Friday Finals: Wildcats roll to road win in Topeka
Wichita Falls 6 @ Topeka 2 – Garrett VanWyhe and Ben Lown each had four-point nights as the 1st place Wildcats handled the RoadRunners in Topeka by a 6-2 score. After an opening goal from Topeka’s Johnny Walker, his first in a RoadRunner uniform, it was all Wildcats after that as they scored five straight goals, which included three in the 1st period from Adam Goodsir, Jeff Baum and Austin Beaulieu. The Wildcats tacked on three more goals in the 3rd period from Holden Cronin, Aleksi Poikola and Lown. Sami Tavernier had the other goal for the RoadRunners. Julian Sime made 26 saves in the win. Boxscore
Johnstown 4 @ New Jersey 5 (OT) – Roberts Smits scored :21 seconds into overtime to lift the Titans to a 5-4 home win over the Tomahawks. The win overshadowed a hat-trick from Johnstown forward Casey Linkenheld. After an opening goals from New Jersey’s Bruno Birzitis, the Tomhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead on two goals from Linkenheld. New Jersey took a 4-2 lead on goals from Jesse Farabee, Raymond Brice and William Riedell. Linkenheld recorded his third and Luke Lynch also scored late in the 3rd period to send the game to overtime. Spencer Wright made 26 saves in the win, while Ryan Glander made 32 saves in the OT loss. Boxscore
Kenai River 0 @ Fairbanks 8 – It was all Ice Dogs on Friday as Tyler Tomberlin and Reggie Lutz each had five point nights in an 8-0 shutout of the Brown Bears. Two goals in the 1st period from Jakob Stridsberg and Ryner Gorowsky put Fairbanks ahead and ended the night early for Brown Bears goalie Nick Nast. Lutz and Cayden Cahill added 2nd period power play goals for Fairbanks to make it 4-0. The Ice Dogs tacked on four more goals in the 3rd period, including another from Stridsberg, two from Tomberlin and another from Clay Cross to make the final 8-0. Ice Dogs goalie Gavin Nieto had to make just nine saves for his 6th shutout of the season. Boxscore
Aston 2 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 – Andrey Svistunov made 37 saves to lead the Knights to a 3-2 home win over the Rebels. After an opening goal late in the 1st period from Aston’s Michael Merulla, the Knights took a lead to the lockerroom with two goals less than two minutes apart from Blake Busch and Braden Brown. The Rebels briefly tied the game midway through the contest on a power play goal from Andrew Bellant, but just over three minutes after that the game-winner came from Stephen Kelly for the Knights. Rebels goalie Darion Hanson made 31 saves in the loss. Boxscore
MN Magicians 3 @ Austin 0 – Goalie Daniil Gerasimov stopped all 32 shots that came his way for his first career NAHL shutout as the Magicians blanked the Bruins in Austin on Friday, 3-0. The Magicians found the back of the net once in each period as Kyle Amundson scored in the 1st period, Jacob Gammicchia scored in the 2nd period and Jack Christensen added a 3rd period goal. Braxton Collins added two assists. Austin goalie Kris Carlson made 20 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Coulee Region 5 @ Springfield 3 – After an explosive start by the Jr. Blues, the Chill fought back with five unanswered goals, including two fro, Alex Lambacher to defeat Springfield, 5-3. Things looked good for the Jr. Blues early as three 1st period goals in an eight-minute span from Drew Richter, Kyle Meeh and Joey Lupo, put the home side up 3-0. The Chill comeback started late in the 1st period with Lambacher’s first goal, which was followed up early in the 2nd period. Dominick Florian, who had four points on the night, tied the game late in the 2nd period with a goal and then Nico Luka and Isaac Theisen added 3rd period goals. Chill goalie Hunter Vorva, who came in relief after the 3rd Jr. Blues goal, stopped all 28 shots that came his way. Tommy Nappier made 27 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Minot 4 @ Aberdeen 3 (OT) – James LaDouce scored with 1:38 remaining in overtime to give the Minotauros a come-from-behind 4-3 win in Aberdeen. The Wings led most of the game as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Jackson Graalum and Matt Pulver. Minot eventually would tie things up at 2-2 early in the 3rd period with goals from Derek Frentz and Steven Mather, but the Wings would grab the lead back with a goal from Austin Heakins. With the goalie pulled late in the game, the Minotauros forced overtime with a goal from Christian Mohs with just :37 seconds remaining in regulation. Gunner Rivers made 26 saves in his Minotauros debut and Peter Thome made 31 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Brookings 1 @ Bismarck 2 – Travis Wood scored twice and Hunter Shepard made 22 saves to lead the Bobcats to a 2-1 home win over the visiting Blizzard. Wood scored his first goal in the late stages of the 1st period and then added his 2nd goal in the late stages of the 2nd period. Both goals were assisted by Aaron Herdt and Willie Brown. The Blizzard finally got on the board in the final seconds of the 3rd period as they spoiled Shepard’s shutout bid with a extra attacker goal from Nick Ford. Blizzard goalie Josh Kuehmichel made 34 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Lone Star 4 @ Odessa 2 – Alex Berardinelli had three points, including two goals, as the Brahmas picked up a 4-2 road win in Odessa on Friday. It was all Brahmas in the opening period as goals from Berardinelli and Martin Mellberg put the Brahmas ahead 2-0. Early in the 3rd period, the lead increased to 3-0 on a goal from Dalton Skelly. Odessa fought back with two goals in the late stages of the 3rd period from Gray Marr and Taylor Gatto to draw the Jacks to within 3-2, but a late empty-net goal from Berardinelli secured the win for Lone Star. Brahmas goalie Conor O’Brien made 28 saves in the win, while Odessa goalie Dean Shatzer made 28 saves in the loss. Boxscore
