Midwest Division continues to shine on Day 2 of NAHL Showcase
The Midwest Division is making a statement at the NAHL Showcase and Day 2 was no exception. Another great turnout of hundreds of NHL, NCAA and junior scouts saw some great action. Day 3 faces off at 10am (central) on Friday.
Watch all the games live on FASTHockey
Here are some helpful links to assist with the five days of hockey:
HPHL Schedule and Scores (18U, 16U)
Upper Midwest High School Elite League Schedule and Scores
Aberdeen Wings 4 vs. Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 2 – The Aberdeen Wings jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they stayed undefeated on the young season with a 4-2 win over Rio Grande Valley, handing the Killer Bees their first regulation loss of the season. Bjorn Sigurdarson amd Jake Horton both scored in the 1st period for the Wings. The Bees got on the board early in the 2nd period on a goal from JB Baker, but Aberdeen answered back to make it 3-1 on a goal from Lennart Palausch. Ben Greiner closed the gap to 3-2 with a power play goal late in the 2nd period. Erik Gollenbeck added a 3rd period insurance goal for the Wings, who got 34 saves from Henry Dill in the win. Boxscore
Minnesota Magicians 3 vs. Michigan Warriors 2 – The Minnesota Magicians picked up their first ever NAHL win with a 3-2 victory over the Michigan Warriors thanks to a last minute power play goal from Derick Kuchera. After a scoreless 1st period, things looked good in the 2nd period for the Warriors as they went up 1-0 on goal from Cody Lichtenvoort. The Magicians stormed back in the 3rd period with two goals from Nicholas Kuchera and Colin Herndon. TJ Stuntz tied the game at 2-2 midway through the 3rd period, which set up Derick Kuchera’s game-winner, which was a shot from the point on a power play with :26 seconds remaining in regulation. Boxscore
Wichita Falls Wildcats 7 vs. Brookings Blizzard 1 – Nick Farmer had two goals and an assist as the Wichita Falls Wildcats pushed their season record to a perfect 4-0-0 with a convincing 7-1 win over the Brookings Blizzard. The Wildcats scored early and often as Farmer scored in the 1st and 2nd period along with goals from Sam Piazza and Rudy Junda to take a 4-0 lead halfway through the game. A late 2nd period power play goal from Nick DeCenzo put the Blizzard on the board. However, the Wildcats put the game on ice in the 3rd period with three more goals from Josh Haverstrom, Max Reisinger and Junda’s second marker of the game as the Wildcats outshot the Blizzard, 42-26. Boxscore
Port Huron Fighting Falcons 3 vs. Minot Minotauros 2 (SO) – It took two periods, but Port Huron and Minot treated the fans at the Schwan Super Rink to an exciting finish as the Minotauros tied the game with just seconds left in regulation only to see Port Huron win the game in the shootout. The game was scoreless until late in the 2nd period as Tim Donohue scored a shorthanded goal to make it 1-0 for Minot. Port Huron took a 2-1 lead in the 3rd period on back-to-back power play goals from Matt Jones and Mitch Maloney. The Minotauros tied the game on a desperation shot that trickled through traffic and over the goal line with just .3 seconds remaining. In the shootout, Austin Romzek scored the shootout winner for the Falcons. Boxscore
Fairbanks Ice Dogs 5 vs. Soo Eagles 2 – Fairbanks moved their record to a perfect 4-0-0 on the season as they controlled the second half of the game and scored five unanswered goals on their way to a 5-2 win over the Soo Eagles. Things were going the Eagles way early as they led 2-0 on a 1st period power play goal from Kristofers Bindulis and a 2nd period goal from Jimmy Slivka. Fairbanks responded back to tie the game at 2-2 before the second period courtesy of two goals from Yannick Vedel. David Kaplan, Logan Wendling and Nick Hinz added 3rd period goals as the Ice Dogs ended up outshooting the Eagles, 36-14. Boxscore
Austin Bruins 5 vs. Lone Star Brahmas 2 – On the strength of 61 shots, the Austin Bruins defeated the Lone Star Brahmas on Day 2 of the NAHL Showcase by a score of 5-2. It was all Bruins in the 1st period as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the heels of goals from Niko Hildenbrand, Guillaume Leclerc and Trevor Boyd. The Brahmas answered back with their first goal of the game less than a minute into the 2nd period off the stick of Jan Hudecek, but Hildenbrand responded with his second goal of the game to make it 4-1. Jay Dickman added a late 2nd period goal to make it 5-1. Leo Lumm added a 3rd period goal for the Brahmas, who fell to 1-2-1 on the season, while Austin improved to 2-0-0. Boxscore
Topeka RoadRunners 6 vs. Johnstown Tomahawks 5 (SO) – The Tomahawks battled back from a three-goal deficit to tie the game and earn their first point of the season, but in the end the RoadRunners triumphed as all three shooters scored in the shootout in a 6-5 win. After Johnstown led 2-1 in the 2nd period, Topeka scored four straight goals from Tomas Nechala, Tyler Groat, Jerad Tafoya and Peter Halash. Tyler Poulsen also scored for the ‘Runners. Brandon Reinholz scored twice for the Tomahawks, who scored three goals in the 3rd period to tie the game at 5-5 and ultimately send it to a shootout. Jordan Watt, Shane Cuckovich and Shane Bednard had the other markers for Johnstown. Boxscore
Springfield Jr. Blues 4 vs. Odessa Jackalopes 0 – In his first NAHL start, Jr. Blues goalie Sandro Aeschlimann stopped all 23 shots that came his way in a shutout of the Odessa Jackalopes on Thursday by a 4-0 score. Kyle Shreve scored the game’s opening goal in the 1st period, which proved to be the game-winner. Michael Mylchreest added two goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods and Trevor Stone also scored for Springfield, who improved their record to 1-1-0, while Odessa fell to 0-5-0 with the loss. Yoshihiro Kuroiwa made 27 saves in the Jackalopes loss. Boxscore
Coulee Region Chill 3 vs. Corpus Christi IceRays 2 – The Chill jumped out to a 3-0 lead and survived a late push by the IceRays to win 3-2. Coulee Region stayed undefeated on the young season, moving to 2-0-0, while Corpus Christi fell to 1-3-0. All of the Chill’s goals came via the power play including the opening two, which both came off the stick of Richard Zehnal. Adam Lovick added a late 2nd period power play goal to make the score 3-0. In the 3rd period, the IceRays climbed to within 3-2 on goals from Eric Purcell and Lucas Bennett, but could not find the equalizer. Adam Carlson made 22 saves in the win. Boxscore
Wenatchee Wild 2 vs. Minnesota Wilderness 1 (SO) – In a tightly contested game that featured some great goaltending on both sides, it was the Wenatchee Wild who fought off some late game penalties to eventually win in a shootout, 2-1. After a scoreless 1st period, the Wild struck first as Gadel Gumerov snapped a shot that beat Wilderness goaltender Frank Oplinger to the far side. Just six minutes later the Wilderness would answer as Billy Exell scored his first career NAHL goal to tie the game at 1-1. In the shootout, Wenatchee was down to its final shooter, but managed to get three straight tries past Oplinger for the win. Wild goaltender Chase Perry made 27 saves for the win in his NAHL debut. Boxscore
Kenai River Brown Bears 4 vs. Janesville Jets 3 (SO) – The Brown Bears battled back from two goals down to tie the game at 3-3 and ultimately won in a shootout, 4-3. Kenai River improved to 2-2-0, while the Jets fell to 0-1-1. The Jets led 3-1 after the 1st period on goals from Adam Winborg, Jordan Himley and Michael Louria. The lone Brown Bears goal in the period came from Matt Rudin. Kenai River got two goals from Alec Butcher and Jack Gessert to tie the game and had two shooters score in the shootout to edge the Jets. Boxscore
Bismarck Bobcats 3 vs. Amarillo Bulls 1 – Bobcats goalie Aaron Nelson outdueled Amarillo’s Paul Berrafato as Bismarck handed the Bulls their first loss of the season by the 3-1 score in the final game of Day 2 at the NAHL Showcase. After a scoreless 1st period in which both goalies shined, Amarillo took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd period on a power play goal from Omar Mullan. It would be the Bobcats the rest of the way as Matt Anders tied the game at 1-1 late in the 2nd period. Filip Starzynski added the eventual game-winning goal early in the 3rd period and Nelson made the lead hold, making 26 saves. Daniel Kovar added a 190-foot empty net goal to secure the win for the Bobcats as both teams are now 1-1-0. Boxscore
