Minotauros, Jets, Rhinos, Tomahawks pick up New Year's sweeps
Janesville forward Max Wagener had a hat-trick in a 5-2 win on Sunday, helping the Jets move into 1st place.
Minot 3 @ Bismarck 1 – The Minotauros won their seventh straight game and widened their lead atop the Central to 12 points as they completed a three-game weekend sweep of the Bobcats thanks to a 3-1 win in Bismarck on Sunday. Lukas Swedin made 19 saves to pick up the win in his NAHL debut. Minot jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Joel Lehtinen and Weston Knox. Bismarck made it 2-1 in the 3rd period on their lone goal from Patrick Johnson. Niklas Ketonen would then add an empty-net goal to secure the win and sweep. Klayton Knapp made 39 saves in the loss.
El Paso 2 @ Colorado 1 – The Rhinos completed a three-game road sweep of the Grit and won their sixth straight game thanks to 32 saves from Michael Manzi in a 2-1 win on Sunday. The first two periods were scoreless and El Paso struck first in the 3rd period on a goal from Tory Lund. Christian Carter answered for the Grit three minutes later, but the game-winner came with just under five minutes remaining from Eddie Shepler. Aden Gariepy made 40 saves in the loss for the Grit.
Janesville 5 @ Minnesota 2 – The Jets moved into a tie for 1st place in the Midwest Division as they completed a road sweep of the Wilderness thanks to a 5-2 win on Sunday. The Jets jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 1st period with goals from Christian Venticinque, James Taylor, and Max Wagener. The Wilderness pulled to within 3-2 in the 3rd period with goals from Slava Tugolukov and Adam Johnson, but the Jets would pull away late in the 3rd period with two more goals from Wagener to complete the hat-trick. Matthew Alberti made 39 saves in the win.
Northeast 2 @ Johnstown 3 – The Tomahawks picked up a weekend home sweep of the Generals thanks to 24 saves from Jacob Osborne in a 3-2 win on Sunday. After an opening goal from Generals forward Frank D’Ancona, the Tomahawks scored three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead as Dylan Shane, Reid Lune, and Will Lawrence all found the back of the net. D’Ancona would score again for the Generals late in the 3rd period to make it a 3-2 final.
Odessa 1 @ Lone Star 3 – In their lone game of the weekend, the 1st place Brahmas got 19 saves from Jack Wieneke in a 3-1 win over the Jackalopes, who dropped their fourth straight game. Odessa scored first on a goal from James Richman. The Brahmas came back with a goal from Jacob MacDonald in the 2nd period and David Skuhrovec and Justin Kerr in the 3rd period. Jackalopes goalie Quentin Sigurdson made 34 saves in the loss.
Maine 5 @ Philadelphia 6 (SO) - Jared Coccimiglio had two goals to lead the Rebels to a 6-5 shootout win over the Nordiques to snap Maine’s winning streak. The Rebels controlled the first two periods, jumping out to a 5-2 lead thanks to two goals from Coccimiglio and others from Klaus Jogi, Thomas Neu, and Charles Panchisin, while Liam Gimartin and Tomek Haula scored for Maine. The Nordiques mounted a 3rd period comeback with three goals to tie the game at 5-5 as Nils Forselius, Kellen Murphy, and John Paul Steel all scored. In the shootout, Shawn Ramsey had the only goal for the win for the Rebels. Jakub Krbecek made 34 saves in the win.
New Mexico 3 @ Amarillo 5 – The Wranglers scored four times in the 3rd period and Jack Ivey added two goals and an assist to pick up a 5-3 win over the Ice Wolves. After two periods, the score was 1-1 as Ivey scored for Amarillo, with Ryan Johnson answering for New Mexico. In the 3rd period, Amarillo got another goal from Ivey and others from Alex Stepanek, Trace Day, and Jack McDonald to complete the win. Johnson had another goal for the Ice Wolves and Graham Harris also scored. Connor McDonough made 21 saves in the win.
