Saturday Scores: Mountain Kings Grab OT Win

Alex Gelhar scored twice in the Mountain Kings victory

Elmira 4 @ New Jersey 3 - The Elmira Aviators traveled to New Jersey to play the New Jersey Titans. The scoring started with Deklyn Campbell scoring the first goal of the Aviators season. Despite being short handed Campbell still managed to score being assisted by Nathan Garau. Soon after the opposite would happen with the Aviators scoring on the power play. Matt Maglio scoring an unassisted goal making it 2-0 to end the first period. The second period was quiet until the Aviators scored again, Luke Sakala scoring unassisted goal. Just a few minutes later Nico-Patrick Pohjola would score on a power play to put the Aviators up by four, Jack Kohlmann and Matt Maglio picking up the assists. But with just 33 seconds left on the clock, Owen Leahy put the Titans on the board scoring their first goal of the season, assisted by Skogen Schrott. Half way through the third period, Kristofers Krumins would score again for the Titans on the power play, being assisted by Nikolai Meshkanstov. A couple minutes later Ryder O’Neil would put one in the back of the net assisted by Nathan Welsh to make it a one score game. Though this would be in a losing effort with the Aviators picking up their first win of the season.

Northeast 3 @ New Hampshire 4 - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings hosted the Northeast Generals to open the season for both teams. The scoring would start immediately with Kody Moyer of the Northeast Generals scoring in just 42 seconds, assisted by Braydon Hudtloff and Spencer Hirsch. It would be a quiet 19 minutes going into the second period with a score of 1-0. The second period would begin with the Generals scoring again, this time Kyle Murray-Smith scored on the power play, Jackson Rutherford and Dennis Horsky picking up the assists. The Mountain Kings would soon answer with two goals of their own, both being scored by Alex Gelhar, Cole Roenick and Thomas Quast both got an assist, and Tanner Anctil assisted on both goals. The Generals wouldn’t leave the second period quietly though, Luke Drury scoring before the end of the second period,  Alejandro Blum and Stephen Fabiano picking up the assists. With the Generals up 3-2, Garrit Turcotte found the equalizer, scoring an unassisted goal sending the game into overtime. With just 4 seconds left, despite being short handed, Benjamin Tauscher scored the game winner for the Mountain Kings, assisted by Rogiero Cacciarelli. An absolute thriller in New Hampshire with the home team taking the win 4-3.

Maryland 2 @ Rochester 1 - The Maryland Black Bears secured a 2-1 win against the Rochester Jr. Americans last night in a hard-fought match. Coming in fierce, the Bears outshot Rochester 9-6 in the first. Maryland opened up the scoring 1:17 into the starting frame, in which Dominik Boltnar drove a puck in with an assist from Logan Deuling. The Bears’ energy carried into the second, as the squad fired 21 goal shots and was able to broaden their lead to 2-0 thanks to Daniel Johnson’s feed to Jaden Sikura. Rochester regained momentum in the third, inching closer to the Bears with a goal by Colin Dustin at 2:53, but Maryland’ goalie Ryan Denes stood firm to seal off their first win of the season.

Johnstown 2 @ Danbury 5 - Danbury Hat Tricks proved they really do have tricks up their sleeve by coming back from their loss last night with a 5-2 rematch win against the Johnston Tomahawks. Danbury came out to the ice with fire, tallying up 17 shots and scoring two before the Tomahawks could respond. The Hat Tricks’ Evan Dantas knocked down the first goal and Brendan Boring shot the second. The Tomahawks were able to sneak a goal in with an unassisted shot by Jack Genovese, but the second period was when Johnston really shifted gears offensively. The Tomahawks outscored Danbury in the second with an astounding 22-5. The Johnston squad initiated the second period scoring with Nick Jarmain’s goal assisted by Emerson Marshall. However, Danbury had that home-court energy behind them as the team put up two more goals by Josh Williams and Svante Strandberg. The Hat Tricks kept the Johnston Tomahawks quiet during the final period, and sealed off their 5-2 win with a victorious goal by Kai Elkie.

Maine 4 @ Philadelphia 3 (SO) - The Maine Nordiques win their second straight with a huge comeback in their rematch with the Philadelphia Rebels. Maine doubled Philadelphia in shots in the first period, but it was the Rebels who struck first. A shorthanded goal from Michael Mathison put the Rebels up one. The second period was even more dominant for the Nordiques, but yet again, it was Philadelphia who found the back of the net. Two quick goals from Ryan Bunting and Jordan Brothers made the score 3-0, less than 3 minutes into the second period. After seemingly being out of the game, the Nordiques took control of the momentum. After a series of bad discipline from both teams, Luke Gallo found the back of the net to put the Nordiques on the board. Maine headed into the second intermission still down 3-1. The third period was the complete opposite of the previous two, with Philadelphia tripling Maine in shots. However, despite only getting four shots on net, Maine found the back of the net twice. Goals from Joe Gasperko and Jack Klevby tied the game, sending it to overtime. Despite chances for both teams, the score remained tied at 3-3 at the end of overtime, which sent the game to a shootout. The Nordiques shooters were perfect, going three for three. Nordiques goaltender Lukas Fursten made a big stop on Charlie Spencer to secure the win for Maine. Rebels goaltender Ben Varsa played a solid game, but those quick goals in the third period may have been the deciding factor in this close game. This comeback puts the Nordiques up to 2-0 on the season as they beat the Rebels for the second time in two days. Philadelphia will be looking to rebound and get its first win of the season next Friday against the New Hampshire Mountain Kings.

Shreveport 4 @ Oklahoma 3 - On Saturday night, the Shreveport Mudbugs visited the Oklahoma Warriors at Blazers Ice Centre in Oklahoma City. The Warriors got off to a quick start, scoring two goals in the first period courtesy of Kyle Sorensen and Brendan Schooley to take the lead 2-0 heading into the first intermission. Still unanswered, Ben Likness lit the lamp to extend the lead to three for Oklahoma early in the second. The Mudbugs weren't going down without a fight, though. Ryan Baert finally got them on the board at the 6:54 mark in the second period. That lit a spark under this Shreveport team. Vincent Diiluio slipped one past the goaltender to get the Mudbugs within one early in the third. At the 6:28 mark in the final frame, Baert added his second goal of the game to knot it at three apiece. With two seconds left in the game, the Manhattan Beach, California native, Duke Ehrhard, beat the buzzer, stealing the game in Oklahoma City and securing the win for Shreveport.

Kenai River 0 @ Chippewa 4 - The Chippewa Steel played host to the visiting Kenai River Brown Bears on Saturday night. Jake Hutchen opened the scoring, with one of his shots finding the back of the net at the 17:59 mark of the first period. It was all Steel the rest of the way. The Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, native Kevin Lysohir was one goal short of a hat trick in this game as he added two goals of his own in the second for the Steel. Lukas Bellinger slipped one past the goaltender in the third period to secure the win, 4-0, over the Brown Bears. Alex Reedy was the story of this game. The 6’4” Stillwater, Minnesota, native was a brick wall in the net. He recorded a shutout, padding away 33 shots on goal and earning the win.

Springfield 2 @ Minnesota W 6 - The Minnesota Wilderness hosted the Springfield Jr. Blues on Friday night at Northwoods Credit Union Arena. After a scoreless first period, the action picked up quickly in the second. Springfield scored first on the power play with Niko Laus, assisted by Lukas Wallinheimo and Drew Berres. Minnesota responded soon after with a power play goal of its own from Caleb Kim, set up by Avery Anderson and Nathan Murray. Minnesota kept the momentum going with another power play goal as Talan Blanck scored, assisted by Noah Dziver. Springfield answered later in the period, tying the game when Ben Cameron scored, with Brady Turner assisting. The game headed into the final frame tied at 2-2. Minnesota regained control in the third period. The eventual game-winning goal came from Zachary Homer, assisted by Talan Blanck and Olle Karlsson. They would add another power play goal later in the period as Nathan Murray scored, with Ryan DeAngelis and River Freeman credited with the assists, securing the 4-2 victory.

Amarillo 2 @ New Mexico 4 - The Amarillo Wranglers took on the New Mexico Ice Wolves in a rematch. In the previous match up the Wranglers got the better of them so New Mexico is searching for a bounce back. The Ice Wolves started the game hot with a goal from Nayan Pai scoring his first goal of the season being assisted by Andy Earl. The Wranglers would respond almost immediately, Danylo Dolin scoring his second goal of the season. The scoring would go quiet until the end of the second period where Brock Fairbanks scores his first goal of the season for the Ice Wolves, Sloan Farmer picking up the assist. Making the score 2-1 going into the final period. The scoring would once again be quiet until the end of the period when Nayan Pai would score his second goal of the game on an empty net, Andy Earl would also pick up his second assist of the contest. With a minute left in the game Alfons Jentler would give the Wranglers hope putting them within one score, scoring an unassisted goal. Until Andy Earl slammed the door shut on the Wranglers with an unassisted, empty net goal with just 37 seconds left. The New Mexico Ice Wolves successfully got their bounce back win against the Amarillo Wranglers 4-2.

El Paso 2 @ Lone Star 4 - The Lone Star Brahmas improve to 2-0 on the season, once again scoring 4 goals to beat the El Paso Rhinos. In a close first period, it was the Rhinos who struck first with Kamden Kaiser finding the back of the net with only 27 seconds left in the period. Though they did not have many chances, the Brahmas capitalized on their opportunities in the second period, scoring two goals. Leo Iasksson got his first of the season on the powerplay, and Samuel Lussier made it 2-1 with 4 minutes left in the second. However, the Brahmas once again got sloppy at the end of the period, allowing a goal from Ian Kastamo with only 12 seconds remaining. The game headed into the second intermission tied at 2. In the third, Aaron Vanwie and Van Martin scored in the middle of the period, and the Brahmas rode out that momentum to hold on for the rest of the game. El Paso pulled their goalie to make a final push, but no success came of that. Lone Star goalie Nicolas Rempel made some big saves at the end to secure the win. The reigning cup finalists start the season strong with back-to-back wins over the Rhinos and will look to continue this momentum as they prepare for another run at the championship.

Janesville 2 @ Wisconsin 3 - The Janesville Jets traveled to Wisconsin to face the Windigo. The Jets wasted no time in the first period, jumping out to a two-goal lead. Janesville opened the scoring with Mason Minsky, assisted by Murray Marvin-Cordes and Sammy Smith. Later in the period, Janesville added what would be the game-winning goal from Grant Dillard, with Joseph Hyten and Murray Marvin-Cordes assisting. The second period went scoreless, as both defenses locked down and neither team could capitalize on their chances. In the third, Janesville extended its lead when Hans Hedlund scored, assisted by Evan Foiles and Connor Hillig. Wisconsin finally got on the board soon after with a goal from Brendan Finley, who scored unassisted. Janesville sealed the win in the final minutes when Sammy Smith scored into the empty net, assisted by Mason Minsky, making the final 4-1.