Friday Finals: Bulls stay hot with big road win
Minot goalie Keenan Rancier made 37 saves in a 3-2 win on Friday night to lead the Minotauros to their 4th straight win.
Amarillo 3 @ Shreveport 1 - Jordan Venegoni and Ryan Coughlin each tallied a goal and an assist as the Amarillo Bulls defeated the Shreveport Mudbugs 3-1. Sean Vlasich added his second goal of the year in the Amarillo victory as well. Braiden Dorfman registered the only goal for Shreveport in the loss. Andrew Takacs grabbed the win in net to improve to 7-0 on the season, he made 27 saves. Cole Hudson was given the loss in goal as he made 21 saves.
MN Wilderness 2 @ Minot 3 - The Minot Minotauros have now won four in a row as they defeated the Minnesota Wilderness 3-2. Bobby Metz scored his first goal as a member of the Wilderness to give Minnesota an early advantage. Logan Anderson and Gabe Temple would score in the second period to give the Minotauros their first lead of the night. It would not last long as Dante Lawson netted his first of the year. It would remain tied until the final minutes, that’s when Jack Westlund scored on the power play to give Minot the lead and the eventually victory. Keenan Rancier made 37 saves in a phenomenal performance while Kaleb Johnson made 31 saves in the loss.
Maryland 1 @ Johnstown 3 - The Johnstown Tomahawks took care of the Maryland Black Bears by a score of 3-1 on Friday night. William Persson scored his first goal of the season to put the Tomahawks on the board first. Tanner Rowe would tie the game at one with his 3rd of the year at the 2:23 of the second period. It would remain tied for awhile but then the Tomahawks found the back of the net on the power play as Holt Oliphant netted his sixth of the year. John Gelatt added his league leading 17th goal of the season in the third period to provide some insurance for Johnstown. Sam Evola improved to 11-2-2 on the year as he made 24 saves. Michael Morelli took the loss in net as he made 29 saves.
Kenai River 1 @ MN Magicians 2 - The Minnesota Magicians outlasted the Kenai River Brown Bears as they won on Friday night 2-1. Isaac Novak scored the game’s first goal at the 15:52 mark with help from Robert Christy and Spencer Light. Jack Cronin increased the lead to two with his fourth of the season. Luc Laylin and Trevor Kukkonen grabbed assists on Cronin’s tally. Kenai River would get within one as Brandon Lajoie scored his eighth goal. That would be as close as they would get as Andy Beran stopped 31 of 32 shots. Andrew Rose was dealt the loss as he made 34 stops.
Aberdeen 3 @ Austin 1 - The Aberdeen Wings remained hot as they defeated the Austin Bruins 3-1. Spencer Schneider got the Wings out in front with his seventh goal of the season. Ben Dexheimer thought he would be sending his team to the locker room tied with a goal in the final minute of the middle frame but Cullen Ferguson answered back just 33 seconds later before the end of the period. Thomas Manty chipped in an empty net goal to secure the victory for Aberdeen. Jake Sibell was incredible once again as he stopped 20 of 21 saves. Tyler Shea got the tough luck loss as he turned aside 36 of 38 shots.
Fairbanks 3 @ Chippewa 1 - The Fairbanks Ice Dogs got off to a quick start against the Chippewa Steel as Bret Link and Austin Becker scored in the opening minutes of the first period. Ethan Benz converted on a Chippewa power play to inch the Steel closer but Link’s second tally of the night gave the Ice Dogs a cushion they would not give up. Tyler Herzberg added two assists in the Fairbanks win. Kayden Hargraves got the win in goal as he made 21 saves. Berk Berkeliev made 25 saves in a losing effort.
St. Cloud 3 @ Bismarck 2 (OT) - Brett Chorske grabbed his second overtime winner in as many weeks as the St. Cloud Norsemen topped the Bismarck Bobcats 3-2. Nate Warner scored his first goal of the season to give St. Cloud an early lead but two goals in 29 seconds from Grant Ahcan and Ryan Taylor gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Ryan O’Neill would tie the game for St. Cloud with fourth of the year before Chorske’s winner gave them the extra point. Paxton Geisel took home the win in between the pipes as he made 20 stops. Cameron Korpi took the loss despite making 20 saves.
