game for Anchorage to put the Wolverines up by one. Yet, the Jets quickly answered on a puck off the stick of Cooper Avelar to tie the game at one. Jack McKenna made his presence known, scoring his fifth and sixth goal of the season in the first period to send the Wolverines into the second period up by two. It didn't take long for the offense to get going in the second period for the Wolverines. Just 56 seconds into the period, Caleb Mahar scored to extend Anchorage's lead to 4-1. Jack McKenna would come up big, earning a hat trick as he found the answer once more, extending Anchorage's lead 5-1. Wyatt Cameron and Matthew McGovern made their presence known for the Jets, scoring two goals to put their team within two. Motivation seemed to be headed the Jets' way, but with just two seconds remaining in the period, Caleb Mahar would get his second goal of the night to make it 6-3 Anchorage and break up Janesville's momentum. The only goal of the third period belonged to the Jets as Matthew McGovern would get his second of the night, putting his team within two, but in the end the Jets could not find the answer. Both teams ended with 38 shots on goal, and with Anchorage's win, Janesville has now lost their last three games of the season.

Fairbanks 5 @ Springfield 0 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs defeated the Springfield Jr. Blues, 5-0, on Friday inside the Nelson Center. Dean Andrews broke the deadlock to give Fairbanks a 1-0 lead and netted his fourth goal of the season with under a minute left in the first period. The Ice Dogs continued the pressure as Oliver Barna extended the lead at the 14th minute mark of the second stanza to tally his first goal of the season and double the lead. Later in the second period, Connor Stark lit the lamp to give the Ice Dogs a three-goal advantage. One minute later, Barna netted his second goal of the night to make the score 4-0. Fairbanks notched the insurance marker with under two minutes left in regulation. Fairbanks's Alex Woller made 22 saves in the win. Springfield turned aside 27 shots and was credited with the loss.

New Mexico 3 @ Shreveport 4 (SO) – The Shreveport Mudbugs defeated the New Mexico Ice Wolves in a shootout in the first game of the weekend series. The Ice Wolves struck immediately off the game-opening faceoff. Jake Kasay scored after the puck bounced off the goaltender’s skates, giving New Mexico an early 1-0 lead. The Mudbugs answered minutes later when Ryan Baert scored right off the faceoff. Baert gave the Mudbugs their first lead of the night after scoring again during the second period. The Ice Wolves tied the game during the third period with a power-play goal by Oskar Edberg. Less than a minute later, Anthony Leech scored, giving the Ice Wolves a 3-2 lead. The Mudbugs quickly responded with a goal by Jeremiah Roberts, which eventually sent the game into overtime. With neither team scoring during overtime, the game moved to a shootout. In the second round of the shootout, the Mudbugs took the lead after Duke Ehrhard scored. Kristers Plepis made the save on New Mexico's attempt, securing a shootout victory for the Mudbugs.

Odessa 3 @ Amarillo 1 – The Odessa Jackalopes continued their impressive start to the season with a 3-1 victory over the Amarillo Wranglers. The first period was quiet, with only a penalty being handed out. The Jackalopes scored first after Ryan Staples found the back of the net from the point. The Wranglers quickly answered with a goal from Eric Lund. With less than two minutes remaining in the second period, defenseman Andrew Brees got the Jackalopes their second goal of the night. The final goal of the night came during the third period, when the Jackalopes capitalized on a power-play goal by Staples, his second of the night. With the 3-1 win, the Jackalopes continue their strong start to the season, while the Wranglers look to bounce back in the second game of the weekend series.

Austin 3 @ Aberdeen 1 – The Austin Bruins defeated the Aberdeen Wings to maintain their winning streak. The game started off slow, with the only goal of the first period coming with only three minutes left. Kyle Sorensen scored to give the Bruins the lead going into intermission. The second period was very similar, as it was a very defensive game. The Wings outshot the Bruins by double in both the first and second periods. It finally paid off when Jonathan Doucette scored for the Wings with two minutes left in the second period. The Bruins started hot in the third period, as Hugo Thulin scored a short-handed goal three minutes in. The Bruins maintained this lead, and Viktor Olihn scored his first goal of the season, an empty-netter, to secure the 3-1 win.

St. Cloud 2 @ Minot 3 – The Minot Minotauros defeated the St. Cloud Norsemen to stay undefeated at home after a physical game. The Minotauros dominated on the power play all night, and it started with Ivan Sidorov scoring on it around halfway through the first period. No one scored again until Briggs Knott found the back of the net on the power play with two minutes left in the second period. This gave the Minotauros a 2-0 lead going into the third period. Mario Fate scored for the Minotauros on the power play not even a minute into the third period, bringing the score to 3-0. The Norsemen did not let down easily, as Easton Kennedy scored a minute later, also on the power play. Finally, Jack Welby scored his first of the season for St. Cloud with ten minutes left in the game. However, the Minotauros defense stepped up and pulled out the 3-2 win.

Grand Junction 5 @ Billings 3 - The Grand Junction River Hawks spoil the Billings Cattle Punchers' home opener with a 5-3 victory. The River Hawks opened the scoring with a deflection in the slot by Reid Taylor. After a successful penalty kill, River Hawks defenseman Jack Wideman scored to make it 2-0. About two minutes later, another deflection, this time by Alexander Hjorth, extended the River Hawks’ lead. But with three minutes left in the opening period, Luke Walter crashed the net and got the Cattle Punchers on the board. The Cattle Punchers' early second-period power play ended with a shorthanded goal for the River Hawks. Taylor led an aggressive forecheck, passing to Kyle Fransson to extend the River Hawks' lead to 4-1. Later in the period, the River Hawks had a five-minute power play, but failed to capitalize. With 12 minutes left in the third period, Taylor Butt scored off his own rebound to cut the lead to two. However, the River Hawks reclaimed their three-goal lead a minute later on a goal by Lincoln Martin. Cattle Punchers forward Joey Kubas scored off a point shot, but the River Hawks held on to secure a 5-3 victory.

Idaho Falls 2 @ Pueblo 1 (OT) - The Idaho Falls Spud Kings rally back to beat the Pueblo Peppers 2-1 in overtime. Both teams had a strong first period, but only the Peppers found the back of the net. Jake Spraetz won a footrace and found Blake Schultz in the slot for his second goal of the season. The Spud Kings had plenty of chances in the opening period, but Peppers goaltender Max Kogler stopped all 12 shots he faced. Both netminders had flawless second periods, with Kogler making nine saves and Spud Kings goalie Dylan McFadyen stopping eight shots. Five minutes into the third period, Ryland DeMars tied the game off a nice pass from Dayton Tailfeathers. Even with both teams gaining a power-play advantage later in the period, they couldn’t find the back of the net, forcing overtime. On their first overtime possession, Spud Kings defenseman Will Strickland beat Kogler glove side to complete the comeback and win the game.

Minnesota W 7 @ Kenai River 4 - Kash Crawford and Adel Arlan’s two-goal nights helped the Minnesota Wilderness defeat the Kenai River Brown Bears 7-4. An electric first period saw six goals combined between the two teams. The Minnesota Wilderness started the scoring with an early goal by captain River Freeman. Brown Bears defenseman Roy Messick scored a power-play goal, but Vladislav Tsapko scored a minute later to put the Wilderness ahead. Zachary Fleming buried a rebound off an Alexander Salisbury shot to tie the game 2-2. Adel Arlan and Kash Crawford scored two more goals for the Wilderness, taking a 4-2 lead going into the second period. A strong forecheck by the Brown Bears was rewarded with a goal from Drew Travers early in the second period, but with six minutes remaining in the period, the Wilderness scored two goals within two minutes, from Frantisek Netusil and Crawford, to make it 6-3. Four minutes into the final period, Arlan scored on a two-on-one rush to make it 7-3. Oliver Pietras cut the lead to 7-4 with four minutes left off a deflection. The Wilderness kept control until the final horn, taking a 7-4 win at Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.