Saturday Scores: Watertown Escapes With The Overtime Road Win Over Minot

Photo Credit: Sarah Cooper

Johnstown 2 @ Northeast 4 - The Johnstown Tomahawks took a short roadie to Canton Ice House to face the Northeast Generals. Late in the second period, Vinny Ipri opened the scoring. Then, a minute later, Braydon Hudtloff kept it going by punching one in. After the first half of the third, Kody Moyer extended the lead to three by sneaking one through the short side, with Rich Rucierto and Andrew Gibbons grabbing the assists. Before too long, they jotted another one down to make it four-nothing, as Rucierto picked up his first of the season. However, their shutout dream ended before the buzzer sounded, as Nick Jarmain and Justin Chiras capitalized on the power plays for the Tomahawks.

New Jersey 4 @ New Hampshire 1 - After a second and third period collapse, the Jersey Titans dominated the home club, New Hampshire Mountain Kings, 4-1. In the first period, though, the Mountain Kings had it in order, opening the scoring late into the frame from Joey Sylvester.  But then late into the second, the Titans climbed back and scored a handful, as it was first tied up by Arseni Vorobyov. A minute later, Ryder O’Neil broke the tie and handed Jersey the everlasting lead. And he would do so again shortly after, with Nick Doumas and Owen Leahy cycling it. Scoring their second of the night was in the air for the Jersey forwards, as Vorobyov snapped one in on the power play to seal it for the Titans. 

Philadelphia 2 @ Danbury 3 - After getting narrowly beaten by the Philadelphia Rebels, the Danbury Hat Tricks delivered a blow to the Rebels on home ice in a stunning rematch. Early into the second period, however, the Rebels opened the scoring, as it was done by Jordan Brothers. A few minutes later, they put in another, when Justin Vlassis lasered one through the pocket after receiving sauce from Jake Schultz. Then, the Hat Tricks went to work, as Brady Walters buried one on the power play to break the ice. And a minute later, they would do so again on the power play, as Matt Dabrowski blasted a top-frame shot at the center slot, and ushered in fishing reel celly. For the third, with the score being all tied up, Lodovik Gauvin sneaked one by for the go-ahead goal and sealed the deal for Danbury.

Elmira 3 @ Rochester 5 - Talk about Deja Vu, as the Rochester Jr. Americans defeated the Elmira Aviators again on home ice with the same score from Friday night, 5-3. From the first period, Brendan Giles opened the scoring. Minutes later, Keanan Dewberry fed Colin Dustin to one-time it in. A minute later, Giles slipped one by with the backhander and grabbed his second of the period. But shortly after, the Aviators broke the ice and finally drew something up, as Evan Dantas snuck one in while empty-handed. And before the period came to a close, Corson Maguire put Elmira within one. Late into the second, Adam Gionta responded and returned the two-goal lead to the Amerks. As for the third, Luke Rubin capitalized on the power play, as he was set up by Evan Dantas. With two minutes to play, the Aviators pulled Jake Shingles for the extra attacker. But Dewberry wasted no time with that opportunity, as he iced it down for the empty netter to call it a night. 

Aberdeen 7 @ Minnesota M 1 - The Aberdeen Wings faced off against the Minnesota Mallards for a night two matchup. It did not take long for the Wings to take control, scoring just thirty seconds in on a goal by Jonathan Doucette. The Wings would add three more goals over the course of the first period by Taven James, Cooper Anderson, and Easton Edwards. The Mallards would score their first and only goal of the night with six seconds left in the first by Bryce Witala. In the second, Sam Scheetz would find the net for the Wings to make it 5-1. With sixteen seconds left, Brody Dustin would add to the lead even more, making it 6-1. In the third, the Wings’ offense was slowed, only scoring one goal midway through the period by Matthew Martin. The Wings continue to be undefeated against the Mallards and take this one 7-1.

Corpus Christi 5 @ Oklahoma 2 - After dropping the previous game in the shootout, the Oklahoma Warriors looked to bounce back against the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. Jack Mackenzie would strike first for the Ice Rays with just under ten minutes to go in the first. A minute later, Trace Day would find the net to answer for the Warriors, tying the game at one. In the second, the Ice Rays would take back the lead on a goal by Nick Sinani, 2-1. The Warriors would once again tie up the game on a power-play goal by Ben Osiashvilli halfway through the period. In the third, Easton Swift would strike for the Ice Rays to take the lead back a third time, 3-2. Swift would hit the empty net with 1:21 to play, making the score 4-2. With three seconds left and on the powerplay, Alexandr Skuratov would pot another one for the Ice Rays. Ice Rays take this one 5-2 over the Warriors.

St. Cloud 1 @ Austin 7 - After dropping the previous game on Friday in the shootout to the Norsemen, the Bruins looked to get one back on Saturday night. Gavin Hruza would strike first for the Bruins just five minutes into the game. With three minutes left, Matsvei Marshchanok would add another for the Bruins, 2-0. In the second, it was all Bruins as they would add five more goals, with two coming on the power play. With two minutes left in the second, Mate Tardi would ruin any hope of a shutout and get the Norsemen on the board. In the third, no scoring would occur. Bruins goaltender Jack Solomon stood tall, saving 24 of 25 shots for a 0.960 save percentage. The Bruins avenge their previous loss with a statement win, 7-1.

Bismarck 4 @ North Iowa 6 - The North Iowa Bulls looked to avenge their loss on Friday night to the Bobcats. The Bulls got the scoring started with Fuji Suzuki scoring twice at 14:46 and 9:03 for a quick 2-0 lead. Fifteen seconds later, Denis Hodas would add to the Bull’s lead, 3-0. The Bobcats would respond with a goal by Dennis Lominac with a minute left in the first to cut into the deficit, 3-1. Two minutes into the second, Bismarck would add another by Camden Alemond, 3-2. Suzuki would strike on the power-play, completing the hat-trick three minutes later to answer Bismarck’s push to take the lead. Six minutes later, Denis Kuzmenkov would add another for the Bulls, 5-2. In the third, Alemond would strike again on the powerplay, his second of the night. George Poirier would add another for the Bobcats to scare the Bulls, 5-4. With three minutes left in regulation, Vitaliy Korolyuk would tally one for the Bulls to seal the win 6-4, avenging their loss from the previous night.

Odessa 1 @ Shreveport 7 - The Shreveport Mudbugs put on an absolute offensive clinic, overwhelming the Odessa Jackalopes 7–1 in a wire-to-wire dominant performance. Shreveport exploded out of the gate with three first-period goals and never eased up, adding two more in the second and finishing with a pair in the third. Their power play struck twice, their forecheck created constant pressure, and they outshot Odessa to cap off a statement win. The Jackalopes found the net once in the middle frame, but the Mudbugs’ speed and depth proved far too much to handle.

New Mexico 7 @ Amarillo 1 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves lit up the scoreboard in a thrilling 7–1 rout of the Amarillo Wranglers, powered by standout performances from Sean Gibbons, Sean Smith, and Nayan Pai, who each found the back of the net and earned star honors. The Ice Wolves jumped ahead early with two first-period goals, blew the game wide open with three more in the second, and slammed the door with two in the third. Between the pipes, Conner Roff was sensational, turning aside 32 of 33 shots to anchor the dominant effort as New Mexico capitalized on its power-play opportunity and never looked back.

Kenai River 0 @ Minnesota W 2 - The Minnesota Wilderness broke through in the third period to secure a hard-fought 2–0 shutout over the Kenai River Brown Bears in a tense defensive showdown. After forty minutes of scoreless hockey, Anthony Cappello ignited the home crowd with two clutch third-period goals to seize control. Ryan Gerlich was rock-solid in net, stopping all 25 shots he faced to earn the shutout and first-star honors, while Bryce Dahl delivered a strong all-around effort to help seal the win. Minnesota’s persistence finally paid off as they pulled away late to claim the victory.

Anchorage 5 @ Chippewa 2 - The Anchorage Wolverines stormed into Chippewa and skated away with an electrifying 5–2 victory, fueled by a dominant offensive burst and clutch goaltending. Luc Bydal led the charge with two goals, igniting a three-goal first period that put Anchorage firmly in control. Rylan Bydal added strong two-way play throughout the night, while Trevor Bodie answered for the Steel with one of their two goals. Despite facing 37 shots, Kai Weigel stood tall with 35 saves, shutting the door whenever Chippewa threatened and powering the Wolverines to an impressive road win.

Fairbanks 1 @ Wisconsin 3 - The Wisconsin Windigo picked up a key victory Saturday night over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs by a score of 3-1. In what turned out to be a game with limited opportunities to score, Wisconsin was able to bury when it mattered most and pulled away with the win. In the first, despite numerous scoring chances, no one was able to capitalize on the first one and spark their team, leaving the score at zero going into intermission. In the second, Harrison Kaszubowski was able to find the back of the net first for the Ice Dogs, grabbing the 1-0 lead off the assists from Gage Leonard and Mason Knaffla. A few minutes later, the Windigo answered back as Joshua Sardo got on the board for Wisconsin. The pass came from Riley Joslin, as the score now held at 1-1 going into intermission. In the final frame, AJ Bongiorno grabbed the lead for the Windigo off the assists from Hunter Friedrich and Aidan Hickok. McCarthy Richardson added on to the lead with a power play goal a few minutes later to push it to a 3-1 game with the assists from Will Doherty and Joslin. Wisconsin would shut down the Fairbanks attack for the rest of the period to hold on for the 3-1 victory. In net, the Ice Dogs’ Miles Roberts stopped 35 shots in a valiant effort in the loss. Max Larsson, on the other side, was able to stop 38 shots in a tremendous performance, clinching the 27th win at home for the Windigo.

Watertown 3 @ Minot 2 (OT) - The Watertown Shamrocks eked out an overtime win Saturday night over the Minot Minotauros by a score of 3-2. In a come-from-behind victory for the Shamrocks, they were able to shut out the road crowd and pick up a huge tally in the win column. In the first, Minot’s Ty James was able to get on the board off the assists from Davin Nichols and Evan Foiles, grabbing the lead early. The Minotauros added on before the end of the period as Volodymyr Naumenko scored with just 25 seconds left, the feeds from Dane Ramirez and Trevor Stewart. In the second, Watertown would answer back late with a power-play goal from Owen Chartier set up by Zach Boren, closing the gap to one. In the final frame, Boren would grab one of his own, tying the battle up at two apiece, the assists coming from Joe Rice and Brody Josselyn. The game would then push into overtime as neither team could find the difference maker to take the lead. In overtime, the Shamrocks were able to complete the comeback as they scored three straight, with Kyle Greene burying the opportunity to give his team the win. In net, Chase Anderson put up a fantastic effort in the loss as he turned away 37 shots, yet ultimately it wasn’t enough. For the Shamrocks, Mason Gudridge was able to turn away 36 shots and clinch his team's 24th victory of the year.

Lone Star 1 @ El Paso 0 - The Lone Star Brahmas blanked the El Paso Rhinos Saturday night by a score of 1-0. In what was a dominant defensive display on both sides, the Brahmas were able to convert when it mattered most. Throughout the first two periods of the battle, neither team was able to find the back of the net despite 42 combined shots and plenty of traded opportunities between the two sides. In the third, Dylan McFadden finally found the back of the net for Lone Star to take the lead off the pass from Denver Damphousse. The Brahmas were able to clamp down defensively the rest of the affair and escape with the 1-0 road victory. In net, Michael Modelski turned away 30 shots for the losing side in what was a great effort. For Lone Star, Brady Krey shut down all 24 shots from the El Paso offense, clinching the win for his side.