Friday Finals: IceRays snap Brahmas streak

February 15, 2020

Corpus Christi 2 @ Lone Star 1 - The Corpus Christi IceRays snapped the Lone Star Brahmas 14 game winning streak on Friday night as the visitors got out of the NYTEX Sports Centre with a 2-1 win. The two teams were scoreless through 41 minutes but then Tyler Orban netted his first goal of the season to give the IceRays the lead. Ryan Coughlin joined the scoring party about two and a half minutes later as his 14th of the year doubled the IceRays lead. It wouldn’t last for long as just 58 seconds later, Sam Brennan scored on the power play to bring the Brahmas within one. Lone Star peppered the Corpus Christi net with 11 shots in the final 20 minutes but were only able to get one past Jeremy Forman, who stopped 28 of 29 for the night. Ludvig Persson played well but was dealt the tough loss after making 20 stops. 

 

Maine 5 @ Maryland 2 – The Nordiques closed the gap on the Black Bears for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East thanks to a 5-2 road win on Friday. Cannon Green led the way for Maine with a goal and two assists. Maryland enjoyed two, one-goal leads after they scored first on a goal from Jackson Sterrett, which was answered by a goal from Cole Ouellette. The Black Bears went up 2-1 with a goal from Jude Kurtas, but after that it was all Nordiques as they scored four unanswered goals, including goals later in the 2nd period from Green and Trent Grimshaw and two more goals in the 3rd period from Andrius Kulbis-Marino and Noah Kane.

 

Minot 11 @ St. Cloud 3 - It was an offensive explosion for the Minot Minotauros as they routed the St. Cloud Blizzard 11-3 on Friday night. Cade Stibbe led the way with a hat trick and an assist while Kyler Kleven and Dan Russell each potted two goals and two assists. Ville Immonen chipped in a goal and three helpers while Sam Skinner notched a goal and two apples. Braeden Bartoo also found the back of the net in the win for Minot. Ben Garrity had an easy night, making 17 saves. Tyler Bost and Caleb Wall teamed up to make 28 saves for the Blizzard.

 

Jamestown 2 @ Johnstown 3 – The Tomahawks scored two goals in the 3rd period to come from behind to beat the visiting Rebels, 3-2. Johnstown got out to a 1-0 lead with a 1st period goal from Pavel Kharin. The Rebels controlled the 2nd period, taking a 2-1 lead with goals from Jordan Cormier and Kasyn Kruse. In the 3rd period, the Tomahawks tied the game at 2-2 with a goal from Christian Gorscak and then the game-winner with just over five minutes remaining from Bennett Stockdale. Tomahawks goalie David Tomeo made 24 saves in the win, while Noah West made 16 saves in the loss.

 

Northeast 2 @ New Jersey 6 – Six different players scored for the Titans in a 6-2 win as they moved to within one point of clinching a playoff spot in the East. After a scoreless 1st period, the Generals scored first early in the 2nd period on a goal from Charlie Reid. The Titans then rattled off four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead as goals came from Tyler Nasca, Kyle Jeffers, Ole Andersen, and Gavin Gulash. The Generals cut into the lead late in the period with a goal from Ryan Kuzmich to make it 4-2. The Titans put the game away in the 3rd period with two more goals from Shane Haviland and Kyler Head. Patrick Pugliese made 32 saves in the win, while Connor Bradford made 16 saves in the loss.

 

Springfield 5 @ Topeka 4 (OT) – The Jr. Blues came from behind twice to defeat the Topeka Pilots in overtime, 5-4. Things looked good early for Topeka as they led 2-0 after one period of play with goals from Quinn Green and Connor Zilisch. The Jr. Blues then took a 3-2 lead with two 2nd period goals from Jackson Salt and Caden Villegas and a goal early in the 3rd period from Ethan Heidepriem. Topeka then regained the lead with back-to-back goals from Nick Nardecchia and Alexander Oberg. With under three minutes remaining in regulation, Villegas scored again to tie the game at 4-4 and send it to overtime. Just over two minutes into the extra frame, Cole Schneider scored the game-winner to give the Jr. Blues the win. Ryan Wilson made 26 saves in the win, while Josh Langford made 26 saves in the loss.

 

Bismarck 1 @ Austin 0 – Bobcats goalie Andrew Miller stopped all 24 shots that came his way for his third shutout of the season as Bismarck picked up a 1-0 shutout on the road in Austin on Friday. After the first two periods went scoreless, the Bobcats picked up the lone goal of the game as Nate Clark crept in from the point and wired a wrist-shot home for this third goal of the season to give the Bobcats the win. Bruins goalie Brett Miller made 16 saves in the loss.

 

Aberdeen 3 @ MN Wilderness 0 – Henry Welsch stopped all 21 shots that came his way for his second shutout of the season as the Wings maintained their seven-point lead in the Central Division. After a scoreless 1st period, the Wings scored the first goal of the game and the eventual game-winner from Riley Murphy midway through the 2nd period. In the 3rd period, Natan Vertes and Jake Beaune added goals to make it a 3-0 final. Isak Johansson made 32 saves in the loss for the Wilderness.

 

Fairbanks 3 @ Chippewa 2 (SO) - Jack Johnston scored in the sixth round of the shootout to lift the Fairbanks Ice Dogs to a 3-2 victory over the Chippewa Steel. It’s their 13th win in a row and 15th win in their last 16 games. Oliver Kjaer struck first for Fairbanks with his 19th goal of the season. Chippewa tied it up later in the period thanks to Killian Kiecker-Olson. Tyler Deweese wasted little time putting his team back out front. Chippewa needed just 72 seconds of the third period to tie the game, this time with Jacob Dirks doing the honors. We remained that way until the shootout where Fairbanks saw two of their shooters find the back of the net. Mattias Sholl made 25 saves in regulation and 5 more in the skills competition. Trent Burnham took the tough loss after making 32 stops.

 

Amarillo 5 @ Shreveport 3 - Matt Allen registered a goal and two assists as his Amarillo Bulls took down the Shreveport Mudbugs 5-3. Noah Carlin added a goal and a helper for Amarillo while Ty Black, Niclas Puikkonen and Nick Trela lit the lamp in the win. Max Gutjahr turned aside 14 shots to improve to 19-3-1 on the season. Sam Miller and Anton Rubtsov netted a goal and an assist. Matt Weber all scored in the loss for the Mudbugs. Richie Parent stopped 30 shots for Shreveport.

 

Odessa 1 @ New Mexico 4 - Henrik Laursen made 27 saves while Griffen Sanom scored twice to propel the New Mexico Ice Wolves to a 4-1 victory over the Odessa Jackalopes. Brandon Holt and Keegan Langefels both tickled the twine in the win for New Mexico. Ben Doherty scored the lone goal for Odessa. Andrew Takacs was stuck with the loss after making 36 saves.