Saturday Scores: Nordiques wins highlights nine series sweeps
New Jersey 2 @ Maine 5: The Nordiques scored at least a goal in all three periods en route to a 5-2 win and weekend sweep over the Titans. Nils Forselius scored the 1st goal of the contest, his 10th of the season, before New Jersey’s Leo Schwartz and Maine’s Laurent Trepanier provided a 2-1 score through 20 minutes. Tomek Haula extended the lead very early in the middle frame for Maine before Simon Becar cut down the deficit for New Jersey. Kellen Murphy and Charles Tardif put the game out of reach in the 3rd with goals. Maine’s Adam Moller picked up the win making 28 saves while Dylan Krick kept out 26 for the Titans.
Bismarck 9 @ St. Cloud 2 – Julian Beaumont and Keanu Krenn each scored two goals as the Bobcats cruised to a weekend sweep of the Norsemen thanks to a 9-2 win on Saturday. Bismarck jumped out to a 4-0 lead and never look back as Beaumont scored twice in the 1st period along with goals from Evan Hunter and Tamas Toth. Krenn would add his first goal in the 2nd period and then score again in a four-goal 3rd period along with goals from Kai Dunits, Chase Beacom and Carter Cormier. Braden Panzer and Keaton Orrey scored for the Norsemen in the loss. Stephen Peck had to make just 14 saves in the win.
New Mexico 1 @ Oklahoma 4: The Oklahoma Warriors topped the New Mexico Ice Wolves in a 4-1 final. The Warriors took a 3-0 lead after scoring a goal in the first period from Jaxon Grosdidier and then Dominic Elliott and Max Dronen in the second period. In the third, Micheal Schermerhorn scored for the Ice Wolves to get the score 3-1. Later in the third, Will Stauffer scored to finalize the score 4-1 for the Warriors to take the win. Goaltender Daniel Duris took the win in net after stopping 35 shots.
Amarillo 1 @ Lone Star 2 (OT): The Lone Star Brahmas added a 4-1 win under their belt on their way to a weekend sweep over the Amarillo Wranglers. In the opening frame, Owen Kerr added a goal for the Brahmas to get a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Tommy Chunchukov evened the game for Amarillo, 1-1. In the third, Jacob MacDonald,who scored twice and Charlie Masek scored for a 4-1 final. Goaltender Jack Wieneke stopped 17 tries on net on his way to the win.
Minnesota 3 @ Wisconsin 4 (SO) – The Windigo completed a weekend sweep of the Wilderness thanks to a 4-3 shootout win. Things were looking good for the Wilderness as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the game thanks to two goals from Daniel Astopovich and one from Alessandro Lurati. The Windigo stormed back to score three straight to tie the game at 3-3 with goals from Elliot Gulley, Jacob Jastrzebski, and the equalizer from Max Martin with :05 seconds remaining in regulation.Will Schumacher had the shootout winner. Maxwell Beckford made 19 saves in the win, while Loris Uberti made 33 saves in the loss.
North Iowa 4 @ Austin 5 (SO) – Austin Salani scored twice and added an assist to lead the Bruins to a 5-4 shootout win and weekend sweep of the home-and-home series. Salani scored twice in the 2nd period along with a goal from Dylan Cook and Ocean Wallace added a 3rd period goal for the Bruins. Meanwhile, the Bulls goals came from Simone Dadie, Jordan Newpower, Jack Seaverson, and Joe Sweeney. Alex Laurenza and Isaak Brassard each added shootout goals to secure the extra point for Austin. Logan Rose made 18 saves in the win.
Springfield 3 @ Janesville 6 – The Jets poured on 55 shots on goal and got two goals and an assist from Jake Merens as they completed a weekend home sweep of the Jr. Blues thanks to a 6-3 win on Saturday. After an opening goal from Springfield’s Logan Sutton, the Jets took a 4-1 lead with goals from Merens, Garrett Frazer, Ikki Kogawa, and Haden Kruse. Springfield pulled to within 4-3 with goals from Dylan Glinski and Landry Schmuck, but the Jets pulled away with another goal from Merens and Max Wagener. Jan Kasal picked up the win in goal, making 30 saves.
Chippewa 3 @ Fairbanks 0 – Steel goalie Ajay White stopped all 34 shots that came his way as Chippewa picked up a weekend sweep of Ice Dogs in Marshall, MN, thanks to a 3-0 shutout win on Saturday. Camden Morgan opened the scoring in the 2nd period and Jackson Lackas and Aidan Willis added 3rd period goals for the Steel. Tyler Krivtsov made 19 saves in the loss for the Ice Dogs.
Kenai River 4 @ Anchorage 3 – Thanks to two goals and an assist from Nicholas Stevens, the Brown Bears posted a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Wolverines thanks to a 4-3 win in Anchorage on Saturday. Kenai River opened up a 3-0 lead, which included two goals from Stevens and one from Hayden Walters. The Wolverines mounted a comeback with two goals from Jackson Stimple and one from Cole Christian, but a 3rd period goal from Luke Hause proved to be the difference in the Brown Bears win. Marks Slavinskis-Repe made 26 saves in the win.
Minot 2 @ Aberdeen 3 – Behind 24 saves from Adam Dybal, the Aberdeen Wings salvaged a weekend split against the Minotauros thanks to a 3-2 win on Saturday. The game was tied at 1-1 entering the 3rd period as Isak Holmstrom scored for the Wings with John Small answering for Minot. The Wings pulled away in the 3rd period with goals from Salvatore Collora and Weston Turner. Colby Woogk scored the other goal for Minot late in the 3rd period. James Norton made 24 saves in the loss.
Shreveport 5 @ Corpus Christi 6 (OT): The Corpus Christi IceRays took an overtime win over the Shreveport Mudbugs, 6-5. In the first period, the IceRays ended with a 3-1 lead after Carter Krenke netted two goals and Max Tedestedt scored too. Kyan Haldenby scored for the Mudgbugs. In the second, the Mudbugs scored three unanswered with Colin Vassallo, Jonah Jasser and Logan Heroux to get the lead 4-3. Late in the period, Max Tedestedt added a late Mudbugs goal to even the game 4-4. In the third, Colin Vassallo scored for Shreveport and Mathieu Bourgault scored for Corpus to keep the game tied 5-5 forcing overtime. In the overtime period, Stephan Kuznetsov scored for the IceRays to take the win 6-5. Goaltender Bryant Marks made 29 saves for the IceRays in the victory.
Northeast 3 @ Danbury 6: The Jr. Hat Tricks put on an offensive onslaught in the 3rd period, scoring four goals to lead them past the Generals and secure the series split. Grant Dietz broke the deadlock in the opening frame for Danbury before Northeast’s Tyler Ramm and Ryan Remick overtook the lead. Remick extended the lead midway through the 2nd period while Danbury’s Noah Ziskie drew them within one before heading into the 3rd. In the final frame, Emerson Molas, Dietz, Wyatt Stefan, and Mason Lupo poured on goals to pick up the comeback win. CJ Kier made 19 saves for the Jr. Hat Tricks while Peter Wickström Stumer kept out 22 for the Generals.
Maryland 3 @ Philadelphia 1: The Black Bears bounced back from Friday night’s loss, holding the Rebels to one goal in a 3-1 win. The game held a 1-0 lead in Philadelphia’s favor through 40 minutes with Paddy Fortune’s goal coming 14:50 into the 1st. Jesse Horacek tied the game just 14 seconds into the final frame and six minutes later Riley Ruh scored what would be the eventual game-winner. Jeremy Tremblay scored an empty netter to seal it with 9 seconds remaining. Colin Ronan kept out all but one of 36 shots faced in the win while Jack Fialkoff stopped 39 for the Rebels.
Rochester 7 @ New Hampshire 1: Luca Leighton tallied a hat trick that helped power the Jr. Americans past New Hampshire in dominant fashion, winning 7-1. The Mountain Kings got on the scoresheet first thanks to Cameron Stehle’s 2nd goal of the season. From there it was all Rochester as Massimo Gentile, Jaden Dyke, and Leighton all lit the lamp to hold a 3-1 score through 20 minutes. Leighton found his 2nd and 3rd goals in the middle frame to make it 5-1 and Dyke deposited another goal to extend the lead further. Landon Brownlee’s 7th of the season came 28 seconds into the 3rd, a 7-1 score that would hold through the final buzzer. Aries Carangi kept out 35 of 36 for the Jr. Americans while Aiden Wright stopped 53 for the Mountain Kings.
El Paso @ Odessa – Game suspended due to unplayable ice conditions