Friday Finals: Falcons keep flying in the North
Soo Eagles 0 @ Port Huron Fighting Falcons 3 – Alex Blankenburg stopped all 21 shots that came his way to continue his hot play as the Fighting Falcons increased their 1st place lead in the North Division with a 3-0 shutout win over the Soo Eagles. Port Huron got off to a fast start, scoring two 1st period goals from Zach Badalamenti and Mitch Maloney. Badalamenti scored another goal in the 2nd period and Blankenburg did the rest, which included a penalty shot stop. Soo goalie Paige Skoog made 38 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Janesville Jets 4 @ Minnesota Magicians 3 (SO) – Brock Kautz made 47 saves and then stopped all the Magicians shooters in the shootout as Janesville edged Minnesota, 4-3. The Jets got two of their three goals from Drew Callin, who scored the first and the third goals for the Jets. Jordan Himley had the other Jets goal, which came in the 1st period and gave Janesville a 2-0 lead. The Magicians tied the game at 2-2 on goals from Colin Herndon and Will Johnson. Nicholas Kuchera answered Callin’s second goal to send the game to a shootout where Himley, Callin and Michael Louria scored. Boxscore
Amarillo Bulls 5 @ Corpus Christi IceRays 3 – In front of almost 6,400 fans at the Americanbank Center in Corpus Christi, the visiting Amarillo Bulls climbed back from a 3-1 deficit and scored four unanswered goals in a 5-3 win. The IceRays jumped out to a 3-1 lead on goals from Jason Lem, Jake Durflinger and Connor Kelly. Amarillo’s lone goal was from Connor Frey. Down 3-1, Mike Davis scored back-to-back goals for the Bulls to even the game at 3-3 in the 2nd period and Joe Grabowkski’s power play goal right before intermission put the Bulls up 4-3. An empty-net goal from Tyler Gernhofer secured the 5-3 win. Boxscore
Bismarck Bobcats 0 @ Austin Bruins 3 – Justin Quale stopped all 20 shots that came his way to post his first shutout of the season as Austin blanked Bismarck to increase their 1st place lead in the Central Division. Brennan Sanford scored the opening goal for the Bruins in the 1st period, which would end up as the eventual game-winner. Trey Dodd and Lucas Kohls would add 3rd period goals as insurance for the Bruins. Bismarck’s Aaron Nelson took the loss in goal, making 23 saves. Boxscore
Minnesota Wilderness 3 @ Aberdeen Wings 0 – The amazing scoreless run that the Wilderness are on continued with a 3-0 shutout of the Aberdeen Wings. Goalie Kasimir Kaskisuo stopped all 33 shots that came his way for his league-leading 6th shutout of the season as the Wilderness extended their streak of not allowing a goal to 292 minutes and 54 seconds. Lance Carney scored a 2nd period goal and Thomas Lindstrom and Dan Litchke added 3rd period tallies for Minnesota. Henry Dill made 27 saves in the loss for the Wings. Boxscore
Kenai River Brown Bears 1 @ Fairbanks Ice Dogs 3 – In front of a sold out crowd in Fairbanks, Kevin Aldridge made 23 saves to lead the Ice Dogs past their in-state rival. Fairbanks jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the 1st period on goals from Tayler Munson and Duggie Lagrone. Jake Bushey scored the lone goal for Kenai River. Brett Gervais added a 2nd period goal for Fairbanks and that’s all the Ice Dogs and Aldridge would need. Zach Quinn made 31 saves in the loss for Kenai River, who have now dropped their last three games. Boxscore
Michigan Warriors 2 @ Wenatchee Wild 3 (OT) – In a thrilling game in Wenatchee, Chris Koukis scored with just one second to go in overtime, as the Wild edged the visiting Warriors. After no scoring in the 1st period, the two teams traded goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods as Nick Govig and Jake Hopfner scored for the Warriors and Nicholas Rivera and Andre Pison scored for the Wild. On the overtime winner, Koukis sent a harmless wrist shot from the top of the right circle which eluded Michigan goalie Trevor Gorsuch. Gustaf Johansson made 21 saves in the win. Boxscore
Odessa Jackalopes 2 @ Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees 4 – Two 3rd period goals were the difference as the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees kept pace in the South with a 4-2 win over the visiting Jackalopes, which snapped Odessa’s three-game winning streak. The teams traded goals in the 1st and 2nd periods as Trace Jablin and Mathieu Briand scored for Odessa and Evan Schmidbauer and Ben Greiner scored for Rio Grande Valley. In the 3rd period Tyler Bruneteau and Nick Balboa added markers for the Killer Bees. Goalie Nick Schmit made 17 saves for his first win in a Killer Bees uniform. Boxscore
Lone Star Brahmas 1 @ Wichita Falls Wildcats 9 – It was a dominating performance from start to finish as the Wildcats got back on track in a big fashion with a 9-1 home win over the Brahmas. Will Vosejpka scored twice as did Kyle Bauman. Ben Kuchera added four assists in the win. The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Kristaps Bazevics, Kirk Van Arkel and Nick Farmer. After a goal from Lone Star’s Matt Lison, it was more Wichita Falls scoring as Vosejpka and Bauman added their two along with others from Colin Staub and Tyler Ledford. Boxscore
Springfield Jr. Blues 1 @ Johnstown Tomahawks 5 – The Tomahawks moved into sole possession of 3rd place in the North with a convincing 5-1 win over the Springfield Jr. Blues in front of almost 3,400 fans in Johnstown. The Tomahawks dominated the opening two periods as they jumped out to a 2-0 1st period lead on goals from Omar Mullan and Matthew Meier. Shane Bednard added two goals in the 2nd period and Brandon Reinholz also scored to put the Tomahawks up 5-0. Mike Severson scored the lone Jr. Blues goal on the power play in the 3rd period. Johnstown’s Alex Okicki made 20 saves in the win. Boxscore
Brookings Blizzard 4 @ Minot Minotauros 2 – The Blizzard got a little revenge from last weekend as they turned the tables on Minot with a 4-2 win to open their weekend series. After the teams were deadlocked after two periods at 1-1 on goals from Minot’s Jacob Howie and Brookings’ Branislav Rapac, the Blizzard exploded for three 3rd period goals from Wyatt Schmidt, Jeff Flicker and Conor Andrle. Tyler Shipstad had the other goal for the Minotauros. Austin Priebe made 24 saves in the win. Boxscore
