Friday Finals: Johnstown Takes Win in Overtime Over Philadelphia

New Jersey 3 @ Elmira 1 - In a physical Friday night affair, the New Jersey Titans beat the Elmira Aviators, 3-1. Both teams exchanged an even 13 shots on goal in the opening frame, but no offense could capitalize, sending the teams into the first intermission scoreless. New Jersey's offense came alive in the middle period. Jack McDonough kicked off the scoring early in the frame with his first goal of the season. The Titans kept creating chances, outshooting Elmira 17-5 in the period. Hudson Slenker extended New Jersey's lead to 2-0 late in the frame. Moving into the final frame, Elmira was looking for a chance to cut into the Titans' lead. Maximus McGuire provided the answer, scoring his first goal of the season to bring the Aviators within one. With four minutes left after McGuire's goal, the Aviators were hoping to force overtime. Elmira went to pull their goalie, but seconds later Slenker scored on the empty net, securing the Titans’ win.

Maryland 2 @ Northeast 1 - The Maryland Black Bears secured their 10th win of the season on Friday Night, defeating the Northeast Generals, 2-1. Northeast opened the scoring midway through the first period with a power-play goal from Joc Bukovec. The Generals carried their 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The second period was scoreless, with neither team finding the back of the net. Northeast outshot Maryland 15-7 in the frame, but Black Bears goalie Cole Werthman kept the Generals off the scoreboard. Maryland's offense came through in the final period. Matthew Shpungin evened the score at 1-1 with just over seven minutes remaining. Two minutes later, the Black Bears grabbed their first lead of the night off of Will Schlechtweg’s goal. Northeast pulled its goalie with three minutes remaining in an attempt to tie the game, but the extra attacker wasn't enough to force overtime.

Philadelphia 2 @ Johnstown 3 (OT) - The Johnstown Tomahawks earned a thrilling overtime victory over the Philadelphia Rebels to kick off the weekend. After a quiet opening period, with the fewest shots from both teams, the game turned into a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. The Tomahawks took the first goal of the game with a power-play goal from Sam Esposito with three minutes left in the second period. Less than a minute into the third frame, Broxton Ingle answered for Philadelphia with their own power-play goal. With 11 minutes left in the third period, Esposito responded to Johnstown, scoring the only even-strength goal of the night. Two minutes later, the Rebels tied things back up at 2-2 with another power-play goal from Cam Wilson. Either team was looking for a chance to end the game in regulation. Tensions built, with the teams trading penalties, trying to get that late winner. Johnstown would get the power-play advantage in the final minutes of regulation, going into overtime with 17 seconds left of their man advantage. Conor Griffin was able to score in that time, securing the win after the Tomahawks won the opening face-off of the extra time.

Austin 0 @ Bismarck 4 - Goalie Linus Vieillard secured the Bismarck Bobcats 4-0 shutout win over the Austin Bruins in a Friday night contest. Both teams' defenses did a great job limiting offensive production, with the Bobcats holding a slight advantage over the Bruins, 22-18. The opening frame didn’t see much commotion on the ice, with no team scoring in the opening 20 minutes. The Bobcats only had five shots on goal this period, while the Bruins had four. The first half of the second period followed a similar pattern. It wasn’t until just under seven minutes left in the middle frame that a puck saw the back of the net. Brenden Espenell scored Bismarck’s first goal on a power play opportunity. Elia Baumann added to the Bobcats' lead with a goal from in front of the crease. Will Leonard rounded out the scoring in the second period, picking up his first goal of the season with 33 seconds left, giving Bismarck a 3-0 advantage heading into the third period. In the final frame, Austin switched up their goalie to try to limit any further goals for Bismarck. In the end, the Bobcats added one more goal when Carson Cluckies scored on the power play to cap the scoring at 4-0.

Lone Star 2 @ Oklahoma 1 (OT) - A Red River rivalry game that spotlighted the Lone Star Brahmas taking on the Oklahoma Warriors on Friday night. The matchup featured some top-notch defense all across the ice, but the defensive work in the blue paint was on display as Leo Gabriel and Jakob Hanlan finished with a collective 52 saves. The Brahmas scored the first goal of the game, with a one-timer goal on the power play by Valter Dubbel. Both teams continued the aggressive play, with the Warriors showing some fight, with Ben Osiashvili pushing one across with less than a second left in the second period, leveling the score at one. The hockey game needed extra time following a third period full of successful penalty kills and open ice defense that kept the score cinched at a goal apiece. Overtime featured some quicker offense as Lone Star took the game less than 90 seconds in, with a goal from Leo Lundblad, and Dubbel adding an assist.  

Minnesota M 5 @ Springfield 4 (SO) - The Minnesota Mallards migrated to Springfield to take on the Jr. Blues, and they needed every inch of wingspan to escape with a shootout win. Minnesota got to work early, with Aiden Ferriera scoring his first goal of the season less than half a minute into the game. Ty Gordon added a penalty shot goal and an assist, and Minnesota took a 3-0 lead into the first intermission. Springfield’s Brady Turner found the back of the net early into the second period, but it would be answered by Josh Agnese. The Jr. Blues, led by Tate Spaulding, tallied three unanswered goals in the third period to tie the game and force overtime. Both goalies managed to subdue the opposing offense during the five-minute overtime, and so the game went to a shootout. A 14-round shootout that the Mallards won, surviving Springfield’s comeback attempt.

Minnesota W 6 @ Janesville 1 - The Minnesota Wilderness and the Janesville Jets met in what proved to be a wild game, with the two teams combining for 70 shots on goal, split evenly at 35 apiece. Minnesota opened the scoring in under a minute and didn’t stop there, and both Jakeb Lynch and Frantisek Netusil ended the one-sided first period. Lynch didn’t slow down at the intermission, adding two more goals and another assist to his already big stat line, finishing the contest with a hat trick and five total points. Despite this individual performance, Janesville hung in there in terms of shots on goal, and finally broke through and scored their singular goal of the evening from Grant Dillard. Minnesota’s Oliver Kanat was terrific in goal with 34 saves, and his offense was equally fantastic.

Ogden 4 @ Houston 3 (OT) - In the first crossover game of the season, the Ogden Mustangs skate to an overtime victory, powered by Ty Simonent’s play-making skills on Friday night. The contest opened with Houston’s Romian Lellouche lighting the lamp quickly into the contest with a power-play tally less than two minutes into the frame. The Mustangs would even the score late into the first period, spotlighting Andrew Murray finding twine for the first time this season. Moving into the second frame, Houston’s Lukas Yeck scored in short-handed fashion midway through the frame to regain the Bulls’ lead. Just like the period before, the Mustangs would respond, this time with Reuben Clark lighting the lamp for the Mountain Division club. Heading into the final period of regulation, the Bulls would take the lead early when Jake Voris found twine three minutes into the third period. A little over 10 minutes later, Ogden’s Andrew Murray lit the lamp for the second time in the contest. Murray evened the score once again, this time in 3-3 fashion. As the contest moved into overtime, the Mustangs would come out victorious thanks to Lima Sheward a little under 90 seconds into the extra frame. The Ogden Mustangs skate to a Friday night win.

Corpus Christi 0 @ Shreveport Mudbugs 6 - Shreveport earned a dominant 6-0 home victory over Corpus Christi. Markuss Saviels opened the scoring at 10:17 of the first period with his first goal of the season. Late in the period, Jonah Jasser found the back of the net to extend the Mudbugs' lead to 2-0. In the second period, Chase Secriskey scored at 13:34 before William-Alexis Tremblay added another goal just a minute later to make it 4-0. Evan Hoglund then scored on the power play to extend the lead to five. In a physical third period, Antoine Cormier added another power-play goal to seal the 6-0 victory. Corpus Christi was unable to solve Shreveport goaltender Kristers Plepis, who stopped all 20 shots he faced to earn the shutout.

Watertown 1 @ Aberdeen 4 - Aberdeen earned a 4-1 home victory over Watertown. David Hruby opened the scoring late in the first period, giving the Wings a 1-0 lead heading into the intermission. Flip Henriksson extended Aberdeen's lead in the second period, making it 2-0. Just a minute later, Payne Riffey scored off a pass from Henriksson to put the Wings ahead 3-0. Watertown responded with a power-play goal from Kirill Borodulin, cutting the deficit to two heading into the final period. Campbell Epp restored Aberdeen's three-goal lead late in the game, sealing the 4-1 victory. Willum Braun stopped 25 shots for the Wings to earn his sixth win of the season.

Amarillo 1 @ Odessa 11 - Odessa dominated Amarillo with an 11-1 home victory. Hunter Toms opened the scoring early in the first period with his first goal of the season. Five minutes later, Kaid Pawlanta added to the Jackalopes' lead, making it 2-0 at 13:08. In the second period, Max Donatelli scored his first goal of the season at 17:06 to extend the lead to three. Maddox Cross added another goal two minutes later before Donatelli scored his second of the game to make it 5-0. Jonathan Cifaldi and Bjorn Bahneman added goals in the final 10 minutes of the period, giving Odessa a 7-0 lead. The Jackalopes continued their offensive surge in the third, with Max Pieninkeroinen and Rhys Medved finding the back of the net before Donatelli completed his hat trick. Grant Molski added Odessa's 11th goal with 3:14 remaining. Amarillo broke up the shutout when Logan Petlansky scored the Wranglers' lone goal. Odessa improved to 7-1 on the season behind a 25-save performance from goaltender Benjamin Vatis.

​St. Cloud 0 @ Minot 4 - Minot scored four goals in the third period to earn a 4-0 shutout victory over St. Cloud at home. After two scoreless periods that featured chances for both teams, Zach Palik broke the deadlock with a power-play goal at 17:57. Four minutes later, Ivan Sidorov extended Minot's lead to 2-0. Thomas Lahtinen added another power-play goal later in the period, putting the Minotauros ahead 3-0. Less than a minute later, Lucca Ori scored his third goal of the season to cap the four-goal period and seal the victory. Minot goaltender Lukas Hoglind stopped all 23 shots he faced to earn the shutout, while St. Cloud's Axel Kylin made 33 saves.

New Mexico 2 @ El Paso 1 (OT) - The Ice Wolves traveled to El Paso this Friday for a South Division showdown. The opening period saw both teams generate offense, with the Rhinos outshooting New Mexico 11-6. Neither team scored in the first period. The Ice Wolves found their offensive footing in the second period, outshooting the Rhinos 12-4. The scoreless drought was broken just seconds into the third period, when a turnover by the Ice Wolves put Anthony Nolan on a breakaway. Nolan capitalized with a wrist shot that gave the Rhinos the 1-0 lead early in the third. The Ice Wolves continued to push for the equalizing goal, recording 14 additional shots during the final 20 minutes. The Ice Wolves found the equalizer with 5:42 remaining, when a bouncing puck found the stick of Porter Bayer, whose shot made its way into the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. The game headed into overtime, where the Rhinos controlled most of the offensive play during the first couple of minutes. But Ice Wolves forwards Porter Bayer and Oskar Edberg found themselves with a two-on-one rush. After a pass from Edberg connected with Bayer, Bayer’s shot secured the 2-1 overtime win for the Ice Wolves.

​Idaho Falls 5 @ Billings 2 - The Spud Kings took to the road to match up with the Cattle Punchers at Signal Peak Energy Arena for this Friday night matchup. The Spud Kings opened the scoring midway through the opening period, when a pass from Brett Kazmierski connected with Hunter Doroff. Doroff’s shot found the back of the net to put the Spud Kings up 1-0. The Cattle Punchers responded midway through the first period when a shot from Tommy Picconatto was tipped by Joey Kubas, who successfully got a hold of the rebound to tie the game 1-1. The offensive action continued into the second period, when five minutes into the period Bravery Esplin collected a rebound off a shot from Ryland Demsars to put Idaho Falls up 2-1. The Cattle Punchers quickly responded less than 20 seconds later after Micha Seery made his way past multiple Idaho Falls defenders to tie the game at two. Idaho Falls took back the lead in the dying minutes of the period. Jackson Stocker found the back of the net after collecting a rebound, sending the Spud Kings into the third with a 3-2 lead. The third period featured less offensive action, with back-and-forth play between both teams. The Spud Kings extended their lead by two in the final minutes when forward Brett Kazmierski scored. The Cattle Punchers pulled goaltender Nicolas Rempel for the extra attacker, but failed to capitalize with their sixth man after Jackson Stocker scored an empty-net goal. The empty-net goal would secure the 5-2 win for the Spud Kings on the road.

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Grand Junction 3 @ Pueblo 2 - In this Friday night matchup, Grand Junction visited Pueblo for a Colorado showdown against the Pueblo Peppers. Neither team scored in the opening frame, but the Pueblo Peppers generated a majority of the offense after multiple penalties were assessed against the River Hawks. Putting the Peppers on the power play for a majority of the second half of the first period and sent them into the second period leading shot count 11-6. The Pueblo Peppers opened the game’s scoring early on in the second period, when a bouncing puck found the stick of Jake McIntosh, whose shot found the back of the net to give the Peppers the 1-0 lead. The River Hawks responded just minutes later after Reid Taylor scored off the rush to tie the game at one. After the tying goal, a penalty was assessed against the River Hawks, putting the Peppers on the man advantage. In the dying seconds of their power play, a centering pass from Nolan Warner connected with Jake Sparetz, who buried the puck to reclaim Pueblo’s lead. Although a handful of penalties were called against both teams during the remainder of the second period, neither team scored. In the first half of the third period, the River Hawks took the lead with a tying goal from Lincoln Martin five minutes into the period, and a second goal from Martin five minutes later to give the River Hawks the 3-2 lead. Multiple penalties were assessed in the back half of the period, none of which resulted in a goal from either team. Despite their efforts and even pulling the goalie in the final minute of play, the Peppers failed to find the equalizing goal, and the River Hawks defended their lead to secure the 3-2 victory.

​Wisconsin 2 @ Kenai River 4 - The Wisconsin Windigo traveled to the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex on Friday night to take on the Kenai River Brown Bears in this Midwest Division showdown. The Brown Bears held most of the offensive pressure throughout the first frame, totaling 10 shots compared to Wisconsin’s three. Despite being outshot throughout the first period, the Windigo would open the scoring in the final minutes of the period while on the man advantage. In the dying seconds of the power play, a wrist shot from Aidan Hickok found the back of the net to send the Windigo into the second with a 1-0 lead. The Brown Bears would respond midway through the second period, with a series of passes through the Wisconsin defense that ended with Benjamin Bauscher firing the puck home to tie the game at one. The remainder of the second period saw the physicality between these two Midwest Division rivals increase, and multiple penalties were assessed to both teams. The Brown Bears took the lead toward the midway point of the final period, with a goal from Filip Kinter to give Kenai River a 2-1 lead over the Windigo. The Brown Bears’ lead would be extended after a turnover in the neutral zone by Wisconsin put Braden Hansberger on the rush with Ryan McPartland. Hansberger's pass connected with McPartland, who backhanded the puck into the back of the net for the 3-1 lead. In the dying minutes of the game, Wisconsin pulled the goalie for an extra attacker; the first attempt resulted in an empty-net goal from Brady Morell to make the score 4-1. Wisconsin would pull their goaltender again following the goal, and this time scored after Alex Gleasman threw the puck toward the crease. The puck deflected off the Brown Bears' defense to cut Kenai River’s lead down to two. In the end, the Brown Bears would take the contest with a 4-2 victory over the Windigo.