Friday Finals: Shutouts, Close Contests, and an Overtime Thriller in Game One of Division Finals

Photo Credit: Jon Pitanzo

Rochester 0 @ Maryland 4 (Maryland leads series 1-0) - As the last two East Division Champions square off, the Maryland Black Bears defended their den all night long against the visiting Rochester Jr. Americans. The scoring opened when William Esterbrooks lit the lamp on a faceoff eight minutes into the game. The Minnesota native goes top shelf and sends the fish flying in Maryland. The scoring would pick back up late in the second frame as Graiden Isana scored off a rebound for the Black Bears. In the final frame, Maryland’s captain, Owen Drury, records a tally on the scoresheet. The Stonehill commit found twine with a laser beam to the top left corner. The Black Bears' scoring ways continued with 3:06 left on the clock in regulation, this time with a Michigan goal by Brayden Wade. Hailing from Michigan, Wade notched his first postseason goal of the season in a highlight-worthy way. The Black Bears skate to a 4-0 victory. In net, Ryan Denes turned aside all 19 shots to earn a shutout.

Aberdeen 2 @ Austin 3 (Austin leads series 1-0) - In a battle between in-division foes, the Austin Bruins survive thanks to a two-goal third-period push by Matsvei Marshchanok. The contest opened up with EJ Paddington scoring his third of the postseason off a rebound on the power play for the Bruins. 10 minutes later, Jibber Kuhl would even the score for the Aberdeen Wings. The lamp would be lit again in the second frame with a breakaway goal midway through the frame by Brody Dustin. With a 2-1 advantage heading into the final frame, the Wings looked to maintain their lead. However, the Bruins stormed back with back-to-back tallies by Matsvei Marshchanok. The first tally would be five minutes into the final period off a rebound for the Augustana commit. Minutes later, Matsvei’s twin, Siamion, would dive in front of a puck to block a shot by the Wings and would force a breakaway for Austin. Siamion would feed Matsvei the puck, and the ‘05 skater would light the lamp to give the Bruins the lead. Austin skates to a 3-2 win and a lead in the Central Division Final.

Wisconsin 4 @ Minnesota 3 OT (Wisconsin leads series 1-0) - In a Midwest Division showdown, the Wisconsin Windigo takes game one thanks to a strong second-period showing. The contest opened with the Wilderness striking first, thanks to a power-play tally by Zach Homer. The lead would extend for Minnesota, as Logan Nagle would carry the puck behind the net and then set up Max Edwards in front of the net. The Wilderness would head into the second frame with a two-goal advantage. The Windigo would respond very quickly as Ryan Mottau would carry the puck from the defensive zone faceoff across the blue line and score from the point. That power-play goal kicked off that momentum shift for Wisconsin. Less than 20 seconds later in the contest, Peyton Mithmuangneua evened the score for the Windigo, thanks to him scoring through traffic from the faceoff circle. Wisconsin would take the lead later in the period with a similar fashion goal from the Army commit, Thomas Quast. Quast would score from the same spot in the faceoff circle as Mithmuangeua. Heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation, the Wilderness would not back down. The captain, Avery Anderson, would find twine following a redirection of Windigo’s netminder. With the score tied 3-3, the game would be forced into overtime. In a rush with the puck with a little over a minute to spare in the extra frame, Josh Sardo would light the lamp from the point, notching the 4-3 overtime victory for Wisconsin. In net for the Windigo, Max Larsson turned aside 44 out of 47 shots on net to secure the win in the blue paint.

El Paso 0 @ Lone Star 5 (Lone Star leads series 1-0) - In a Texas-sized showdown, the Lone Star Brahmas dominated on home ice against the El Paso Rhinos. The first period would be scoreless as Lone Star outshot El Paso 11 to 3 in the opening frame. Moving into the second period, Nathan Murray would get the scoring started quickly in the frame. The Michigan native would find twine from the glass and through traffic to give Lone Star a quick lead. The Brahmas would carry the momentum in the middle frame with Christian Venticinque intercepting the puck and then lighting the lamp in top-shelf fashion. In the final frame, the Brahmas would score a trio of goals to end the contest. Lone Star finds twine less than three minutes into the final period. As Brahmas intercepted the pass around the 17:37 minute mark, Lone Star would carry the puck into the offensive zone, setting up Gustav Lexell's scoring in a tic-tac-toe fashion with Samuel Lussier. Midway through the third period, Dylan McFadden scores his first of the postseason thanks to a feed by Jackson Vaites. The final dagger of the night would come from Vladimir Saibel on the power play. Saibel would bat in the goal after the puck was deflected from the crossbar. The Brahmas skate to a 5-0 shutout victory thanks to Brady Krey in net. Krey featured an 18-save shutout.