Friday Finals: Springfield Secures Shootout Victory at Home

Rochester 2 @ Elmira 3 - Elmira earned a 3-2 win over Rochester on Friday night. Rochester opened the scoring in the first when Quin Pine scored his first of the season, assisted by Shawn Laperriere and Greg Johnson. Elmira tied it shortly after on a goal from Ryan Shaw, set up by Ryan Flaherty. Elmira took the lead early in the second period when Yianni Koukoves scored off Jake Baratta and Max Campbell. Rochester evened the game early in the third on a power-play goal from Ryan Shaw, assisted by Konner Powell. Elmira responded minutes later. Yianni Koukoves scored his second of the night, with assists from Evan Dantas and Max Campbell, which held up as the game-winner.

Johnstown 0 @ New Jersey 2 - New Jersey shut out Johnstown 2-0, with both goals coming in the third period. The Titans broke the scoreless game on the power play when Arseniy Zharikov scored from Blake Jones and Tate Pecknold. Later in the period, Tate Pecknold added another power-play goal, assisted by Ryder O’Neil and Ty Creech.

Danbury 2 @ Maryland 9 - Maryland scored five goals in the first period and went on to defeat Danbury 9-2. The Black Bears opened with a power-play goal from Harrison Smith, assisted by Samuel Osei and Jaden Sikura. Sokrat Markarian followed with a goal from Owen Drury and Logan Deuling, and Tanner Duncan added another power-play tally from Harrison Smith and Anthony Pellitteri. Markarian then recorded his second of the period from Owen Drury and Jonathan Lanza, and Jaden Sikura made it 5-0 with helpers from Daniel Johnson and Joshua Frenette. Danbury scored early in the second on a power play when Kai Mencel converted off Ludovik Gauvin and Kai Elkie. Maryland answered with goals from Ryan Franks (assisted by Harrison Smith and Cole Peters), Jonathan Lanza (from Mate Tardi and Brayden Wade), Owen Drury (from Tanner Duncan and Liam Doherty), and Jaden Sikura (from Trey Hinton and Ryan Franks). Danbury added one more in the third from Ludovik Gauvin, assisted by Matt Judge and Patrik Ula.

New Hampshire 1 @ Philadelphia 5 - The Philadelphia Rebels hosted the New Hampshire Mountain Kings for the teams’ third matchup of the season. Both teams hold a win from their previous matchups. The Mountain Kings were looking to break a five-game losing streak, and the Rebels had lost their previous game. In the first period, the Rebels opened up the scoring with forward Charlie Spencer capitalizing on the power play at 17:01. His teammate, forward Alex Lunski, scored an unassisted goal at 8:14 to extend the Rebels’ lead to two goals. At 4:40, Mountain Kings forward Tyler Dahms scored on the power play to bring the difference down to one goal. In the last quarter of the second period, the Rebels scored three unanswered goals. Forward Jordan Brothers scored an unassisted goal at 4:18, forward Dylan Moran scored at 2:54, and Lunski scored his second of the night at 1:45. Neither team would score in the third period, and the game ended with a Rebels win, 5-1. Ilja Nikitins started in net for the Rebels and made 26 saves. Gavin Weeks started in the net for the Mountain Kings and made 41 saves.

Minnesota M 6 @ St. Cloud 5 - St. Cloud Norsemen hosted the Minnesota Mallards for their fifth matchup of the season. St. Cloud had won three of the four previous matchups. The Mallards struck first on the power play in the first period, with forward Mitch Vanderway scoring at 12:56. St. Cloud came back with an unassisted goal by forward Sam Kartch at 7:24 to end the first period in a tie. In the second period, Norsemen forward Vinny Hart scored his first of the season, and an unassisted goal, at 10:50. Minnesota wouldn’t let St. Cloud keep the lead for long, with forward Ty Gordon scoring at 10:28, forward Beckett Hinchsliff scoring on the power play at 6:13, and Vanderway scoring his second of the game at 2:23 to end the period 4-2 for Minnesota. The third period started off with Vanderway completing a hat trick at 15:32, extending the lead to three goals for the Mallards. The last few minutes of the game were an attempt by St. Cloud to tie the game. St. Cloud forward Gabriel Bugeaud scored at 4:39; however, Minnesota forward Joseph Delaurentis answered with a goal at 3:03 to maintain a three-goal lead for the Mallards. St. Cloud forwards Luke Pazzia and Alex Sandhu managed to score an unassisted shorthanded goal each; however, it wasn’t enough to tie up the game, and the Mallards won the game 6-5. Cody Niesen started in the net for the Mallards and made 20 saves. Beck Liden started in net for the Norsemen and made 23 saves.

New Mexico 3 @ Corpus Christi 4 - The Corpus Christi IceRays shocked the South Division Friday night, earning a come-from-behind 4-3 upset victory over the New Mexico Ice Wolves. Trailing 3-2 in the third period, the IceRays rattled off two goals in the final 12 minutes, with the game-winner coming via the power play off the stick of Nick Evans with under five minutes to play. The IceRays remain in last place in the South Division, but are only one point behind Amarillo for seventh. New Mexico dropped to third place in the South Division with the loss, trailing El Paso, which defeated Amarillo on Friday. New Mexico flexed its muscles early as Sean Gibbons (seventh) netted a power-play goal 7:26 into the game for the early lead. Corpus Christi responded on a power play of their own just under two minutes later on Andrej Paricka’s third goal of the season to quickly knot the game back up. Just a minute after Paricka’s goal, New Mexico grabbed the lead right back thanks to Max Young’s first goal of the season. Young’s goal held until the intermission buzzer with the Ice Wolves leading 2-1. The Ice Rays finally evened the score again when Justin Thibault notched his first goal of the season with just 2:46 left in the middle frame. Thibault’s goal held as the only offense of the period to send the game to the final 20 minutes tied at 2-2. The Ice Wolves regained the lead for a third time when Koen Harrold potted his first goal of the season just over six minutes into the final frame. The IceRays never waved. Paricka responded just under two minutes later to tie the score once again for Corpus Christi. The goal was Paricka’s second of the game and third of the season. Corpus Christi got a golden opportunity to take its first lead of the game when New Mexico’s Stanley Hubbard took a hooking penalty with 5:15 remaining. The IceRays made no mistake as Evans buried his second goal of the season on the ensuing power play to finally give them the lead with 4:44 to play. New Mexico desperately searched for the equalizer – even getting a power play with 1:24 left – but couldn’t solve IceRays goaltender Vladislov Bryzgalov as Corpus Christi skated away with a hard-fought 4-3 win.

Janesville 4 @ Springfield 5 (SO) - A back-and-forth affair ended with a thrilling 5-4 shootout victory for the Springfield Jr. Blues Friday night, taking down the Janesville Jets in a Midwest Division showdown. Logan Sutton was the hero for the Jr. Blues, scoring the game-tying goal late in the third period and later burying the shootout-winning goal. The Jr. Blues keep rolling with the win, now victorious in five-straight games and leapfrogging Janesville for sole possession of fourth place in the Midwest Division with 27 points. The Jets continue their skid, having now dropped three-straight contests and falling into a fifth-place tie with Anchorage at 25 points. Neither team flinched in the opening period despite complete dominance by the Jets. Janesville sent 20 shots on Jr. Blues goaltender Amir Valiullin, who stopped every puck sent his way. Jets goaltender Roman Baith turned away the six shots he faced in the opening 20 minutes. The scoring drought ended in a big way during the second period, as the teams combined for five goals in the frame. Springfield’s Lukas Wallinheimo (sixth) and Owen Lowe (fourth) each potted goals to get the Jr. Blues ahead 2-0 with 8:32 left in the middle frame. Janesville had a quick response. A pair of goals from Mason Minsky (seventh) and Matthew Dedecko (first) evened the score at two apiece just 3:27 after Lowe’s goal. Springfield answered late in the period as Ryan McPartland notched his first goal of the year to give the Jr. Blues a 3-2 lead heading to the final period. Janesville got the better of the Jr. Blues began the period as John Frick (first) evened the score back up at 3-3 with 13:02 to go. With just under five minutes to play, Janesville’s Joseph Hyten scored his 10th goal of the season to give the Jets a late 4-3 lead. Janesville’s late go-ahead goal did not shake the Jr. Blues. Sutton scored his third of the season with just 2:06 remaining to send the game to overtime and, eventually, the shootout. Baith and Valiullin each turned away the first two rounds of shooters to begin the shootout. In the third round, a save by Valiullin coupled with a goal from Sutton helped the Jr. Blues come out on top with a riveting 5-4 shootout win.

Shreveport 3 @ Lone Star 1 - Lone Star Brahmas hosted the Shreveport Mudbugs for their first matchup of the season. The Brahmas were on a five-game winning streak, while the Mudbugs were looking to start a win streak after winning their last game. The first period was a quiet one, with neither team managing to score a goal, despite the Mudbugs taking 13 shots on goal and the Brahmas taking nine shots on goal. Late in the second period, Shreveport defenseman Johnathon Berndt scored at 6:13 to break the ice. His teammate, forward William-Alexis Tremblay, followed with a goal at 2:07 to end the period 2-0 for Shreveport. In the third period, Lone Star attempted to tie up the game with a goal at 15:46 by forward Leo Isaksson. As the time wound down, Lone Star was looking to tie up the game and pulled their goalie. However, they didn’t manage to capitalize with the extra attacker, and Shreveport defenseman Remy Pusateri scored an empty-netter to end the game 3-1 for the Mudbugs. Tyler Hodges started in net for Shreveport and made 30 saves. Brady Krey started in net for Lone Star and made 20 saves before Nicolas Rempel closed out the rest of the game, making 4 saves for the Brahmas.

Watertown 7 @ Minot 4 - The Watertown Shamrocks and Minot Minotauros faced off in a Black Friday thriller, a part of a two-game series that will continue on Saturday the 29th. The Shamrocks took a convincing lead and, despite a late push from the Minotauros, took the 7-4 victory. Philip Wiklund got the night started for the Minotauros on a sneaky shot that took some deliberation from the referee crew to finalize. With about six and a half minutes remaining in the first period, Vincent Curasi evened the score after getting an excellent feed from Edvins Berzins. With the score at 1-1 heading into the second period, the Watertown Shamrocks began their takeover. Not even five minutes into the frame, Owen Fask snuck one past the goaltender after getting alone in front of the net. Two minutes later, Zach Boren capitalized on a misplayed puck from Minot netminder Devin Rustlie to extend the lead. Just another two minutes later, Joe Rice teed up Justin Obrochta with an excellent pass to make the score 4-1. These three quick goals to start the second period prompted Head Coach Tyler Ebner to go to his backup goaltender in Brian Cooke. On the man advantage, Kyle Greene picked up the fifth Watertown tally when the puck found his stick with a wide-open net front opportunity. With a 5-1 deficit, Minot needed to respond, which they were able to, but not without some more early adversity. Antons Macijevskis, while entering the zone with speed, ripped the puck from the top of the slot and beat the goaltender to put up the sixth Shamrock goal. Just 15 seconds later, Ty James scored the first Minot goal in almost 40 minutes of gametime and gave the home crowd some much-needed energy. Exactly six minutes later, Dane Ramirez dropped the puck off for Davin Nichols, who found twine and cut the lead in half. With three minutes left in the contest, Lucca Ori scored to continue hacking away at the lead, but it wasn’t enough as Justin Bartley scored on the empty net, and the game was put to rest. Oftentimes, goaltenders become examples to try and rally a team to do a better job of protecting their net and defensive zone. Starting goaltender Devin Rustlie did not let in any pucks that he should have saved, but a message needed to be sent, which worked to an extent. At the end of the contest, the Watertown Shamrocks' lead was insurmountable, and they left with the win.

Chippewa 2  @ Wisconsin 4 - The Chippewa Steel put up a great fight against a red-hot Wisconsin Windigo team but ultimately fell short in a 4-2 contest. The offensive prowess of Theodore Richardson singlehandedly propelled his team to a victory, and some solid goaltending from Easton Cody certainly helped as well. Richardson got his night started about eight minutes into the first period on a shot through traffic to give Wisconsin an early lead. This lead stood for about 25 minutes of game time, but Ben Norris evened the score after the Wisconsin defenseman fanned on a breakout pass that allowed Chippewa to gain the puck with little pressure. With about two minutes remaining in the second period, Richardson took a Bedard-esque shot from a shallow vantage point that beat the netminder on the short side corner, a truly fantastic goal from the Wisconsin star forward. This goal gave the Windigo a 2-1 lead heading into the second period, but it wouldn’t stand for long as Anthony Preskar found the back of the net on the man advantage to tie it up. With a minute left and ice in his veins, Richardson buried a wrist shot off of an incredible feed from Brendan Finley that set the lead in favor of the Windigo. To top off his already great night, Richardson potted the empty netter for good measure. It is hard to overstate Theodore Richardson’s contribution to this win. With 12 goals and 28 points in 22 games, he is putting together a truly impressive 2025-26 season and is poised for a career year in the NAHL.

Amarillo 2 @ El Paso 6 - The Amarillo Wranglers head to the El Paso County Event Center to face off with the Rhinos in a two-game set. The first period featured no scoring from either team. The Rhinos outshot the Wranglers 11-7 in the first frame. Moving into the middle period, El Paso got to work and secured three goals in the frame to give the Rhinos the lead. Jackson Potulny tallied two in the frame, with Ethan Woolcott scoring his eighth of the year. Amarillo Daniel Rassega lit the lamp on the power play to keep the Wranglers tight in the contest. The final frame was the finishing touch for hat tricks by Woolcott and Potulny.  El Paso’s Woolcott tallied two goals back-to-back in the first three minutes of the third period. Following shortly behind him, Potulny secured his third of the night on the man advantage to give the Rhinos a 6-1 lead. Wrapping up the scoring affair, Rassega scores his second of the night for the Wranglers on the penalty kill to bring the score to 6-2 at the end of the matchup. Earning the win in the blue paint, Logan Hughes secures a 16-save performance. On the other end of the rink, Amarillo’s Gavin Schahn spotlights a 42-save affair.

Kenai River 5 @ Fairbanks 4 - In an Alaska showdown, the Kenai River Brown Bears head to the Big Dipper Ice Arena to face off with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The Brown Bears were looking to extend their winning ways against their in-state rival on Friday night. The contest kicked off with the Ice Dogs striking first with two goals in the final five minutes of the opening frame. Luke Osborn finds twine at the 4:45 minute mark with his teammate, Jace Sebert, scoring on the man advantage two minutes later. Kenai River lights the lamp with 1:14 on the clock, with Joel Hanson netting his first of the season. As the contest moved into the second frame, the Brown Bears spotlighted their offensive prowess. Kenai River strikes first with a short-handed goal by Joe Gillespie in the first 30 seconds of the period. Following him, Parker Newman extends the Brown Bears' lead with a tally six minutes later, giving Kenai River their first lead of the night. Fairbanks’ Oliver Barna scores his 10th of the season to tie up the contest. However, the Brown Bears would strike back once again. Samuel Sisik scores 14 seconds following Fairbanks' game-tying goal and returns the Brown Bears' lead. Following him, Kenai River’s Carter McCormick scores on the power play to give his team the 5-3 advantage heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation. The Ice Dogs would light the lamp quickly in the final frame when Mason Noble would score his first goal of the season to bring Fairbanks within one of the Brown Bears. The Brown Bears would secure a 5-4 road win.