Friday Finals: Watertown Punches Ticket to the Postseason for the First Time as an Organization

Rochester 0 @ Maryland 3 - The Maryland Black Bears hosted the Rochester Jr. Americans for their fifth matchup this season. The teams have split the previous four games two apiece. On Friday, Maryland blanked Rochester in a 3-0 game. The first period was mostly quiet until the last two minutes, when Black Bears forward Owen Drury scored on the power play at 1:37 to give Maryland the lead. Neither team was able to score in the second, and Drury scored again on the power play in the third period at 14:29 to extend the team’s lead to two goals. Maryland forward Trey Hinton scored an unassisted goal at 8:32 to end the game 3-0 for the team. Ryan Denes started in net for Maryland and made 25 saves to claim a shutout. Jensen Carlstrom started in the net for Rochester and made 37 saves on 40 shots.

Johnstown 7 @ New Hampshire 4 - The New Hampshire Mountain Kings hosted the Johnstown Tomahawks for their fifth matchup of the season. The teams split the previous games two apiece. Friday's game started off with a bang, with Johnstown getting on the board first from a power-play goal scored by forward Sean Leetch at 13:52. His teammate, forward Jack Genovese, got on the board at 12:10 to extend Johnstown’s lead to two. New Hampshire managed to tie up the game with a series of goals from forwards Mikail Cherepanov and Aidan Petroff at 11:31 and 5:58, respectively. Leetch scored his second of the game to give Johnstown the lead with three seconds remaining in the period and on the power play. The Tomahawks dominated the scoring in the second period. Forward Domeniks Domokejevs scored consecutively at 17:57 and 9:44. His teammate, forward Even Kensey, got on the board at 2:55 to extend Johnstown’s lead to 6-2 at the end of the period. In the third, New Hampshire forward Alex Gelhar scored on the power play at 19:38, and his teammate, forward Cole Roenick, scored a shorthanded goal at 8:56 to get the Mountain Kings within two goals. An empty-netter from Johnstown defenseman Jack Sullivan finished the Tomahawks’ game 7-4. Zack Ferris started in the net for Johnstown and made 25 saves on 29 shots. Jason Cai started in net for New Hampshire and made eight saves on 13 shots before being pulled for Nolan Francis, who made 14 saves on 15 shots.

Elmira 3 @ Northeast 5 - The Northeast Generals hosted the Elmira Aviators for their fifth matchup of the season. Elmira had previously won all but one game. Elmira got on the board first with a goal at 15:55 from forward Corson Maguire. The Generals managed to tie up the score with a goal from forward Vinny Ipri at 2:13. Elmira closed out the period with an unassisted goal from forward Evan Dantas at 1:40. In the second period, Generals forward Cole McKenna scored at 16:23 to tie up the game. Elmira defenseman Andrew Horn scored another goal for the team at 3:27. In the third period, the Generals completed the comeback and claimed the win with a series of goals from forwards Andrew Gibbons, Logan Poulin, and Mikey Bartkowski at 17:37, 4:23, and with three seconds remaining for an empty net. Aiden McKenna started in the net for the Aviators and made 44 saves on 48 shots. Keagin Wilson started in net for the Generals and made 28 saves on 31 shots.

Maine 6 @ Philadelphia 1 - The Philadelphia Rebels hosted the Maine Nordiques for their fifth matchup of the season. Maine has won all of their previous games against Philadelphia this season. The Rebels got on the board first for their only goal of the game at 16:00 off a goal from forward Joe Stauber. The Nordiques proceeded to dominate for the rest of the period with four goals from forward William Francisco Parent at 15:13, forward Josh Itri at 9:38, and defenseman Aslan Zhussupbekov with two goals at 8:39 and 4:24. The second period continued to show Maine’s dominance with goals from forwards Dawson Anderson and Marshall McCharles at 9:44 and 5:44, respectively. Matthew Wood started in net for Maine and made 16 saves on 17 shots. Ilja Nikitins started in net for Philadelphia before Ben Varsa closed out the rest of the game with 25 saves on 27 shots.

North Iowa 2 @ Watertown 3 - The Watertown Shamrocks defeated the North Iowa Bulls, 3-2, on Thursday night at Prairie Lakes Ice Arena. Watertown opened the scoring in the first period as Antons Macijevskis scored with assists from Payton Struck and Edvins Berzins. North Iowa answered later in the period as Vitaliy Korolyuk scored with assists from Denis Kuzmenkov and Brayden Hughes to make it 1-1 after one period. In the second period, Owen Fask scored with assists from Justin Obrochta and Jordan Gudridge to give Watertown a 2-1 lead. In the third period, Kyle Greene scored an empty-net goal with assists from Joe Rice and Justin Bartley to make it 3-1. North Iowa got one back late as Denis Hodas scored with assists from Denis Kuzmenkov and Michael Malatino, but Watertown held on for the win.

Chippewa 1 @ Janesville 3 - The Janesville Jets defeated the Chippewa Steel, 3-1, on Thursday night at Mercyhealth Arena. Janesville opened the scoring in the first period as Hans Hedlund scored a power-play goal with assists from Nathan Tobey and Murray Marvin-Cordes to make it 1-0 after one period. In the second period, Murray Marvin-Cordes scored with assists from Nathan Tobey and Joseph Hyten to make it 2-0. Later in the period, Joseph Hyten scored a shorthanded goal with an assist from Murray Marvin-Cordes to extend the lead to 3-0. Chippewa got on the board in the third period as Tom Manzella scored with an assist from Mason Johnson, but Janesville held on for the 3-1 win.

Minot 5 @ Austin 1 - The Minot Minotauros defeated the Austin Bruins, 5-1, on Thursday night at Riverside Arena. Minot opened the scoring in the first period as Will Nolan scored a power-play goal with assists from Ty James and Jachym Prusek. Austin answered later in the period as Siamion Marshchanok scored with assists from Gavin Hruza and Alex Perrault to make it 1-1 after one period. Minot pulled ahead in the third period as Dane Ramirez scored with assists from Volodymyr Naumenko and Trevor Stewart to make it 2-1. Later in the period, Anthony Spadaro scored with assists from Evan Follies and Dane Ramirez to make it 3-1. Minot added another goal as Davin Nichols scored with assists from Trevor Stewart and Max Wahn to extend the lead to 4-1. Will Nolan later scored his second power-play goal of the game with assists from Jachym Prusek and Ty James to make it 5-1.

El Paso 5 @ Corpus Christi 2 - The El Paso Rhinos defeated the Corpus Christi IceRays, 5-2, on Thursday night at the Hilliard Center. El Paso opened the scoring in the first period as Raphael Laviolette scored with assists from Kamden Kaiser and Gaige Giblin. Later in the period, Gaige Giblin scored with assists from Raphael Laviolette and Tommy Shore to make it 2-0. Tommy Shore then scored a power-play goal with assists from Troy Hunka and Kamden Kaiser to make it 3-0 after one period. In the second period, Kamden Kaiser scored a power-play goal with assists from Ian Kastamo and Troy Hunka to make it 4-0. Corpus Christi got on the board in the third period as Justin Thibault scored with assists from Nikita Konevych and Marc-Alexandre Richard. Later in the period, Jack MacKenzie scored with assists from Jonathon Pylpyuk and Nick Sinani to make it 4-2. El Paso added another goal as Troy Hunka scored with assists from Charles Turner and Ethan Woolcott to make it 5-2.

Amarillo 2 @ Shreveport 5 - The Shreveport Mudbugs completed a dominant home win over the Amarillo Wranglers on Friday evening. After getting off to a hot start, the Mudbugs were able to maintain a lead and play winning hockey very early into the contest. Charlie Burchfield got the night started with a rebound goal that kicked off a three-goal start from the Mudbugs. Burchfield followed up with his second goal, and Duke Ehrhard piled on with a goal on the man advantage. Just a minute after the third Shreveport goal, Jackson Nesheim responded for the Amarillo Wranglers and cut the lead to two goals before the first intermission. Approaching the midpoint of the second period, Tiernan O’Rourke took a costly tripping penalty. This led to Evan Hoglund pounding home a one-time shot for the fourth Mudbug goal of the game. Hayden Hedquist punched back with a goal for the Wranglers, and Amarillo faced a two-goal deficit with 20 minutes remaining in regulation. Unfortunately for them, the only goal in the third period came from the Mudbug side of the ice. Johnathan Berndt finished a pass from William-Alexis Tremblay on the power play, which sealed the win for the Mudbugs. Any sporting event can be chunked into multiple phases, and oftentimes, these phases are used to gameplan for either team. In hockey, teams that can effectively start games strong and finish them stronger will prevail. In this one, the Mudbugs did just that and managed a statement victory on their home turf.

St. Cloud 4 @ Aberdeen 3 (OT) - The St. Cloud Norsemen completed an impressive third-period comeback that ended with an overtime win over the Aberdeen Wings. Despite facing a two-goal deficit heading into the final frame of regulation, the Norsemen managed to claw back and take a big win from a leader in the Central Division. 15 minutes passed before Cooper Anderson scored his 13th goal of the year to kick the evening off. Cristian Nichols then responded with 35 seconds remaining, and these two clubs were off to a pretty even start through 20 minutes. The second period was all Aberdeen, with Jibber Kuhl and Caden Lee picking up goals and putting pressure on the Norseman as the game entered its final act. Nichols got the period off to a quick start by cutting the lead in half on the man advantage. Then, with 14 seconds left and the goalie pulled, Sam Crane sent a missile into the crease from the point and tied the contest up. Overtime took a few minutes to be decided, but Nichols capped off the hat trick with a power play goal to win the game. Although the Norsemen are outside of the playoff picture, they showed no desire to let the clinched Aberdeen Wings walk past them in this game. St. Cloud showed great determination, all on the back of standout rookie defenseman Cristian Nichols and his hat-trick performance.

Lone Star 4 @ Odessa 2 - The Brahmas took a statement victory on the road against the Odessa Jackalopes as they continued to bolster their South Division victory. Although the first period predicated a back-and-forth game, the Brahmas dialed it in for the second period and maintained their lead for the rest of regulation. Luke McPherson scored No. 6 on the season to start the game, but Leo Isaksson responded not long after to tie the game for the Brahmas. With under two minutes left, Adam Matar regained the lead for the Jackalopes, but Dylan McFadden was there to respond yet again for the Brahmas. In the second period, Tyson Scanlon got a quick goal to snag the first Brahmas lead of the game. With under a minute remaining in the frame, Gustav Lexell extended the lead and captured the final goal of the contest. Although the Jackalopes applied some serious pressure in the third period, goaltender Leo Gabriel could not get figured out, and the Brahmas finished the road win. Although this game meant virtually nothing for the outlook of the Brahmas' season, it’s clear that they still value gritty wins that send a statement to the rest of the NAHL. In this one, it was their clear determination and ability to grind out a victory that should keep the rest of the league on notice.

Minnesota M 4 @ Bismarck 8 - A big second period carried the Bismarck Bobcats Friday night as they took down the Minnesota Mallards by a final score of 8-4. Leading 2-1 entering the second period, the Bobcats completely took over the game with five goals in just under 11 minutes during the second period. Charlie Kresel and Nick Snyder led the way offensively for the Bobcats, each posting a goal and two assists. The Bobcats close the gap to just one point for the top spot in the Central Division – currently held by Austin, who were upset by Minot Friday. Minnesota's losing streak hits seven games with the loss. Bismarck got two early goals to open the game from Mark Evans (18th) and Nick Snyder (ninth) to take a 2-0 lead. Bryce Wiitala cut the deficit in half for Minnesota in the late stages of the first period on his 19th goal of the season. His goal was the last offense of the period, sending the teams to the dressing room with Bismarck ahead 2-1. The Bobcats completely took over the game from the drop of the puck in the middle frame. Goals from Eddie Revenig (ninth), Alex Lunski (14th), Haydon Eckart (first), Kresel (18th), and Oscar Jonsson (fifth) opened up a 7-1 lead for Bismarck. Wiitala nabbed his 20th goal of the year late in the period, sending the game to the third period with the Bobcats comfortably ahead 7-2. Gianni DiVita brought the Bobcats to eight goals with his ninth of the season just 41 seconds into the final period. Bauer Murphy (third) and Lewis Majkozak (third) added two more goals for the Mallards during garbage time, but Bismarck ran out the clock to secure the 8-4 win.

Springfield 5 @ Minnesota W 1 - The Springfield Jr. Blues earned a big upset victory Friday, backstopped by a stellar goaltending effort from Amir Valiullin to bring down the Minnesota Wilderness by a final score of 51. Valiullin was near-perfect in the Jr. Blues’ win, making 32 saves on 33 shots faced against the Midwest Division leaders. The Jr. Blues remain comfortably in fifth place in the Midwest with the win and snap a five-game losing skid. Minnesota has already clinched the top position in the Midwest. Springfield came out of the gate hot, getting goals from Dennis Emesibe (11th) and a short-handed goal from Niko Laus (20th). Valiullin was sharp in the first period, stopping all nine Minnesota shots he faced to aid his team to a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Minnesota cut the deficit in half just after the seven-minute mark of the middle frame. Matt Hauser notched a power-play goal – his first goal of the season – to bring the Wilderness within a goal. The Wilderness pressed heavily in the second period, but Valiullin only conceded Hauser’s goal on 16 shots to keep his team's lead intact heading to the third period. The teams battled down to the late stages of the third period until Lukas Wallinheimo (17th) got the Jr. Blues' much-needed insurance with 6:33 to go, extending the lead to 3-1. Minnesota looked for a spark, but Valiullin and the rest of the Springfield defense locked down their net. Logan Sutton (10th) and Brady Turner (10th) each added empty-net goals late to seal the 5-1 win for the Jr. Blues.

Oklahoma 0 @ New Mexico 2 - An all-around dominant defensive effort from the New Mexico Ice Wolves on Friday propelled them to a 2-0 shutout victory over the Oklahoma Warriors. While not finding much offense in Friday’s contest, New Mexico’s defense came to play. The Ice Wolves conceded just 16 shots in the entire 60 minutes of play – no more than six shots in any period. Behind the stellar New Mexico defense was goaltender Conner Roff, who stopped all 16 shots Oklahoma managed to sneak through the Ice Wolves’ stingy defense. The Ice Wolves hold possession of second place in the South Division with the win, one point up on third-place El Paso, who have won four straight games during the playoff push. Oklahoma, despite the loss, retains its six-point lead over Odessa for the final South Division playoff spot. Neither side found the back of the net in the opening period. New Mexico outshot the Warriors 10-6 in the period. Midway through the middle frame, New Mexico’s Sean Gibbons (26th) finally broke through to give the Ice Wolves a 1-0 lead. New Mexico dominated play in the middle frame, holding the shots edge 15-5 in the period, but only finding Gibbons’ goal. The teams continued the tight checking, stingy defense all the way down to the wire. Oklahoma pushed to find the equalizer, but New Mexico’s defense was a brick wall in the third, conceding just five shots in the period. Noah Teng sealed the deal with 25 seconds remaining, potting an empty-net goal for his fourth goal of the year to secure New Mexico’s 2-0 win.

Wisconsin 3 @ Kenai River 2 - The Wisconsin Windigo continue their Alaskan road trip, this time playing against the Kenai River Brown Bears. The contest kicks off with a tally 90 seconds into the opening period by Wisconsin’s Brendan Finley. Later in the first period, Jackson Ernst adds to the WIndigo’s lead with a goal with 15 seconds left on the clock. Moving into the second, the Brown Bears strike back with two goals themselves. First, Samuel Sisik scores on the man advantage midway through the frame. Exactly nine minutes later, Kallen Ray finds twine to even the scoreboard heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation. In the final few minutes of the game, AJ Bongiorno scored for the Windigo, securing them the victory on Friday night.