Friday Finals: Magicians stay hot with big win in Fairbanks
Behind 33 saves from Mads Sogaard, the Austin Bruins won their 3rd straight game thanks to a 2-1 home win over the Aberdeen Wings.
MN Magicians 3 @ Fairbanks 2 (SO) – The Minnesota Magicians moved their record to 5-0-1 in their last six games thanks to a big 3-2 shootout divisional road win in Fairbanks on Friday. The Magicians were bolstered by a great start as they took a 2-0 lead with 1st period goals from Charlie Weiand and Arturas Laukaitis. The Ice Dogs mounted a comeback to tie the game at 2-2 thanks to a 2nd period goal from Caleb Hite and a goal early in the 3rd period from Nolan Schaeffer. After a scoreless overtime, Bram Scheerer scored the lone goal in the shootout to give the Magicians the extra point. Isaiah Saville picked up the win in goal, while Josh Benson took the shootout loss.
Aberdeen 1 @ Austin 2 – Behind 33 saves from Mads Sogaard, the Austin Bruins won their 3rd straight game thanks to a 2-1 home win over the Aberdeen Wings. It was the Wings who snagged the early lead as just over three minutes into the game Adam Pitters scored his 2nd goal of the season. Later in the opening period, Benito Posa scored for the Bruins to even the game at 1-1. Late in the 2nd period Valdemar Ahlberg scored on the power play in what would be the eventual game-winning goal. Wings goalie Gabe Vinal made 23 saves in the loss.
Northeast 2 @ New Jersey 5 – Five different players scored as the Titans were bolstered by three goals in the 2nd period to lead them to a 5-2 home win over the Northeast Generals. The Generals took the early lead with a 1st period goal from Matthew Wiesner. The Titans answered with three straight goals in the 2nd period thanks to tallies from Ryan Wheeler, Eric Johansson and Chris Garbe. Northeast drew to within 3-2 early in the 3rd period thanks to another goal from Wiesner, but it would not be enough as Nick Boyagian and Tate MacDonald added goals later in the period to seal the win.
Johnstown 4 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 6 – Jack Olmstead had a hat-trick to lead the Knights to a 6-4 home win over the Tomahawks. Things were tight through the first two periods with the Tomahawks holding a 4-3 lead thanks to goals from Samuel Solensky, Roman Kraemer, Mitchell Hale and Joe Kile. The Knights kept pace with two goals from Olmstead and another from Shay Donovan. In the 3rd period, the Knights would score three goals to put the game on ice, which included Olmstead’s 3rd of the game and others from Justin Engelkes and Adrian Danchenko. Christian Stoever made 26 saves in the win, while Winnie Purpura made 33 saves in the loss.
Bismarck 3 @ Brookings 1 – The Bismarck Bobcats won their 5th straight game and took over sole possession of 1st place in the Central Division thanks to a 3-1 road win in Brookings. Bobcats goalie on surrendered one goal for the second consecutive game, making 31 saves in the Friday win. The Bobcats were sparked by two goals in the 1st period from Grant Johnson and Lukas Millen to take a 2-0 lead. The lead increased to 3-0 in the 2nd period with a goal from Adam Stacho. Brookings scored their lone goal later in the middle frame off the stick of Jimmy Elser. Zach Borgiel took the loss in goal for the Blizzard, making 26 saves.
Topeka 0 @ Odessa 5 – Brett Epp stopped all 31 shots that came his way for his first shutout of the season as the Jackalopes blanked the RoadRunners for the second straight night in a 5-0 win on Friday. After a scoreless 1st period, Odessa scored three goals in the 2nd period to jump ahead 3-0, which included goals from Eric Huss, Blake Bride and Brandon Osmundson. The Jackalopes would tack on two more goals late in the 3rd period from Evan Rochowiak and Lucas Herrmann to secure in the 5-0 win. Emil Gransoe made 40 saves in the loss.
MN Wilderness 3 @ Minot 5 – On the strength of five goals in the 3rd period, the Minot Minotauros came from behind to beat the Minnesota Wilderness, 5-3. It was all Wilderness in the early going as they scored two goals in the 1st period from Luke Dow and Isaac Kobienia. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Minotauros stormed out of the gate in the 3rd period, scoring four straight goals including two from Grant Loven and two from Lincoln Erne. The Wilderness made the score 4-3 with a late 3rd period goal from Nick Altmann, but Miroslav Mucha scored an empty-netter to secure the 5-3 win. Samu Lonkila made 23 saves in the win, while Trevor Micucci made 32 saves in the loss.
Corpus Christi 2 @ Lone Star 4 – The Lone Star Brahmas had a successful home opener as they raised their Robertson Cup banner and posted a 4-2 win over the visiting IceRays. The Brahmas seized the early momentum, scoring three goals in the 1st period, which included goals from Ture Linden, Chase Pletzke and Aidan Spellacy. After a scoreless 2nd period, the IceRays finally broke through early in the 3rd period with a goal from Brendan Miller. The Brahmas would push the lead back to three with a goal from Michael Montambault. Blake Coffey added the other goal for the IceRays. Mitchell Gibson made 17 saves in the win, while Chad Veltri made 17 saves in the loss.
Shreveport 6 @ Kenai River 2 – The Mudbugs padded their lead in the South Division with a 6-2 road win in Kenai River on Friday. Six different players scored for Shreveport, which included two goals in the 1st period from Brendan VanSweden and Roberts Baranovskis, one goal in the 2nd period from Andrew Lane and three goals in the 3rd period from Nikolai Jenson, Jordan Fader, and Jay Feiwell. Both Brown Bears goals came in the 2nd period as Connor Scahill and David Kaplan both scored. Gustavs Grigals made 25 saves in the win, while Artur Pavliukov made 28 saves in the loss.
