Saturday Scores: Wings clinch playoff spot with 3-point weekend

Eric Cooley had a big weekend to lead Amarillo to a sweep of Topeka.

Aberdeen Wings 5 @ Minnesota Magicians 4 (OT) - The 28-23-3 Aberdeen Wings scored twice in the third to push the game to regulation, where they defeated the 30-21-3 Minnesota Magicians. With the win, the Wings clinched a playoff spot in the Central Division. Mitchel Slattery scored first for Minnesota, at 2:17, with help from Andrew Kangas. Aberdeen soon retaliated with a goal from Carter Roo, assisted by Tyler Bossert and Keenan Spillum. With two minutes remaining in the period, Travis Brown scored for the Magicians at 18:18, assisted by Parker Mismash and Slattery. After twenty minutes, Minnesota leads 2-1. The majority of the second period went scoreless, with the first goal coming Colin Raver at 15:00 with help from Bossert and Dusan Kmec for the Wings. Minnesota fired back at 15:52 from Jarrett Lee, assisted by Will Hammer and John Keranen. After two periods, Minnesota still holds the lead, 3-2. Mitch Machlitt scored unassisted at 6:48 of the third to increase Minnesota’s lead to two. Kevin Fizgerald soon found the back of the net for Aberdeen at 8:07 with help from Jack Kelly and Logan Jenuwine to bring the Wings within one. At 10:04, Roo struck again to tie the game, assisted by Bossert and Colton Fletcher. Roo’s goal sent the game to extra minutes, where Andy Carroll notched one at 1:31, with help from Kevin Fitzgerald and Raver, to grab the win for the Wings. Aberdeen goalie Forbes Ploszaj made 22 saves on the night, while Ivan Prosvetov stopped 21 shots for Minnesota. Boxscore

Topeka Roadrunners 2 @ Amarillo Bulls 5 - The Topeka Roadrunners drew first, but five unanswered goals from the Amarillo Bulls secured their 5-2 victory. Nigel Nelson scored at 4:30 of the first for Topeka, assisted by Will Schlagenhauf and Joey Moore. Later, at 16:37, Matthew Barnes scored with the help of Jeff Makowski to grow the Roadrunners lead to 2-0. At the beginning of the second, the Bulls came out fighting. Brendon Furry struck first, at 5:05, with help from Charlie Singerhouse and Nestor Plarsmo. To tie it up, Tyler Miknich scored again at 14:15, assisted by Cole Lussier and Jake Nitche. At the end of two, the teams are tied. At 5:21 of the third, Phil Fromberger found the back of the net, with help from Furry and Lussier. A minute and a half later, at 6:46, Eric Cooley notched another one for Amarillo, assisted by George Mika and Jovan Zimmerman. Cooley scored an empty net again at 18:11, with help from Mika and Nehls, to push the Bulls lead to 5-2. In net, Amarillo’s Nikita Babintsev made 29 saves, while yan Snowden and Ben Churchfield made 28 and 3 saves, respectively, for Topeka. With the win, the Bulls increase to 20-27-8, and the Roadrunners fall to 18-33-4. Boxscore

Wichita Falls Wildcats 6 @ Odessa Jackalopes 8 - The 29-21-5 Wichita Falls Wildcats Fall to the 24-25-6 Odessa Jackalopes, 8-6, in this high scoring Saturday night matchup. Odessa opened the game and grabbed an early lead by scoring the only two goals in the first period. Connor Stuart scored first at 9:37, with help from Zach Zech and Christian Hausinger. Then, at 13:38, Chase Thudium notched one after a pass from Cooper Zech and Ludwig Stenlund. To start the second, Aleksi Poikola notched one for Wichita Falls, assisted by Wyatt Mathews and Isaac Kobienia at 2:07. Stenlund then retaliated with a goal at 5:57 with help from Peyton Frantti and Thudium. Three minutes later, Levi Wunder scored for the Jackalopes after a pass from Z. Zech and Jake Levin, bringing the score to 4-1 Odessa. Ryan Burnett scored at 10:33 for Wichita Falls, with help from CJ Regula and Matt Hanewall. Odessa’s Chris Donaldson retaliated with a goal at 10:53 with help from Zach Heintz. But Wichita Falls refused to give up, Ricky Carballo scored at 11:45 (assisted from Steven Tillie and Zach Heiser) to bring the score to 5-3 Odessa after two periods of play. Ryan Orgel opened the third at 4:55 with a goal for the Wildcats, after a pass from Kobienia and Regula. Z. Zech racked up a hat trick in the third to secure the win for Odessa. The first goal came via Connor Stuart and Levi Wunder at 5:56, the second at 9:18 assisted by Thudium and Zac Herrmann, and the third at 15:26 with help from Heintz and Tyler Pietrowski. Nick Rosa also notched a pair for Wichita Falls in the third; one at 12:29 with help from Jonathan Waring, and the second at 19:27 from Poikola and Orgel. After a lot of back and forth, the scoreboard reads 8-3 Odessa after sixty minutes. In net, Jackalopes goaltenders John Flakne and Jonny Hogue racked up 27 and 1 save, respectively, while Jared Dempsey and Evan Moyse stopped 30 and 10 shots each for Wichita Falls. Boxscore

Kenai River Brown Bears 1 @ Fairbanks Ice Dogs 5 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs had four unanswered goals on their way to a 5-1 win over the Kenai River Brown Bears. Hampus Eriksson scored the lone first period goal at 1:10 of the first, assisted by Nolan Schaeffer and Luke Orysiuk, to put the Ice Dogs up, 1-0. To start the second, Ethan Stewart scored for the Brown Bears at 4:26, with help from Christopher Lipe, to tie the game at one goal each. Grayson Gavin then scored at 14:55 for Fairbanks, assisted by Robert Blueger and Orysiuk. To close out the second, Cayden Cahill scored at 17:46 with a pass from Prysiuk and Kyle Mayhew. At the end of two, Fairbanks leads 3-1. The Ice Dogs waste no time, scoring at 0:28 of the third when Tanner Schachle found the back of the net after a pass from Ryan Kero. Kero then notched one of his own, assisted by riksson and Benton Maass at 15:14 to increase Fairbanks’ lead to 5-1. Erik Gordon made 20 saves while in net for Fairbanks, and Robbie Goor stopped 32 shots for Kenai River. With the win, the Ice Dogs improve to 32-24-2, and Kenai River falls to 12-45-2. Boxscore

Springfield Jr Blues 4 @ Coulee Region Chill 5 (OT) - The Springfield Jr Blues came back from a 2 goal deficit to tie the game, but Coulee Region scored in OT to grab 2 points in the match. A quick pair of goals – at 1:12 and 1:20 of the first – from Jacob Schmidt-Svejstrup put the Coulee Region Chill up 2-0 early in the game. The first goal was assisted by Matt Doran and Steven Quagliata, while the second had help from Joey Sofo. The only other first period goal came via Max Nylander for the Jr Blues, with help from Joseph Sardina. At the end of twenty minutes, the Chill lead Springfield, 2-1. Springfield opened the scoring in the second with a goal at 4:39 from Ryan Leibold, assisted by Jordan Muzzillo and Jack Nickels. Followed up was a pair of goals from Coulee, putting them up again, 4-2, after two periods. One came via Kevin Dineen at 7:30 with help from Isaac Theisen and Quagliata, and the second from Schmidt-Svejstrup at 9:31, assisted by Quagliata and Jackson Decker. The third period started with the Jr Blues down by two, but two goals – from Brennan Blaszczak and Leibold – tied the game at 4 at the end of regulation. Blaszczak scored at 7:51 with help from Nylander and Chase Mickelson, and Leibold’s second of the night came from a pass from Nickels and Matt Cassidy. At 3:48 in overtime, Coulee Region’s Caleb Shroer found the back of the net after a pass from Quagliata. Chill goaltender Brad Arvanitis made 41 saves, while Jordan Greenfield-Flemon stopped 37 shots for Springfield. With the win, the Chill advance to 29-25-2, and the Jr Blues fall to 25-28-3. Boxscore

Johnstown Tomahawks 8 @ Northeast Generals 3 - The Johnstown Tomahawks maintained a solid lead - partially thanks to a hat tricks from Dalton Hunter and Nick Bruce - to grab 4 out of 6 points during their weekend road trip against the Northeast Generals. Evan Somoza scored the only goal of the first period at 19:25, assisted by Nick Bruce and Daniil Bokun. Somoza's goal put the Tomahawks up 1-0 at the end of 20 minutes. The Generals wasted no time, opening the second with a quick goal at 1:11 from Anthony Mangano, assisted by Joseph Nagle and Bret Parker. Dalton Hunter notched his first of three at 8:34, with help from Bruce and Andy Iehle, putting Johnstown up again. Mike Egan scored less than a minute later at 9:08 to bring the game back to an even score. Egan was helped by Alex Cohen and Matt Wiesner. Bruce notched one of his own at 15:42, with help from Adam Pilewicz and Riley Doyon. The Tomahawks extended their lead once again with Hunter's second of the night, with help from Donovan Ott and Andrew Quetell at 16:33 of the second. At the end of forty minutes of play, the score is 4-2, Johnstown. Bruce struck again less than :30 into the third with help from Joshua Norman and Hunter. At 6:33, Hunter notched his third of the night to secure a hat trick, assisted by Ott and Quetell. Kohei Sato brought life back to the Generals' game with a goal at 11:31, assisted by Tim Weinstein and Colin Bilek. Bruce retaliated with his third of the night at 15:54, with help from Norman. Norman struck one of his own at 18:44 to bring the final score to 8-3, Johnstown, with help from Hayden Rowan and Drew Hotte. Tomahawk goaltender Drew Hotte made 24 saves on the night, while David Fessenden stopped 46 shots for Northeast. The win brings the Tomahawks' record to 39-15-3, and the Generals' fall to 4-52-3. Boxscore

Aston Rebels 1 @ New Jersey Titans 4 - A pair from Nick Boyagian helped the New Jersey Titans to a 4-1 victory over the Aston Rebels. Boyagian opened the scoring at 12:04 of the first, with help from Danny Eruzione. Going into the second up 1-0, the Titans notched a second - also from Boyagian and Eruzione - to double their lead at 2:59. At 5:25, Carter Woolley scored the Rebel's first goal, assisted by Michael Underwood and Ryan Solomon. Dylan Healey notched a goal at 7:23 of the second, with help from Todd Goehring and Jordan Kaplan, to bring the Titan’s lead to 2. The last goal of the game came at 15:58 from Ryan Wheeler, assisted Eruzione and Boyagian, resulting in the final score of 4-1, New Jersey. In net, New Jersey’s Ryan Ferland stopped 24 shots, and Mareks Mitens made 14 saves for Aston. With the win, the Titans improve to 33-20-1, while Aston falls to 44-9-2. Boxscore

Bismarck Bobcats 5 @ Brookings Blizzard 3 - The Bismarck Bobcats grabbed an early lead on their way to a 5-3 win over the Brookings Blizzard to stay alive in the Central Division playoff race. Matthew Barry opened the scoring with a goal at 10:38 for Bismarck with help from Tristan Ashbrook and Jiei Halliday. Alex Pollock scored the only other goal of the first; at 17:07 for Bismarck. Pollock was assisted by Kevin Ness and Halliday. The next goal came halfway through the second, at 10:26, from Mitchell Walinski with help from Ness and Pollock. The goal put the Bobcats up 3-0 over the home team. Then the Blizzard notched their first goal at 13:18, from Taylor Schneider, assisted by Cade Borchardt and Brendan Aird. Barry struck again at 19:38, with help from Cooper Haar and Jared Resseguie to put the Bobcats up 4-1 after forty minutes. Schneider scored again for Brookings at 7:21 of the third, with help from John Siebenaler and Borchardt. Barry then notched his third goal of the night at 10:23, assisted by Halliday and Tanner Breidenbach. With the score within one, Doug Larson scored a security goal at 13:08 for Bismarck, with help from Brett Callahan and Connor Koviak. Bismarck goaltender Camden Haugenoe made 33 stops, and Josh Boyko made 21 saves for Brookings. With the win, the Bobcats improve to 27-28-1 and the Blizzard falls to 28-24-4. Boxscore

Janesville Jets 2 @ Minnesota Wilderness 1 - With one goal in each period, an early lead for the Janesville Jets secured them a 2-1 win against the Minnesota Wilderness. Peter Bates set the pace early – at 0:55 of the first – to give Janesville an early edge. Bates’ goal was assisted by LordAnthony Grissom and Frank Sullivan. Almost two full periods passed without another goal, but Michael Maloney found the net at 17:09 of the second to double the Jets’ lead with help from Carter Ekberg and Alec Semandel. Michael Zuffante, with help from Alexander Esbjors, notched the only Wilderness goal at 1:26 of the third period. Janesville’s goalie Jacob Barczewski made 40 saves on the night, and Trevor Micucci stopped 38 shots for Minnesota. With the win, Janesville improves to 40-12-0, and Minnesota falls to 31-20-4. Boxscore

Corpus Christi Ice Rays 5 @ Shreveport Mudbugs 2 - The Corpus Christi Ice Rays maintained a solid offensive presence to secure a 502 victory over the Shreveport Mudbugs. Larry Jungwirth scored at 2:12 of the first with an assist from Jayson Minizio to open the game for the Ice Rays. Next, David Thomson grabbed one at 9:19, unassisted, to put the Ice Rays up by 2. At 17:48, Kyle Kawamura got on the board for the Mudbugs, with help from Brendon Gysbers and Jordan Fader. The next goal came in the third period, at 3:00 from Corpus Christi’s Nathan Bryer, and assisted by Jungwirth and Cole Filler. Frankie Melton retaliated with a goal at 4:21 for Shreveport, assisted by Dominick Procopio and Kieran Durgan. The next two goals came via Cody Fleckenstein and Garrett Hallford to close out the game. Fleckenstein scored at 13:58 with help from Filler, while Hallford’s was assisted by David Baskerville at 18:50. After three periods of play, the score is 5-2, Corpus Christi. Ice Ray’s goaltender Cam Burggrabe made 28 saves, while John Roberts stopped 30 shots for the Mudbugs. With the win, Corpus Christi improves to 29-18-4, and Shreveport falls to 35-16-2. Boxscore

Austin Bruins 3 @ Minot Minotauros 0 - The Austin Bruins scored a goal in each of the three periods to secure a 3-0 shutout victory over the Minot Minotauros. Alex Schilling made 37 saves for the shutout, while Lucas Murray stopped 17 for the Minotauros. Dante Zapata scored first, at 13:16 of the first, after a pass from Joe Kinsella. 0:30 into the second, AJ Drobot scored again for the Bruins, assisted by Travis Kothenbeutel and Kyle Looft. To close the game, Justin Misiak scored at 18:25 of the third, bringing Austin’s lead to 3-0. He was assisted by Charlie Spetz. With the win, the Bruins climb to 21-27-4, and Minot falls to 37-16-4. Boxscore