Friday Finals: Wings roll to sixth straight win
St. Cloud 1 @ Aberdeen 5: The Wings continue to stay hot in the central, picking up their 6th consecutive win Friday night after dominating the Norsemen 5-1. Hagen Moe got the visitors on the board seven minutes into the 1st but it was all Aberdeen from there as Kie Vahakangas and Riley Sharun both tickled twine before intermission. Zach Reim and Nikolai Tishkevich extended Aberdeen’s lead in the middle frame while Logan Gravnik added some insurance in the 3rd with his 11th goal of the season. Adam Dybal played stellar between the pipes for the Wings, stopping all but one of 34 shots faced. Ryan Manzella kept out 27 shots for St. Cloud.
Anchorage 4 @ Chippewa 3: The Wolverines scored four goals in the first 40 minutes and prevented a comeback to secure a crucial 4-3 win on the road. Bryce Monrean got Anchorage’s offense rolling early, breaking the deadlock just 40 seconds into the game. Monrean would go on to score another later in the period and Danny Bagnole tallied another for the Wolverines while Cam Springer got the Steel on the board to keep them in the game. Joey Sylvester and Joe Kelly sprung Chippewa’s offense in the 2nd to tie the game with scores. Taisetsu Ushio reached double digits in goals on the season by scoring the eventual game-winner with 9 seconds remaining in the middle frame. Liam Beerman picked up the win, making 36 saves while Carter Wishart kept out 23 for Chippewa.
North Iowa 3 @ Austin 5: The Bruins snapped a four-game losing streak after taking down North Iowa 5-3 on home ice. The Bulls got off to a strong start as Max LeDuc and Carter Theissen tallied consecutive goals. Kaden Muir found the back of the net late in the period to cut the deficit in half. Scores would be level through 40 minutes at 2-2 thanks to Ocean Wallace’s tally, his 11th of the season. Wallace and Dylan Cook would find consecutive goals in the 3rd to give Austin their first lead of the night. Jayden Veney scored late to decrease the deficit but Austin Salani silenced the comeback bid with a late goal. Trent Wiemken was the victor between the pipes, stopping 16 shots. Santo Simmchen made 21 saves for North Iowa.
Oklahoma 2 @ Shreveport 4: The Mudbugs found the back of the net in all three periods en route to a 4-2 win, their sixth consecutive. Oklahoma’s William Ahlrik and Shreveport’s Kyan Haldenby traded goals to keep the game level through 20. Ryan Burke lit the lamp with his 12 of the year midway through the 2nd. Shreveport’s Brent Litchard extended the lead ten minutes into the final frame before Max Dronen cut the deficit in half with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Haldenby tallied his 2nd of the game 58 seconds later to seal the win. Eliot Seguin-Lescarbeau was formidable in Shreveport’s net, stopping 29 of 31 shots faced. William Stuski kept out 26 for the Warriors.
Bismarck 2 @ Minot 4: The Minotauros extended their 1st place lead in the Central Division after taking down the Bobcats 4-2. Cayden Casey scored the lone goal in the 1st period to keep the Minot fans happy through 20. Chad Muller and Caysey extended the lead in the 2nd with scores. Tamas Toth got Bismarck on the board early in the final frame but Adam Mahler scored minutes later to regain that three-goal lead. Chase Beacom tallied a goal for the visitors with 25 seconds remaining in the game but it was too late to rally a comeback. Brady James kept out 18 of 20 for the Minotauros while Stephen Peck made 35 saves for the Bobcats.
Odessa 2 @ Corpus Christi 3: Stepan Kuznetsov’s tally 13:17 into the final frame proved to be the edge in Corpus Christi’s 3-2 victory over the Jacks. Anthony Cafarelli scored for the IceRays early in the 1st before Theodore Manlove tied it for Odessa later in the frame. It was the same story in the 2nd as Corpus Christi’s Mathieu Bourgault and Odessa’s Riley Rosenthal traded scores to keep the game level. Bryan Marks was the victor in net, stopping 30 of 32 for the IceRays while Quentin Sigurdson made 20 saves for the Jackalopes.
El Paso 8 @ Colorado Grit 5: An offensive barrage in the 2nd and 3rd periods lifted the Rhinos past Colorado 8-5 on the road. The score was 1-1 through 20 minutes as Alexander German buried for the Grit while Mason LeBel scored for El Paso. LeBel, AJ Reed (2), and Jakub Jerman poured on four goals in the middle frame for the Rhinos while Camden Bajzer, and Frank Tafelski also tallied goals in the 3rd. Joey LoVullo kept out 21 of 26 shots in the win while Jack Erickson made 28 saves for the Grit.
