Friday Finals: IceRays win makes it nine straight
December 29, 2018
Ondrej Trejbal helped the Minnesota Wilderness to their third straight win as they moved to within two points of the 4th and final playoff spot in the Central Division.
Corpus Christi 5 @ Shreveport 2 - The hottest team in the league wasn't bothered by the Christmas break as the Corpus Christi offense picked up right where they left off as they defeated the Shreveport Mudbugs 5-2. Kyle Moore potted a pair of goals while Santeri Hartikainen grabbed a goal and an assist. Anthony Firriolo and Mitch Machlitt also scored for the IceRays. Sam Best continued his hot streak as he made 27 saves. CJ McGee led the Mudbugs with two points, a goal and an assist. C.J. Regula also scored for the home squad. Maiszon Balboa made 33 saves in the loss.
Austin 3 @ MN Wilderness 6 - Ondrej Trejbal led all skaters with two goals and two assists as the Wilderness doubled up the Bruins 6-3. Jack Johnson scored two goals in the victory for Minnesota. Aaron Myers tallied a goal and an assist while Ben Ward also tickled the twine. Ryan Fanti was superb as he turned aside 44 Austin shots. Garrett Dahm, Dante Zapata and Lane Krenzen lit the lamp for Austin while Kyle McClellan made 26 saves.
Minot 4 @ Bismarck 5 - Austin Jouppi scored twice and added an assist as the Bismarck Bobcats outlasted the Minot Minotauros 5-4. Andy Stoneman also had two goals for the Bobcats in the win while Bartek Bison scored as well. John Roberts made 26 saves to earn his 14th win of the season. Taylor Lantz scored twice for Minot while Keenan Lund tallied a goal and an assist. Lincoln also found twine for Minot in the loss. Nicholas Grabko made 25 saves for the Minotauros.
Aberdeen 4 @ Brookings 1 - Brad Belisle, Stepan Pokorny, and Adam Pitters all had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over the Brookings Blizzard on Friday night. Shawn Kennedy also found the back of the net in the victory. Matt Vernon continued his strong play as he denied 20 of 21 Brookings shots. Ryan Green notched the only goal for the home club and Jack Caruso made 23 stops in the loss.
Kenai River 5 @ Janesville 4 - Two goals from Trey LeBarge and Sutton McDonald paced the Kenai River Brown Bears in a 5-4 win over the Janesville Jets. Alex Klekotka scored a goal and had two assists while Markuss Komuls and Cody Moline each tallied two assists. Dennis Westergard earned the victory in between the pipes as he stopped 19 shots. Carter Hottmann potted a pair of goals for Janesville in the loss while Erik Bargholtz and Jordon Halverson also found the back of the net. Cole Brady stopped 16 shots for Janesville.
Fairbanks 6 @ Chippewa 0 - Luke Mobley and Jack Johnston could not be stopped as their huge nights led the Ice Dogs to a 6-0 win over the Chippewa Steel. Mobley logged a hat trick and had two assists. Johnston had two goals of his own and two assists. Grant Ledford found the back of the net as well in the win. Nate Reid was perfect as he stopped all 22 shots thrown in his direction, it was his third shutout of the season. Chippewa netminder Josh Langford stopped 33 of 39 shots in the loss.
Lone Star 4 @ Odessa 2 - Matt Guerra and Kimball Johnson each netted a goal and an assist as the Lone Star Brahmas knocked off the Odessa Jackalopes 4-2. Frank Trazzera and Blake Evennou also lit the lamp for Lone Star and Harrison Feeney grabbed his eighth win of the year as he made 32 stops. Jared Christy and Michael Sacco scored for the Jackalopes. Alex Camarre took the loss despite making 26 saves.
