Thursday Thrillers: St. Cloud Called Game Thanks to an Overtime Tally

Oklahoma 7 @ Amarillo 2 - The Oklahoma Warriors defeated the Amarillo Wranglers, 7-2, Thursday inside Budweiser Bull Pen. Oklahoma took an early lead as the Warriors scored six goals in the first 14 minutes of the first period. Ben Osiashvili netted two goals in the first four minutes of the period. Two minutes later, the Warriors netted three goals in two minutes courtesy of Jackson Hone, Joey DeRosa and Nicklas Radich. Adam Bauer found the back of the net on the power play to give Oklahoma a 6-0 lead before the first intermission. In the second period, Amarillo scored the lone goal off the stick of Roko Gorsic, who capitalized with the extra attacker. In the third period, the Wranglers and the Warriors both converted on special teams. Alexander Kharinov scored his second goal of the season to break the four-goal cushion to make the score 6-2. With just three minutes remaining in regulation, Luke Vanderroest scored the insurance marker to secure a 7-2 win. Oklahoma’s Jakob Hanlan made 33 saves in the win. Amarillo’s Ryan Galalski made 33 saves in the loss. Adam Frank turned aside three shots in relief.

Austin 2 @ St. Cloud 3 (OT) - The St. Cloud Norseman bested the Austin Bruins 3-2 in overtime on Thursday inside the Municipal Athletic Complex. Austin took an early lead as Kyle Sorenson netted his seventh of the season with seven minutes left in the first period. With under a minute left in the first stanza, Hobey Skulstad tied the contest at 1-1. In the second period, Easton Kennedy gave the Norseman a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes left in the middle frame. Three minutes later, Tevin Stukel tied the game at 2-2 before the second intermission. Following a scoreless third period, the contest was forced into an overtime session. Brandon Rodenwald scored his third goal of the season and the overtime winner for St. Cloud just two minutes into the frame. In net, St. Cloud’s Axel Kylin made 26 saves in the win. Austin’s Hayden Demaso turned aside 17 shots in the loss.

El Paso 2 @ Odessa 4 - The Odessa Jackalopes beat the El Paso Rhinos, 4-2, on Thursday inside Ector County Coliseum. Odessa took a 1-0 lead in the first period as Kaid Pawlanta netted his fourth goal of the season with just under two minutes remaining in the frame. In the second period, Hunter Toms extended the Jackalopes lead to 2-0 with five minutes left in the middle frame. Two minutes later, El Paso tied the game at 2-2 before the break as Masen McCosh and Austin Michaud lit the lamp. In the third period, Hunter Toms gave Odessa a 3-2 lead with 1:42 remaining in the third.  30 seconds later, Odessa’s Trevor Nightingale scored what proved to be the game-winning goal to secure a 4-2 win. In net, Odessa’s Benjamin Vatis made 31 saves in the win. El Paso’s Logan Hughes turned aside 32 shots in the loss.

Minnesota M 3 @ Fairbanks 6 - In an initially back-and-forth battle between the Minnesota Mallards and Fairbanks Ice Dogs, the home team secured the win thanks to a strong third-period push. The contest opened with Fairbanks’ Dub Eunice III lighting the lamp a little over three minutes into the game. The second period featured most of the scoring as the Mallards evened the score on the power play thanks to Jack Fang. Four minutes later, the Ice Dogs would regain the lead as Dean Andrews found twine on the man advantage. That lead would be short-lived as Eli Milinkovich tallied his second of the year to even the scoreboard. Less than 30 seconds later in the middle frame, Oliver Barna regained the lead for Fairbanks, tallying his eighth of the year. The final Mallards goal of the night was scored on the power play as Thomas Gale scored in the final three minutes of the second period. The final frame featured a trio of goals as Ben Green started the scoring six minutes into the period. With 1:39 left on the clock, Oliver Barna provided a dagger on the power play to help extend the lead to 5-3. The final goal of the night would be scored in empty-netter fashion as Ryan Shanahan lit the lamp 20 seconds later. The Ice Dogs skate to a big 6-3 win, looking to keep the momentum into Friday night.