Friday Finals: Mudbugs claim South title with comeback win
Lars Rodne had two goals, including the overtime-winner, and an assist to help Bismarck clinch the #2 seed in the Central with an overtime win on Friday.
Amarillo 4 @ Shreveport 5 (SO) - The Shreveport Mudbugs pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks of the season and clinched the South Division title in the process as they shocked the Amarillo Bulls 5-4 in a shootout. Trailing 4-2 with under two minutes remaining, Billy Feczko scored on the power play for his second of the night to bring Shreveport within one. Dawson Sciarrino lit the lamp just 30 seconds later to tie the game at four with his 11th of the year. Adam Kolcon scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Mudbugs the win and the division championship. Sean Bunting also scored in the win for Shreveport while Arseniy Sergeev stopped 33 shots in 65 minutes and all three shooters in the skills competition. Harrison Scott, Paul Schmid, Jere Vaisanen and Nick Siffringer all scored in the second period for the Bulls. Hunter Garvey made 33 saves in a losing effort.
Bismarck 4 @ Minot 3 (OT) - Lars Rodne’s second goal of the game gave the Bismarck Bobcats a 4-3 overtime victory over the Minot Minotauros on Friday night. The Bobcats led more of the evening as Rodne’s first goal in the late moments of the first period gave Bismarck their first lead of the night. Quinn Rudrud scored minutes earlier to nullify Cade Stibbe’s opening goal for Minot. Damon Zimmer would tie the game at the 8:54 mark of the second period but Nicoo Chmelevski put the Bobcats back in front with his fifth goal of the year. Minot would capitalize on a late power play opportunity as Brett Roloson tied the game at three with just under three minutes remaining to force the extra period and Rodne’s game winner. Cameron Korpi had a night to remember as he made a season high 43 saves. Keenan Rancier stopped 31 shots in the loss for Minot.
New Jersey 3 @ Northeast 4 - In a physical battle it was the Northeast Generals outlasting the New Jersey Titans 4-3. Jake Dunlap’s 9th of the year proved to be the game winner for the Generals, he finished with two points on the night. Ricky Boysen led all Northeast players with three points, a goal and two assists. Tyler Cooper and Jonathan Young also got on the scoresheet. Jake Suede netted a pair of power play markers and added an assist while Nick Seitz finished with a goal and an assist for New Jersey. Hugo Haas made 38 stops in net to grab the win. Justin Dickinson took the loss despite making 14 saves in relief of Christian Stoever, who made 17 saves of his own.
Danbury 1 @ Maine 5 - The Maine Nordiques enjoyed a convincing 5-1 over the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks as Stefan Owens led the way with a goal and two helpers. Isaiah Fox chipped in a goal and an assist. Hunter Carrick, Aidan Connolly and Andrew Noel all got on the board in the win. Porter Schachle netted the only tally for Danbury. Avery Sturtz got the win in between the pipes as he made 20 saves. Andrew Pichora took the loss, stopping 30 shots.
Odessa 1 @ Wichita Falls 3 - Three third-period goals helped lift the Wichita Falls Warriors over the Odessa Jackalopes 3-1. Hunter Jones netted the eventual game winner with just 6:23 remaining in regulation and for good measure added the empty netter in the final minute. William Lawson-Body tied the game just minutes before the first goal from Jones. Dayne Hoyord netted the lone goal for Odessa in the loss. Owen Bartoszkiewicz improved to 22-12-4 on the season as he made 23 saves. Noah Rupprecht took the loss in goal, making 14 stops.
St. Cloud 3 @ Austin 5 - John Lundy scored with just 38 seconds remaining to give the Austin Bruins a late lead and they would go on to defeat the St. Cloud Norsemen 5-3. Carson Riddle scored just a minute earlier to tie the game at three with his 14th goal of the season. Kyle Oleksiuk and Barrett Brooks also scored for Austin in the win. Garrett Dahm added an empty net goal in the final seconds. Ryan O’Neill, Brett Chorske and Nikolas Hong were the goal scores for the Norsemen. Hudson Hodges was the winning netminder as he stopped 18 shots. Paxton Geisel took the tough loss despite turning aside 39 shots.
Janesville 1 @ Chippewa 3 - Ian Famulak found the back of the net twice as the Chippewa Steel defeated the Janesville Jets 3-1. Daniel Rozsival contributed the other goal for the Steel while Ethan Benz and Liam Hansson each picked up two assists. Max Itagaki scored in the final minute to spoil the shutout for Berk Berkeliev who was outstanding, stopping 33 of 34 shots fired in his direction. Riley Sims stopped 31 shots in the loss for the Jets.
Aberdeen 7 @ MN Wilderness 1 - Jordan Randall scored twice while Clayton Cosentino had a goal and two assists as the Aberdeen Wings routed the Minnesota Wilderness 7-1. Will Arquiett, Spencer Schneider and Nico DeVita each had goal and an assist while Kevin MacKay also lit the lamp for Aberdeen. Will Traeger had the lone goal for the Wilderness in the loss. Jake Sibell won his 41st game of the year as he made 21 saves, Jacob Zacharewicz stopped 27 shots for Minnesota.
Lone Star 2 @ New Mexico 3 (OT) - Keegan Langefels netted the game winner in overtime as the New Mexico Ice Wolves topped the Lone Star Brahmas 3-2. New Mexico led 2-0 going into the final frame as Brandon Holt and Joey Larson scored 55 seconds apart late in the second period. The Brahmas responded in the third with a goal from Matt MacDonald to cut the lead in half. Lone Star’s Joey Baez tied the game with just 1:27 remaining with his 18th goal of the year. Langefels game winner gave the Ice Wolves their sixth win in seven home contests this season. Beni Halasz stopped 43 shots while Guy Blessing was dealt the loss despite making 31 stops.
Kenai River 6 @ Fairbanks 5 (SO) – The Brown Bears jumped out to a 4-0 lead and survived a furious comeback by the Ice Dogs to bring home a 6-5 shootout win on Friday. Things looked good for the Brown Bears early as they led 4-0 after the 1st period, which included goals from Peter Morgan, Brandon McNamara, Jake Veri, and Gramm McCormack. The Ice Dogs began their comeback in the 2nd period as they cut the lead down to 4-3 thanks to goals from Laker Aldridge, Jake Hale, and Cam Ricotta. The Brown Bears went back up by two goals as Daymin Dodge scored early in the 3rd period to make it 5-3. Later in the period, goals from Jack Ring and Nathan Butler for the Ice Dogs sent the game to overtime and a shootout. In the shootout, Morgan Winters scored the lone goal of the six shooters to win the game for the Brown Bears. Kenai River goalie Nathan Dickey, who was making his NAHL debut, made 51 saves in the win. Ice Dogs goalie Ryan Keyes made 28 saves in the loss.
