Saturday Scores: North Iowa Skates to Overtime Victory Against Bismarck

Vitaliy Korolyuk was the hero in OT for North Iowa

Rochester 6 @ Northeast 4 - The Rochester Jr. Americans faced the Northeast Generals last night at Canton Ice House, where they won 6-4 to secure the weekend sweep. The Generals kicked off the scoring frenzy with a power-play goal by Alec Hall early in the first period. Konner Powell and Corson Maguire each found the back of the net to respond for Rochester. Hall ended the first frame with another point for Northeast, tying up the match. Powell notched another goal for the Jr. Americans scored the only point of the second frame. Northeast’s Finn Connor scored an early power-play goal to start the final frame of the contest. Rochester quickly responded with two goals scored by Michal Tkac and Stone Rolston. The Generals were able to get one more point on the board thanks to Thomas Klochkov, but Dexter Kichline secured the 6-4 victory for Rochester scored in the final minute of the contest with his first goal of the season. It was a productive night in net for both squads, with Rochester’s Florian Wade and Northeast’s Will Mizenko each collecting 34 saves.

New Jersey 0 @ Maryland 4 - The Maryland Black Bears took a 4-0 win against the New Jersey Titans on Saturday night at Piney Orchard Ice Arena, scoring three power-play goals in the second period and closing out the matchup with a shutout. After a scoreless opening frame, Joshua Frenette started the scoring at 13:40 of the second period with his eighth of the season, assisted by Harrison Smith and Anthony Pellitteri. Maryland added another at 7:02 when Trey Hinton recorded his eighth of the year on the power play, with assists from Liam Doherty and Jaden Sikura. Tanner Duncan extended the lead at 00:40 with help from Smith and Frenette. In the third period, Ryan Franks added Maryland’s fourth goal at 19:17, assisted by Duncan and Smith. Goaltender Ryan Denes stopped all sixteen shots he faced to record the shutout for the Black Bears. Tyler Rounds made eleven saves on twelve shots, and Andrei Nikolaev stopped twenty-seven of thirty for the Titans. With the result, Maryland improved to 16-3-1-1, while New Jersey moved to 10-6-1-2.

Johnstown 2 @ Philadelphia 1 (SO) - The Johnstown Tomahawks took on the Philadelphia Rebels last night at the Hollydell Ice Arena, where they took a 2-1 shootout victory. After a quiet opening frame, the Rebels got a point on the board first after Ryan Ickes notched in his first goal of the season. The Tomahawks were quiet on the offensive side until the third period, when Kacper Gach scored his first goal of the season to take the match to overtime. Johnstown secured the victory thanks to Shane Tronoski, who found the back of the net in the shootout. Both goalies earned stars for their efforts in tonight’s contest, with Zach Ferris recording 27 saves for the Tomahawks and Ben Varsa collecting 38 saves for the Rebels.

Watertown 5 @ Minnesota M 4 - In an exciting matchup at Forest Lake Sport Center, the Watertown Shamrocks defeated the Minnesota Mallards 5-4. Owen Chartier got the first point on the board for the Shamrocks, scoring the only goal of the opening frame. Minnesota responded in the second period as Bryce Wiitala and Beckett Hinchsliff each found the back of the net to give the Mallards the lead. Watertown’s Junior Podein opened up the scoring in the third frame with a power-play goal, and the Mallards quickly responded with an unassisted goal scored by Mitch Vanderway. The Shamrocks’ offense came to life as Payton Struck notched one in and Zach Borden scored back-to-back goals to secure the win. Ryan George scored the final point of the contest for the Mallards with a power-play goal in the final two minutes of play. Aden Gariepy helped the Shamrocks complete the sweep with 25 saves in the net, and Hunter Bauer earned 25 saves between the pipes for the Mallards.

Chippewa 1 @ Janesville 5 - The Steel and Jets met again after an exciting overtime game that ended with Janesville taking home the win. The two teams would trade power plays in the first, with both teams successfully killing them off. Wyatt Ezman of the Jets would score the first goal of the game, giving Janesville the 1-0 lead. The first would end with just one goal, and both teams were looking for the extra spark. The second would begin 4-on-4 from penalties as the first period expired. When Janesville got on the power play, Nathan Tobey would score his third of the season, giving the Jets an early 2-0 lead to start the second. Janesville would continue with the pressure as they would earn themselves another power play at the 13:13 mark. Joseph Hyten would score his eighth, assisted by Murray Marvin-Cordes and Nathan Tobey. Janesville would continue to control the period, with 21 shots in the frame, and Mason Minsky being rewarded with just three minutes left in the period to give Janesville a commanding 4-0 lead. The third period would start off physically with both teams getting penalties on multiple plays throughout. With just 3:31 remaining, Anthony Preskar would score for the Steel, bringing the game to 4-1. The Jets were quick to gain back momentum with Jonathan Lyskawa scoring his first of the season on the power play. The game would end 5-1 for the Jets to complete the sweep over the Steel and improve to 11-7 on the season.

Aberdeen 4 @ Austin 2 - After a Bruins win last night, the Wings looked to bounce back on the road to get back in the win column. The Wings would waste no time to start the game, with Jonathan Doucette scoring just two minutes into the game, assisted by Sam Scheet and Gavin Reed. The Wings were not done quite yet, with Cooper Anderson scoring his first of the season just one minute later. With the game already 2-0 for the Wings, the Bruins needed an answer back. Michael Coleman would answer the bell, less than a minute later, scoring his third of the season, bringing the game to 2-1. Keeping with tradition, less than a minute after the Bruins scored, Anthony Ciaramitaro would add another tally for the Wings to bring the game to 3-1 with 15:25 remaining in the period. With such an offensive start, the period would end without any team adding to their goal total. The second intermission would fire both teams up as the period began with a fight. After the dust had settled, both teams were ready to get back into the fast-paced action. The Wings would earn an early power play minutes later, and Sam Scheetz would score his eighth of the season on the power play, assisted by Cooper Anderson and Owen Pitters. The teams would trade power plays throughout the rest of the second with no team scoring a goal to bring the game to 4-1 going into the third period. Austin would start the period with plenty of chances, but Adam Dybal would keep the game 4-1 for the Wings. With 5:22 left in the period, Michael Coleman of the Bruins would score to bring the game to 4-2, giving the Bruins life. The Wings, however, would shut the door and earn the 4-2 victory to split the weekend with their Central Division rivals. The Wings improved to 12-4-1 on the season. The Wings will be back in action next week versus the North Iowa Bulls at home.

North Iowa 5 @ Bismarck 4 (OT) - The North Iowa Bulls came out on top in a thrilling back-and-forth matchup Saturday night, defeating the Bismarck Bobcats 5-4 in overtime at the VFW Sports Center. The Bulls struck first midway through the opening period when Denis Kuzmenkov pounced on a loose puck in the crease and tapped it in to give North Iowa a 1-0 lead. The Bobcats answered minutes later on the power play, as Charlie Kresl and Frantisek Broz at the top of the slot for a low shot that beat the goaltender, evening the score 1-1 to end the first. The second period brought plenty of offense, with four combined goals between the two teams. Jimmy Dodig put Bismarck ahead 2-1 early in the frame off a setup from Eddie Revenig, but the Bulls quickly tied it when Davis Higley netted his first of the season on a bouncing shot from center ice. The Bobcats reclaimed the lead minutes later when Royce Pietila finished a feed from Cooper Williams and Ben Osiashvilli to make it 3-2. North Iowa struck again before the end of the period, as Fugi Suzuki buried a short-handed goal off a pass from Michael Malatino, sending the game into the third tied 3-3. Bismarck came out strong to start the third, as Ben Rakowski sent a crisp pass to Szilveszter Lippai, who buried it from the slot to give the Bobcats a 4-3 advantage. The Bulls responded just minutes later when Suzuki went coast to coast, firing a shot past the Bismarck netminder for his second goal of the night, tying it 4-4 and forcing overtime. In the extra frame, Vitaliy Korolyuk played the hero for North Iowa, skating in on a rush and scoring with just 41 seconds left in overtime to secure the Bulls’ 5-4 victory.

Odessa 4 @ New Mexico 1 - The Odessa Jackalopes bounced back in their second game of the weekend, defeating the New Mexico Ice Wolves 4-1 on Saturday night at the Outpost Ice Arena to split the series. Odessa opened the scoring in the first period when Gabe Pankratz connected with Luke McPherson, who broke up the middle and sent a shot on net that trickled past the Ice Wolves' goaltender to make it 1-0. The Jackalopes carried that lead into the first intermission. Midway through the second period, Nicholas Arrington picked up the puck along the hash marks and fed Jeremy Jacobs, who deked around the New Mexico goalie and buried the puck to extend the lead to 2-0. Pankratz and McPherson struck again later in the frame, connecting in a similar fashion for their second points of the game and giving Odessa a 3-0 advantage heading into the final period. In the third, Nicholas Puricelli capitalized on a rebound in front to make it 4-0 for the Jackalopes. The Ice Wolves avoided the shutout late, as Brock Fairbanks finally found the back of the net, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. Odessa held strong to secure the 4-1 victory and split the weekend series. Jackson Silverberg made 32 saves for New Mexico, while Colin Davis stopped 33 shots to earn the win for Odessa.

Minnesota W 3 @ Wisconsin 4 - The Wisconsin Windigo finished their weekend slate with a second close win over the Minnesota Wilderness. Minnesota started this game hot with two goals from Nikolas Gentilini and Ryan DeAngelis in the opening period, despite being outshot 17-10 by Wisconsin at the time. Wisconsin continued to put offensive pressure on Minnesota in the second, scoring three goals —two from Jackson Ernst and one from Devin Berg— to take the lead. Ernst completed his hat trick early in the third with a power-play goal to further extend the Windigo’s advantage. Zachary Homer fought back for the Wilderness in the final minutes of the game, but Easton Cody’s 38 saves helped the Windigo hold on to their 4-3 win.

St. Cloud 4 @ Minot 5 - The St. Cloud Norsemen entered their second game of the weekend against the Minot Minotauros, looking to even the series at Maysa Arena, but Minot held on for a 5-4 victory to complete the weekend sweep. Lucca Ori opened the scoring late in the first period on a power play, finishing off a setup from Ty James and Jakub Habla to give Minot a 1-0 lead. St. Cloud tied the game in the final five minutes of the period when Tanner Hunt stripped a Minot defender at the blue line and scored on a breakaway, making it 1-1 after one. Both teams continued to trade goals in the second period. St. Cloud took a 2-1 lead when Gabriel Kenny buried a rebound off a point shot from Tommy Enrietto. Minot responded in the final minute of the period, as Brady Zugec won a battle along the blue line, drove wide, and fired a shot past the goaltender to even the score 2-2 heading into the third. The final period brought plenty of action. Zugec struck again early in the frame, netting his second goal of the night, before Habla scored off a loose puck following a point shot from James to give Minot a 4-2 advantage. The Norsemen battled back, as Wyatt Farrell found the back of the net to make it 4-3. But Minot quickly answered when Habla connected with Briggs Knott on a cross-ice pass for the tap-in goal, extending the lead to 5-3. St. Cloud pulled their goaltender late, and Avry Shaw scored to bring the Norsemen within one, but the comeback fell short as Minot secured the 5-4 win. Wesley Jefferson-Swint II made 31 saves for St. Cloud, while Brian Cooke stopped 24 shots in net for Minot.

Corpus Christi 3 @ El Paso 9 - Coming off a 5-4 overtime win against the Corpus Christi IceRays the night before, the El Paso Rhinos were ready for another battle. The Rhinos scored six goals across the first and second periods before the IceRays’ William Stewart put his team on the board with a power-play goal late in the second. Shortly after, El Paso’s Troy Hunka scored his second of the night, to give the Rhinos a 7-1 lead. El Paso’s other early goals came from Jackson Potulny, Ian Kastamo, Charles Turner, Kamden Kaiser, and Samuel Anderson. Johnny Maruna scored another for the IceRays to get the third started before El Paso's Kaiser netted his second of the night, followed by Aidan Bergner scoring the Rhinos’ ninth goal. Islom Dzhabberganov finished the night with the IceRays’ third and final tally. Although the IceRays outshot El Paso in every period, it was pressure from the Rhinos and goaltender Michael Modelski’s 38 saves that secured El Paso a 9-3 victory.

Springfield 6 @ Anchorage 4 - Looking to respond to Friday night’s loss in the Sullivan Arena, the Jr. Blues were hungry to get back into the win column. The matchup kicked off with Anchorages securing the lead in the first frame. Sam Evert tallied a goal at the 11:49 minute, and three minutes later, Chase Trompeter would extend the Wolverines' lead to 2-0. Moving into the middle frame, it was a scoring frenzy on both sides. Springfield’s Niko Laus found the back of the net quickly in the period and secured a power-play goal for his team. Responding to his goal, Rylan Bydal scores his seventh of the year for Anchorage. A few minutes later, Anchorage’s Caleb Mahar found twine while his team was on the penalty kill. The Jr. Blues got to work, and Sarunas Baltrunas cut the Wolverines' lead in half with a power-play goal at the 9:23 minute mark. Before the period wrapped up, Springfield’s Brady Turner brought the score within one when he lit the lamp with 26 seconds on the clock. Heading into the final 20 minutes of play, Springfield scores a trio of goals to give the Jr. Blues win. Dennis Emesibe secured his second goal of the season at the 18:11 minute mark. Halfway through the period, Lukas Wallinheimo scores to give the Jr. Blues their first lead of the night. Finally, Logan Opgrand finished the scoring when he found the back of the net in the final eight minutes of the contest. Between the pipes, both teams pulled their original goaltender, and when Springfield’s Amir Valullin came into the contest halfway through the matchup, he turned away 16 out of 17 shots, helping his team secure the victory. The two teams square off again on Sunday afternoon.

Fairbanks 2 @ Kenai River 3 - Moving into game two of the weekend series, Fairbanks is looking for revenge after losing 4-1 the night before. The game started with the Brown Bears finding the back of the net quickly. Less than three minutes into the contests, Thomas Gunderson lights the lamp, marking his sixth goal of the season. Later on in the period, Kenai River’s Gavin Jensen doubles the Brown Bears' lead when he scores his sixth goal of the year. Moving into the middle period, the Ice Dogs get on the scoreboard thanks to a tally by Gabe Ruiz, scoring his first junior goal in his career. Later on in the frame, Gunderson notches his second of the contest with a power-play goal for the Brown Bears. Moving into the final frame, Kenai River had a 3-1 edge over Fairbanks. With 1:13 left on the clock, Fairbanks’ captain, Luca Ricciardi, tightens up the contest with a power-play goal for the Ice Dogs. The late-game heroics by the captain would not be enough as Kenai River secures the sweep against Fairbanks.