Friday Finals: Norsemen snap Wilderness streak with shutout
Fairbanks forward Kyle Rohrer scored two goals in a 6-2 win on Friday as the Ice Dogs extended their winning streak to three games.
Minnesota 0 @ St. Cloud 4: In their first matchup since December 3, 2022, the Norsemen dominated the cross-divisional matchup by taking down Minnesota in shutout fashion, which snapped the 10-game winning streak of the Wilderness. Hudson Blue and Andrew Cumming both found twine in the 1st period to put St. Cloud ahead early. Tyler Dysart found his 3rd and 4th goals of the season in the middle frame to double the lead and put the game out of reach. The star of the game was St. Cloud netminder Max Weilandt as he kept out all 18 shots for his 3rd career shutout. Nick Erickson kept out 21 shots for the Wilderness.
Fairbanks 6 @ Kenai River 2: The Fairbanks Ice Dogs topped the Kenai River Brown Bears by a score of 6-2. After a scoreless first period, both teams were evened up 2-2 after goals from Fairbanks Kyler Rohrer and Daivd Clarke and Kenai’s Dylan Conteras and Joseph Yoon. In the third period it was all Fairbanks with Jake Cameron, Cole Burke, Reece Codray, and Ian Norkevicus all scoring for a 6-2 final score Goaltender Tyler Krivstov stopped 26 of the 28 shots he faced in the win.
Bismarck 0 @ Austin 4: The Austin Bruins added three goals in the second period and one in the third to shutout the Bismarck Bobcats in a 4-0 final. Austin Salani started the scoring in the second period with Dylan Cook and Ashton Bynum on the assist. Damon Furuseth netted a goal at 10:44 to extend the lead 2-0. Later in the middle frame, Ocean Wallace scored to add to the Bruins lead going into the fist intermission, 3-0. In the third, Kaden Muri finalized the win for the Bruins adding a goal at 11:17 for a 4-0 final. Bruins netminder Trent Wiemken backstopped 16 shots in the shutout win.
Minot 4 @ Aberdeen 2: The Minot Minotauros scored twice in the first and third periods to take a 4-2 win against the Aberdeen Wings. In the first period, Jack O’Hanisain scored to get Minot ahead 1-0. Soon after, Leonid Bulgakov evened the game 1-1 with a goal at 11:38. O’Hanisain added his second of the night to extend the Minot lead, 2-1. In the third period, Bennett Koupal added a goal at 7:48 to get Aberdeen on the board again 2-2. The Minotauors took back to the lead with a goal from Ian Spencer at 8:03. Later in the period, Minot sealed the win with a goal from Joel Lehtinen for a 4-2 final score. Goaltender Brady James got the win after stopping 18 of 20 shots.
Shreveport 0 @ Amarillo 2: The Amarillo Wranglers blanked Shreveport in a 2-0 final score. In the second period, Luke Morris netted a goal for a 1-0 Wrangler lead. In the third period, forward Connor McNaughton scored for a 2-0 Wranglers win. Connor McDonough stopped 15 shots in the shutout win.
Lone Star 1 @ El Paso 2: The El Paso Rhinos rallied in the third period scoring two goals to take a 2-1 win against the Lone Star Brahmas. The action picked up in the third period where Tory Lund got the Rhinos on the board for a 1-0 score. Ivan Zadvernyuk evened the game for the Brahmas, 1-1. Soon after, Anthony Eaton scored the game winning goal for a 2-1 Rhinos win. Goalie Micheal Manzi stopped 11 shots in the win.
New Mexico 5 @ Colorado 4 (OT): The New Mexico Ice Wolves took an overtime victory against the Colorado Grit, 5-4. Nicholas Capasso netted a goal for a 1-0 Colorado lead. In the second period, George Poirier added to the Colorado lead, 2-0. The Ice Wolves went on the attack adding three unanswered goals with Brady Borgestad, Jordan Tacheny and Zach Boren for a 3-2 lead. In the third, the Ice Wolves added to their lead with a goal from Ryan Seelinger, 4-2. The Grit evened the game with goals from Payton Miller and Alexander German for a 4-4 score and to force overtime. In the extra frame, Dillan Kuntz got the win for the Ice Wolves for a 5-4 final score. Goaltender Jackson Fuller got the win after stopping 40 shots.
New Jersey 2 @ Danbury 4: Despite trailing 2-0 after 40 minutes of play, the Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks rallied in the 3rd as they scored four goals and snapped a seven-game losing streak. Kristofers Krumins broke the deadlock late in the 1st period to give the visitors a lead. Nikita Meshcheryakov doubled the lead early on in the 2nd period with his 9th goal of the season. From then on it was all Danbury as Wyatt Stefan, Grant Dietz, Alexios Georgaklis, and Jacob Roberson poured on consecutive goals. Miles Roberts made 26 stops in the win while Zakari Brice kept out 18 in the loss.
Rochester 2 @ Maryland 4: The Black Bears continue to defend home ice and top spot in the East, taking down the Jr. Americans 4-2 and bringing their win streak to five games. Luca Leighton put the visitors ahead early on in the 1st period but Jesse Horacek answered just 27 seconds later to tie the game. Dimitry Kebreau found the back of the net later on in the period to give Maryland a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd. In the middle frame the two squads traded goals as Jaden Dyke buried for Rochester while Luke Amell found the back of the net for the Black Bears. Trayce Johnson buried early on in the 3rd to provide some cushion and eventually seal the win. Colin Roman picked up the win making 19 saves while Cole O’Donnell kept out 20 in the loss.
Maine 3 @ New Hampshire 2: A goal from Army commit Kellen Murphy with 3:55 remaining in regulation was enough for the Nordiques to outlast the Mountain Kings 3-2. Offense was on full force in the opening frame as Layton Liffrig and Brandon Spaulding found the back of the net for New Hampshire while San Jose Shark draft pick Liam Gilmartin kept the Nords in it with his first career NAHL goal. Gilmartin doubled his output late in the 3rd period from Jake Bernadet to tie the game heading into the 3rd. Murphy’s goal would be the last as Thomas Heaney and the Nordiques were able to hold on to their lead. Heaney kept out 26 of 28 in the win while Matt Schoephoerster kept out an impressive 49 shots in the loss.
Chippewa 1 @ Wisconsin 3: The Windigo found the back of the net twice in the final frame to power past the Steel 3-1. The two clubs traded goals in the opening frame as Zephyr Tangril scored his first goal of the season for Wisconsin while Talan Blanck continued his offensive prowess with his 7th goal of the season for Chippewa. A scoreless 2nd period led to Wisconsin’s push in the 3rd as Jacob Jastrzebski and Logan Nickolaus both found the back of the net. Linards Lipskis picked up the win stopping all but one of 30 shots faced while Carter Wishart kept out 27 for the Windigo.
North Iowa 1 @ Springfield 2: North Iowa and Springfield hadn’t matched up against each other since December of last year until tonight as the Jr. Blues edged past the Bulls 2-1. Logan Sutton put Springfield on the board first with his 3rd goal of the season. Zach Howard found twine early on in the middle frame to double Springfield’s lead. Hayden Siegel lit the lamp for the visitors in the 3rd period but they were unable to make the comeback. JJ Cataldo was the backstop for the Jr. Blues, stopping all but one of 35 shots faced. Connor Graham made 24 saves for the Bulls.
