Friday Finals: Wings move back into playoff spot in see-saw Central
MN Magicians 4 @ Aberdeen 5 – Ethan Stewart scored twice as the Wings moved back into the 4th and final playoff spot in the Central with a 5-4 home win over the Magicians. Things were even at 2-2 after two periods as Stewart and Matt Pulver scored for the Wings and Pierce Crawford and Casey Jerry answered for the Magicians. In a wild 3rd period, Aberdeen got three goals, including another from Stewart and others from Jackson Graalum and Tyler Bossert to edge Minnesota. Both Magicians goals in the period came from Tanner Tweeten, who scored the first two NAHL goals of his career. Peter Thome made 25 saves in the win, while Will Ulrich made 26 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Johnstown 6 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 – Thanks to a four-goal 1st period, the Tomhawks jumped out to an early lead and withstood a Knights comeback for a 6-3 win on Friday. Four goals in the 14-minute span in the 1st period from Anthony Parrucci, Luke Lynch, Brendan Jaquay and Andrew Romano put Johnstown ahead, 4-0. The Knights clawed back with three straight goals, including two in the 2nd period from Zed Dietrich and Matt Beranek and one midway in the 3rd period from Stephen Kelly. However, two empty-net goals from Dante Suffredini and Zak Galambos secured the win for Johnstown. Andrew Lindgren made 39 saves in the win. Boxscore
Aston 4 @ New Jersey 1 – Frank Spellman scored twice and added an assist to lead the Rebels to a 4-1 road win against 1st place New Jersey. The Rebels jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Michael Merulla and a power play tally from Dean Balsamo. The lead swelled to 3-0 in the 2nd period with Spellman’s first goal of the game. The Titans answered back later in the 2nd period with their lone goal, which came on the power play from Roberts Smits. Spellman added his second goal of the game on the power play in the 3rd period to make the final, 4-1. Darion Hanson made 31 saves in the win, while Spencer Wright made 23 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Corpus Christi 6 @ Odessa 2 – The IceRays moved back into a tie for the 4th and final playoff spot in the South thanks to a 6-2 win in Odessa on Friday. The IceRays scored four goals in the 1st period to jump out to a 4-1 lead, which included two goals from Steve Bryant and others from Andy McGlynn and Carter Johnson, while Derek Brown had the lone goal for Odessa. The IceRays pushed the lead to 6-1 thanks to goals from Brad Power in the 2nd period and Brendan Miller in the 3rd period. Matthew Rypien had the other Odessa goal. Dryden McKay made 24 saves in the win. Boxscore
Kenai River 4 @ Coulee Region 5 (OT) – Nico Luka scored :11 seconds into overtime to give the Chill a 5-4 win over the visiting Brown Bears. Each time the Chill scored, the Brown Bears had an answer in the game. The Chill got two goals from Dominik Florian in the game, including one in the 1st period along with a goal from Scott Corbett. Phil Erickson added a goal in the 2nd period and Florian added his second goal in the 3rd period. Brown Bears goals came from Joey Sardina in the 1st period, Cory Dennis and Gunnar Goodmanson in the 2nd period and Jordan Hank in the 3rd period. Matiss Kivlenieks made 24 saves in the win, while Magnus Lindhe made 43 saves in the loss, after coming in relief early in the game. Boxscore
Fairbanks 3 @ Springfield 1 – Fairbanks moved closer to clinching the Midwest Division title thanks to 29 saves from CJ Boothe in a 3-1 win in Springfield on Friday. Fairbanks jumped out front 2-0 in the 1st period thanks to two power play goals from Cayden Cahill and Logan Coomes. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Jr. Blues cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal early in the 3rd period from Sam Craggs. Ice Dogs defenseman Jakob Stridsberg put the Ice Dogs back up by two goals with a power play goal later in the period to complete the scoring. Tommy Nappier made 19 saves in the loss for Springfield. Boxscore
Minot 3 @ Bismarck 2 – Christian Mohs put back a rebound as time expired in the 3rd period to lift Minot to a 3-2 come-from-behind win in Bismarck, which moved the Minotauros back into a 1st place tie with the Bobcats. Each team scored a goal in the 1st period as Jared Pike scored for Bismarck and Derek Frentz scored for Minot. After a scoreless 2nd period, Bismarck took a 2-1 lead midway through the 3rd period on a goal from Nick Alexander. Minot answered five minutes later with a goal from Joe Nathe. Mohs rebound goal crossed the goal line as time expired on a last ditch shot by defenseman James LaDouce. Gunner Rivers made 20 saves in the win, while Hunter Shepard made 24 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Austin 4 @ Brookings 3 – Two, 3rd period goals including one with less than a minute remaining, lifted the Bruins to a 4-3 road win in Brookings on Friday. Austin jumped out to an early 1-0 lead with a 1st period goal from Justin Misiak. Brookings took a 3-2 lead in the 2nd period with three goals from Parker Revering, Doug Larson and Griff Jeszka, while Zach Kennedy scored in the 2nd period for Austin. In the 3rd period, Travis Kothenbeutel scored in the 3rd period to tie the game and then the game-winner came from Jade Miller with just :37 seconds remaining in regulation. Kris Carlson made 30 saves in the win, while Jacob Gwillim made 29 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Janesville 3 @ MN Wilderness 4 (SO) – The Wilderness came from behind twice to ultimately defeat the Jets in a shootout, 4-3. The Jets led 2-0 early in the 2nd period with goals from Adrian Holesinksky and Adam Winborg. The Wilderness tied things up later in the 2nd period with goals from Connor Bucsis and Koby Bender. The Jets regained the lead at 3-2 late in the 3rd period with a goal from Dawson DiPietro, but just :28 seconds later, the Wilderness tied the game at 3-3 on a goal from Ryan Bloom. After a scoreless overtime, the Wilderness took home the shootout with the winner coming from Tristan Rostagno. Chase Munroe made 14 saves in the win, while Jack LaFontaine made 31 saves in the loss. Boxscore
