Saturday Scores: Maine and Maryland Clinch Playoff Berths

Rochester 3 @ Danbury 0 - The Rochester Jr. Americans continued their hot streak, blanking the Danbury Hat Tricks Saturday night, 3-0. After a scoreless first period, Calle Karlsson opened the scoring in the latter half of the second, before Owen King extended the lead with just 11 seconds remaining in the period. Karlsson then netted his second of the game in the final period, as Rochester hung onto win. Danick Leroux was perfect in net, earning the shutout with his 21 save performance.

Johnstown 5 @ New Hampshire 3 - The Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the New Hampshire Mountain Kings 5-3 Saturday night. Johnstown came out rolling, as Cullen Emery and Adam Csabi each lit the lamp to put them up by a pair. However, it didn’t take long for New Hampshire to strike back. Alex Gelhar and Taybor Aldrich evened the score, netting two in just a 1:29 span. From there, Kirby Perler, Charlie Zetterkvist, and Tate Pecknold capitalized on opportunities to regain Johnstown’s momentum. Despite a late comeback attempt with a goal from Cole Roenick, the Tomahawks earned this one. 

Amarillo 4 @ Oklahoma 3 (OT) - In a tight back-and-forth matchup, the Amarillo Wranglers overcame the Oklahoma Warriors 4-3 in overtime. Mason Lupo quickly opened the scoring for the Wranglers, before Paul Wiczek struck back for the Warriors. From there, Wiczek’s second of the game broke the tie, where Trent Burlison extended the lead even further. After two straight from Amarillo to comeback, courtesy of Kirill Evstigneev and Marc LaFrance, the game needed overtime to decide the outcome. With just 1:02 in, Evstigneev hit the back fo the net to secure the victory for the Wranglers.

Janesville 1 @ Springfield 3 - The Springfield Jr. Blues proved to be the stronger team Saturday night, defeating the Janesville Jets 3-1. Luke Sawicky and Logan Ganz each scored in the opening period to give Springfield the early lead. However, Bauer Murphy was quick to put Janesville within one with his second period goal. After some intense defense, Tyler Smith shut down any sort of comeback attempt, as his empty netter sealed the deal for the Jr. Blues. Netminder Jack Kavetsky was great in net, padding aside 24/25.

Maryland 3 @ Maine 4 - In another close game, the Maine Nordiques just edged the Maryland Black Bears 4-2. Both squads traded pleasantries throughout, as Damon Myers and Victor Mannebratt each netted one for their respective teams to open the game. From there, Trey Hinton broke the tie for Maryland, before Maine came back with a pair of their own courtesy of Zion Green and Usko Laaksonen. Up by one, Aidan Lindblad extended the Nordiques lead. Owen Drury’s first of the season came at a perfect time for the Black Bears, but unfortunately they couldn’t find another one in their pocket. Maine hung on to win this barnburner.

Elmira 3 @ Philadephia 0 - The Elmira Aviators got their revenge against the Philadelphia Rebels, blanking them 3-0 Saturday night. Curtiss Sturgeon got things rolling, before Matthew Maglio extended the lead. Clarence Beltz then netted an empty netter late in the third, allowing the Aviators to emerge victorious in this one. Wesley Jefferson-Swint II was outstanding the entire night, padding aside all 39 shots to earn the shutout.

Minnesota M 1 @ Watertown 5 - Despite getting outshot, the Watertown Shamrocks defeated the Minnesota Mallards 5-1 Saturday night. The first two goals belonged to Watertown, thanks to Cam Marham and Antons Macijevskis. From there, Marek Thompson ended up lighting the lamp for Minnesota’s lone goal of the night. Brandt Dubey scored a pair, before Travis Lefere closed it out, as the Shamrocks had the lucky edge in this one. Netminder Phileas Lachat was outstanding in the crease, stopping 32/33.

Bismarck 3 @ Austin 0 - During the first period, Evan Hunter scored for the Bobcats with help from Josh Lehto and Matthew Rafalski. In the second period, nobody scored a goal. During the third period, Tommy Cronin increased the lead assisted by Hunter. Alexandr Kim added a goal for Bismarck assisted by Kyle Doll. Tomas Anderson made 35 saves for the Bismarck Bobcats and Jack Solomon made 31 saves for the Austin Bruins.

St. Cloud 1 @ North Iowa 4 - In the first period, Sangyeob Kim scored for the Bulls assisted by Denis Hodas and Jack Seaverson. Bronson Hunt scored an unassisted goal for the Norsemen. During the second period, it remained scoreless. In the third period, Fuji Suzuki scored for North Iowa assisted by Evan Johnson and Cole Wirun. Suzuki scored another assisted by Johnson and Kim. Beck Liden made 24 saves for the St. Cloud Norsemen and Kyle Ozgun made 31 saves for the North Iowa Bulls.

Wisconsin 1 @ Minnesota W 4 - During the first period, Minnesota’s River Freeman scored a goal assisted by Payton Struck and Nate Murray. Ben Doll increased the lead with help from Caleb Kim and Logan Nagle. In the second period, Ben Aucoin scored assisted by Mario DiMaggio and Brayden Beahm to put the Windigo on the board. During the third period, Ryan DeAngelis scored an unassisted goal for the Wilderness. Luke Margenau scored one more goal for Minnesota. Beau Altman made 21 saves for the Wisconsin Windigo and Valdemar Anderson made 49 saves for the Minnesota Wilderness. 

El Paso 1 @ New Mexico 2 - In the first period, Andrew DellaDonna scored a goal for the Rhinos with an assist from Paavo Hiltunen. Francois De Villiers scored for the Ice Wolves with help from Sean Gibbons. Andrew Earl took the lead for New Mexico with help from Toivo Laaksonen. During the second period, nobody scored. In the third period, it remained scoreless. Brendan Holahan made 30 saves for the El Paso Rhinos and Jackson Fuller made 17 saves for the New Mexico Ice Wolves.

Colorado 3 @ Lone Star 2 - During the first period, it remained scoreless. In the second period, August Classon put the Brahmas with help from Anthony Cappello. Colorado’s George Poirier scored a goal with assists from Luke Helgeson and Lucas Mann. Lucca Ori scored a goal assisted by Helgeson and Braden Junker. Ben Rakowski increased the lead with help from Ori. Owen Kerr scored for Lone Star assisted by Charlie Emmons and Saxton Tess. During the third period, nobody scored. Richard Rafaj made 21 saves for the Colorado Gritt and Ryan Cameron made 21 saves for the Lone Star Brahmas.

Aberdeen 3 @ Minot 4 (OT) - In the first period, Ryder Many Grey Horses scored an unassisted goal for the Wings. Minot’s Jack O’Hanisain scored assisted by Jesse Juhola and Billy Batten. Jibber Kuhl answered with an unassisted goal. During the second period, Nick Comfort scored an unassisted goal for the Wings. In the third period, Gavin Middendorf scored an unassisted goal for the Minotauros. O’Hanisain scored a goal to tie up the game with help from Juhola. In overtime, O’Hanisain scored a goal assisted by Juhola for the hat trick and game winner. Willum Braun made 32 saves for the Aberdeen Wings and Will Mizenko made 26 saves for the Minot Minotauros.

Fairbanks 3 @ Anchorage 2 (SO) - A back and forth game saw the Fairbanks Ice Dogs take a home a 3-2 shootout victory on Saturday night. The Ice Dogs jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Oliver Barna and Ian Norkevicus scored their fourth and eighth goals respectively of the season. Anchorage would counter quickly with two goals in 2:34, Romulus Riego De Dios netted his seventh of the year only to be followed up by Daniel Bagnole’s 21st of the season. That would remain the score for the remainder of regulation and overtime and lead to a shootout. Luca Ricciardi netted the only goal in the skills competition thus giving Fairbanks the extra point in the standings. Mason McElroy earned the win in between the pipes as he stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced and all three shooters in the shootout. Michael Manzi took the loss after making 24 stops. 

Boxscores