Friday Finals: Maryland Secures Playoff Spot

Photo Credit: James Harding

New Hampshire 2 @ Danbury 3 (SO) - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings went on the road to take on the Danbury Hat Tricks. In the opening period, both defenses would hold strong, keeping the game tied at 0-0. In the second period, the Hat Tricks would start the scoring with a goal from Owen Schwarz, Peter Freel, and Gavin Burke getting the assist. The Mountain Kings would then get on the board with a goal from Jaden Johnson, Lucas Mann, and Nicolas Vrtiel picking up the assist. In the final period, the Hat Tricks would score a go-ahead goal on a power play, Matt Shpungin scoring with an assist from Ludovik Gauvin and Patrick Ula. But with just 19 seconds left, Jaden Johnson would score his second goal of the night to force overtime, Nicolas Vrtiel andLucas Mann with the assist once again. In overtime neither team would score, leading to a shootout. In the shootout, Matt Shpungin and Tanner Terranova would score the game-winning goals. The Hat Tricks survive against the Mountain Kings 3-2.

Maine 1 @ Rochester 4 - The Maine Nordiques went on the road to take on the Rochester Jr.

Americans. In the opening period, the Jr. Americans would take the early lead with a goal from Stone Rolston, Leo Mantenuto, and Yianni Koukouves with the assist. In the second period, the Jr. Americans would score on a power play, Brendan Giles scoring with an assist from Sam Schulte and Ryan Shaw. Just a minute later, the Jr. Americans would extend their lead even further with a goal from Maxim St. Pierre, John-Paul Saddy and Adam Gionta picking up the assist. In the final period, the Jr. Americans would take a 4-0 lead, Ryan Shaw scoring with Brendan Giles returning his earlier assist. With time running out the Nordiques would avoid the shutout with a short-handed goal from Michael Sandruck, Jack Klevby, and Cole Etsey with the assist.

Northeast 0 @ Maryland 4 - The Maryland Black Bears continue to dominate the East Division standings as they defeated the Northeast Generals 4-0. The Black Bears got an early start to the shutout victory as Kristofers Krumins found the back of the net at 12:03 in the first period. Maryland brought this momentum into the middle frame as they tallied on two more points less than one minute apart; Tanner Duncan notched in a power-play goal, and William Esterbrooks found the back of the net shortly after. Ryan Franks wrapped up the contest with another power-play goal that was scored at 10:18 in the final frame. Will Mizenko had a busy night in net for the Generals as he saved 37 of 41 shots faced, and Ryan Denes earned 16 saves in net for the Black Bears. Maryland clinched their spot in the Robertson Cup playoffs last night, becoming the first team in the league to do so.

New Jersey 4 @ Philadelphia 1 - The New Jersey Titans went on the road to take on the Philadelphia Rebels. In the opening period, the Titans would strike first with a goal from Arseni Vorobyov, assisted by Owen Leahy and Arseniy Zharikov. The Rebels would then answer back to get on the board with a goal from Dylan Moran, Abzal Alibek with the assist. In the second period, the lone goal would belong to the Titans, Skogen Schrott on a power play, being assisted by Owen Leahy and Arseniy Zharikov, both their second. In the final period, the Titans would score on another play, this time Owen Leahy getting a goal of his own, Ty Creech, and Arseniy Zharikov getting his third assist of the game. With just a minute left, Ty Creech would score on a short-handed goal, Skogen Schrott with the assist. The Titans picked up a big win on the road over the Rebels 4-1.

Elmira 6 @ Johnstown 4 - The Elmira Aviators went on the road to take on the Johnstown Tomahawks. In the opening period, the Tomahawks would strike first with a goal from Nick Jarmain, Sean Morgan, and Emerson Marshall with the assist. In the second period, the Tomahawks would score again, this time on a power play, Jack Sullivan scoring with an assist from Nick Jarmain. Less than a minute later, the Tomahawks would continue to grow their lead with a goal from Kirby Perler, Nick Jarmain with another assist, and Nick Metelkin getting an assist. But then, 18 seconds later, the Aviators would finally answer with a goal from Ben Taylor, Evan Dantas picking up the assist. With just 44 seconds left in the second period, the Aviators would make it a one-goal game after Matt Maglio scored on a power play, with another assist. Seconds after that, Corson Maguire would score an unassisted goal to tie the game up for the Aviators. In just 5 minutes, the Aviators went from down 3 to tied going into the final period. In the final period, the Aviators would take their first lead of the game, Jake Baratta scoring on an unassisted, short-handed goal. The Tomahawks would finally answer back with a goal to tie the game back up, Charlie Zetterkvist scoring, getting an assist from Ethan Rosenoff. Kevin Delaney would then take the lead back for the Aviators on an unassisted goal. To put the nail in the coffin, Evan Dantas would get a goal of his own on a power play to seal the win for the Aviators, Luke Rubin and Matt Maglio picking up the assist. The Aviators came back to defeat the Tomahawks 6-4.

Minot 4 @ Minnesota M 6 - In an exciting matchup at Rough Rider Center, the Minnesota Mallards defeated the Minot Minotauros 6-4. Philip Wiklund kicked off the scoring for Minot as he earned the only goal of the first frame. The Mallards responded with three back-to-back goals to start the second period from Michael Domina, Deke Davidson, and Jack Roberts. Lucca Ori ended the middle frame with another goal for the Minotauros as they headed into the third period down by one. The Mallards kept their offensive momentum going into the final frame, and three more goals were tallied in. Minot scored twice more, but it was not enough to make a comeback, and they ended the contest with a final score of 6-4. Chase Anderson earned 16 saves between the pipes for Minot, and Connor Mackenzie made 33 saves to defend the Mallards.

Kenai River 5 @ Janesville 3 - The Kenai River Brown Bears defeat the Janesville Jets with an outstanding effort in the first half. In a competitive opening period, the Jets opened up the scoring with an early goal before the Bears scored two quick ones to take the lead. Less than two minutes later, Mason Minsky found the back of the net for Janesville to even the score before Anthony McInto put the Bears back on top 3-2, heading into the first intermission. Despite getting outshot 11-5, the Bears were the only team to score in the second period, as they took a 5-2 lead into the final frame. In the third period, Matthew Dedecko was able to place the Jets within two, but that was the final goal of the night as Kenai River hung on to secure the win.

Fairbanks 1 @ Springfield 3 - The Springfield Jr. Blues hosted the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, where they earned a 3-1 victory. Springfield got an early lead in the contest as Dennis Emesibe tallied a goal within the first 30 seconds of gameplay. Fairbanks responded with their only goal of the game; Mack Diggis scored from a pass by Oliver Barna at 8:40 in the opening frame. The Jr. Blues would notch in two more goals for the night during the second period, as Ben Cameron and Owen Lowe secured the Friday night victory for Springfield. Mason McElroy earned 31 saves between the pipes for Fairbanks, and Springfield’s Amir Valiullin defended the win with 40 saves in net.

Shreveport 3 @ Amarillo 0 - The Shreveport Mudbugs shut out the Amarillo Wranglers on the road. Despite dominating the Wranglers in the first period, outshooting them 10-4, the Mudbugs were unable to beat the goaltender, and the game remained scoreless after the first period. In the second period, Ryan Baert scored an unassisted goal to open up the scoring. This was the only goal of the period, despite Amarillo outshooting Shreveport 14-5. The Mudbugs went up 2-0 in the middle of the third, before scoring one into the empty net to secure the win. Tyler Hodges stopped all 26 shots he faced, earning a shutout, as his team fights to remain above .500.

Watertown 4 @ Aberdeen 3 (OT) -  The Watertown Shamrocks defeat the Aberdeen Wings 4-3 in overtime. The Wings opened up the scoring in the first with an unassisted goal from Jibber Kuhl. The next goal would not come until the end of the second period, when Kyle Greene tied the game with less than 20 seconds left in the period. The third period was most exciting, with only a combined 14 shots on goal resulting in two goals from each team. Kyle Greene scored his second of the night with less than 30 seconds left in regulation to tie the game and send it to overtime. In the extra frame, Joe Rice won it for Watertown as they upset the Wings in a 4-3 win.

St. Cloud 3 @ BIsmarck 6 - The Bismarck Bobcats defeated the St. Cloud Norsemen, backed by a strong offensive performance. In a tight first period, the first goal came in the second half, as Riley Fast opened up the scoring for the Norsemen. The Bobcats then responded with two quick goals, including one on the power play, taking a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. In the second, Bismarck scored three times, while St. Cloud only scored once, and the Bobcats headed into the final frame up 5-2. St. Cloud tried to mount a comeback with a power-play goal in the third, but a short-handed empty-netter sealed the deal for Bismarck, and they won the game 6-3.

Anchorage 3 @ Minnesota W 1 - The Wolverines picked up a 3–1 road win over the Wilderness. Anchorage struck first in the second period when Jason Boudriukosky scored at 2:31, assisted by Balint Lobnwein and Sam Evert, to give the visitors a 1–0 lead. The Wolverines added two quick third-period goals to take control, as Luc Bydal scored just 1 second into the frame, followed later by Chase Trompeter finding the net at 16:25 to extend the advantage to three. Minnesota got on the board in the first period with a goal at 16:30 from Robinson Djian, assisted by Theo Kiss and Max Edwards, but the Wilderness couldn’t close the gap the rest of the way.

Corpus Christi 3 @ Odessa 2 - The IceRays earned a narrow 3–2 win over the Jackalopes at Ector County Coliseum. Nikita Konevych opened the scoring for Corpus Christi with a first-period goal at 5:07, assisted by Andrej Paricka and Nick Evans, giving the visitors the early edge. Odessa answered in the second period when Bjorn Bahnman scored at 14:35, with assists from Adam Matar and Nicholas Puricelli, tying the game 1–1. The Jackalopes grabbed another goal in the third at 7:07 as Nicholas Arrington found the net, set up by Caden Ghiossi and Jeremy Jacobs. Corpus Christi responded later in the third period, as Chayse Laurie scored at 16:17 off feeds from Jack Mackenzie and Nick Evans, helping secure the 3–2 final. The IceRays outshot the Jackalopes 42–25.

Austin 1 @ North Iowa 4 - The Bulls rode a strong offensive effort to a 4–1 win over the Bruins. North Iowa opened the scoring in the first period as Filip Rysz struck at 17:34, assisted by Brayden Hughes and Carter Davis, to give the home side an early lead. The Bulls extended the advantage in the second period when Lukas Yeck scored at 16:29 with help from Denis Hodas and Marat Mikhlin, making it 2–0. In the third, North Iowa pulled further ahead with a goal at 1:30 from Niko Russ, assisted by Fuji Suzuki and Vitaliy Korolyuk. Austin spoiled the shutout later in the period when Kyle Sorensen scored at 9:12, assisted by Gus Elbert and Andrew Leung, but the Bulls finished with the extra marker to secure the 4–1 final.

Oklahoma 2 @ El Paso 0 - The Warriors skated to a 2–0 shutout win over the Rhinos. Oklahoma opened the scoring in the third period when Easton Rooney found the net at 6:34, assisted by Trent Burlison and Billy Stuski, breaking a scoreless deadlock. Later in the period, Cameron Ross added an insurance goal at 0:30, with help from Mack Blue and Joey DeRosa, to seal the victory. Oklahoma held the shot advantage 43–18 in the game.