Saturday Scores: Rebels back in 1st place tie
Amarillo 2 @ Wichita Falls 3 – The Wildcats picked up a weekend sweep and added to their lead in the South thanks to a 3-2 win at home over the visiting Bulls. The Wildcats wasted little time getting on the board as 3:24 into the game Garrett VanWyhe scored to make it 1-0. The Bulls answered back twice in a five-minute span to take a 2-1 lead as Tyler Gernhofer scored on the power play and Charlie Singerhouse added a short-handed goal. The Wildcats evened the score at 2-2 thanks to a 2nd period goal from Michael Rounds. The game-winner came early in the 3rd period from Nick Rosa. Just Kapelmaster made 24 saves in the win, while Brian Baker made 43 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Aston 3 @ Johnstown 2 – Dom Garcia scored twice and Darion Hanson made 18 saves as the Rebels picked up a big road sweep in Johnstown with another 3-2 win over the Tomahawks. Garcia made his presence felt early, scoring twice in the 1st period to put the Rebels up 2-1. Andrew Romano had the lone Tomahawks goal in the period. Johnstown knotted the game at 2-2 with a 2nd period goal from Luke Lynch. The game-winner came late in the 3rd period as Eric Carreras scored on the power play. Tomahawks goalie Andrew Lindgren made 20 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Springfield 2 @ MN Wilderness 5 – The Wilderness picked up a much-needed sweep of the Jr. Blues thanks to a 5-2 win on Saturday. Minnesota was bolstered by a strong start, taking a 3-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Janis Jaks, Isak Bergland and Ryan Bloom. The Jr. Blues answered with two goals in the 2nd period sandwiched in between a goal from Wilderness forward Koby Bender, as Anthony Scarsella and Brennan Blaszczak scored, but it would not be enough as Kyle Patava added a 3rd period insurance goal. Jakes ended up with three points on the night and Chase Munroe made 18 saves in the win. Boxscore
Bismarck 2 @ Brookings 3 – Thanks to a 3-2 home win over Bismarck on Saturday, the Blizzard won their second game of the weekend to move to within three points of the 4th and final playoff spot in the Central. The Blizzard got off to a good start, taking a 2-1 lead in the 1st period on goals from Connor Spetz and Connor Hutchins. Zach Mitchell scored the Blizzard’s third goal midway through the 2nd period, which would stand as the game-winner. Bobcats goals came from Harrison Aide in the 1st period and Nick Lund in the 2nd period. Josh Kuehmichel made 16 saves in the win, while Nick Althaus made 19 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Coulee Region 1 @ Janesville 2 – In a goaltending battle, Blake Weyrick had to make just 13 saves to help the Jets salvage a weekend home-and-home split with the Chill thanks to a 2-1 win on Saturday. The Jets scored in the final seconds of the 1st period as Dawson DiPietro lit the lamp for his 17th goal of the season. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Jets pushed the lead to 2-0 midway through the 3rd period on a power play goal from Adam Winborg. Dominik Florian scored the lone Chill goal later in the 3rd period, which came shorthanded. Matiss Kivlenieks made 32 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Odessa 4 @ Topeka 3 – Odessa picked up two valuable points thanks to some late game heroics as they took the middle game of a three-game set on Saturday by a 4-3 score. The teams traded the lead throughout the game as Brennan Miller scored in the 1st period for Odessa. Hampus Sjodahl and Gray Marr added 2nd period goals and the game-winner came with just :53 seconds remaining in regulation from Pierce Pluemer. Topeka got goals from JB Baker in the 1st period, Quinn Preston in the 2nd period and Johnny Walker in the 3rd period. Jon Flakne made 33 saves in the win, while Juho Niku made 18 saves in the loss. Boxscore
MN Magicians 2 @ Minot 3 – Gunner Rivers made 27 saves as the Minot Minotauros picked up a weekend split with the Magicians thanks to a 3-2 win on Saturday, which moved them back into a 1st place tie in the Central. Minot scored first early in the 1st period on a goal from Austin Martinsen. The Magicians answered back with a pair of goals from Jack Christensen and John Peterson to take a 2-1 lead. Later in the 2nd period, the Minotauros got goals from James LaDouce and Chase Springman and made the lead hold the rest of the way. Daniil Gerasimov made 32 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Corpus Christi 2 @ Lone Star 1 (OT) – The IceRays picked up a big two points thanks to a last second goal in overtime as they split their weekend series against the Brahmas with a 2-1 overtime win on Saturday. Lone Star led early in the game thanks to a goal from Carson Kelly. The lead stood the remainder of most of the game until with under six minutes to go in regulation, Steve Bryant scored to tie things up at 1-1. In overtime, Tobias Kircher pick off a puck on a Brahmas turnover and fired a shot that slipped through Brahmas goalie Corbin Kaczperski with just .2 seconds remaining in the extra frame. IceRays goalie Dryden McKay made 30 saves in the win, while Kaczperski made 27 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 2 @ Fairbanks 3 (OT) – Tyler Tomberlin scored 1:15 into overtime to give the Ice Dogs a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Knights. Despite the loss, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton comes away with three points in two games from Fairbanks. The Ice Dogs scored first early in the 1st period on a goal from Clay Cross. The Knight answered back with two goals to take a 2-1 lead as Stephen Kelly and Tanner Bennett scored. Midway through the 3rd period, Reggie Lutz scored on the power play to tie the game at 2-2. Ice Dogs goalie Gavin Nieto made 21 saves in the win, while Knight goalie Andrey Svistunov made 39 saves in the OT loss. Boxscore
New Jersey 2 @ Kenai River 3 (OT) – Connor Nilson made his second goal of the season count as he scored 1:09 into overtime to give the Brown Bears a come-from-behind 3-2 win, which snapped the team’s 17-game losing streak. New Jersey looked like they had the game in hand as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a 1st period goal from Jesse Farabee and a 2nd period goal from Andrew Durham. The Brown Bears began the comeback with a power play goal from Jordan Hank late in the 2nd period and then another from Hank with just :25 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game. Magnus Lindhe, who came in relief of Nick Nast after the 1st period, got the win in goal, making 16 saves. Jack Berry made 18 saves in the loss. Boxscore
