Saturday Scores: Springfield Skates to Series Win with Back-To-Back Shutouts

Maryland 3 @ New Jersey 1 - Building on Friday’s win, the Maryland Black Bears defeated the New Jersey Titans 3-1 for a successful weekend sweep at Middletown Sports Complex. Maryland got on the board first with a goal scored by Joshua Frenette late in the opening frame; Tanner Duncan extended the Black Bears’ lead with his 20th goal of the season, scored at the 11:49 mark in the second period. Jaden Sikura also tallied his 20th goal of the season for Maryland at 6:11 in the final frame. The Titans responded with a power-play goal scored by Ryder O’Neil in the final minutes of the contest, but it was not enough to earn a win as they ended the night down by two. Dom Gatto defended Maryland in net with 22 saves, while Andrew Bely earned 30 saves between the pipes for New Jersey.

Johnstown 2 @ Elmira 1 (SO) - In a thrilling matchup at LeCom Events Center, the Johnstown Tomahawks defeated the Elmira Aviators in a 2-1 shootout victory. The Tomahawks amped up the pressure after Friday night’s loss to split the weekend series in New York. After a mostly quiet opening frame, Domeniks Domokejevs got Johnstown on the board at 1:57 in the first. Elmira responded late in the second period as Evan Dantas found the back of the net during an Aviators power play. Despite a lot of action on both ends of the ice, neither club was able to score in the final frame, and Jack Sullivan secured the victory for the Tomahawks in a shootout. Both goalies had impressive outings last night as Johnstown’s Nikita Oleksiienko earned 37 saves, and Elmira’s Aiden McKenna had 43 saves in net.

Philadelphia 2 @ Maine 4 - The Maine Nordiques swept the Philadelphia Rebels following last night’s 4-2 victory at Norway Savings Bank Center. Austin Borggaard got the Nordiques on the board halfway in the first period for the early lead; Jack Klevby added to Maine’s lead with another goal scored at 11:27 in the middle frame. The Rebels responded with back-to-back goals scored by Dylan Moran and Abzal Alibek within a minute of each other, tying up the contest. Jack Klevby amped up the energy in the final frame as he tallied two more goals to secure the victory for Maine with a hat trick. Lukas Fursten defended the Nordiques in net with 18 saves, while Ben Varsa and Ilja Nikitins earned a combined 22 saves for the Rebels. 

Wisconsin 0 @ Springfield 3 - The Springfield Jr. Blues successfully defended home ice as they shut out the Wisconsin Windigo 3-0 last night. Logan Sutton had an impressive outing as he notched two goals for the Jr. Blues in the first and third frames. Lukas Wallinheimo tallied one more point to end the third period and secure the victory for Springfield. Despite having more shots on net, the Windigo were not able to get past Springfield’s Amir Valiullin, who made 28 saves between the pipes. Max Larsson defended the Windigo in net with 23 saves.

Minot 3 @ North Iowa 2 (SO) - The Minot Minotauros edge out the North Iowa Bulls in a shootout. Minot was the first team to strike when Ivan Sidorov opened up the scoring on the power play at the end of the first period. After going down 1-0, the Bulls had a strong second period, scoring a pair of goals within one minute to take a 2-1 lead. In the third, the Minotauros were the only team to score, tying the game 2-2. After a scoreless overtime, the teams went to a shootout, where Ty James ended it in the fourth round to secure the win for Minot. Despite outshooting the Minotauros in every period, the Bulls struggled to put the puck past Brian Cooke, who stood tall in net for Minot. The Minotauros earn a much-needed two points as they fight to stay competitive in the packed Central Division.

New Hampshire 1 @ Rochester 8 - The Rochester Jr. Americans put up a dominant performance at home, defeating the New Hampshire Mountain Kings 8-1. Despite a close first period in terms of attempts, the Americans took a 2-0 lead early in the game. In the second, Rochester’s offense exploded with four straight goals to extend the lead to 6-0. The Mountain Kings found the back of the net once in the third period, but it was far too late as they were already in a heavy deficit. Rochester scored twice more in the third to cap off a phenomenal offensive performance. Jensen Carlstrom stopped 21 of 22 shots, limiting New Hampshire to just one goal. The Americans are now 9-1 in their last 10, as they look to climb up to second place in the East.

Odessa 4 @ Oklahoma 3 - The Odessa Jackalopes take advantage of their strong start to defeat the Oklahoma Warriors 4-3 on the road. Despite the close shot numbers, Odessa scored three times in the first period before making it 4-0 on the power play early in the second period. After falling down by four, Oklahoma found the back of the net three times in the second to make it a one-goal game heading into the final frame. Despite outshooting their opponent 12-9 in the third, the Warriors could not put the puck in the net, and the Jackalopes held onto their lead, securing the win.

St. Cloud 7 @ Watertown 3 - The St. Cloud Norsemen netted seven goals on the road to defeat the Watertown Shamrocks. After allowing the first goal, the Norsemen scored three in a row to take a 3-1 lead. Despite having more than double shots on goal in the second period, the Shamrocks only found the back of the net once to make it a one-goal game. In the third period, the Shamrocks struggled to stay out of the box, and the Norsemen took advantage, scoring three consecutive goals on the power play. Both teams then found the back of the net once, with the Norsemen winning by a final score of 7-3. Sam Crane was the star of the game with two goals and an assist, including the game-winner. St. Cloud pulls off the upset to gain a much-needed two points as they struggle to move up in the Central Division.

Corpus Christi 3 @ Amarillo 2 (OT) - The IceRays pulled off a 3–2 overtime win against the Wranglers. Amarillo led 1–0 after the first, with Alfons Jentler scoring. Johnny Maruna answered for Corpus Christi with a power-play goal. In the second, the Wranglers regained the lead with Kirill Evstigneev's unassisted goal, but Maruna tied it again with another power-play goal. After a scoreless third, Easton Swift netted the game-winner 2:33 into overtime. Griffin Davis picked up the win in net for the IceRays.

Minnesota M 1 @ Aberdeen 4 - The Minnesota Mallards went on the road to take on the Aberdeen Wings. In the opening period, just two minutes into the game, the Wings would strike first with a power-play goal from Caden Lee. Just 15 seconds later, the Wings would score again with a goal from Matthew Martin. In the second period, the Wings would extend their lead to 3 with a power-play goal from Owen Pitters. The Mallards would finally get on the board with a power-play goal from Beckett Hinchsliff, Bauer Murphy picking up the assist. In the final period, the Wings would score the dagger with a goal from Zan Spari Leben, Gavin Reed and Taven James with the assist. The Wings picked up a big win over the Mallards 4-1.

Austin 6 @ Bismarck 3 - The Bruins dominated the second period to secure a 6–3 win over the Bobcats. After leading 1–0 through the first, Austin extended their lead with three power-play goals, including a pair from Matsvei Marshchanok. Bismarck made a push in the third with two power-play goals from Royce Pietila, but the Bruins held firm. Jack Solomon earned the win with 27 saves, while Bismarck split goaltending duties between Marko Bilic and Dane Callaway.

Chippewa 1 @ Minnesota W 9 - The Wilderness dominated from start to finish, taking a 3–0 lead after the first period with goals from Robinson Djian, Andrei Gudin, and Talan Blanck. Minnesota added four more in the second, including two from Zachary Homer. Chippewa’s Carter Seto scored late, but Minnesota responded with two more in the third from Caleb Kim and Gudin. Valdemar Andersen earned the win, stopping 11 of 12 shots, while Max Kogler took the loss for Chippewa.

New Mexico 2 @ Lone Star 5 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves went on the road to take on the Lone Star Brahmas. In the opening period, both defenses held strong, with neither team conceding a goal. In the second period, the Brahmas would strike first with a goal from Jake Tavares, Samuel Lussier, and Liam O’Keeffe getting the assist. Just 3 minutes later, Jake Tavares would score again, this time on a power play, assisted by Gustav Lexell and Lucas Siomos. Before the end of the second period, the Brahmas would score again with a goal from Tyson Scanlon, Jackson Vaites, and Blake Patterson picking up the assist. In the final period, the Brahmas would extend their lead to 4 with another power-play goal, Denver Damphousse scoring, being assisted by Alexander Oliver and Jackson Vaites. The Ice Wolves would finally get on the board with a goal from Nayan Pai, Jacob Guille with the assist. The Ice Wolves would score again with a power-play goal from Sean Gibbons, Andy Earl, and Nayan Pai getting the assist. With just 18 seconds, Maddox Tulacro would score an unassisted, empty-net goal for the Brahmas. The Brahmas bounce back with a win over the Ice Wolves 5-2.

Shreveport 4 @ El Paso 3 (OT) - The Shreveport Mudbugs went on the road to take on the El Paso Rhinos. In the opening period, the Mudbugs would strike first with a power-play goal from Jonah Jasser, Duke Ehrhard with the assist. Just 20 seconds later, the Rhinos would answer back with a short-handed goal from Ethan Woolcott, Troy Hunka and Ian Kastamo getting the assist. In the second period, the Rhinos would take the lead with a goal from Brendan Murray, assisted by Jackson Potulny and Aidan Bergner. In the final period, the Rhinos would score again with a power-play goal from Ian Kastamo, Kamden Kaiser and Tommy Short picking up the assist. With less than two minutes left, the Mudbugs would make it a one-point game with a power-play, unassisted goal from Johnathon Berndt. With less than one minute left, the Mudbugs would tie the game up with a power-play goal from Evan Hoglund to force overtime. In overtime, the Mudbugs would find the game-winner on a power-play goal from Vincent Diiulio. The Mudbugs win with a miraculous comeback over the Rhinos 4-3.

Fairbanks 2 @ Anchorage 4 - As the Anchorage Wolverines continued to play host to their in-state rivals, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs were looking to respond to a Friday night loss. The Wolverines opened the scoring midway through the opening frame by Luc Bydal, the team’s leading scorer. Following him 20 seconds later, Jason Bourdukosky adds to Anchorage’s lead when he finds the back of the net. The Ice Dogs were able to cut the Wolverines’ lead in half with a power-play goal by Harrison Kaszubowski at the 7:27 minute mark. Moving into the middle frame, Rylan Bydal adds insurance to the Wolverines’ lead with a tally a little over five minutes into the period. The rest of the frame would be scoreless as the matchup moved into the final 20 minutes. The Ice Dogs were in the hunt to respond and were able to convert on the man advantage. Fairbanks’ Emmet McClaine finds twine with 4:46 to spare, bringing the game within one goal. As the Ice Dogs were looking to tie up the game, they pulled their goaltender, Miles Roberts, in the final moments of the contest. However, the Wolverines responded with an empty-netter with their netminder, Kai Weigel, finding the back of the net with 46 seconds to spare. The Wolverines skate away with four points against the Ice Dogs with their weekend sweep. Weigel stopped 26 out of 28 shots, picking up his fourth consecutive win in the blue paint.

Janesville 4 @ Kenai River 1 - The Janesville Jets finish out their Alaska road trip with a Saturday night affair at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex against the Kenai River Brown Bears. The Jets take flight, finding the back of the net first. In the opening period, Wyatt Ezman finds twine on the man advantage to give Janesville the lead heading into the first intermission. The second frame featured Janesville adding to their lead. First, Hans Hedlund scores on the penalty kill at the 8:07 minute mark. Following him four minutes later was Joey Fankhanel, tallying his seventh of the year. As the matchup moved into the final frame, the Brown Bears were able to light the lamp. With 6:37 on the board, Parker Newman scores for Kenai River. However, it would not be enough to battle back in the last period. In the final moments of the game, Janesville’s Jonathan Lyskawa scores an empty-netter to give his team some insurance. Janesville skates away with a 4-1 win and a series sweep over the Brown Bears. Between the pipes for the Jets, Kaenan Smith stopped 21 out of 22 shots on net.