Amarillo and Topeka share undefeated records at Showcase

September 23, 2018

 

MN Magicians 2 vs. Odessa 0 – Ethan Haider posted his second shutout of the NAHL Showcase as he stopped all 32 shots that came his way to help the Magicians to a 2-0 win. The Magicians finished the event with a 3-1 record, while Odessa was 1-3. Matthew Stanton scored both goals for the Magicians, which came in the 2nd and 3rd periods. CJ Hapward took the loss for the Jackalopes, making 35 saves.

 

Jamestown 2 vs. Shreveport 1 – Noah West made 33 saves as the Rebels edged the Mudbugs on the final day of the NAHL Showcase. Jamestown finished with a 2-2 record, while the Mudbugs went 1-3 at the event. After two scoreless periods, all the scoring took place in the 3rd period as Hayden Clark and Jim Glynn scored for the Rebels and Andrew Jackson had the lone goal for Shreveport. Mudbugs netminder Leo Chuard had 25 saves in the loss.

 

Corpus Christi 3 vs. Aberdeen 2 – The IceRays got 25 saves from Sam Best as they edged the Wings, 3-2. The IceRays and Wings both finished with 2-2 records at the event. The Wings opened the scoring in the 1st period with a goal from Thomas Rocco. Corpus Christi then responded with three straight goals from Noah Roofe, Mason Kohn, and Santeri Hartikainen to take a 3-1 lead. Rocco would score again for the Wings in the 3rd period, but it would not be enough. Wings goalie Matt Vernon made 42 saves in the loss.

 

Amarillo 3 vs. New Jersey 2 – The Bulls completed their perfect run through the Showcase thanks to a 3-2 win on the final day against the Titans. New Jersey finished the event with a 2-2 record. The Titans opened the scoring in the 1st period as Kyle Jeffers scored his 4th goal of the season. Amarillo then struck back with goals from Jake Wllets and Aaron Swanson to take a 2-1 lead. The Titans briefly tied the game at 2-2 with a power play goal from Cade Penney, but a power play goal from Amarillo’s Brenden Datema with under four minutes remaining secured the win. Ryan Winter made 24 saves in the win, while Brandon Perrone made 38 saves in the loss.

 

Bismarck 4 vs. Janesville 0 – John Roberts stopped all 19 shots that came his way to lead the Bobcats to a 4-0 win and 3-1 record at the NAHL Showcase. Janesville finished with a 2-2 mark at the event. After a scoreless 1st period, the Bobcats got goals in the 2nd period from Ryan Taylor and Adam Stacho to take a 2-0 lead. Bismarck then piled on two more goals in the 3rd period from Julian Timba and Alex Pollock in the 3rd period to make the final 4-0. Garrett Nieto made 38 saves in the loss.

 

Johnstown 3 vs. Springfield 1 – Carter McPhail made 28 saves to lead the Tomahawks to a 3-1 win over the Jr. Blues on Day 4 of the Showcase. The Tomahawks finished the event with a 2-2 record as did the Jr. Blues. Johnstown got on the board in the 1st period with a goal from Chad Merrell. After a scoreless 2nd period, the Tomahawks increased the lead to 3-0 with 3rd period goals from Mitchell Hale and another from Merrell, which was his league-leading 6th of the season. Springfield broke McPhail’s shutout bid as Spencer DenBeste scored the lone Jr. Blues goal late in the 3rd period to make the final 3-1. George McBey made 33 saves in the loss in his Jr. Blues debut.

 

Austin 4 vs. Maryland 3 (OT) – NAPHL grad Andy Willis scored with just :09 seconds remaining in overtime to give the Bruins their third win of the Showcase. With the OT loss the Black Bears finished their inaugural NAHL Showcase with a very respectable 2-1-1 record. The Bruins got goals in regulation from Valdemar Ahlberg and Dante Sheriff in the 2nd period and another from Sheriff in the 3rd period. Maryland goals were scored by Lukas Ljungblom, Jake Rudin, and Joseph Mancuso. Kyle McClellan made 22 saves in the win, while David Tomeo made 20 saves in the OT loss.

 

MN Wilderness 2 vs. Lone Star 1 – Wilderness goalie Kaleb Johnson had his second straight solid outing as he stopped 27 of 28 shots in a win over the Lone Star Brahmas. With the win, the Wilderness finished the Showcase with a 2-2 record, while Lone Star finished winless with a 0-3-1 record. The Wilderness jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with 1st period goals from Peter Grytdahl and Nate Horn. The Brahmas responded late in the 2nd period with their lone goal from Hayden Taylor. Harrison Feeney took the loss in goal for the Brahmas, making 26 saves.

 

Minot 6 vs. Fairbanks 1 – Matt Gellerman had two goals and Nick Grabko made 34 saves as Minot scored early and often in a 6-1 win over Fairbanks. The Minotauros finished the Showcase with a 3-1 record, scoring 20 goals in the four games. Fairbanks finished the event with a 1-2-1 record. Gellerman opened the scoring midway through the 1st period and Fritz Belisle and Lincoln Erne added goals in the final minute of the 1st period to take a 3-0 lead to the lockerroom. Wilmer Skoog added a goal in the 2nd period to make it 4-0. Fairbanks got their lone goal from Parker Brown late in the period. Didrik Henbrandt scored late in the 2nd period for Minot and Gellerman added his second of the game in the 3rd period. Nate Reid took the loss in goal for the Ice Dogs, making 27 saves.

 

Topeka 5 vs. Chippewa 1 – The Topeka Pilots capped off a perfect 4-0 run through the NAHL Showcase thanks to a convincing 5-1 win on the final day over the Chippewa Steel. The Steel finished the event with a 1-3 mark. Five different players scored for the Pilots, which included three goals in the 1st period from David Sudbrink, Brenden Rons, and Quinn Green. Max Finner scored in the 2nd period to make it 4-0 and Dallas Tulik scored early in the 3rd period to make it a 5-0 game. With just under five minutes remaining, Chippewa ended the shutout bid of Topeka goalie Emil Gransoe with a goal from Jordan Gonzalez. Gransoe made 13 saves in the win, while Josh Langford made 28 saves in the loss.

 

Kenai River 4 vs. Brookings 3 (SO) – The Brown Bears came from behind to defeat the Blizzard in a shootout, 4-3. With the win, the Brown Bears finished with a 2-2 record at the Showcase, while the loss gave the Blizzard a 1-1-2 record at the event. The Brown Bears scored once in each period, which included goals from Justin Daly in the 1st period, Andy Walker in the 2nd period and Filip Karlsson in the 3rd period. Brookings got goals from Dylan Schuett, Gabe Wahl, and Pavel Rotenberg. In the shootout, the Brown Bears earned the win thanks to goals from Owen Arfstrom and Porter Schachle. Dennis Westergard made 23 saves in the win, while Alex Mosquera made 45 saves in the loss.

 

NTDP 4 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3 (OT) – For a second straight night, an NAHL team pushed the NTDP team to the limit, but on Saturday the Knights lost a late lead and fell quickly in overtime as the NTDP won another 4-3 game, this time in overtime. The two clubs traded goals in each of the three periods of regulation. The Knights got two goals from Jacob Badal and another from William Otwell. Meanwhile, the NTDP got tallies from Matt Beniers, Landon Slaggert, and Luke Tuch in regulation. Tuch’s goal game with under a minute remaining in regulation to tie the game. The NTDP entered the OT on the power play and it took just :06 seconds for Tuch’s second goal of the night and third of the weekend to win it as he took the pass from the face-off and snapped home a shot. Each of the NTDP goalies, Noah Grannan and Drew Commesso faced 13 shots, while Knights goalie Zach Stejskal stopped 47 of 51 shots.