Saturday Scores: Jr Blues win part of six sweeps this weekend
Jack Robbel got both wins between the pipes this weekend for Minot, stopping 47 of 50 shots in the sweep.
Topeka 2 @ Springfield 5 – Thanks to a huge night from forward Jeff Skinner, the Springfield Jr. Blues completed a weekend home sweep of the RoadRunners with a 5-2 win. It was all Jr. Blues to start as they opened up a 3-0 lead halfway through the contest, thanks to two goals from Skinner and another from Max Brainin. Topeka would add both their goals later in the 2nd period thanks to strikes from Nicholas Granowicz and Jake Rosenbaum, but Brainin’s second goal of the game later in the period made it 4-2. A goal from Chase Mickelson in the 3rd period made the final 5-2. Jurja Ovecka made 34 saves in the win and Emil Gransoe made 34 saves in the loss.
Minot 3 @ Bismarck 2 (OT) – The Minot Minotauros erased a two-goal deficit and scored three unanswered goals to defeat the Bobcats on the road in Bismarck to earn a sweep of the home-and-home series. Things were looking good for the Bobcats as they jumped ahead 2-0 with a pair of goals in the first four minutes of the game from Adam Stacho and Michael Mahan. The Minotauros slowly chipped away as Ondrej Pavel scored in the 2nd period and Andrew Kangas scored in the 3rd period. In the overtime, a rush down the ice led to a pass in the high slot where Minot defenseman Colby Enns fired home the game-winner. Minot goalie Jack Robbel made 27 saves in the win, while Bismarck netminder Ryan Ullan made 26 saves in the loss.
New Jersey 3 @ Northeast 4 (SO) – The Northeast Generals earned a weekend home sweep of the New Jersey Titans thanks to a 4-3 shootout win on Saturday. Justin Jallen had the lone goal in the shootout for the decider. The Generals took a 1-0 lead in the 1st period on Mike Egan’s 9th goal of the year. The Titans would take the lead at 2-1 later in the period with back-to-back goals from Todd Goehring and Tate Singleton. After a scoreless 2nd period, the 3rd period saw the Generals regain the lead thanks to goals from Louis Boudon and Justin Kelley. With under four minutes in regulation, the Titans tied the game at 3-3 thanks to a goal from Chris Garbe. Marko Sturma made 32 saves in the win, while Matt Ladd also made 32 saves in the shootout loss.
Corpus Christi 0 @ Amarillo 1 – Jason Grande posted his second straight shutout and second shutout of the weekend as he made 27 saves to help the Bulls to a 1-0 win and weekend home sweep of the IceRays. The game remained scoreless until the early 2nd period, when the Bulls would net the only goal of the game as Brett Abdelnour struck for his second goal of the season. That would be all the Bulls would need for the sweep thanks to Grande. IceRays goalie Chad Veltri played very well in the loss, allowing just the one goal on 32 shots.
Odessa 1 @ Lone Star 4 – Austin O’Rourke scored twice to lead the Brahmas to a 4-1 win, completing a weekend home sweep of the Jackalopes. The Brahmas jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1st period from O’Rourke and Aidan Spellacy. After Odessa drew to within one early in the 2nd period on their lone goal from Lucas Herrmann, the Brahmas went back up by two on O’Rourke’s second goal of the night, which came on the power play late in the 2nd period. Austin Bottrell scored his first goal of the season as insurance in the 3rd period. Brahmas goalie Mitch Gibson made 12 saves in the win, while Jacks goalie Alex Camarre made 18 saves in the loss.
Austin 2 @ Brookings 4 – Despite being outshot 50-22, the Blizzard goalie tandem of Zach Borgiel and Ben Beck combined to make 48 saves as the Blizzard won their third game of the week against the Bruins, also completing a weekend home sweep. Austin scored early in the 1st period to take a 1-0 lead on a goal from Valdemar Ahlberg. Just over a minute later, the Blizzard tied the game on a tally from Vince Marino. Brookings then took control of the game in the 2nd period, scoring three goals, including strikes from Cameron Teamor, Griffen Sanom, and Connor Koviak. Dan Petrick added a late goal for the Bruins in the 3rd period to make it a 4-2 final. Borgiel would make 29 saves and Beck would made 19 saves to combine for the win. Mads Sogaard made 9 saves in the loss before being lifted for Alex Schilling, who also made 9 saves.
MN Wilderness 3 @ Aberdeen 1 – Ryan Fanti made 37 saves to lead the Wilderness to a 3-1 win on the road in Aberdeen, earning a weekend split of the series. The Wilderness scored a goal in each period, which included a power play goal in the 1st period from Kosta Likourezos, a goal from Gino Lucia in the 2nd period and another power play goal in the 3rd period, this time from Isaac Kobienia. The Wings would get their lone goal late in the 3rd period with just 2:44 to play from Riley Murphy. Matt Vernon took the loss in goal for Aberdeen, making 21 saves.
Janesville 1 @ Coulee Region 3 – Emil Zetterquist made 42 saves to lead the Chill to an important 3-1 home win over the Jets in both teams lone game of the weekend. Chill defenseman Brandon Koch set up all three Coulee Region goals, which came in the 3rd period. After a scoreless 1st period, the Jets took a 1-0 lead late in the 2nd period with a power play goal from John Pesek. The Chill responded in the 3rd period, which included a power play goal from Connor Zilisch, an even strength goal from Bailey Martin and another power play goal, this time from Nick Bowman. Garrett Nieto took the loss in goal for the Jets, making 26 saves.
MN Magicians 5 @ Kenai River 2 – Davis Kirkendall scored a pair of insurance goals and Isaiah Saville made 34 saves as the Magicians took the third game of a rubber match series with the Brown Beras by a 5-2 final. The Magicians got off to a solid start, getting 1st period goals from Jarrett Lee and John Keranen to take a 2-0 lead. In the 2nd period, the Brown Bears made it a game as Gil Garcia and Sutton McDonald scored in between a goal from Minnesota’s Bram Scheerer to make it 3-2. In the 3rd period, Kirkendall added both goals to put the game on ice for the Magicians. Brown Bears goalie Artur Pavliukov made 22 saves in the loss.
Shreveport 2 @ Fairbanks 1 – Gustavs Grigals made 27 saves to lead the Mudbugs to a 2-1 win in Fairbanks on Saturday and split the weekend road series. The Mudbugs took a 1-0 lead early in the 1st period on Kieran Durgan’s 2nd goal of the season. The lead increased to 2-0 thanks to a goal midway through the 2nd period from Gueorgui Feduolov. The Ice Dogs would get on the board in the 3rd period thanks to a power play goal from Tanner Schachle, but that would be all they could get past Grigals. Logan Neaton made 15 saves in the loss for Fairbanks.
