Sunday Wrap-up: Northeast and El Paso Punch Their Ticket to the Division Semifinals

Photo Credits: Patrick Garriepy (Northeast), Michael Cosman (El Paso)

Maine 1 @ Northeast 3 (Northeast wins series 2-1) - With a series split heading into this Sunday afternoon contest, both teams were looking to punch their ticket to the Division Semifinals. The scoring started with the home team lighting the lamp early in the first period by Cole McKenna. Moving into the second period, the Generals had a 1-0 advantage over the visiting Maine Nordiques. The middle frame was scoreless with Maine outshooting Northeast 14 to 10. In the final period, the Generals were looking to extend their lead, while the Nordiques were hoping to battle from behind. Midway through the frame, Northeast’s Spencer Hirsch finds twine to give his team a two-goal advantage. With less than a minute on the clock, the Generals would extend their lead one more time, this time on the man advantage by Logan Poulin. 20 seconds later, the Nordiques prevented the shutout when Austin Boorggaard scored off a feed by Damon Myers. Maine would fall in a 3-1 fashion, helping the Generals to punch their ticket to the next round of play. Between the pipes for the Generals, Will Mizenko was nearly perfect, turning aside 31 out of 32 shots made.

Oklahoma 1 @ El Paso 4 (El Paso wins series 2-1) - With a tied series on Oklahoma and El Paso’s hands, both teams were looking to punch their ticket to the Division Semifinals with a Sunday afternoon win. The contest kicked off with a trio of goals by the Rhinos in the opening frame. First, Troy Hunka finds twine midway through the frame to start the scoring. Less than a minute and a half later, Hunka adds to the lead with an assisted tally. Following him three minutes later on the man advantage was Kamden Kaiser. The three goals gave El Paso a solid lead heading into the middle frame. The second period was scoreless, with Oklahoma outshooting El Paso 14-7. In the final frame, Oklahoma looked to build momentum, and a little over a minute into the period, Trace Day lit the lamp for the Warriors. Almost the full period would pass before El Paso would tally one more. This time, Alexander Stephen would score with 44 seconds left on the clock. The Rhinos skate to a dominant 4-1 victory. Between the pipes for El Paso, Michael Modelski saved 35 out of 36 shots on net, securing the win in net.