Saturday Scores: Aberdeen Continues Hot Start

Photos: Laurie Stroh

Danbury 3 @ New Hampshire 4 - The Danbury Hat Tricks went to New Hampshire to play the Mountain Kings. The Mountain Kings struck first with a goal from Rogiero Cacciarelli five minutes into the game, the goal was assisted by Ben Dias. Just 10 minutes later the Hat Tricks would answer with a goal from Willem Kerr, Ben Dempster picking up the assist. In the second period the Hat Tricks would take their first lead of the game with a goal from Jeremy Sprung on the power play. Ludovik Gauvin and Lukas Zimovcak picking up the assist. The Mountain Kings would tie it up with a goal from Corwith Simmer, Thomas Quast and Alexander Duhon get the assist. Just three minutes later Ludovik Gauvin would get a goal of his own to give the Hat Tricks the lead 3-2 going into the final period, Austin Michaud with the assist. In the final period the Mountain Kings would tie it up on a power play with a goal from Nicolas Vrtiel, Rogiero Cacciarelli and Tyler Dahms with the assist. Forcing the game to over time, the Mountain Kings complete the comeback with a goal from Tomislav Brennan to win the game 4-3.

Northeast 5 @ Rochester 2 - The Northeast Generals played at the Rochester Jr. Americans’ home rink in both teams’ second matchup against each other in the week and season. The Generals were coming off from a three-game winning streak and were looking forward to extend their streak against the Jr. Americans. In the first period, the Jr. Americans opened up the scoring with Forward Owen King scoring at 17:53. His teammate, Forward Colin Watson, would follow him closely with a goal at 17:04, extending the Jr. Americans’ lead to 2-0 in the first three minutes. Towards the end of the first, however, Generals Forward Spencer Hirsch was able to capitalize on the power play and net one at 4:24. The vast majority of the second period was scoreless, with the lone goal coming from General Forward Owen O’Rear on the power play at 2:31, tying up the game for the Generals. Heading into the third period, both teams were looking to pull forward with the lead, and it wasn’t until almost halfway through the third that the Generals were able to net one. Forward Logan Poulin was able to find the back of the net at 13:31. Poulin would soon score again, two minutes later on the power play, extending the lead to 4-2. Generals Forward Mikey Bartkowski was able to seal the deal with a goal at 5:37. The Generals started with Will Mizenko in net, who was able to make 25 saves. The Jr. Americans started with Jensen Carlstrom in net, and was able to make 30 saves.

Maryland 3 @ Maine 2 - The Maine Nordiques hosted the Maryland Black Bears for both teams’ first matchup against each other of the season. The Nordiques were hoping to shake away their two-game losing streak while Maryland was looking to extend their one-game winning streak. During the first period, Nordiques Forward Joe Gasperko would open up the scoring at 18:44 with a goal. It wouldn’t be until over ten minutes later that the Black Bears were able to respond with Forward Harrison Smith capitalizing on the power play to even the score. The second period was quieter than the first, with the lone goal coming at 10:19 by Nordiques Forward Marshall McCharles, giving the lead to Maine 2-1. In the third period, Maryland was able to tie up the score almost immediately, with Defenseman Victor Mannebratt scoring at 19:21. The score would remain 2-2 until regulation expired, and the game went into overtime. In overtime, Maryland Defenseman Cole Peters would win the game with a goal at 1:07, with Smith and Forward Joshua Frenette receiving the assists. Ryan Denes started in net for the Black Bears and made 25 saves. Lukas Fursten started in net for the Nordiques and made 38 saves.

New Jersey 1 @ Johnstown 4 - The Johnstown Tomahawks hosted the New Jersey Titans for both teams’ second matchup against each other in the week and season. The Titans won the game the day before, 2-1. In the first period, the Tomahawks were able to open up the scoring with Forward Shane Tronoski capitalizing on the power play at 16:38. That would end up being the only goal scored during the first to give Johnstown the lead, 1-0, going into the second period. In the second period, Titans Forward Luke Schoen was able to tie up the score with a goal at 16:27. However, the Tomahawks would come back, and Forward Charlie Zetterkvist would reclaim the lead for Johnstown with a goal at 8:58. Going into the third period, the score was tight, 2-1. No goals were scored during the first half of the period, but in the second half, Tronoski scored his second of the night, an unassisted goal, at 9:28 to extend the lead for Johnstown. His teammate, Forward Nick Jarmain, would score another at 1:54 to end the game 4-1. Colten Drillen-Roach would start in net for Johnstown and make 31 saves. Andrei Nikolaev would start in net for New Jersey and make 18 saves.

Amarillo 4 @ New Mexico 1 - The Amarillo Wranglers took a trip to New Mexico to take on the Ice Wolves. The first period would go by with solid defense from both teams taking a 0-0 tie into the second period. The tie wouldn’t hold long as the Wranglers would take a 1-0 lead with a power play goal from Yury Karatai. The Wranglers would extend their lead on another power play goal from Danylo Dolin, assisted by Daniel Rassega. Before the end of the period the Wranglers would score again with a goal from Jake Boulanger. In the final period the Ice Wolves would finally get on the board with a goal from Nayan Pai that was assisted by Andy Earl. With just 1:32 left on the clock the Wranglers would put a bow on their win with an empty net goal from David Lencses. The Wranglers get a big win 4-1 over the Ice Wolves.

Elmira 3 @ Philadelphia 7 - After a resilient win on Friday, the Philadelphia Rebels won the weekend in an action packed 7-3 win over the Elmira Aviators. After a hot start, the Rebels were able to open the flood gates late in the contest and seal the weekend sweep despite a late push from the Aviators The Rebels wasted no time with an Abzel Alibek goal just 40 seconds after the first drop of the puck. Midway through the first, Alex Lunski buried one of his own. Johnny Conlin found the back of the net late to give the Rebels a 3-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The second period featured a lone tally from Johnny Conlin for his second tuck of the night and to give the Rebels a 4-0 lead heading into the third period. After a stagnant eight minutes of hockey, Evan Dantas lit the lamp on a shot from the point to give the Aviators their first goal of the contest. Goals from Ryan Bunting and Abzal Alibek pushed the Rebels lead to 6-1, but the Aviators didn’t stop pushing for the net. Maximus McGuire picked up two goals in just 30 seconds to cut the Rebels lead in half, but Ryan Bunting scored his second of the night to seal the victory for the Rebels. Despite a dominant offensive performance from the Rebels, the Aviators didn’t roll over in the face of adversity. After quickly cutting the lead to 6-3, the Aviators gained a step with about two and a half minutes left in the contest. Although they showed some promise, a four-point night for Ryan Bunting, a three-point outing for Abzal Alibek, and a total of ten Rebels on the scoresheet was simply too much for the Aviators.

Austin 5 @ North Iowa 2 - The Austin Bruins went on the road to North Iowa to play the Bulls. The first period would only see 1 goal from the Austin Bruins, Sam Kline scores the goal, assisted by EJ Paddington and Michael Coleman. Less than a minute into the second period the Bulls would get on the board with a goal from Ivan Bercik, Jack Sullivan and Denis Hodas picking up the assist. The Bruins would answer back with a goal from Alvin Elisson, Zander Lipsett and Trace Day pick up the assist. Then just 3 minutes later the Bruins would extend their lead with a goal from Tucker Lovejoy, Sam Kline and Connor Beckwith get the assist. Going into the final period with the Bruins up 3-1. The Bruins would score again with 5 minutes left in the game, a power play goal from Trace Day, assisted by Michael Coleman and Gus Elbert. The Bulls wouldn’t go out quietly with a goal from Fugi Suzuki, Carter Davis and Davis Higley get the assist. With less than a minute left in the game, Gus Elbert would score a short handed, empty net goal assisted by Nathan Williams to give the Bruins the win 5-2 over the Bulls.

Springfield 5 @ Chippewa 2 - After dropping its opening four games, the Springfield Jr. Blues started a win-streak Saturday night by defeating the Chippewa Steel by a final score of 5-2 to earn a weekend series sweep over its fellow midwest division foe. Brady Turner led the way offensively for Springfield, collecting two goals late in the game to help his squad build up a two-game winning streak after starting the year with a five-game losing streak. It was Chippewa that set the tone early in the contest thanks to Mason Johnson's second tally of the year put the Steel ahead just under two minutes after puck drop. Springfield struck back nearly four minutes later. An unassisted goal off the stick of Mason Benedict squared the game back up. His goal accounted for the last offense of the period, sending the teams to the locker room knotted at one apiece. The Steel came out of the locker room hot again, as Anthony Presker notched his third goal of the year just 49 seconds into the second period. Springfield again answered quickly, this time thanks to Mason Grinnell’s second goal of the season just under two minutes later. The teams remained deadlocked until Niko Laus potted the eventual game-winning goal with just under seven minutes left in the middle frame. The goal was Laus’ second of the season and gave his team a 3-2 lead with 20 minutes to play. Turner wasted little time putting the game away for Springfield. A power play goal just 1:29 into the third period and another tally with just over six minutes to play cemented the Jr. Blues’ second win of the season.

Bismarck 6 @ Minnesota M 2 - The Minnesota Mallards hosted the Bismarck Bobcats for their second matchup of the weekend. In their previous matchup on Friday, the Bobcats took the win, and the Mallards were hoping to flip the script on Saturday night. The first period was quiet, with the lone goal scored by Bobcats Forward Cooper Williams at 16:48 for his fourth of the season. In the second period, the Bobcats were able to extend their lead with Forward Mark Evans scoring three minutes into the period. Five minutes later, the Mallards would be able to close down the gap with Forward Drew Bowe scoring an unassisted goal on the power play. A minute later, Bobcats Forward Charlie Kresl would extend Bismarck’s lead back to two goals with a goal on the power play. During the third period, Bobcats Defenseman Noah Ziskie scored an unassisted goal on the power play at 15:25 to extend their lead to 4-1. Teammate Williams would score his second of the night five minutes later. As the period was nearing its end, Mallards Forward Bryce Wiitala would be able to score on the power play at 8:54. Minnesota would attempt to close down the gap again towards the end of the game by pulling their goalie for the odd-man advantage. The Bobcats, however, took advantage of this opportunity, and Kresl was able to score his second of the night, an empty-netter on the power play at 2:04. The game closed 6-2, extending the Bobcats’ winning streak to two games. The Bobcats started with Kai Weigel in net, who made 21 saves. The Mallards started with Sam Ahl in net.

Minot 2 @ Watertown 3 - The Minot Minotauros went to Watertown to take on the Shamrocks. The Minotauros striked first and fast with a goal from Artem Prima just 5 minutes into the game, Owen Dawson and Brady Zugic with the assist. With 30 seconds left in the opening period the Shamrocks would find the equalizer with a goal from Carter Sproule, Zach Boren and Roy Chung get the assist. The second period would see an early from Jakub Habla to give the Minotauros a 2-1 lead, assisted by Marlen Edwards and Braeden Jockims. The second period wouldn’t see anymore scoring. Less than 2 minutes into the final period the Shamrocks would answer again with a power play goal from Carter Sproule, scoring his second of the game. Jack Kavetsky would get the assist. From there regulation would end 2-2 going into the overtime. Both teams would go scoreless in overtime leading to a shootout. The Minotauros would shoot first, the first shot is saved by Jack Kavetsky, the second is scored by Mario Fate, and the final is missed. The Shamrocks would go onto to score both their shots from Zach Boren and Carter Sproule to win the game 3-2.

Shreveport 4 @ Oklahoma 2 - A late-game, unassisted goal from Shreveport Mudbugs forward Jacob Stock was the heroic moment his team needed to push past the Oklahoma Warriors Saturday night by a final score of 4-2. The Mudbugs’ win earned them a weekend-series split with Oklahoma after dropping Friday’s game 6-0. Looking for redemption from Friday’s blowout loss, Shreveport came flying out of the gate Saturday, nearly doubling up Oklahoma in shots at 15-8 in the first period. Shreveport’s Jonathan Berndt took advantage of his squad’s edge in play, posting his second tally of the year for the game's opening goal with just over six minutes to go in the opening frame. Berndt’s goal stood as the only offense from either team in the opening period. Oklahoma responded with just under nine minutes left in the second period. Dominik Kiss beat Mudbugs goaltender Micah Adams to knot the score at one apiece. Only 3:28 later, Liam Wolf-Taulbee’s second goal of the year restored Shreveport’s lead with an unassisted goal. The goal was the last of the period, as the teams entered the final 20 minutes with Shreveport ahead 2-1. Oklahoma took advantage of a power play 5:25 into the final period off the stick of Ben Likness to even the score for the second time. The game remained tied until Stock chalked up the eventual game-winning goal with just under seven minutes remaining. Oklahoma pressed the attack over the final seven minutes of the period, but were sent packing on an unassisted goal from Shreveport’s Jonah Jasser with 47 ticks left. Jasser’s first of the year rounded out the 4-2 win for the Mudbugs.

Anchorage 3 @ Janesville 6 - The Janesville Jets put together an impressive 6-3 win against the Anchorage Wolverines after dropping Friday night’s game. A very evenly matched game went down to the wire, but it was the Jets that pulled out their first win on home ice. The Jets scored the lone goal in the first with a Joseph Hyten tally with some excellent passing and an even better shot to the top shelf. The Jets continued the scoring in the second period thanks to Murry Marvin-Cordes and Linus Jerbrant. The Wolverines responded with just three minutes left in the period on a great shot from Andrew Karkoc on the power play. Sean Truby opened the third period scoring for the Jets, but Caleb Mahar responded for the Wolverines a minute and 13 seconds later. Just a minute later, Mahar scored another goal and put the Jets 4-3 lead on notice. 6:34 left in regulation, Murry Marvin-Cordes picked up his second of the night and gave the Jets some insurance. One last empty net goal for Connor Hillig sealed the night for the Jets and evened up their record for the weekend. This contest featured both teams shooting the puck at will, with the final shot tally sitting at 36-32 in favor of the Wolverines. Despite narrowly winning the shots-on goal battle, the Wolverines simply could not come up with a big goal when they needed it the most and the Jets did a good job of closing the game out.

Odessa 5 @ Corpus Christi 2 - The Odessa Jackalopes put together an impressive and decisive win against the Corpus Christi IceRays, evening up the weekend series after losing 5-4 in the shootout the night before. The South Division remains competitive as the Jackalopes creep their way up the standings.  The IceRays severely outshot the Jackalopes in the first period 14-6. Despite the high shot tally, only one goal was scored and that was from Billy Biedermann on the powerplay for the IceRays. The next 27 minutes were all Jackalopes with Nicholas Puricelli getting the scoring started in the second period. Caden Ghiossi grabbed a powerplay goal of his own and Jack L’esperance lit the lamp with just 48 seconds remaining in the frame. Jeremy Jacobs extended the lead yet again to 4-1, but the IceRays showed some hope thanks to a powerplay goal from Islom Dzhabberganov. Jack L’esperance picked up his second goal of the contest and sent this game home as the Jackalopes come to the American Bank Center and leave with a victory. The name of the game for the Jackalopes was to close out. The night prior, they gave up a 4-2 lead which led to their ultimate loss in the shoutout. Tonight, in a nearly identical scenario, the Jackalopes to not let up and managed to close out this victory in the road.

St. Cloud 2 @ Aberdeen 5 - The red-hot Aberdeen Wings continued their impressive start to the 2025-26 campaign, but the St. Cloud Norsemen didn’t make it easy. A combination of excellent goaltending and offensive persistence made the Wings’ sixth win of the season a tough one. The Norsemen got out ahead early on a Bronson Hunt goal, but Taven James and Owen Pitters provided the Wings with a 2-1 lead heading into the first intermission. Norsemen goaltender Beck Liden faced 17 shots in the second period and stopped each one, paving the way for Gabriel Bugeaud to even up the game at two heading into the third period. A quick push from the Wings allowed Jonathan Doucette to find the back of the net and give his team a 3-2 lead that would stand for the next 16 minutes and 22 seconds. With a little over a minute to go, Matthew Martin showcased some impressive stickhandling on the powerplay to give his team some insurance. Brody Dustin potted the empty netter and sealed the 5-2 victory for the Wings. It's rare that a goalie can give up four goals and still be seen as a difference maker for their team, but Beck Liden of the St. Cloud Norsemen did just that. He faced 45 shots and stopped 41 of them for a .911 save percentage on the evening. Without his poise in net, this game would have been out of reach very early. The Norsemen offense only put 20 shots on goal and couldn’t generate many scoring opportunities late in the game, allowing the Wings to move to 6-1.

Fairbanks 3 @ Wisconsin 0 - A lights-out performance in net from Fairbanks Ice Dogs goaltender Mason McElroy helped his squad depart Wisconsin with a 3-0 victory and weekend-series sweep Saturday night over fellow midwest division foe Wisconsin Windigo. McElroy was the highlight of the game, recording 32 saves en route to a shutout of the Windigo offense. The first period was tightly-contested in the shot department, with Fairbanks narrowly holding the edge at 9-8. Despite the close shot total, the Ice Dogs found the back of the net twice. Chris Hodges’ first tally of the season got Fairbanks going just under nine minutes into the game. Oliver Barna followed up with his fourth goal of the year with just six seconds remaining in the opening period to give his squad a 2-0 lead heading to the locker room. The second period was all Fairbanks. The Ice Dogs more than doubled up Wisconsin in the shot category, recording 17 shots to the Windigo’s eight. Fairbanks took advantage of its edge in play just over three minutes into the middle frame. A season-first tally off the stick of Mason Knaffla brought the score to the eventual final of 3-0 heading to the third period. McElroy shined in the final period, as his team faced a relentless Wisconsin attack in an effort to get back in the game. The Windigo put 16 shots on McElroy in the last 20 minutes, but he turned each one away to help his team secure the 3-0 shutout win.

Lone Star 3 @ El Paso 4 - A spectacular performance from Lone Star Brahmas goaltender Brady Krey wasn’t enough to hold off the offense of the El Paso Rhinos, who downed Lone Star Saturday night by a final score of 4-3 in a shootout to snap the Brahmas four-game winning streak. Despite being outshot a whopping 37-19, Lone Star pushed the game to the shootout thanks to a heroic individual effort from Krey, who turned away 34 shots during regulation and a five-minute overtime. El Paso put an end to Krey’s heroics in the shootout when Troy Hunka bested him in the one-on-one. The tally was all El Paso needed in the shootout, as all three Lone Star shooters were denied by Rhinos goaltender Michael Modelski. Lone Star led the game early despite being outshot 9-3 in the opening frame. Jackson Potulny’s second goal of the season accounted for the only offense from either side in the first 20 minutes. After Leo Isaksson’s third goal of the year doubled the Lone Star lead 1:31 into the middle period, El Paso’s offense kicked into high gear. Kamden Kaiser’s fifth goal of the season and Ethan Woolcott’s second tally of the season got El Paso back even. The second period was the height of El Paso’s barrage on Krey, peppering him with 17 shots in the period to just five shots for Lone Star. Despite the heavy Rhino attack, the teams remained tied heading to the final frame. El Paso took its first lead of the game on a season-first goal from Raphael Laviolette early in the period. Lone Star responded to even the game back up thanks to an unassisted marker from Samuel Lussier – his fourth of the year – to send the game to overtime. Neither team found the net in overtime, but Hunka’s shootout goal was all El Paso needed to come away with the 4-3 win.

Minnesota W 5 @ Kenai River 2 - In a dominant display at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, the Minnesota Wilderness outclassed the Kenai River Brown Bears with a 5-2 victory in their latest Midwest Division clash. The match was marked by a strong third period from the Wilderness, where they netted four goals to secure the win. Thomas Gunderson opened the scoring for Kenai River in the first period with an assist from Braden Hansberger. The Brown Bears maintained momentum in the second period with Thomas Gunderson scoring again, this time assisted by Massimiliano Monson and Santino Canevari. Despite these efforts, the Wilderness responded emphatically. Zachary Homer, Nathan Murray, Jackson Reeves, Caleb Kim, and Noah Dziver all found the back of the net for Minnesota, showcasing their depth and offensive prowess. Ryan Gerlich stood firm in goal for the Wilderness with 15 saves, while Andrew McLouth of Kenai River managed 13 saves from 18 shots on goal.