Saturday Scores: The El Paso Rhinos Respond and Secure Victory in Must-Win Game

Photo Credit: Michael Cosman

Danbury 5 @ New Jersey 1 (Danbury win series 2-0) - The New Jersey Titans hosted the Danbury Hat Tricks for game 2 of the postseason play-in series. The first period started with Danbury forward Matt Shpungin scoring two consecutive goals at 10:12 and 9:08 to give the Hat Tricks an early two-goal lead. His teammate, forward Brendan Boring, scored a goal at 3:08 to end the period with a three-goal lead for the Hat Tricks. In the second period, Boring scored his second of the game, and the only goal of the period, at 13:37. In the third period, the Titans got on the board with a goal from forward Ryder O’Neil at 16:24. New Jersey was unable to mount a full comeback, and Danbury forward Lukas Zimovcak scored at 15:36 to end the game 5-1 for the Hat Tricks. Jon Dukaric started in net for Danbury and made 37 saves on 38 shots. Andrew Bely started in net for New Jersey and made seven saves on 10 shots. Landen Bullock closed out the game for the Titans and made 14 saves on 16 shots. The Hat Tricks move on to the Division Semifinal Round.

Maine 2 @ Northeast 8 (Series split 1-1) - The Northeast Generals defeated the Maine Nordiques 8-2 on Saturday night at Canton Ice House. Northeast opened the scoring in the first period as Alec Hall scored on the power play with assists from Kody Moyer and Vinny Ipri. Later in the period, Rich Rucireto added a goal with helpers from Vinny Ipri and Kody Moyer. Kody Moyer then scored with assists from Robert Savaglio and Logan Poulin, before Rucireto scored his second of the period on the power play with helpers from Kody Moyer and Vinny Ipri to make it 4-0 after one period. In the second period, Moyer added his second goal of the game with assists from Vinny Ipri and Rucireto. Cole McKenna followed with a power-play goal assisted by Hall and Moyer, and Beckett Hinchliffe added another power-play goal with assists from Andrew Gibbons and Jack Montaldo to extend the lead. Maine answered late in the period as Josh Itri scored to make it 7-1 after two periods. Later in the period, Finn Connor scored with assists from Moyer and Ryan Solari to give Northeast an 8-1 lead. In the third period, Luke Gallo scored for Maine with an assist from Damon Myers and Aiden Farro to make the final score 8-2. The Generals force a game three against the Nordiques. 

Shreveport 4 @ Corpus Christi 1 (Shreveport wins series 2-0) - The Shreveport Mudbugs finalized their play-in victory with a 4-1 win over the Corpus Christi IceRays. Although the game started slowly, it was Shreveport that gained a hot hand late and managed to churn out an important victory this postseason. The first period came and went with no scoring, shots being 17-13 in favor of the Mudbugs. Then, on the power play, Joseph Samango buried his first of the postseason and gave the Mudbugs the first lead of the game. In the third period, both teams saw plenty of action, but it was Johnathon Berndt getting the fun started on yet another man advantage. Charlie Burchfield followed up to grab a 3-0 lead, but only before Sam Troutwine scored to break up the shutout. Burchfield scored his second of the evening with just under four minutes remaining, and the Mudbugs clinched the play-in win. The Burchfield connection with William Alexis-Tremblay was in full effect tonight. The two combined for two incredibly important goals, which allowed them to take a convincing victory and, ultimately, win the game.
Oklahoma 1 @ El Paso 5 (Series is split 1-1) - The El Paso Rhinos evened up the play-in series with a convincing 5-1 win over the Oklahoma Warriors. Some quick goalscoring allowed them to take an early lead, and thanks to some excellent goaltending from Michael Modelski, the Rhinos were able to maintain a convincing win over the Warriors. Gaige Giblin got the night started with his second of the postseason, and Kamden Kaiser followed to give the Rhinos a 2-0 lead ahead of the first intermission. Keaton Martin scored early in the second period to cut the lead in half, but this would be the last Oklahoma tally of the contest. Tommy Shore scored on the power play to regain the two goal lead, and Troy Hunka did the same to continue building. Massimiliano Monson tacked on some insurance with a minute and a half remaining in the second. To the Warriors dismay, the third period featured no scoring, and the Rhinos held on to their season with a huge victory. Sometimes, once the postseason comes around, you just have to look to your stars to get the job done. Each Rhino goal scorer has been a top contributor on this squad all season, and their talents were on full display in this must win game.

Wisconsin 1 @ Springfield 2 (SO) - The Springfield Jr. Blues hosted the Wisconsin Windigo for their twelfth matchup of the season and second of the weekend. The game was also both teams’ last regular-season match. Springfield forward Brady Turner kicked off the game with a goal at 18:48 in the first period. Wisconsin forward Peyton Mithmuangneua tied up the game with an unassisted goal at 16:38. Neither team was able to get any more goals during regulation, and the game headed to a shootout after a scoreless overtime period. Springfield forward Logan Sutton was able to score the game-winning goal in the fourth round of the shootout and won the game, 2-1, for the Jr. Blues. Amir Valiullin started in net for the Jr. Blues and made 38 saves on 39 shots. Max Larsson started in the net for the Windigo and made 23 saves on 24 shots.

Minnesota M 3 @ North Iowa 7 - The North Iowa Bulls hosted the Minnesota Mallards for their fourth matchup of the season and both teams’ last regular-season contest. The first period kicked off with two goals from North Iowa forwards Michael Malatino and Andrej Tomasec at 16:12 and 12:33, respectively. Mallards defenseman Michael Domina responded with a goal at 10:03 to shorten the Bulls’ lead to one. North Iowa managed to score another goal before the end of the period from forward Carter Davis on the power play at 7:53. In the second period, the Bulls continued to extend their lead with forwards Deniz Kuzmenkov and Vitaliy Korolyuk both scoring on the power play at 11:49 and 1:32, respectively. Minnesota was unable to respond to North Iowa’s two goals, and the second period ended with the Bulls holding a 5-1 lead over the Mallards. In the third period, Minnesota forwards Wes Berg and Keanan Pearman managed to score at 18:03 and 9:14, respectively. Minnesota was unable to mount a full comeback, as Tomasec managed to score another goal at 8:59 and Kuzmenkov on the power play at 6:57 to end the game in a 7-3 win for North Iowa. Aaron Sachs started in net for the Bulls and made 25 saves on 28 shots, while Charlie Durkin made four saves on four shots for North Iowa. Troy Wright started in the net for the Mallards and made 31 saves on 38 shots.

Minnesota W 2 @ Janesville 3 (SO) - The Janesville Jets defeated the Minnesota Wilderness 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night at Mercy Health Arena. After a scoreless first period, Janesville opened the scoring midway through the second period as Sean Truby scored with assists from Joseph Hyten and Nathan Tobey. Later in the period, Joseph Hyten added another goal with helpers from Grant Dillard and Murray Marvin Cordes to give the Jets a 2-0 lead. Minnesota responded in the third period with a power-play goal from Max Edwards, assisted by Anthony Cappello and Logan Nagle, to cut the deficit to 2-1. Later in the period, Andrei Gudin scored with assists from Landon Cottingham and Cole Cheeseman to tie the game at 2-2 and force overtime. After a scoreless overtime period, Janesville secured the extra point with two goals in the shootout to earn the 3-2 victory.

St. Cloud 0 @ Austin 6 - The Austin Bruins defeated the St. Cloud Norsemen 6-0 on Saturday night at Riverside Arena. Austin opened the scoring late in the first period as Gavin Hruza scored with assists from Siamion Marshchanok and Matsvei Marshchanok. Later in the period, Matsvei Marshchanok added a goal with helpers from Gavin Hruza and Siamion Marshchanok. Shortly after, EJ Paddington scored on the power play with assists from Matsvei Marshchanok and Nathan Williams to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead after one period. In the second period, Siamion Marshchanok extended the lead with a power-play goal assisted by Matsvei Marshchanok and Nathan Williams. Austin added two more goals in the third period as EJ Paddington scored his second of the game with assists from Michael Coleman and Gus Elbert, followed by JJ Franceschetti, who scored with helpers from Connor Beckwith and Hudson Routh to make the final score 6-0.

Minot 4 @ Bismarck 3 - The Minotauros managed to grind out a 4-3 victory against the formidable Bismarck Bobcats. In a back-and-forth game, Minot was able to hold a late lead that stood until the final buzzer and pushed them towards victory. Within the first five minutes of the game, Philip Wiklund broke the seal and gave the Minotauros an early lead. Just 40 seconds later, Theodore Richardson responded and tied the game for the Bobcats. The first period ended with a 1-1 score, despite Minot heavily outscoring its opponents and having plenty of opportunities to fill the opposing net. Thankfully for them, they got the second period scoring started with Chase Pavlesich’s second goal of the season. Nick Snyder responded for Bismarck with a shorthanded goal, but Dane Ramirez followed it up with a goal of his own to give Minot a lead heading into the second intermission. Will Nolan extended the lead within a minute of the start of the third period. Richardson got his second of the night, cutting the lead in half, but Minot held on to their lead and left victorious. The Minotauros and the Bobcats are in vastly contrasting parts of their journey through the NAHL. The reigning champion Bobcats faced a hungry Minot team playing for pride as their season came to an end, and by doing just that, they managed to grind out an impressive win against an outstanding opponent.

Watertown 3 @ Aberdeen 4 - The Aberdeen Wings closed out the regular season strong Saturday night, taking down the Watertown Shamrocks by a final score of 4-3 to earn a weekend-series sweep. Aberdeen got contributions from all over the lineup as 10 different skaters recorded at least a point. Jonathan Doucette and Sam Scheetz each recorded two points in the contest. The Wings finish the season in third place in the Central Division. They will take on the sixth-place St. Cloud Norsemen in the first round play-in series. Watertown finishes in the fourth slot in the Central, and they will face North Iowa in the play-in. Watertown got the scoring started just past the six-minute mark of the opening period when Joe Rice nabbed his 14th goal of the series to give his squad a 1-0 lead. Aberdeen came storming back in the later stages of the period. Brody Dustin (12th) and Cooper Anderson (14th) each scored to put the Wings up 2-1 after 20 minutes. The Shamrocks struck back near the midway point of the middle frame. Brody Josselyn fired home his third of the year to knot the score at two goals apiece. Scheetz had a response with just under three minutes left in the second period. His 23rd goal of the campaign restored the one-goal advantage for Aberdeen heading to the final frame. The Wings got an insurance marker early in the third period thanks to Owen Pitters’ 24th goal of the year to give Aberdeen its largest lead of the night. The Shamrocks pressed the attack, looking to spark a comeback. Owen Chartier (23rd) got Watertown back within a goal via the power play with 4:13 left to set up a photo finish. Despite the late goal from Watertown, Aberdeen goaltender Adam Dybal and the rest of the Wings' defense turned away the remaining Shamrock attack to secure a hard-fought 4-3 win.

Kenai River 2 @ Fairbanks 6 - With the final regular season game wrapping up in the Land of the Midnight Sun, the Fairbanks Ice Dogs hosted their in-state rival, the Kenai River Brown Bears. The contest kicked off with the Ice Dogs striking first, with Olivera Barna finding twine in the first two minutes of the game. Midway through the frame, the Brown Bears would even the score with Braden Hansberger lighting the lamp for the 12th time this season. That tied game would be short-lived as Fairbanks scored two more in the period. First, Matthew Volkman scores thanks to a feed by Gage Leonard. Following behind him four minutes later with a tally was Mack Diggins. The Ice Dogs would hold a commanding 3-1 lead heading into the middle frame. The second period featured the Ice Dogs tallying two. First, Harrison Kaszubowski scores on the man advantage. In the final minutes of the frame, Gage Leonard would add to the lead off a feed from Volkman. Moving into the final period, there would be no more scoring until the last five minutes of the game. Fairbanks’ Ian Christian would score his fifth of the season at the 4:10 minute mark. With 80 seconds left in the game, Kenai River’s Parker Newman scores his 17th of the year to cut the deficit to four. The Ice Dogs skate to a 6-2 win in their last regular-season game before the playoffs.