Saturday Scores: Brahmas close in on South title with sweep
Lone Star 3 @ Rio Grande Valley 2 (OT) – The Brahmas increased their South Division lead to four points thanks to a 3-2 overtime win and weekend road sweep of Rio Grande Valley. Storm Wahlrab scored the overtime-winner a minute into the extra session. After a scoreless 1st period, the Killer Bees led 2-1 after two periods with goals from Dallas Gerads and Stathis Soumelidis. Hunter Stanley had the lone 2nd period goal for Lone Star. The Brahmas tied things late in the 3rd period on a goal from AJ Vanderbeck. TJ Black made 16 saves in the win. Boxscore
MN Wilderness 2 @ Austin 5 – Trevor Boyd had a hat-trick to lead the Austin Bruins to a 5-2 win on Saturday, completing a weekend sweep of the Wilderness and close in on the Central Division title. Things were tied up at 2-2 halfway through the game as the Wilderness got goals from Ian Mansfield and Aaron Miller, which were answered by goals from Tony Uglem and Luke Dietsch for the Bruins. Boyd then took over with three straight goals, including one late in the 2nd period and two in the 3rd period. Evan Smith made 22 saves in the win. Boxscore
Michigan 5 @ Johnstown 3 – For the second straight night, Michigan beat Johnstown 5-3 and the Warriors now sit just a point out of a playoff spot with four games to go. Michigan was fueled by a four-goal 1st period which included two goals from Colin Horton and others from Shane Cuckovich and Garrison Sanipass. Alex Berardinelli scored in the 2nd period to complete Michigan’s scoring. Tanner Barnes, Luke Lynch and Alex Alger scored for the Tomahawks in the loss. Ryan Wischow had to make just 14 saves in the win. Boxscore
MN Magicians 3 @ Janesville 5 – The Jets are now just three wins away from equaling the NAHL record for wins in a season after another win on Saturday night, a 5-3 triumph over the Minnesota Magicians, completing a weekend sweep. It was the Magicians who jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Nolan Schaeffer and Austin Rueschhoff, but the Jets responded back with goals from Zach Solow and Nils Rygaard. After Nikita Milekhin gave the Magicians the lead back at 3-2, it was all Jets as they scored the final three goals of the contest with markers from Zak Galambos, Dan Kucerovy and another from Rygaard. Boxscore
Coulee Region 3 @ Springfield 4 – The Jr. Blues completed a weekend sweep of the Chill to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win on Saturday. Four different players scored for the Jr. Blues, including 2nd period goals from Brady Tomlak and Josh Lammon and 3rd period goals from Anthony Mangano and Grant Meyer. The Chill got goals from Dawson DiPietro, Dominik Florian and Aussie Miller. Dryden McKay made 34 saves in the win, while Jimmy Thomas made 42 saves in the loss. Boxscore
Fairbanks 5 @ Bismarck 3 – The Ice Dogs jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 5-3 win and weekend road sweep in Bismarck on Saturday. Fairbanks led 3-0 on goals from Jacob Hetz in the 1st period and Jesper Ohrvall and Ethan Somoza in the 2nd period. Bismarck found the back of the net twice late in the 2nd period on power play goals from Evan Giesler and Cullen Willox. Both Gorowsky brothers, Hans and Ryner, scored for Fairbanks in the 3rd period to secure the win. Tanner Salsberry had the other goal for the Bobcats. Kevin Aldridge made 32 saves in the win. Boxscore
Wenatchee 5 @ Amarillo 2 – The Wild scored four times in the 3rd period to pick up a 5-2 win against Amarillo on Saturday, which salvaged a weekend split with the Bulls. Mike Coyne put Wenatchee ahead 1-0 with a 1st period goal, which was answered in the 2nd period by an Amarillo goal from George Mika. The Wild scored three straight goals in the 3rd period to take a 4-1 lead including two goals from August Von Ungern-Sternberg and another from Kyle Stephan. Late in the 3rd period Elijiah Barriga scored for Amarillo and Chris Jones scored for Wenatchee. Zach Quinn made 22 saves in the Wild win. Boxscore
Wichita Falls 3 @ Corpus Christi 2 – Colin Staub scored twice to lead the Wildcats to a 3-2 road win in Corpus Christi on Saturday, earning the Wildcats three of a possible four points in the series. Despite the loss, Corpus Christi clinched a playoff spot in the South. Staub scored in the 1st and 2nd periods to put the Wildcats ahead 2-1. Joe Chitwood had the lone goal for the IceRays. Kevin Charyszyn had a goal in the 3rd period for the Wildcats. Nathan Bryer had the other goal for Corpus Christi. Austin Shaw made 19 saves in the win. Boxscore
Kenai River 2 @ Minot 0 – Alec Derks stopped all 37 shots that came his way for his first shutout of the season as the Brown Bears snapped their losing skid with a 2-0 win in Minot, which salvaged a weekend split. It wasn’t until the 3rd period that either team could find the back of the net. Kenai River took a 1-0 lead on a shorthanded goal from Joseph Kaszupski, which turned out to be the game-winner. Maurin Bouvet added a late goal in the 3rd period to complete the scoring. Tanner Holmes played well in the loss for Minot, making 38 saves. Boxscore
Brookings 2 @ Aberdeen 6 – The Wings scored five goals in the 3rd period to salvage a weekend split with the visiting Blizzard and close in on a playoff spot. Aberdeen led early on a goal from Jackson Graalum. Brookings tied things at 1-1 on a 2nd period goal from Joe Anderson. Graalum scored again early in the 3rd period to make it 2-1 Wings, but again Brookings had an answer with a goal from Beau Michaud. The Wings then scored four straight goals in the final seven minutes with two goals from Tucker DeYoung and others from Tanner Okeson and Kyle Haak. Luke Kania made 36 saves in the win. Boxscore
Topeka 2 @ Odessa 4 – Tanner Creel made 40 saves as the Jackalopes picked up a big 4-2 win over the visiting RoadRunners, salvaging a weekend split of the series. Topeka led 1-0 after one period on a goal from Beau Dommer. Odessa struck back with four straight goals, including three in the 2nd period on strikes from Eric Carreras, Kenny Hausinger and Derek Brown. Zach Zech added a 3rd period goal to make it 4-1. Yu Hikosaka scored the other goal for Topeka late in the 3rd period. Boxscore
Keystone 1 @ Soo 4 – Trevor Cope scored twice to help the Soo Eagles salvage a weekend split with the Ice Miners and clinch a playoff spot in the process. The Eagles were fueled by three goals in the 1st period including two from Cope and another from Denver Pierce. The Ice Miners got their lone tally early in the 3rd period from Michael Maiden, but a late goal from Soo’s Darren Brady added some insurance. Chad Catt made 25 saves in the win for the Eagles. Boxscore
