Friday Finals: Kenai River Defends Home Ice Against the Anchorage Wolverines

Danbury 3 @ New Jersey 4 (OT) - The East Division battle between the Danbury Hat Tricks and the New Jersey Titans needed more than regulation to settle, with both teams scoring a hat trick after 60 minutes. To get there, both teams had great individual plays, starting with the two netminders, Danbury’s Ty Ferguson and the Titans' Simon Krcmar, who stopped numerous breakaway attempts. The game saw so many breakaways, however, that both offenses eventually cashed in: The Hat Trick Alec Stone scored the first goal of the game, and then again late in the contest to knot the score, 3-3, and send the game to overtime. Dansbury found the back of the net on, of course, a 2-on-1 breakaway and a pretty pass for the winner for the New Jersey and Nikolas Doumas to give the Titans a come-from-behind victory.

Northeast 5 @ Elmira 1 - For this Friday the 13th matchup, the Northeast Generals visited the grounded Elmira Aviators. The Generals' big win was fueled by a few players, with two goals from Nate Porter and a third-period hat trick from Logan Poulin.  Elmira was on the board, however, with their lone goal coming from Timoffi Korode, temporarily leveling the score and ultimately avoiding the shutout. Even though he couldn’t post a zero, Northeast ‘tender Keagin Wilson still posted 36 saves in the big win.

New Hampshire 2 @ Maryland 5 - The Maryland Black Bears protected home ice against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings with a 5-2 victory Friday night. Things started on the right foot for Maryland when Brady Anes scored within the first two minutes of play. Their early lead did not last long, with Peter Moore evening things out halfway through the opening frame. With time slipping away in the first 20 minutes, Dominik Boltnar reclaimed the lead for Maryland, sending the teams into the first intermission at 2-1. Only one goal came in the middle frame, as Brayden Scali scored his first goal of the season for New Hampshire, tying the score up once again at 2-2. The final period of action was all Maryland, scoring two power-play goals to secure the victory. Brayden Wade started off the power play scoring in the third frame, with Dominick Mack tallying another goal less than a minute later. With 48 seconds left, Wade scored his second goal of the night, and 11th of the season, on an empty New Hampshire net, bringing the final score to 5-2.

Johnstown 1 @ Philadelphia 2 (SO) - The Philadelphia Rebels earned a thrilling 2-1 shootout victory over the Johnstown Tomahawks at the Hollydell Ice Arena. Offensive action was relatively calm throughout regulation, with the goals for each team coming on the power play. Defense was at the top of their game, forcing extra time and a shootout. The first goal of the night came just over halfway through the first period, as Jack Genovese scored for Johnstown. The second period saw no pucks going into the net, and it was not until five minutes into the third period that Justin Vlassis would score for Philadelphia, tying things up at 1-1. The teams were neck-and-neck in shots on goal in the final frame, with Johnstown holding a 9-8 lead, as they looked to put away the game in regulation. Heading into extra minutes, the same story was told. Both teams’ defenses limited scoring opportunities, with Johnstown getting 7 shots on goal to Philadelphia’s 5. As neither team was able to score in extra time, the game went into a shootout. Trading shots, both teams missed their first shootout attempt. Philadelphia made their second from Oscar Djurberg, while Johnstown missed. However, the Tomahawks responded with a goal from Charlie Zetterkvist. It was not enough for Johnstown, as Paxton Couture scored on the Rebels’ third attempt, securing the win. The Tomahawks outshot the Rebels in every period, leading to a 38-24 advantage, but Philadelphia’s goalie Jeremy Lowe was an unbreakable wall.

Oklahoma 6 @ Houston 7 (SO) - The Houston Bulls narrowly edged out the Oklahoma Warriors in a 7-6 shootout victory. The neck-and-neck battle started early on, with Andrej Tomasec scoring for Houston less than three minutes into action on the power play. Five minutes later, Luke Vanderroest tied things up with a rebound goal. Vinnie Wrzos reclaimed the lead for the Bulls, but it was short-lived as Vanderroest scored his second of the night. Oklahoma claimed their first lead of the night in the final seconds of the opening frame as Joey Derosa scored on a breakaway opportunity while the Warriors were shorthanded, heading into the break up 3-2. Vanderroest secured his hat trick with a goal five minutes into the second period, bringing Oklahoma to a 4-2 lead. Less than 20 seconds later, Issy Parsa added another goal for the Warriors, widening their advantage to 5-2. Houston responded in the final minutes of the second period, scoring two power-play goals from Vitaliy Korolyuk and Romain Lellouch off a double minor to bring the Bulls back within one, 5-4. The Bulls' momentum carried into the third period, as Lukas Yeck scored his third short-handed goal of the season, tying things up at 5-5. Oklahoma was finally able to break Houston’s scoring streak, as Jackson Hone sent the puck in on a 5-on-3 opportunity. Jake Voris scored with 8:12 left in the third period for Houston, evening the score out again to 6-6. No one was able to score in the remainder of regulation or in extra time, forcing the affair to a shootout. The teams made it through six frames of the shootout before James Proctor scored the game-winning goal in the seventh for Houston.

Aberdeen 3 @ Austin 2 (OT) - The Aberdeen Wings defeated the Austin Bruins in an overtime thriller. Austin opened up scoring in the first with a goal from Logan Lambrecht to give it a 1-0 lead into the first intermission. Aberdeen responded in the second with a pair of goals from Price Grimes and Brody Dustin to give Aberdeen a 2-1 lead going into the third period. With just 1:41 left in the third period, Nolan Newton found the back of the net for Austin to tie the game, sending it to overtime at 2-2. In overtime, Jonathan Doucette was able to score and secure the 3-2 win for Aberdeen.

Amarillo 1 @ Odessa 2 (SO) - The Odessa Jackalopes defeated the Amarillo Wranglers in a close game that ended in a shootout. After a scoreless first period, Odessa opened scoring in the second period with a goal from Danny Kuczkowski to give the Jackalopes a 1-0 lead heading into the third period. Amarillo responded late in the third period with a goal from Brenden Stirbu with just 1:59 remaining to tie the game at 1-1. Tied at 1-1, the game went to overtime, where neither team scored, sending the game to a shootout where Odessa secured the 2-1 victory.

Minnesota M 4 @ Minnesota W 8 - The Minnesota Wilderness defeated the Minnesota Mallards in a high-scoring game. The Wilderness opened up scoring in the first period with a pair of goals from Frantisek Netusil and Carson McGinley to take a 2-0 lead heading into the second period. Netusil scored his second goal of the game early in the second period to extend the Wilderness's lead to 3-0. The Mallards responded with a goal from Jonah Marshall to make it 3-1 before the Wilderness answered with three goals from Camden Nimmer and Jackson Knight, who scored twice, to take a 6-1 lead heading into the third period. The Mallards started the third period hot with three straight goals from Colby Lauzon to complete a hat trick and make it a 6-4 game. The Wilderness responded with a goal from Alfred Carlsson to extend its lead to 7-4 before Robinson Djian scored a shorthanded empty-net goal late in the third period to secure the 8-4 victory.

Corpus Christi 5 @ El Paso 2 - Corpus Christi earned its 10th win of the season with a 5-2 road victory over El Paso. Both teams generated scoring chances in the first period, but neither could find the back of the net despite power-play opportunities on both sides. The IceRays broke the deadlock early in the second period after an offensive-zone turnover led to Justin Thibault spinning around a defender and scoring to give Corpus Christi a 1-0 lead. Late in the period, Thibault scored his second goal of the game on a five-on-three power play after a puck sent toward the net from the boards deflected off him and into the net. Corpus Christi carried a 2-0 lead into the third period. The IceRays extended their advantage on the power play as Nikita Koneyvich redirected a puck through the five-hole to make it 3-0. El Paso responded late in the period with a power-play goal from Anthony Nolan, who beat Vladislav Bryzgalov through traffic with a wrist shot from the point. The Rhinos continued to push, and Alexi Gregoire cut the deficit to one after collecting a rebound and beating the goaltender with 1:40 remaining. However, Corpus Christi held off the comeback attempt as Andrew Waugh scored an empty-net goal. Aiden Stamm added one more goal with three seconds remaining, finishing a two-on-one opportunity to seal the 5-2 road victory for the IceRays.

Shreveport 3 @ Lone Star 5 - A multi-goal third period from Liam Donnelly lifted the Lone Star Brahmas over the Shreveport Mudbugs in a 5-3 victory at the NYTEX Sports Centre. Colvin Callahan opened the scoring for Lone Star in the first period, but Shreveport answered with a rapid three-goal surge. Jason Simons scored on the power play, added an even-strength tally moments later, and William-Alexis Tremblay found the back of the net to give the Mudbugs a 3-1 lead. Vincenzo Capano pulled Lone Star within one before the intermission, and Leo Lundblad tied the contest midway through the second period. Donnelly took over in the final frame with two goals to secure the win. Goaltender Leo Gabriel stopped 22 shots to earn the victory, while Kristers Plepis recorded 21 saves for Shreveport.

St. Cloud 0 @ Minot 4 - A 24-save shutout from goaltender Lukas Hoglind guided the Minot Minotauros to a 4-0 home victory over the St. Cloud Norsemen at the Pepsi Rink at Maysa Arena. Michael Solominsky opened the scoring for Minot in the first period. The Minotauros extended their advantage in the middle frame behind tallies from Brady Zugec and Jasper Inkinen. Ivan Sidorov added an insurance goal in the third period to cement the win. Despite a physical third period featuring multiple major penalties and misconducts, both penalty-killing units held firm and kept the scoreboard clean on special teams. Axel Kylin turned in a busy performance between the pipes for St. Cloud, stopping 44 of 48 shots in the loss.

Pueblo 4 @ Billings 1 - Pueblo traveled to Billings and earned a 4-1 road victory in Mountain Division action. The Peppers' power play played a major role in the win, as Jonathan Pylypuik opened the scoring midway through the first period with a goal on the man advantage. Billings responded just 20 seconds later, as Landon Rogers scored the tying goal to make it 1-1. Blake Graff restored Pueblo's lead with another power-play goal, giving the Peppers a 2-1 advantage heading into the second period. Following a scoreless second, Graff struck again on the power play to extend the lead to 3-1. Mykyta Bondariev added another goal for Pueblo to seal the 4-1 road victory.

New Mexico 6 @ Grand Junction 4 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves defeated the Grand Junction River Hawks 6-4. The River Hawks opened scoring with a power-play goal from Brodie Donovan, with Koen Harrold of the Ice Wolves answering less than two minutes later. Parker Thompson scored to give the Ice Wolves the lead, but a quick response from Kasen Harrold of the River Hawks evened the score. A power-play goal from Antoine Demers closed the high-scoring first period with a 3-2 lead for the Ice Wolves. The Ice Wolves maintained their lead through the second, extending it with a goal from Conner Boulay before Will Cymbaluk cut the lead back to one. With seven minutes remaining in the third, Cymbaluk scored again to tie the game. Easton Rooney and Max Stracar each found the back of the River Hawks’ empty net, securing a 6-4 victory for the Ice Wolves.

Springfield 1 @ Fairbanks 4 - The Springfield Jr. Blues kick off their Alaska road trip with a contest against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Friday night. The contest opened with Ryan Shanahan lighting the lamp early in the contest, finding the back of the net a little over two minutes into the period for Fairbanks. Moving into the second frame, Fairbanks’ Ben Green lights the lamp on the man advantage midway through the period. A little over three minutes later, James Marshall breaks the scoring deadlock for the Jr. Blues, scoring unassisted for his team. Fairbanks would respond to the lone tally with a goal by Ryder Millar a minute later. As the matchup moved into the third frame, both teams traded chances. It wouldn’t be until Dean Andrews capitalized on the empty net to extend the Ice Dogs' lead to 4- 1. Fairbanks skates to a victory on home ice while snapping their losing streak.

Anchorage 3 @ Kenai River 5 - In a battle in the Club 49 Cup, the Kenai River Brown Bears defend their home ice against the visiting Anchorage Wolverines. The matchup kicked off with the Brown Bears striking first, thanks to a tally by Lukas Kott less than four minutes into the contest. Anchorage would even the score a few minutes later, thanks to a power-play tally by Sheldon Rioux. Moving into the middle frame, Lucas Blose would add to the Brown Bears' lead, finding twine two minutes into the period. Kenai River’s Ryan McPartland adds to the scoresheet, finding twine midway through the frame. The final goal of the period would come from Roy Messick, aiding the Brown Bears to a 4-1 lead. As the contest moved into the final frame, the Wolverines worked to cut the deficit. With less than five minutes on the clock, Anchorage’s Leon Buzek lit the lamp on the man advantage to cut the deficit in half. However, less than two minutes later, Ryan McPartland would capitalize on the empty net, extending Kenai River’s goal-scoring to five. Finally, with a minute left on the clock, Anchorage’s John Scott finds the back of the net. The Brown Bears skate to a 5-3 victory while extending their win streak to three.