Friday Finals: The Bulls Come Out on Top in the Battle of the Cattle with a Five-Goal Third Period Push

Photo Credit: Michael Tollestrup

Northeast 6 @ Danbury 2 - The Northeast Generals came out swinging in a 6-2 victory against the Danbury Hat Tricks Friday night. The Generals took the first period, scoring two goals in the opening frame. Kody Moyer got things started quickly with a goal in the first minute of play. On a breakaway, Owen O’Rear sank the puck with under five minutes left in the first frame. The second frame was a defensive display by the Hat Tricks, limiting the Generals to nine shots on goal. It was not enough to slow Northeast down, with Logan Poulin grabbing the third goal of the night. Danbury was finally able to respond in the third period, with Tristan Konobelj getting the Hat Tricks on the board a quarter of the way into the frame on the power play. Northeast did not let Danbury shorten the lead for long, with Braydon Hudtloff tipping the puck into the net off a feed from Dominic Pajkic. With time running out, the Hat Tricks needed to act fast. Gus Rabe scored Danbury’s second goal of the night on the power play. The Generals put the game away in the last two minutes of action, with two goals coming from Jack Messick and Emil Szepesi. Northeast capitalized on its scoring opportunities despite being outshot 35-30 by Danbury, as Keagin Wilson made 33 saves in net.

Johnstown 1 @ Maryland 8 - The Maryland Black Bears remained undefeated this season with a commanding 8-1 performance against the Johnstown Tomahawks. Most of the work came in the first frame for the Black Bears, scoring 4 goals off 14 shots. Vincent Glos grabbed his first goal of the season in the opening two minutes of action. Brady Anes kept the momentum going for Maryland, scoring a minute later. Bringing the lead to 3-0, Brayden Wade scored in a clash of sticks in front of the net. Jesse Gauthier wrapped up scoring for the period in the back half of the frame. Matthew Shpungin opened up scoring in the middle frame, followed by fellow Black Bear Cooper Ludwar to bring the score to 6-0. The Tomahawks' lone goal came with just over two minutes left in the second period as Kirby Perler sunk in a slap shot from the blue line. Johnstown out-shot Maryland 17-10 in the middle frame, but Cole Werthman limited their ability to score between the pipes. In the final frame, the teams were neck-and-neck, both getting 12 shots on goal. Werthman didn’t allow any to slip past him, while the Black Bears were able to add two more goals to the board on the other side of the ice. Zhenya Miles picked up his first goal of the season before Glos rounded out the night with his second goal of the game.

Elmira 7 @ New Hampshire 5 - In a down-to-the-wire tussle, the Elmira Aviators pulled away late in the third period to secure a narrow 7-5 win over the New Hampshire Mountain Kings. The Aviators held the slight advantage in shots on goal as well, going 20-17 in their favor. The Aviators held a slight advantage in shots on goal, 20-17, while also capitalizing on three of their five power-play opportunities. New Hampshire started off strong, holding the lead throughout the first period. The Mountain Kings first got on the board three minutes into the game with a goal from Benjamin Marcolini. Aidan Petroff extended the lead after he scored from in front of the net. The Aviators’ opportunity to respond came with less than a minute left in the opening frame when Timofei Korober scored in front of the crease on the power play, cutting the Mountain Kings' lead to 2-1. Elmira evened things out in the second period with a goal from Kevin Delaney. A minute and a half later, the Aviators took their first lead of the night when Nico Pohjola sent a slap shot to the back of the net. Facing their first deficit of the night, New Hampshire was quick to respond. Jackson Shaddick was able to score in a three-on-one situation, with assists from Marcolini and Aidan Patton. Just over a minute later, Petroff scored his second goal of the game to put New Hampshire back in front, 4-3. Elmira once again answered in the final minute of the frame, as Leo Fullerton sent the puck between the pipes to send both teams back to the locker room even. The first 14 minutes of the final period were all defense, with no team able to get the puck into the net. With just under six minutes left, New Hampshire was able to capitalize on the power play with a goal from Evan Ferraro. Cruz Ferguson responded for Elmira on the power play, tipping in the puck to tie things up at 5-5. The Aviators retook the lead as Pohjola scored his second goal on another power-play opportunity. Matthew Maglio secured the 7-5 win for Elmira, scoring with just over three minutes left.

Kenai River 0 @ Wisconsin 2 - The Wisconsin Windigo played host to the Kenai River Brown Bears as both teams were looking for their first win of the still young season. Right off the bat, the Wisconsin Windigo set the tone as goalie Harry Byers notched the first of many incredible saves, with Windigo promptly sending a pair of beautiful tape-to-tape passes down the ice, capped with a score to break the tie early. Despite some heavy early pressure from the Kenai River Brown Bears, the game remained scoreless until midway through the second period when the Windigo got another , this time weaving through the defense for the second, and final, goal of the game. Strong offense and stronger defense told the story of the rest of the game, and ultimately was the overriding theme for the entirety of the contest.

New Jersey 2 @ Philadelphia 3 (SO) - The New Jersey Titans visited the Philadelphia Rebels in an early season instant classic. After a first period that saw both goalies, New Jersey’s Simon Krcmar and Philadelphia’s Jeremy Lowe, shine with 12 and 13 saves, respectively. The second twenty minutes were more hectic as both teams tallied 2 goals. The end of regulation and the entirety of the quicker OT was scoreless, though both teams had multiple prime scoring opportunities. Still tied in the shootout, the Rebels cashed one in and earned a hard-fought win.

Bismarck 7 @ St. Cloud 1 - The Bismarck Bobcats visited the St. Cloud Norsemen, and they had an offensive explosion. Bismarck’s netminder Linus Vieillard played well, stopping 17 of the 18 shots against him. And good offense is sometimes the best defense,  as the Bobcats totaled 7 goals on 41 shots, including a quartet of scores in the middle period. The Norsemen’s lone goal came in that high-scoring second period from Daylin Cline, though the Bobcats would later add one more and leave the margin at 6.

Fairbanks 7 @ Minnesota M 3 - A five-goal eruption in the second period propelled the Fairbanks Ice Dogs past the Minnesota Mallards at Forest Lake Sports Center. Minnesota opened the scoring late in the first frame when Ryan Lucarelli found the back of the net, but the Ice Dogs answered almost immediately. Vincent Arnone leveled the score just 15 seconds later, and Ben Green buried the go-ahead goal 28 seconds after that to give Fairbanks a 2-1 cushion heading into the intermission. The Ice Dogs kept their foot on the gas in the middle frame. Mason Knaffla extended the lead before Dub Eunice III struck for a short-handed goal midway through regulation. Fairbanks stayed aggressive on special teams, as Dean Andrews and Dane Gatmaitan notched power-play goals just 16 seconds apart, followed shortly by a tally from Harrison Kaszubowski. Lucarelli grabbed his second goal of the night with 10 seconds remaining in the second period to cut the deficit, and Leon Buff added a third-period score for Minnesota, but the early surge carried Fairbanks across the finish line. Greyson Mielock stopped 29 shots to earn the road win, while Fairbanks outshot Minnesota 40-32 on the night.

New Mexico 2 @ Oklahoma 3 - The Oklahoma Warriors fended off a third-period surge from the New Mexico Ice Wolves to capture a 3-2 victory at Blazers Ice Center. Oklahoma jumped out to an early lead when Adam Bauer buried the lone goal of the first period. The Warriors doubled their advantage late in the second frame behind a marker from Nolan Beddow, but Charles Velner kept New Mexico within striking distance by answering less than two minutes later. Caleb DeBruyne brought the Ice Wolves even early in the third period, yet Oklahoma took back the lead for good just 88 seconds later on a goal from Jackson Hone. Facing heavy pressure and a 16-6 shot disparity in the final 20 minutes, goaltender Jakob Hanlan stood firm between the pipes to turn aside 37 of 39 shots and seal the win. Ryan Galaski stopped 24 shots in net for New Mexico.

Watertown 2 @ Austin 3 (OT) - In a physical contest, the Austin Bruins pulled off an overtime victory as they hosted the Watertown Shamrocks. After neither team was able to find the net in the first period, the Bruins opened the scoring when Hudson Weber-Stewart scored 4:09 into the second period. The Shamrocks responded late in the second with back-to-back goals from Kirill Borodulin, just three minutes apart. Early in the third, Kyle Sorenson tied the game for the Bruins. The third period also saw 11 penalties called, with players from both sides spending time in the box. The teams needed overtime to break the stalemate, with Ally Mostafaie scoring the game-winning goal to give Austin a win to start the season. Both goaltenders faced a high volume of shots, with Austin's Dilans Birkans stopping 30 shots and Watertown’s Mason Gudridge making 42 saves.

Anchorage 7 @ Springfield 4 - Caleb Mahar registered a hat trick to help lead the Anchorage Wolverines over the Springfield Jr. Blues at the Nelson Center. Jack McKenna opened the scoring midway through the first period, and Anchorage built a three-goal lead before the first intermission behind tallies from Mahar and Chase Trompeter. Springfield pushed back in the second frame with goals from David Fridman and Brady Turner on the power play, but the Wolverines maintained control with man-advantage tallies from Mahar and Oliver Morris, alongside McKenna's second goal of the contest. Cooper Deziel pulled the Jr. Blues closer early in the third period, but Mahar answered on the power play to finish his hat trick. Cartyr Simonson scored Springfield's final goal less than a minute later. Anchorage finished 3-for-5 on the power play, while goaltender Maverick Avent stopped 19 shots to wrap up the road win.

Shreveport 5 @ Amarillo 6 - A high-octane matchup in the South Division saw Amarillo come back to defeat Shreveport in a high-scoring affair. Within the first minute, Chase Secriskey opened the scoring for the Mudbugs. Just two minutes later, Jason Simons added a power-play goal to give Shreveport a quick 2-0 lead. The scoring continued for the Mudbugs, as William-Alexis Tremblay found the back of the net to give Shreveport a 3-0 lead just eight minutes into the contest. Amarillo began to fight back with a power-play goal from Truan Conrad. Four minutes later, Nikolai Kharinov found a pass from his brother Alexander and cut the deficit to 3-2 with his second goal of the season. The Wranglers would carry that momentum into the second period, as Leathen Bent scored on the power play to tie the game. Shreveport regained the lead when Evan Hoglund scored his second goal of the season to make it 4-3. The Kharinov brothers continued to be a thorn in Shreveport's side, as Nikolai scored his second goal of the game to tie the contest at 4-4. Alexander recorded his third assist of the game on the goal. The Mudbugs would regain the lead late in the period, as Antione Cormier beat Niklas Huson to put Shreveport ahead 5-4 heading into the third. Amarillo tied the game once again when Hugo Råsten found the back of the net. Midway through the third period, the Wranglers' power play continued to stay hot, as Cale Braid gave Amarillo its first lead of the game. The Wranglers held onto the lead for the remainder of the game to escape with a 6-5 victory. Amarillo overcame being outshot 37-22 and having to make a goaltending change within the first 10 minutes of the game.

Minot 2 @ Aberdeen 3 - Aberdeen hosted Minot to open the season, winning a tight, penalty-filled contest. Special teams proved to be a focal point early, as Jonathan Doucette opened the scoring on the power play just two and a half minutes into the game. Brody Dustin then scored shorthanded for Aberdeen to give the Wings a 2-0 advantage heading into the first intermission. As penalties continued to rack up for both teams, Minot began to fight back in the second period. Midway through the period, Briggs Knott cut the deficit in half with a power-play goal. Late in the second, Minot's power play struck again, as Phillip Wiklund tied the game at 2-2 heading into the final period. The third period saw a staggering 11 penalties called, but it was Aberdeen that found the go-ahead goal. Midway through the period, Doucette scored his second goal of the game, with Lucas Schaffer recording his third assist of the night to give the Wings a 3-2 lead. Aberdeen held on for the remainder of the game to secure the home victory and open the season with a win. Both goaltenders put together strong performances, as Minot's Lukas Hoglund stopped 27 shots while Aberdeen's Willum Braun turned aside 30.

Houston 5 @ Lone Star 3 - In a battle of the cattle, the Houston Bulls defeat the Lone Star Brahmas on Friday night to secure their first victory as an organization. The opening frame was quiet as both teams traded chances. Lone Star commanded the first period, outshooting Houston 13 to 2. Moving into the second frame, the Brahmas would be quick in the period to light the lamp. Niko Smilovic scored his first power-play tally of the year to give Lone Star the advantage. Later in the period, Channing Kao would add to the Brahmas’ lead by netting his first goal of the season. Moving into the third frame, the Bulls battle back from a 2-0 deficit and net five goals in the final 20 minutes of regulation. Lukas Yeck got the scoring started with a short-handed goal midway through the period. Two minutes later, Luke Gustafson finds the back of the net for the Bulls to even the score. The Brahmas would shortly regain the lead with a tally by veteran skater Jackson Vaites lighting the lamp with 6:50 to spare on the clock. However, Houston would not back down with the momentum they had built. Zach Howard finds twine in power-play fashion with a little under four minutes on the board to even the score once again for Houston. Following shortly behind him would be Nicholas Russ, scoring 20 seconds later to give the Bulls their first lead of the night. The scoring would finish out with an empty-netter by Gustafson to seal the 5-3 victory at the Nytex Sports Centre. In net for Huston was Aaron Sachs, turning aside 33 out of 36 shots on net. Despite falling to the Bulls, Lone Star’s captain, Vincenzo Capano, played a key playmaking role in Lone Star’s scoring efforts. He provided an assist on all three goals for the Brahmas.

Corpus Christi 4 @ El Paso 3 (OT) - Following their series sweep last weekend and 4-3 win over the El Paso Rhinos the night before, the Corpus Christi IceRays looked to continue their strong play against their South Division rivals. The first period saw the rivalry return to El Paso for a back-and-forth, physical opening frame. Both teams had their fair share of offensive possession throughout the first, but generating quality scoring opportunities proved to be a much tougher battle. Strong defense from both the IceRays and Rhinos locked down their respective blue lines and made it difficult for either offense to enter the opposing zone. Any breakout from either team was quickly dismantled, resulting in a back-and-forth period between the two sides. By the end of the opening period, the Rhinos held the edge with 14 shots on goal compared to the IceRays’ eight, a handful of which came from a late power play that did not result in a goal. As the puck dropped on the second period, the IceRays took hold of the game offensively. With pressure on the Rhinos’ defense, Corpus Christi racked up the majority of the shots on goal throughout the first half of the period. After holding the offensive edge, a forecheck from the IceRays allowed the puck to find defenseman Anthony Pedalio wide open. Pedalio fired a wrist shot that found the back of the net, giving the IceRays a 1-0 lead early in the second. Just over three minutes later, a faceoff win by the IceRays in the Rhinos’ defensive zone resulted in a bouncing puck finding the tape of Brodie Hankel. With a backhand, Hankel put the IceRays ahead 2-0. Corpus Christi did not stop there, as exactly 30 seconds later a rebound given up by goaltender Logan Hughes was recovered by IceRays forward Oliver Czaja and buried into the net to give Corpus Christi a three-goal lead. El Paso responded only 20 seconds after the IceRays’ third goal. Rhinos forward Galen Frizzie III recovered a loose puck in the IceRays’ zone and buried it with a snap shot to put El Paso on the board. Physical play escalated to start the third period and boiled over with 11:58 remaining when a scrum broke out between the rivals, resulting in four game misconducts, two against each team. After the penalties were assessed, the Rhinos found themselves on the man advantage. Despite the IceRays consistently clearing the defensive zone, El Paso capitalized after Justin Ouellet recovered a rebound off a shot from Alexi Gregoire and slipped it past IceRays goaltender Griffin Wright, pulling the Rhinos within one. Following the goal, the IceRays continued to be hemmed in their own zone as the Rhinos generated multiple scoring opportunities. A minor penalty against Corpus Christi put El Paso back on the power play, where 30 seconds into the man advantage Ouellet evened the score with his second goal of the night. With nothing decided after 60 minutes, the game headed to overtime. Despite El Paso erasing a three-goal deficit, a turnover gave Oliver Czaja a breakaway opportunity that he converted to secure a 4-3 overtime victory for the IceRays.

Idaho Falls 3 @ Ogden 2 - At the Weber County Sports Complex in Ogden, Utah, the Idaho Falls Spud Kings opened their season with a 3-2 win over the Ogden Mustangs. Despite being on the road, the Spud Kings controlled much of the offensive pressure through the beginning of the first period. Limiting Ogden’s ability to break out of its own zone, Idaho Falls generated multiple chances during its offensive-zone time, but the Mustangs’ defense and goaltender Marcus Johnson found ways to clear the zone before regrouping for the next push from the Spud Kings. Midway through the first period, a two-minute minor to Mustangs forward Cooper Struckel continued to limit Ogden to playing defense in its own zone. With Idaho Falls maintaining offensive pressure on the power play, the Mustangs’ defense held strong and successfully killed off the penalty. As Struckel left the penalty box, a stretch pass from Andrew Murray sent Sam Gergo in on a breakaway, where he buried the puck top shelf to give the Mustangs a 1-0 lead. The second period saw an increase in physicality between the divisional rivals, with minor roughing penalties handed out to both teams early in the period. Just before the 14-minute mark, Mustangs forward Liam Van Valkenburgh was called for slashing. Nine seconds later, the Spud Kings’ Tyler Rothstein tied the game at one after recovering a rebound outside the Mustangs’ crease and burying it in the back of the net. Less than two minutes later, Idaho Falls took the lead when a seam pass from Kolton Denich found the tape of Tyler Atchison, allowing him to put the puck past Johnson. The Spud Kings’ defense did not miss a beat after taking the lead, continuing to limit Ogden from generating sustained offensive opportunities, even on the power play. The Mustangs continued to push, however, and late in the period generated multiple scoring opportunities that failed to find the back of the net. With momentum in their favor, Ogden continued to add to its shots on goal, and with just over two minutes left in the period, Ruben Clark found the equalizer. After receiving a pass from Max Harland on the breakout, Clark beat Idaho Falls goaltender Dylan McFadyen glove side for his first goal of the season, tying the game at two heading into the third period. The Mustangs continued to hold the offensive edge to start the third, but the Spud Kings turned the tide early with a pass from Tyler Rothstein to Tyler Atchison, who found the back of the net for his second goal of the night and a 3-2 Idaho Falls lead. After the Spud Kings took the lead, the Mustangs quickly regrouped and returned to sustained offensive pressure, racking up 20 shots on goal during the final 20 minutes compared to Idaho Falls’ two. Despite the pressure, McFadyen stopped all 20 shots he faced in the third period. By the end of the night, McFadyen had stopped 41 of Ogden’s 43 shots to secure the 3-2 win for Idaho Falls.

Billings 4 @ Grand Junction 2 - The Billings Cattle Punchers faced off against the Grand Junction River Hawks in Grand Junction, Colorado, in what was the season opener for both teams. Throughout the first period, the two sides played evenly with one another, but it was Ondrej Husak who opened the scoring for the Cattle Punchers midway through the period. With Billings in the lead, the River Hawks looked to find their way onto the scoreboard, but minor penalties against both teams in the back half of the period limited scoring opportunities on both sides. While Grand Junction trailed 1-0 after the first 20 minutes, the River Hawks kept pace with the Cattle Punchers and outshot Billings 11-10. Physical play increased early in the second period, with two game misconducts handed out in the first four minutes. At the 11:27 mark, a hit by Cattle Punchers forward Landon Jamieson on River Hawks forward Adam Konowalchuk shattered the glass between the benches, suspending play for nearly 40 minutes as the arena crew worked to repair the broken pane. When play resumed, the contest picked up where it left off, with both defenses playing strong and the two offenses generating an equal number of opportunities. The back-and-forth momentum was broken after Joey Fankhanel found the back of the net, giving the Cattle Punchers a 2-0 lead. The back half of the period saw Billings tighten up defensively as the River Hawks looked to generate more offensive opportunities. In the final minutes of the middle frame, the Cattle Punchers received a two-minute minor for holding, putting Grand Junction on the power play. The River Hawks capitalized on the man advantage as Will Cymbaluk carried the puck through the opposition near the blue line and fired a wrist shot past Cattle Punchers goaltender Nicolas Rempel, getting Grand Junction on the board before the third period. Any opportunity for the River Hawks to carry that offensive momentum into the third was limited when Adam Konowalchuk took a minor penalty with 1:38 remaining in the second period, with the penalty carrying over into the final frame. While Billings did not immediately capitalize on the carryover power play, its time in the offensive zone helped maintain momentum. Early in the third, Evan Foiles took a quick shot from the blue line that found the back of the net, giving Billings a 3-1 lead. The River Hawks responded, and when Billings forward Devon Winder took a minor penalty, Grand Junction capitalized on the power play with a goal from Gabe Iervella. As Grand Junction pushed for the equalizing goal, the Cattle Punchers remained strong defensively, limiting the offensive opportunities generated by the River Hawks. After Grand Junction pulled its goaltender, Micha Seery launched the puck from cross-ice into the empty net in the final seconds to secure Billings’ 4-2 victory in its season opener.