Friday Finals: NAHL unbeatens no more
Austin 0 @ Minot 4 – Atte Tolvanen stopped all 31 shots that came his way for his first shutout of the season as the Minotauros blanked the previously unbeaten Bruins, 4-0. Minot took a 1-0 lead late in the 1st period on a goal from Jake Howie. Chase Springman and James Mathias added goals in the 2nd period to push the lead to 3-0 and Christian Mohs added a late 3rd period tally. Howie and Mathias ended up with multi-point games. Bruins goaltender Zach Driscoll made 25 saves in the loss, the first for the Bruins this season. Boxscore
Topeka 1 @ Wichita Falls 3 – The Wildcats handed the RoadRunners their first loss of the season as a battle of goalies went to the Wildcats Austin Shaw, who made 30 saves to best Matej Tomek’s 32 saves in a 3-1 win for Wichita Falls. Austin Beaulieu gave the Wildcats a 1-0 lead with a 1st period goal, which would stand until midway through the 3rd period when Beaulieu would score again for his second goal of the game. The RoadRunners responded with their only goal of the night on a power play from Daniel Rzavsky, but Cam Knight added an insurance goal with just :13 seconds remaining to secure the win. Boxscore
Johnstown 2 @ Michigan 1 – Despite 49 shots on goal, the Warriors could not solve Tomahawks goaltender Jacob Gwillim as the rookie goalie made 48 saves in a 2-1 road win. The Tomahawks jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with 1st period goals from Luke Lynch and Andrew Romano. Michigan cut the lead to one with a power play goal from AJ Marcinek in the 2nd period, but that would be all Gwillim would allow. Trevor Gorsuch took the loss in goal for Michigan, making 22 saves. Boxscore
Keystone 6 @ Soo 3 – The Ice Miners jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never looked back in a 6-3 win. Noah Batis scored twice including one of two goals in the 1st period, with the other from Michael Maiden. Brendan Jaquay and Cameron Smith had 2nd period tallies. The Eagles mounted a comeback in the 3rd period with three goals from Raymond Brice and shorthanded goals from Matt Menta and Trevor Cope, but Keystone responded with two goals, one from Batis and the other from Garrett Hallford. Alex Blankenburg made 31 saves in the win. Boxscore
Springfield 3 @ Janesville 4 – Zach Lavalle’s goal with just over a minute left was the difference as the Jets won their home opener with a 4-3 win over the Jr. Blues. Adam Roeder got the Jets on the board first in the 1st period, but Springfield responded with a goal from Nikita Prishyvalko. The Jr. Blues led 2-1 briefly in the 2nd period with a goal from Trevor Jestadt, but the Jets regained the lead with two power play goals from Adam Winborg and Drew Callin. Lester Lancaster tied the game at 3-3 in the 3rd period before Lavalle’s game-winner. Boxscore
Bismarck 3 @ Aberdeen 1 – In front of a packed house, Bobcats goalie Alex Bitsakis stole the show as he made 32 saves in a 3-1 win for Bismarck. Things looked good for the Wings early on as a power play goal from Ronnie Hein made it 1-0 in the 1st period. JM Piotrowski evened the score at 1-1 with a goal in the 2nd period. The game-winner came early in the 3rd period off the tape of Logan Rivard. Evan Giesler added an empty-net goal late in the 3rd period. Chad Catt made 22 saves in the Wings loss. Boxscore
Odessa 3 @ Wenatchee 2 – Despite being outshot 46-19, the Jackalopes ended up on the winning side of things thanks to 44 saves from Robin Johansson in a 3-2 win during Wenatchee’s home opener. After a scoreless 1st period, the Wild got on the board early in the 2nd period on a goal from Jake Ahlgren. Odessa answered right back with two goals in a span of less than a minute as Derek Brown and Rhys Phelps lit the lamp. An early 3rd period goal from Razmuz Waxin-Engback made it 3-1. Ryan Gotelaere scored for the Wild late in the 3rd period, but it would not be enough. Boxscore
Kenai River 4 @ MN Magicians 6 – In the highest scoring game of the night, seven of the 10 goals were scored on special teams as the Magicians outlasted the Brown Bears, 6-4. The teams were deadlocked at 4-4 after two periods. Minnesota had goals from Brandon Loven, Tony Uglem, Jack Christiansen and Kane Durment. Kenai River responded with four goals from Maurin Bouvet, Sam Carlson, Jack Gessert and Tyler Andrews. In the 3rd period, Minnesota pulled away with goals from Marc Michaelis and the second of the night from Durment. Vaughan Ahrens made 41 saves in the win. Boxscore
Rio Grande Valley 5 @ Amarillo 3 – The Killer Bees scored three goals in the final seven minutes of the game to spoil Amarillo’s home opener with a 5-3 road win on Friday. Dan Kucerovy was the hero for the Killer Bees as the veteran forward recorded a hat-trick, which included the game’s first goal in the 1st period. Cody Gylling and Ryan Cagnoni scored to briefly put the Bulls ahead 2-1, but a goal from Mason Van Tuyl evened things at 2-2 at the end of two periods. The Bulls led 3-2 after a goal from Kasper Emanuelsson, but the Bees responded with two more goals from Kuverovy and another from Van Tuyl. Boxscore
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 3 @ MN Wilderness 4 – A 3rd period goal from Jack Forbort was the difference as the Wilderness beat the Ice Dogs, 4-3. Things look good after one period for Minnesota as they led 2-0 behind goals from Robb Stautz and Michael Covach. The Ice Dogs responded with two goals in the first half of the 2nd period from Caleb Schroer and Cayden Cahill. The Wilderness regained the lead on a late period goal from Jesse Norling. After a goal from Jacob Hetz to tie things at 3-3 in the 3rd period, Forbort’s game-winner came just :15 seconds after Fairbanks tied the game. Boxscore
