Topeka, Kenai River win on Thursday
Odessa Jackalopes 0 @ Topeka RoadRunners 4 – After six long weeks away the Topeka RoadRunners were finally back at Landon Arena Thursday night. Two goals in each of the first two periods and a stellar performance by PJ Bridges combined to clip the Jackalopes 4-0 in the first game of this three-game series. In the 1st period Topeka’s Mike Gornall broke through with the eventual game-winner at 10:45 after a flurry in front of net. Andrew Roye added another less than five minutes later to give the Runners a 2-0 lead heading into the second. Sly Sutter found the net unassisted at 4:56 of the second to make it 3-0. At 10:50 while shorthanded, Jake Kamrass stole the puck in the offensive zone and delivered it to the top shelf over Odessa goalie Eric Hancock to seal the deal at 4-0 before the third period could even begin. PJ Bridges was more than equal to the task, stopping all 16 shots on net, Bridges earned his second shutout of the season and the team’s third. Boxscore
Minnesota Wilderness 1 @ Kenai River Brown Bears 2 – A once hot Wilderness team has been cooled off in their trip to Alaska as the Kenai River Brown Bears snapped a six-game losing streak on Thursday night with a 2-1 win over Minnesota. Goalie Kris Oldham had his second solid start in a row, making 27 saves in the win. Minnesota’s Kasimir Kaskisuo made 35 saves in the loss. The Wilderness jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a power play goal by Jakob Romo, but less than two minutes later the Brown Bears would respond with a goal from Vincent Stefan to tie the game at 1-1 after one period. Late in the 2nd period Albin Karlsson would scored the eventual game-winner as Oldham and the defense held the fort the rest of the way. The win moved the 3rd place Brown Bears one point behind 2nd place Fairbanks. Boxscore
