Friday Finals: Down to the Wire
Topeka 1 @ Wenatchee 3 – The Wild made the South playoff picture very interesting with a 3-1 home win over the RoadRunners. It was the RoadRunners who got on the board first, as less than two minutes into the 1st period JB Baker scored. However, it was all Wild from that point forward as Wenatchee evened things up with a goal later in the period from Stevie Bryant. Chris Jones made it 2-1 with a 2nd period goal and Jake Ahlgren added a 3rd period goal. Michael Bullion made 23 saves in the win, while Matej Tomek made 26 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Kenai River 2 @ Fairbanks 7 – Kevin Aldridge made 25 saves and seven different players scored as the Ice Dogs moved into 1st place in the Midwest with one game to go with a 7-2 home win over the Brown Bears. After an opening goal from Kenai’s Nick Klishko, Fairbanks scored three straight goals later in the 1st period from Adam Anderson, Jacob Hetz and Jesper Ohrvall to take a 3-1 lead. The Brown Bears cut the lead to 3-2 on a goal from Matt Rudin, but it was all Ice Dogs after that with 2nd period goals from Hans Gorowsky and Adam Wilcox and 3rd period goals from Chandler Madry and Tyler Tomberlin. Boxscore
Johnstown 1 @ Keystone 2 – The Ice Miners moved into a 2nd place tie in the North Division with a 2-1 home win over Johnstown, which prevented the Tomahawks from claiming a playoff spot. Jacob Coleman gave Keystone a 1-0 lead with the 1st period goal and Taylor Fernandez scored early in the 2nd period to make it 2-0. Tanner Barnes quickly answered for the Tomahawks to make it 2-1. Alex Blankenburg made 27 saves in the win, which included a stop late in the 3rd period on a penalty shot. Jake Gwillim made 35 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Michigan 4 @ Soo 3 (SO) – The Warriors kept their playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 shootout road win in the Soo. It was the Eagles who jumped out to a 3-0 lead with 1st period goals from Bruno Birzitis and Trevor Cope. Brad Pung added a 2nd period goal to make it 3-0. Michigan didn’t give up and mounted a furious comeback with goals from Dalton Skelly, Alex Berardinelli and Ryan Sete. In the shootout, Tyler Groat scored the only goal of any of the 10 shooters. Chase Munroe made 44 saves in the win. Boxscore
Brookings 1 @ Austin 6 – Alex Pettersson scored twice and Alex Jasiek had three points as the Bruins bombed the Blizzard with a 6-1 win. Austin jumped out to a 3-0 lead with 1st period goals from Pettersson, Jasiek and Jade Miller. Brookings got their lone goal early in the 2nd period from Viktor Lindell, but the Bruins rattled off three more goals including another from Pettersson in the 2nd period and 3rd period goals from Tony Uglem and Zach Kennedy. Evan Smith made 16 saves in the win. Boxscore
Amarillo 5 @ Corpus Christi 1 – In front of over 5,300 fans in Corpus Christi, the Bulls spoiled things for the IceRays thanks to a 5-1 road win. The Bulls got four assists from Luke Novak and two goals apiece from Cody Gylling and Will Harison. The Bulls led 2-0 after one period on goals from Gylling and Riley Christensen. Gylling scored his second goal of the game in the 2nd period to make it 3-0. Harrison scored both his goals in the 3rd period. Connor Kelly had the lone IceRays goal. Anton Martinsson made 27 saves in the win. Boxscore
Coulee Region 4 @ MN Wilderness 2 – In what could be a potential playoff preview, the Chill picked up a big 4-2 road win in Cloquet. It was all Chill from the start as Richard Zehnal scored in the 1st period to make it 1-0 and Adam Lovick scored twice in the 2nd period along with a goal from Ondrej Zehnal to make it 4-0. The Wilderness attempted a comeback with a 2nd period goal from Aaron Miller and a 3rd period goal from Michael Covach, but it was not enough thanks to 38 saves from Adam Carlson. Boxscore
Janesville 4 @ Springfield 1 – Janesville put themselves in the NAHL history books with their 48th win of the season thanks to a 4-1 road win in Springfield. The 48 wins ties an NAHL single-season record. After a scoreless 1st period, the Jr. Blues took a 1-0 lead with a 2nd period goal from Brendan Jacques. Janesville began their comeback with a power play goal from Adam Winborg later in the period to make it 1-1. The Jets then added three goals in the 3rd period from Jeff Alderfer, Aleksi Ainail and Mitch Fossier. Matt Jurusik made 21 saves in the win. Boxscore
Minot 1 @ Bismarck 6 – Despite just 20 shots on goal, the Bobcats scored six times and got two of those goals from Willie Brown in a 6-1 home win. Minot scored first on a power play goal from Johnny Walker, but it was all Bobcats after that. Tanner Salsberry evened things up with a power play goal of his own later in the 1st period. Bismarck put the game out of reach with four 2nd period goals including two from Brown and others from Johnny Witzke and Aaron Herdt. Tyse Teague scored his first NAHL goal late in the 3rd period to make it a 6-1 final. Alex Bitsakis made 31 saves in the win. Boxscore
Aberdeen 1 @ MN Magicians 2 – Vaughan Ahrens made 36 saves to lead the Magicians to a 2-1 home win over the visiting Wings. The Magicians got an early 1st period goal from Nikita Milekhin to move ahead 1-0. Aberdeen tied things up in the 2nd period with a shorthanded tally from Colin Raver. The eventual game-winner came late in the 2nd period from Austin Rueschhoff. 15 of Ahrens’ saves came in a scoreless 3rd period. Andrew Shortridge made 22 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Wichita Falls 4 @ Lone Star 5 – In a wild, back and forth game, the Brahmas assured themselves of one of the top two spots in the South Division with a 5-4 win over the Wildcats. After an opening goal from Wildcats forward Colin Staub, the Brahmas answered with three straight goals from Oskar Andren, Hogan Davidson and Sebastian Vidmar. Staub would strike again for the Widlcats to make it 3-2, but again the Brahmas would have an answer from Storm Wahlrab. Nick Farmer and Kevin Charyszyn scored for the Wildcats later on, but a 3rd period goal from Chad Guderian proved to be the difference. Boxscore
Odessa 5 @ Rio Grande Valley 2 – The Jackalopes continued to stay hot with a 5-2 road win in Rio Grande Valley, dropping the Killer Bees to 6th place in the South. Odessa was fueled by three, 1st period goals, including two from Kenny Hausinger and another from Sjodahl. The Killer Bees lone goal of the period came from Gavin Cummings on a power play. After a scoreless 2nd period, Parker Wood closed the gap to 3-2 with an early 3rd period goal, but Odessa added two more goals late in the period from Ryan MacKellar and Hausinger’s third of the game to complete a hat-trick. Tanner Creel made 20 saves in the win. Boxscore
