Friday Finals: Warriors take over South lead with 7th straight win
Evan Hunter had a goal and two assists to lead the Bobcats to a 6-1 win in Aberdeen, which moved them into a playoff spot in the Central Division.
Corpus Christi 1 @ Oklahoma 9: Mikko Liukkonen scored four goals as the Oklahoma Warriors dominated the Corpus Christi IceRays 9-1. The win moved the Warriors into sole possession of 1st place in the South and extended their winning streak to seven straight games. William Ahlrik had a pair of tallies and an assist. Rylan Brady added a goal and an assist in the win. Joey Delgreco and Hunter Jones also got on the scoresheet for Oklahoma. Nils Forselius provided the lone goal for the IceRays in the loss. Daniel Duris needed just 11 saves to earn the win in goal while Lukas Malant and Patrik Jurcak combined to make 15 stops for Corpus Christi.
Bismarck 6 @ Aberdeen 1: Evan Hunter had a goal and two assists to lead the Bismarck Bobcats to a 6-1 win over the Aberdeen Wings. Patrick Johnson netted a pair of goals while Michael Neumeier added three assists. Brandon Reller and Vertti Jantunen visited the red light district while Sean Kenny found the back of the net in his NAHL debut. Luke Backel had the only goal for the Wings in the loss. Linards Lipskis grabbed the win in goal as he made 35 saves. Geno Pichora was dealt the loss as he made 16 stops.
Johnstown 6 @ Danbury 0: The Tomahawks picked up their 3rd straight victory and 4th win in their past six games after shutting out Danbury 6-0. Ethan Perrault opened the scoring just 33 seconds into the contest with an unassisted goal. Will Moore added his 4th of the season before the period break to double the lead. Andrew King, Will Lawrence, and Ryan Vellucci all found the back of the net in the 2nd to extend the lead. Justin Rapp added on more insurance with a score early in the final frame. Alec Rajalin-Scharp picked up his 3rd shutout of the season, making 18 saves in the contest. Karlis Mezsargs kept out 26 of 32 shots faced for Danbury.
Northeast 6 @ Maryland 3: The Generals scored four goals in the 2nd period to lead them past the Black Bears 6-3 on the road. Frank D’ancona scored his 2nd of the season to give Northeast a 1-0 lead through 20 minutes. The two squads combined for six goals in the middle frame as Samuel Stitz, Branden Piku, and Riley Ruh buried goals for Maryland while Ryan Schelling, Jackson McCarthy, and Paul Minnehan found the back of the net for the Generals. Entering the 3rd period with a one-goal lead, the Generals didn’t back down as Ryan Remick scored his 10th of the season 2:28 into the period to extend the lead. Andrew DellaDonna sealed the victory with a score late in the period. Topy Hopp picked up the victory making 32 saves on 35 shots. Jack Wieneke kept out 19 in the loss.
North Iowa 3 @ St. Cloud 4: A pair of goals in the first two periods was enough for the Norsemen to edge past North Iowa 4-3. Hunter Hanson and Tyler Dysart both tickled twine in the opening frame to put St. Cloud up a pair of goals. Jack Wandmacher and Blake Perbix provided more offense with scores in the middle frame. Jackson Bisson got the Bulls on the board 5:54 into the period with his 7th of the season. Logan Dombrosky and Landon MacDonald brought the Bulls within a score in the 3rd period but the Norsemen were able to hold on. Ethan Dahlmeir kept out 25 of 28 shots for St. Cloud while Mitch Day kept out 16 shots for North Iowa.
Chippewa 1 @ Janesville 3: A dominant goaltending performance from Selby Warren fueled the Jets past Chippewa 3-1. After a scoreless opening frame, Matthew Grannan put the visitors ahead with an unassisted goal 5:17 into the 2nd period. From then on the Jets found their offense as Jimmy Doyle and Gabriel Lundberg helped the Jets propel back to take a lead in the 3rd. Mack Keryluk added an empty netter with 29 seconds remaining to seal the win. Warren finished the night making an impressive 35 saves on 36 shots faced. Carter Wishart kept out 20 shots for the steel.
New Jersey 2 @ Philadelphia 3: The Rebels look to build momentum in the East Division after taking down the Titans 3-2 and finding the win column in consecutive games. New Jersey’s Robert Hyde scored the first goal of the contest 9:59 into the opening frame. Connor Sedlak and Otto Pauls Polakovs powered Philadelphia’s comeback in the contest, Polakovs scoring his first in a Rebels sweater. Tyler Stern extended the lead for Philadelphia early in the 3rd period. Hyde found the back of the net again later in the period but the Rebels and netminder Jakub Krbecek were able to hang on for the victory. Krbecek made 26 saves in the victory while Zakari Brice kept out 20 of 23 for the Titans.
Minnesota 2 @ Springfield 1: In a contest that only saw a combined 39 shots, Isak Posch and the Wilderness were able to come out on top 2-1 against the Jr. Blues. The two clubs traded goals early in the opening frame as Calvin Knight buried for the Wilderness and Landry Schmuck tickled twine for Springfield. That 1-1 scoreline held true until 12:58 into the 3rd period when Gunnar Thoreson found the back of the net from Charlie Erickson and Kevin Marx Noren. Posch finished the night stopping 18 of 19 while Springfield’s Carson Dorfman kept out 20 of 22 in the loss.
Lone Star 0 @ Shreveport 2: The Mudbugs leveled up with New Mexico for 3rd place in the South Division after shutting out Lone Star 2-0 on home ice. After a scoreless opening period, Drake Morse broke the deadlock with a powerplay goal 10:48 into the 2nd period. Logan Heroux put the finishing touches on the win with an empty netter with 1:13 remaining in the contest. Simon Bucheler was perfect for Shreveport, stopping all 18 shots faced in the win. William Gramme kept out all but one of 25 shots faced in the loss.
New Mexico 1 @ Odessa 6: It was all Odessa early and often as the Jackalopes rode four first period goals en route to a 6-1 win over the Ice Wolves. Emerson Goode registered a hat trick and an assist. Dayne Hoyord logged a goal and three helpers while William Marshall also had three assists. Cameron Dunn and Ryan Kelly also popped in a goal for Odessa. Gergely Orosz was the winner in goal as he made 36 saves. Carsen Stokes made 23 stops for New Mexico.
Austin 2 @ Minot 3: Chase LaPinta picked up a pair of goals as the Minot Minotauros edged the Austin Bruins by a score of 3-2. Tory Lund chipped in a goal and an assist for Minot while Noah Rupprecht was sensational in goal, making 39 saves to grab the win in between the pipes. Matthew Desiderio had a goal and an assist for Austin while Gavin Morrissey also lit the lamp. Ethan Robertson and Trent Wiemken teamed up to make 17 saves.
Amarillo 5 @ El Paso 2: Rihards Simanovics registered two goals to lead the Amarillo Wranglers over the El Paso Rhinos by a score of 5-2. Trey Williams, Connor McNaughton and Jack McDonald also picked up goals for the Wranglers in the win. Frank Tafelski and Mark LaFrance were the goal scorers for the Rhinos. Luca Ganz was the winner in goal as he made 32 saves. Nolan Suggs and CJ Kier combined to make 28 stops for El Paso.
Fairbanks 5 @ Anchorage 2: The Fairbanks Ice Dogs snapped their three-game losing streak as they took down the Anchorage Wolverines 5-2. Billy Renfrew led the way with two goals and an assist. Julian Recine had a goal and an assist of his own while Domenick Evtimov and Cole Burke also scored for the Ice Dogs. Tomek Haula and Jackson Reineke provided the offense for Anchorage. Kayden Hargraves stopped 38 shots to get the win for Fairbanks. Shane Soderwall was dealt the loss, he made 17 saves.
Wisconsin 2 @ Kenai River 3: Hayden Walters goal with 3:29 remaining proved to be the difference as the Kenai River Brown Bears snapped the Wisconsin Windigo’s seven game winning streak with a 3-2 win on Friday night, Walters finished the game with two goals while Kotaro Tustsumi also netted a goal for the Brown Bears. Luke Levandowski continued his strong play with a goal and an assist. Zachary Cline lit the lamp for the Windigo as well. Nils Wallstrom got the win in goal as he made 23 saves. Maxwell Beckford took the loss in net with 35 stops of his own.
