Friday Finals: Austin Snaps Losing Streak with Overtime Win Against Bismarck

Northeast 2 @ Danbury 5 – The Hat Tricks found the net three times in the third to secure a 5-2 win over the Generals. Danbury struck first in the opening frame when Nick Petkovich put the puck in the back of the net, giving the Hat Tricks a 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The Generals’ Nate Porter tied the game early in the second, but Tucker Mears quickly restored Danbury’s advantage. Northeast answered again late in the period, with Logan Poulin scoring with 1:46 remaining to tie the game 2-2 heading into the third. The Hat Tricks put it together offensively for an impressive third with goals from Tristan Konobelj, Deimantas Sulinskas, and Joseph Krausfeld to seal the victory with Danbury’s fifth goal of the night. While the offense delivered in the third, the story of the game was Ty Ferguson between the pipes. The Danbury netminder turned aside an incredible 60 shots to help lead his team to victory over the Generals.

Maryland 1 @ Elmira 4 – The Aviators earned a 4-1 victory over the Black Bears in a game that remained close through two periods. Lucas Novak opened the scoring for Elmira in the first period before Maryland responded with a power-play goal to send the teams into the first intermission tied at 1-1. The lone goal of the second period came off the stick of Max Campbell, giving the Aviators a 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame. In the third period, Michael Maglio added two power-play goals to extend Elmira’s lead and help secure the 4-1 win. Both teams found success on special teams, but Elmira capitalized in the third to come away with the victory.

New Hampshire 0 @ Philadelphia 5 – After a scoreless first period, the Rebels pulled away for a 5-0 victory over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings on Friday. Justin Vlassis opened the scoring in the second period before Cam Wilson added a power-play goal to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead heading into the third. The Rebels added three more goals in the third. There were two short-handed goals by Dylan Morrin and Vlassis, recording his second of the night. Toren Fron capped the scoring with a late goal to secure the win. Philadelphia goaltender Benjamin Varsa had an impressive 28 saves to earn the shutout.

New Jersey 4 @ Johnstown 7 – The Tomahawks used a strong offensive third period to pull away to secure a 7-4 victory over the Titans in a back-and-forth contest. The Titans opened scoring on a goal by Ryder O’Neil, and the Tomahawks’ Jacob Duval answered just 15 seconds later. New Jersey was able to regain the lead on a goal from Roman Scala, but Evan Kensey evened the score at 2-2 heading into the second period. In the middle frame, Tomas Pribyl put the Titans back in front, but Johnstown responded with goals from Sam Esposito and Jacob Igstrup to take the lead. The Titans struck again with just 30 seconds remaining to send the team into the third tied at 4-4. The Tomahawks took control in the third, scoring three unanswered goals. Jack Sullivan found the back of the net twice and helped secure the 7-4 win for Johnstown.

Lone Star 3 @ Corpus Christi 2 - The Lone Star Brahmas take the win after a game that appeared to be headed into overtime. Corpus Christi came out strong right out of the gate and wasted no time getting on the board. Czaja scored his 10th goal of the season just under two minutes into the first period, before Thibault put the IceRays up by two shortly after. Late in the first period, the Brahamas found themselves on the power play, where Zetterlund found the back of the net to put his team within one. Zetterlund came up big in the second period, after he and Capano helped set up Black as he secured his fourth goal of the season to tie the game at two. After a long-fought battle that extended into the remainder of the second period and dominated the third, it appeared that this one would need extra time. Yet, it would be Smilovic for the Brahmas who came up big, securing a goal at 4:22 in the final period of play to give his team a 3-2 lead and prove to be the winning goal. Lone Star secured their 10th win of the season and look to sweep Corpus Christi this weekend as they head into tomorrow night.

Minot 4 @ Watertown 1 - The Minot Minotauros use solid defense and a high-pressure attack to secure the win against the Watertown Shamrocks. Alex Schwarz secured his first goal of the season as he got things started for the Minotauros tonight. After the late goal, Minot carried a 1-0 lead into the second period. Minot continued to demonstrate their dominance in the second period with high pressure and limiting time and space for Watertown. This proved to be key for them as they secured two goals in the second off the sticks of Lahtinen and Zugec, and pressured Watertown to make some mistakes as they found themselves in the penalty box twice in the second. Minot would take three trips to the penalty box in the third period before finally scoring late in the third when Wiklund found the answer to make it a 4-0 game. Determined not to get shut out, Pumpkins found the back of the net for Watertown with just 42 seconds left in the game. Both teams finished the night with 40 shots on goal, but ultimately it came down to the offensive attack of Minot and a strong defensive performance that handed them their 11th win of the season.

Bismarck 2 @ Austin 3 (OT) - Gus Elbert rises as the hero in this one on an overtime power play goal to help Austin secure the 3-2 victory. It was a back-and-forth contest between the two teams throughout the night, and a game plagued by penalties. Newton got things started for Austin in the first as he grabbed his first goal of the season with 15:47 to go in the first period. Both teams found themselves headed to the box after a series of minor penalties, penalties that kept both teams off the board for the remainder of the first period. An early mistake in the second by Austin allowed Bismarck to tie things up on the power-play goal by Plante just under two minutes into the period. It would become a series of firsts for the Bruins tonight, as Nilsson-Dalsjo secured his first goal of the season with just over two minutes to go in the second period, and would send his team into the third up by one. The third period began with a couple of minor penalties by Austin before Evans nabbed his second goal of the season, tying this one at two. Ultimately, this one would need extra time as we remained tied after the third. With shootouts knocking on the door, Gus Elbert found the answer for Austin with 10 seconds left in OT. Austin snaps a five-game losing streak with the win tonight as they look to continue to turn things around on the season.

Minnesota W 6 @ Janesville 7 - The Janesville Jets secured a win over the Minnesota Wilderness in an electric Friday night showdown. The Jets were first to score with a goal from Ty Bashaw. The Wilderness tied the game with a short-handed goal by Jackson Knight. The Jets quickly responded with a power-play goal by Sean Truby. With less than a minute remaining in the first period, the Jets found the back of the net again on a shot by Natan Meunier-Roberge. The second period opened with Cayden Neice scoring a goal for the Wilderness. Wyatt Dyck responded right away, giving the Jets a 4-2 lead. The Jets extended their lead with a backhand goal by Grant Dillard. Moments later, Matthew McGovern found the back of the net during a stretch of 4-on-4 hockey to keep the momentum going for Janesville. Minnesota responded with a short-handed goal scored by Davis Damrow. With less than a minute on the clock, Brendan Russell scored on the rebound, extending the Jets’ lead. The third period belonged to the Wild, as Robinson Djian scored first to bring Minnesota within three goals. Jackson Reeves quickly followed up with a backhand goal to cut the deficit further. Minnesota’s final goal came from Landon Cottingham, who scored on the power play.  

Wisconsin 3 @ Springfield 4 (SO) - The Springfield Jr. Blues defeated the Wisconsin Windigo in a shootout. The Windigo struck first in the first period with a goal by Jordan Strange, his first of the season. Artis Skrebels struck next, giving Wisconsin a two-goal lead. The Jr. Blues cut the lead in half on a goal off a turnover by James Marshall. Marshall struck again in the second period with a power-play goal, effectively tying the game. The Jr. Blues grabbed their first lead of the night after Mason Benedict found the back of the net. The Windigo battled back early in the third period when Kale Bergante scored to tie the game. Both goaltenders stood tall during overtime, sending the game into a shootout. After 5 rounds, Benedict clinched the victory for Springfield by burying the shootout winner.

Oklahoma 6 @ Amarillo 2 - The Oklahoma Warriors struck quickly in the first period with a goal from Tyler Wilmoth. The Wranglers responded with a goal from Roko Gorsic. With five seconds remaining in the first period, Max Gagnon scored to reclaim the Warriors’ lead. The Warriors extended their lead early in the third period with a goal from Joey Derosa. Gagnon scored his second goal of the night on the power play. Amarillo cut the lead in half with a power-play goal by Harout Arutyunyan. Denny Oh scored with three seconds left in the period, giving the Warriors a 5-2 lead going into the third period. Gagnon capped the scoring early in the third period, securing a hat trick and a 5-2 victory for the Warriors

Houston 3 @ New Mexico 2 – The Houston Bulls defeated the New Mexico Ice Wolves 3-2. The game started off hot in the first period, as over half of all the shots on goal came then. Oskar Edberg scored first to give the Wolves the lead. Shortly after, Lukas Yeck and Filip Rysz scored for the Bulls to give them a 2-1 lead going into the second period. The only goal of the second period was from Parker Thompson of the Wolves to tie the game. Finally, Ethan McKay scored for the Bulls in the third period to secure the 3-2 win.

El Paso 4 @ Odessa 2 – The El Paso Rhinos defeated the Odessa Jackalopes 4-2 last night. The game started off slow as Chase Nyitray scored the only goal of the first period on the power play for the Rhinos. Both teams picked up the pace in the second period as Brandon Gauthier scored for the Rhinos. Then, Ryan Staples scored a power-play goal for the Jackalopes to cut the deficit to 1. Anthony Nolan responded quickly for the Bulls and scored a power-play goal to give them a 3-1 lead going into the third. Bjorn Bahneman kept the Jackalopes in the game with a third-period goal, making the score 3-2. However, when Odessa pulled their goalie, Justin Ouellet scored and was able to secure the 4-2 win for El Paso.

Idaho Falls 1 @ Ogden 5 – The Ogden Mustangs beat the Idaho Falls Spud Kings 5-1 at home. Benedetto-Antonio Masi scored within the first two minutes of the game to give the Mustangs an early lead. Then Cooper Struckel scored again to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead. Tyler Atchison then responded for the Spud Kings, as he found the back of the net for their only goal of the game. The Mustangs dominated the rest of the game. Cooper Struckel scored twice more in the second period, one time on the power play, to give the Mustangs a 4-1 lead and complete a hat trick. Finally, Bryce Dahl scored for the Mustangs in the third to secure the 5-1 victory.

Billings 3 @ Pueblo 6 - The Pueblo Peppers defeated the Billings Cattle Punchers at Pueblo Ice Arena Friday night. A high-flying first period remained scoreless between the Cattle Punchers and Peppers. The Peppers got the first power play of the night, but Cattle Punchers netminder Nicolas Rempel staved off the early chances. Peppers goalie Zachary Stahl also stopped all ten shots he saw in the opening frame. Peppers forward Niko Gentilini opened the scoring with 12 minutes left in the second period on a shot that deflected off a Cattle Punchers defenseman. 19 seconds later, Drew Albrecht beat Rempel low blocker to give the Peppers a 2-0 lead. The high-flying action continued, with Evan Foiles getting the Cattle Punchers on the board with his sixth goal of the season, cutting the deficit to one. However, the Peppers answered back 48 seconds later. Trevor Bodie sliced through the Cattle Punchers to the slot and scored, restoring the Peppers' two-goal lead. With two minutes remaining in the second period, Nathaniel Hart capped off a three-on-one passing play for his first goal of the season and a 4-1 Peppers lead. But as time expired, Micah Seery knocked down a clearing attempt and sent a shot towards the net that deflected off a Peppers defender. The Cattle Punchers headed into the intermission trailing 4-2. The third period began with 4-on-4 action, where Tyler Muchmore beat Stahl to the glove side, but the play was offside, keeping the score 4-2. The Peppers added to their lead when Grady Knutson scored with 13 minutes remaining. But the Cattle Punchers kept coming; a strong forecheck paid off when Landon Rogers cleaned up a rebound to cut the deficit to two again. With six minutes remaining in the third period, the Peppers went on their fifth power play of the game, and Jonathon Pylypuik deflected a Mykyta Bondariev shot for a power-play goal to make it 6-3. The Peppers have now won back-to-back games and will host the Cattle Punchers again at Pueblo Ice Arena on Halloween.

Kenai River 3 @ Anchorage 2 - A three-goal first period and a 26-save performance by Devin Rustlie secured a victory for the Kenai River Brown Bears against the Anchorage Wolverines. Roy Messick’s third goal of the season opened the scoring at Sullivan Arena, giving the Kenai River Brown Bears a 1-0 lead. With 8 minutes left in the opening frame, Graham Johnson led a line rush and assisted Lukas Kott, who scored his first goal of the season. The Wolverines answered back two minutes later, with a power-play goal by Caleb Mahar for his 16th goal of the season. Just as the Wolverines seemed to have the momentum, Lucas Blose blocked a shot and scored on a breakaway with 34 seconds left in the first period, giving the Brown Bears a 3-1 lead going into the second period. Three minutes into the second period, the Wolverines found themselves on a line rush, where John Scott beat Devin Rustlie on the blocker side to make it 3-2. The Wolverines had two power plays that created quality chances to tie the game, but the Brown Bears' penalty killers stood strong and defended their lead. The third period saw much of the action in the Brown Bears' zone, including two additional power plays for the Wolverines, one occurring with 3:45 left in the game. But again, Rustlie and the Brown Bears penalty killers held off the Wolverines. Rustlie stopped all 14 shots he faced in the third period, helping the Brown Bears secure a 3-2 win.

Minnesota M 2 @ Fairbanks 1 - Ty Gordon scored two goals, leading the Minnesota Mallards to a 2-1 victory over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. With four minutes left in the first period, Mallards forward Ty Gordon was on a breakaway, but was tripped up by Dub Eunice III, resulting in a penalty shot. Gordon faked the shot and snuck the puck in on his backhand to give the Mallards a 1-0 lead. The Ice Dogs poured on the pressure in the final minutes of the period, but Roman Batih shut the door with 16 saves after the 1st period. The Mallards had a chance to extend their lead on a five-on-three power play halfway through the second period, but couldn’t find the back of the net. The second period remained scoreless and would remain that way until the final minutes of the third period. Ty Gordon’s second goal of the game gave the Mallards a 2-0 lead, but just over a minute later, Dean Andrews’ power-play goal cut the lead to 2-1. The Ice Dogs pulled their goalie with two minutes left in hopes of tying the game, but Batih and the Mallards held on for a 2-1 win.