Saturday Scores: Wilderness Sweep Wolverines, Extend Win Streak to Six

Philadelphia 2 @ Danbury 3 - The Hat Tricks and the Rebels squared off for the 2nd time this weekend after Danbury earned the victory last night 2-1. Both teams started out trading chances back and forth until Ryan Bunting of the Rebels would score his 6th of the season giving them the early lead in the 1st. The Hat Tricks would be quick to answer, less than a minute later with Parker Deschene earning his 4th of the season. The two teams would remain tied heading into the 2nd period of play. The 2nd continued with fast-paced action until Parker Deschene would score his 2nd goal of the game giving Danbury the 2-1 lead. Just like the 1st period, the Rebels were quick to answer back with Drew Belleson scoring his 1st of the season. The 2nd period would come to an end at 2-2 setting us up for an exciting 3rd period. The Hatricks were quick to regain control of the game with Matt Shpungin scoring his 4th of the season assisted by Parker Deschene and Luke Melnik. Jon Dukaric of the Hat Tricks would turn away 21 shots in the 3rd earning his team the win 3-2 over the Rebels. Danbury improves their record to 6-3-1-1 on the season and remain in 3rd place in the East Division.

Northeast 9 @ Elmira 0 - Two east division rivals squared off on Saturday night for an exciting matchup. Northeast, securing 3rd place, faced off against the 10th place Elmira Aviators. Northeast would waste no time with Mikey Bartkowski scoring his 5th of the season giving the Generals the early lead at the 14:33 mark. The Generals would keep their foot on the gas as Spencer Hirsch scored a shorthanded tally bringing the game 2-0. Mikey Bartowski would earn his 2nd of the game to finish the 1st period 3-0 for the Generals. The 2nd period would continue in the Generals favor with a shot handed goal by Logan Poulin at the 17:32 mark. The 2nd period would continue as both teams traded powerplays with neither team taking the advantage. Logan Poulin would add his 2nd of the night bringing the lead 5-0. With the 2nd period coming to an end, Kyle Muray-Smith would add to the lead for the Generals with a powerplay goal at the 1:34 mark. The 2nd period would end with Northeast leading 6-0. The 3rd period began with back and forth action with Elmira pushing for a chance to get back in the game Mikey Batkowski would earn his hat trick goal at the 10:39 mark bringing the Generals lead to 7-0. Braydon Hudtloff would add a powerplay marker and finally, Cole Mckenna would add the final goal bringing the final to 9-0 for the Northeast Generals. Keagin Wilson would earn the 34 save shutout on a commanding win by the Generals improving their record to 6-3-2.

Johnstown 3 @ Rochester 12 - The 2nd place Tomahawks came into Rochester Ice Center looking to continue their win streak against the 9th place Jr. Americans. The Jr. Americans would waste no time taking the early lead with Michael Sandruck scoring his 3rd of the season assisted by Ryan Shaw and Owen King at the 18:38 mark of the 1st period. The Americans would continue their dominance during the fist period with three more goals being scored by Keanan Dewberry, Ryan Flaherty, and Colin Dustin giving the Jr. Americans the 4-0 lead going into the 2nd period. At the beginning of the 2nd period, Nick Jarmain of the Tomahawks would earn his 11th tally of the season on the Powerplay bringing the game to 4-1. The Americans would come back to their dominance with Ryan Shaw netting his 6th of the season just 3 minutes after the Tomahawks earned their first goal. The 2nd period continued to be dominant for the Jr. Americans as they added five more goals from Ryan Shaw, Owen King, Corson Maguire, Ryan Flaherty, and Ryan Shaw for his 2nd of the night giving the Americans the 9-1 lead going into the 3rd period. The 3rd period would continue in the Americans favor as Adam Gionta would add his 2nd of the season bringing the lead to 10-1. A powerplay goal shortly after by Nikolas Reich would bring the lead to 11-1 making the comeback seem slim for the Tomahawks. Nick Jarmain and Charlie Zetterkvist would add 2 goals for the Tomahawks bringing the score to 11-3. Carson Maguire would earn a Powerplay marker with just 39 seconds left. The final score would be 12-3, with Jensen Carlstrom of the Jr. Americans turning away 25 of 28 shorts on the night.

New Hampshire 3 @ Maryland 4 (SO) - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings faced the Maryland Black Bears for the second consecutive night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena in a close contest that resulted in a 4-3 shootout loss. The Black Bears had a strong offensive start with two goals in the opening frame by Jaden Sikura and Mate Tardi to begin and end the period. Jackson Hone responded for the Mountain Kings with his goal scored off of a pass by Ben Dias, ending the period down by one. New Hampshire kicked off the second period scoring as Thomas Quast got one in the net thanks to a pass by Tyler Dahms. Maryland quickly regained their lead with another goal from Tardi to end the middle frame. With seven seconds left in the third period, Quast scored his second point of the night for New Hampshire to leave the contest locked at three and take them to overtime. Tanner Duncan was the star of tonight’s game as he delivered the win for Maryland with a shootout goal to continue the Black Bears’s win streak. Jake Kunzon had an impressive night in net for the Mountain Kings with 56 saves, while Ryan Denes defended the Black Bears with 18 saves.

North Iowa 4 @ Austin 3 - In another exciting matchup at Riverside Arena, the North Iowa Bulls faced the Austin Bruins, where they secured a 4-3 shootout victory. The Bulls erased a two-goal deficit to win on the road Friday night. After trailing 1-0 after one, the Bulls exploded for three goals in the second period and held off a late Bruins push to secure the win. Drake Maresca and Michael Malatino each scored twice for North Iowa, while Denis Kuzmenkov and Davis Higley added assists. Goalie Harry Byers was stellar, stopping 34 of 37 shots to earn the victory. Michael Coleman led Austin with a goal and two assists, but the Bruins went 0-for-3 on the power play and couldn’t convert late.

Corpus Christi 3 @ Shreveport 2 (SO) - In another exciting matchup at George’s Pond, the Corpus Christi IceRays faced the Shreveport Mug Bugs, where they won a thrilling 3-2 victory in shootout. The IceRays got on the board first with a powerplay goal from William Stewart off of a pass by Billy Biedermann in the opening period. To kick off the second frame, Corpus Christi doubled their lead with a point by Nick Peragine off of a pass by Grayson Gerhard. The Mud Bugs responded with two goals of their own: two powerplay goals scored by Evan Hoglund in the second and third periods, bringing the contest into overtime. After five rounds of shootout, Biedermann scored the game-winning goal for the IceRays. In net for the IceRays was Vladislav Bryzgalov, who had an impressive night with 51 saves. Tyler Hodges defended the Mud Bugs in net and had 19 saves.

Minot 0 @ Aberdeen 5 - The Minot Minotauros entered Saturday night’s matchup hoping to earn a series split on the road, but it was all Aberdeen Wings from start to finish at the Odde Ice Center. After a scoreless opening period, Aberdeen controlled the pace and outshot Minot 10–8 through the first 20 minutes of play. The Wings finally broke through late in the second period when Easton Edwards netted his first goal of the season. Edwards slipped free on the backdoor and buried a feed from Cooper Anderson with 1:57 remaining, giving Aberdeen a 1–0 lead heading into the final period. From there, the Wings took over completely. The home team erupted for four third-period goals, with Edwards, Spari-Leben, Ciaramataro, and Pitters all finding the back of the net to seal a commanding 5–0 victory and complete the weekend sweep over the Tauros. Goaltender William Braun was perfect between the pipes for Aberdeen, stopping all 21 shots he faced to record the shutout.

St. Cloud 4 @ Bismarck 3 - The St. Cloud Norsemen bounced back in a big way Saturday night, edging the Bismarck Bobcats 4-3 to earn a weekend split at home. Bismarck struck first late in the opening period when Szilveszter Lippai scored off an assist from Charlie Kresl, giving the Bobcats a 1-0 lead after one. St. Cloud came out firing in the second period and quickly turned the momentum. Alex Sandhu found William Esterbrooks at the top of the circle, and Esterbrooks ripped a shot past Beck Liden to tie the game. Riding the energy from that shift, Esterbrooks buried another just minutes later to give the Norsemen their first lead of the night. Less than a minute after that, Cristian Nichols took advantage of a turnover near the blue line and fired a shot low to the glove side, extending St. Cloud’s lead to 3-1 heading into the third period. The Norsemen capitalized again early in the final frame as Gabriel Bugeaud tipped in a shot from Esterbrooks just 24 seconds in, making it 4-1. But Bismarck refused to go quietly. Noah Ziskie finished a 3-on-2 rush off passes from Mark Evans and Frantisek Broz, then Kresl scored from the point on a feed from Ziskie to pull the Bobcats within one. Despite late pressure, Bismarck couldn’t find the equalizer, and St. Cloud held on for the 4-3 victory. Liden finished with 39 saves for the Bobcats, while Dane Callaway stopped 15 shots in the win for St. Cloud.

Oklahoma 1 @ Lone Star 7 - The Oklahoma Warriors struggled to find their footing Saturday night, falling 7-1 to the Lone Star Brahmas at the NYTEX Sports Centre. Coming off a dominant victory the night before, Lone Star carried that momentum into game two, striking twice in the opening period with goals from Saibel and Cappello while limiting Oklahoma to just four shots on goal. The Warriors showed more life in the second period, outshooting the Brahmas 12-8, but turnovers continued to haunt them. Lone Star capitalized on several Oklahoma giveaways, adding three more goals from Lussier, Cappello, and Venticinque to take command with a 5-0 lead after two periods. The Brahmas added two quick goals early in the third to make it 7-0 before Oklahoma broke through late. Keaton Martin picked off a loose puck, beat two defenders, and buried a breakaway chance to spoil the shutout and record his first career NAHL goal. Despite finishing even in shots, the Warriors couldn’t overcome their early mistakes as Lone Star completed the weekend sweep. Gabriel earned the win in net for Lone Star with 35 saves, while Kimbrel stopped 17 shots in the loss for Oklahoma.

Janesville 4 @ Wisconsin 1 - The Janesville Jets took on the Wisconsin Windigo at The Ponds of Brookfield for their second matchup of the weekend, where the Jets secured a decisive 4-1 victory. After a quiet beginning of the opening frame, Sammy Smith got things started with a goal for the Jets, with three minutes left in the first, scored from a pass by Wyatt Ezman. Grant Dillard opened the second period with a powerplay goal for Janesville from a pass by Mason Minsky, and Joey Fankhanel notched one in the net to extend the Jets’s lead to three. The only point earned for Wisconsin tonight was scored by Jackson Earnst off of a pass by Alexios Georgaklis to end the second period. The Jets secured their victory in the final frame with an unassisted goal from Connor Hillig. The Jets’s Kaenan Smith had a commendable outing in the net with 29 saves, and Max Kogler defended the Windigo with 31 saves in net.

Springfield 3 @ Fairbanks 2 (OT) - In a thrilling overtime showdown at the Big Dipper Ice Arena, the Springfield Jr. Blues edged out the Fairbanks Ice Dogs with a 3-2 victory. Despite a strong second period for Fairbanks, where Gage Leonard and Kyle Rohrer each netted a goal, Springfield's resilience shone through. Springfield opened the scoring in the second period with Sarunas Baltrunas converting a shorthanded opportunity. Fairbanks responded with Leonard's goal at 10:01, assisted by Oliver Barna and Clarke Nehmens, followed by Rohrer’s strike, assisted by Luca Ricciardi and Mason Noble at 6:16. However, Brady Turner leveled the score for Springfield late in the third, assisted by James Marshall and Drew Berres. The game-winning moment came in overtime, courtesy of Drew Berres, who also claimed the first star of the match, assisted by Baltrunas and Brayden Sprickman at 3:44 of the extra period. Fairbanks outshot Springfield 27 to 26, with both teams showcasing impressive defensive efforts. Goalies Miles Roberts of Fairbanks and Amir Valiullin of Springfield were pivotal, with Valiullin making 25 saves to secure the win. This victory marks a crucial win for Springfield, as they improve their record to 3-4-2-0 this season.

Minnesota W 6 @ Anchorage 3 - In a high-paced clash at Sullivan Arena, the Minnesota Wilderness outperformed the Anchorage Wolverines with a decisive 6-3 victory. AJ Ulrich was a standout for Anchorage, scoring twice, with his first goal coming late in the first period and another in the third with an assist from Bowen Burke. Caleb Mahar also found the back of the net just seconds into the second period. However, Anchorage's efforts weren't enough to counter Minnesota's relentless attack. Minnesota's Noah Dziver was instrumental, scoring two goals, including a power-play goal, and assisting on another, solidifying his position as a top scorer with 19 points this season. Talan Blanck and Zachary Homer also contributed significantly to the Wilderness' triumph with a goal each. Despite a solid performance from Anchorage's goalie Andrew Saxe, who made 25 saves, the Wilderness' Valdemar Andersen held strong with 26 saves, securing the win. Minnesota continues their winning streak, now standing at six consecutive victories, while Anchorage faces a four-game losing streak.