Friday Finals: South tightens thanks to Wild win
Lone Star 3 @ Wenatchee 4 – David Powlowski scored twice to help the Wenatchee Wild to an important 4-3 home win over division-leading Lone Star. Lone Star got off to a nice start with a goal from Sebastian Vidmar. However, after that it was all Wild in the middle stages of the game. Donovan Ott tied the game at 1-1 with a late 1st period goal. Tyler Rockwell and Powlowski scored in the 2nd period to make it 3-1 and a 3rd period power play goal from Powlowski made it 4-1. The Brahmas got back in the game with late 3rd period goals from Ludvig Larsson and Oskar Andren, but could not find the equalizer. Zach Quinn had to make just 12 saves in the win. Boxscore
Wichita Falls 3 @ Rio Grande Valley 4 (SO) – The Killer Bees helped their playoff hopes by picking up a big two points in a 4-3 shootout win over the visiting Wildcats. Parker Wood got the Killer Bees off to a strong start with two 1st period goals. The Wildcats stormed back with three straight goals from Kevin Charyszyn, Nick Farmer and Konstantin Chernyuk to take a 3-2 lead, but Wood would again be the answer as he posted his hat-trick to tie the game late in the 3rd period. The first three shooters in the extra session scored for the Killer Bees, securing the extra point. Boxscore
Soo 0 @ Johnstown 3 – Rookie Nick DeSimmone made 32 saves to help the Tomahawks to a 3-0 shutout of the visiting Eagles. The Tomahawks were bolstered by two power play goals in the 1st period to grab a 2-0 lead. The first goal came from Zac Robbins and the second came from Tanner Barners. Alex Jaeckle added a 3rd period power play goal to complete the scoring. Chad Catt made 16 saves in the loss. DeSimmone left the game with less than six minutes to play and Jacob Gwillim came in to make three saves and preserve the shutout. Boxscore
Michigan 1 @ Keystone 4 – The Ice Miners moved back into 2nd place in the North Division with a 4-1 home win over the Warriors. After a scoreless 1st period, Keystone got on the board first with a 2nd period goal from Garrett Hallford. Matt Jones, LordAnthony Grissom and Austin Romzek all added 3rd period goals within a seven-minute span to make it 4-0. Michigan dashed Keystone’s shutout hopes with less than two minutes to go with a tally from Anthony Parrucci. Despite the late goal, Keystone’s Alex Blankenburg had a great game, making 41 saves, while Michigan’s Ryan Wischow made 41 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Springfield 0 @ Janesville 3 – The Jets got all the goals they needed in the 1st period and cruised to their 46th win of the season in a 3-0 shutout of the Jr. Blues. Matt Jurusik continued his incredible season by posting his league-leading 7th shutout of the season, stopping all 27 shots that came his way. 1st period goals from the Jets came from Drew Callin, Adam Winborg and Dan Kucerovy. Both Callin and Kucerovy would end up with multi-point games. Springfield goalie Dryden McKay made 32 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Austin 6 @ Brookings 1 – Six different players scored for the Bruins as they closed in on a division title with a 6-1 road win in Brookings. It was all Austin from the get go as 1st period goals from Brian Bachnak, Luke Forfar and Jacob Kullberg put the road side ahead 3-0. Liam Feeney and Hugo Gallet scored in the 2nd period to increase the lead to 5-0 and a goal in the 3rd period from Tony Uglem made it 6-0. A late 3rd period goal from Brookings forward Joe Anderson snapped the shutout big for Evan Smith, who had to make just six saves in the win. Boxscore
Amarillo 2 @ Topeka 4 – A fast start helped the RoadRunners close the gap on the lead in the South with a 4-2 home win over the Bulls. Topeka jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period on goals from Sam Rennaker and Sly Sutter. The lead swelled to 4-0 as Daniel Rzavsky and Yu Hikosaka added 2nd period goals. Amarillo got on the board late in the 2nd period on a goal from Phil Fromberger. George Mika added a 3rd period goal, but it would not be enough for the Bulls. Topeka netminder Matej Tomek had to make just 12 saves in the win. Boxscore
Bismarck 2 @ MN Wilderness 3 (SO) – The Wilderness kept pace atop the Midwest Division thanks to a come-from-behind 3-2 shootout win at home over the Bobcats. It was Bismarck who struck first with a 1st period power play goal from defenseman Tanner Salsberry. Just over two minutes later, the Wilderness would answer with a goal from Isak Bergland. Again, the Bobcats would use the power play to their advantage as they jumped back up by one with a 2nd period tally from Cullen Willox. However, again the Wilderness would answer and again it was from Bergland, who scored one minute into the 3rd period. Tyler Cline had the shootout winner for the Wilderness, picking up the extra point. Brock Kautz made 19 saves in the win, while Alex Bitsakis made 35 saves in the Bobcats loss. Boxscore
MN Magicians 2 @ Coulee Region 3 – In a classic goalie duel, Adam Carlson made 39 saves to edge 49 saves from Minnesota’s Vaughan Ahrens as Coulee Region snapped their losing skid with a 3-2 home win on Friday. All three Chill goals came in the 1st period as Dominik Florian, Isaac Theisen and Adam Lovick found the back of the net. The Magicians tried to counter with a 1st period strike from Jack Christensen and a 2nd period goal from Kane Durment, but it would not be enough. Both Florian and Lovick would end up with multi-point games. Boxscore
Corpus Christi 5 @ Odessa 3 – The IceRays locked up the #4 seed in the South and got 35 saves from Luke Pickar in a 5-3 road win in Odessa. After an opening goal from Andrew McLean made it 1-0 for Odessa, the IceRays struck back with three straight goals from Brad LeLievre, Pierre Crinon and Ryan Cusin to make it 3-1 IceRays after one period. Odessa tied the game at 3-3 with two 2nd period goals from Eric Carreras and Razmuz Waxin-Engback. The game-winner came early in the 3rd period from IceRays captain Joe Chitwood and Wes Michaud added an empty-netter. Boxscore
Minot 0 @ Aberdeen 1 – Luke Kania made 27 saves to post his first career NAHL shutout as the Wings closed in on a playoff spot with a 1-0 win over the visiting Minotauros. The lone goal of the game came in the 2nd period off the stick of Kyle Haak, who scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season with assists to Bjorn Sigurdarson and Ryan Cook. That is all Kania and the Wings would need on this night as they brought their magic number down to one to clinch a playoff spot. Atte Tolvanen made 19 saves in the loss for Minot. Boxscore
Fairbanks 4 @ Kenai River 2 – Three, 3rd period goals from the Ice Dogs gave them a come-from-behind 4-2 win in Kenai River to keep pace atop the Midwest Division with the Wilderness. It was Fairbanks who jumped ahead 1-0 on a 1st period goal from Mitchell Baumann. Kenai River answered back with two 2nd period goals from Matt Rudin and Sam Carlson to take a 2-1 lead. The Ice Dogs scored three times in the final 10 minutes of the 3rd period, which included goals from Todd Burgess, Hans Gorowsky and Ethan Somoza. Patrick Munson made 34 saves in the win, while Evan Hauser took the loss, making 30 saves. Boxscore
