Saturday Scores: Pittsburgh punches playoff ticket
February 1, 2015
Peoria 3 @ St. Louis 4 (OT) - The St. Louis Jr. Blues pulled out a 4-3 (OT) overtime victory over the Peoria Mustangs on a clutch goal by Adam Havener. With three goals and one assist between them, Andrew McGlynn and Havener teamed up to power St. Louis' offense. McGlynn tallied two goals and one assist and Havener also added one goal. St. Louis also got points from Alex Klaesner, who also registered one goal and one assist. In addition, St. Louis received assists from Andrew Bond, who had one, Ryan Reader, who had two, and Cameron McAtee, who had three. The Mustangs were led by Jason Hoehn, who finished with two goals. Hoehn scored the first of his two goals at 18:33 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Peoria. Matt Blaszkiewicz assisted on the tally. Hoehn's next tally made the score 3-3 with 9:01 left in the third period. Nathan Scofield picked up the assist. Peoria also got a goal from Thomas Kolaz as well. Other players who recorded assists for Peoria were Austin Ziakas, who had one. William Hindle recorded 34 saves for St. Louis.
Toledo 0 @ Pittsburgh 3 - Gavin Cummings had two goals to lead the Pittsburgh Vengeance to a 3-0 victory over the Toledo Cherokee. Cummings found the back of the net 11:15 into the second period to make the score 1-0 Pittsburgh and again while on the power play 14:42 into the second to make the score 2-0 Pittsburgh. Jacob Stack spearheaded the defensive effort for Pittsburgh, as he did not allow a puck past him and made 26 saves for the shutout. The solid play of Stack will be reflected in his goals against average, which pre-game was 2.62. The Vengeance managed to stay out of the box better than usual, tallying one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Pittsburgh finished below its season average of 10.0 penalty minutes per game. The Vengeance featured an improved defense during the game. Pittsburgh allows 2.5 goals per game. Team's forwards weren't the only contributers offensively, and the team's defensemen showcased their scoring touch with two goals. Nils Markgren also scored for Pittsburgh. Other players who recorded assists for Pittsburgh were Bryan Hovanec, who had one, Cody Black, who had two, and Michael Straub, who had three.
Nashville 1 @ Point Mallard 0 - The Nashville Jr. Predators beat the Point Mallard Ducks 1-0 in a game that featured tenacious defense, solid goalkeeping and a winning score from Ben Falk. Dominic Costello provided the assist on the the contest's only goal. Nashville was paced by Falk, who registered one goal. Falk scored 14:51 into the second period to make the score 1-0 Nashville. Costello provided the assist. Nashville was held below its usual level of production. The Jr. Predators put an average of 5.1 pucks into the net per game. Nashville's offense rang up 35 shots on the Ducks' net. Point Mallard put up an impenetrable defensive front on the penalty kill, and did not allow the Jr. Predators to score on any of their four power plays. The Ducks could not produce up to their normal offensive output. Point Mallard averages 3.8 goals per game. Justin Ball made 15 saves for Nashville on 15 shots. Roman Bengert recorded 34 saves for the Ducks.
Glacier 2 @ Great Falls 1 - Glacier survived a determined comeback attempt by the Great Falls Americans on the way to a 2-1 win. Glacier made the score 2-0 on a goal by Joshua Larson at 14:39 in the third period, and Great Falls got as close as 2-1 when Robert Kalata scored 19:32 into the third period. The Americans were stymied by Glacier's netminder Ryan Lund, who stopped 64 shots during the victory. Lund managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 3.89 prior to the game. Glacier was paced by Larson, who racked up one goal and one assist. Glacier also got a goal from Matt Gamblin as well. More assists for Glacier came via Tommy Kaddatz, who had one. Great Falls could not produce up to its normal offensive output. The Americans average 3.6 goals per game. Great Falls forced Glacier goalie Lund to work between the pipes, taking 65 shots. In addition, Great Falls received assists from Dylan Garton and Cody Page, who contributed one each.
Metro 11 @ Cincinnati 2 - Jake Sealy had two goals and three assists to lead the Metro Jets to an 11-2 victory over the Cincinnati Swords. Sealy's tallies came at 5:45 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Metro and 11:28 into the first to make the score 3-1 Metro. Metro additionally got points from Cooper McLean, who also grabbed one goal and two assists, Tyler Layle, who also racked up one goal and two assists, Jacob Drinkard, who also had one goal and three assists, Cody Jones, who also registered one goal and one assist, and Zach Koonce, who also tallied three goals and two assists to lead the team in points. Metro also had goals scored by Chris Williams and Andrew Sawyer, who each put in one. More assists for Metro came via Golov Sergey and Graham Day, who each chipped in one and Pearce Vance and Devin Kelly, who contributed two each. The Swords were led by Blake Hinds, who grabbed one goal. Hinds scored 5:45 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Brenden Williams also scored for Cincinnati. In addition, Cincinnati received assists from Oliver Ahlberg and Gennadi Zabeline, who each chipped in one. The Jets' Stephan Wroe stopped 17 shots out of the 19 that he faced.
Chicago 4 @ La Crosse 1 - Ryan Maksimovic netted a hat trick to lead the Chicago Junior Bulldogs over the La Crosse Freeze, 4-1. Maksimovic's first goal came 13:41 into the first period. He then added goals at 4:58 into the second and at 11:48 into the third. Chicago was led by goalie Troy Pierce, who finished with 46 saves while allowing one goal. Pierce certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 3.88 entering the contest. The Junior Bulldogs stifled La Crosse's power play, and did not give up a single goal while down a man. Chicago forced the Freeze goalie Andrew Wagner to work between the pipes, taking 32 shots. Chicago also got points from Tyler Seltenriech, who also registered one goal and two assists. More assists for Chicago came via Isaiah Sands, who had one and Toms Taurins, who had two.
Minnesota 3 @ Alexandria 6 - Behind one goal and three assists from Tyler Sworsky and one goal and two assists from AJ Gullickson, the Alexandria Blizzard downed the Minnesota Flying Aces 6-3. Sworsky scored 5:46 into the third period to make the score 5-3 Alexandria. Gullickson assisted on the tally. Gullickson scored on the power play 2:41 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Alexandria. Alexandria had gotten the advantage when Minnesota's Bradee Thompson was sent off for checking from behind. Tommy Hall picked up the assist. The Blizzard forced the Flying Aces goalie Dakota McDonald to work between the pipes, taking 52 shots. Alexandria additionally got points from Hall, who also grabbed one goal and two assists and Gullickson, who also registered one goal and two assists. Alexandria also had goals scored by Logan Norman, Tyler Berginski, and Aaron Ryback, who scored one goal each. In addition, Alexandria received assists from Trent Olson, John Roth, Tony Arias, Jake Wasem, and Nate Mettenburg, who each chipped in one. Minnesota also got points from Travis Johnston, who also racked up one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Other players who recorded assists for Minnesota were Lucas Mutschelknaus, Jesse Brown, Isak Larson, Ty Ennis, and Tyler Arenz, who contributed one each. Evan Bisek made 20 saves for Alexandria on 23 shots.
Dallas 0 @ Sugar Land 6 - The Dallas Jr. Stars was within striking distance after one period, but the Sugar Land Imperials put the pedal down in the second en route to a 6-0 victory. Timothy OSullivan spearheaded the defensive effort for Sugar Land, as he did not allow a puck past him and made 30 saves for the shutout. OSullivan certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 4.69 entering the contest. The Imperials got the win thanks to a great game by Frank Muscarella, who had two goals and two assists. Muscarella scored the first of his two goals at 1:18 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Sugar Land. Matt DeNure assisted on the tally. Muscarella's next tally made the score 5-0 Sugar Land with 11:14 left in the third period. Sugar Land forced Dallas' goalies to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, firing 33 shots and forcing 27 saves. Anthony Galliart made 12 stops and Chris Mallon made 15. Sugar Land also got points from Ryan Worley, who also registered two goals and one assist and Drew Waetjen, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Frazer Ellis also scored for Sugar Land. Other players who recorded assists for Sugar Land were Ryan Meyer, Tameer Bakkar, and John Cuni, who contributed one each.
North Iowa 3 @ Granite City 0 - Trey Gardner finished with two points to lead the North Iowa Bulls to a 3-0 victory over the Granite City Lumberjacks. North Iowa additionally got points from Jake Mullendore, who also had one goal and one assist. Johnny Panvica also scored for North Iowa. In addition, North Iowa received assists from Jake Johnson, who had two and Joe Kleven and Brett Gravelle, who each chipped in one. Granite City was held below its usual level of production. The Lumberjacks put an average of 4.1 pucks into the net per game. The Bulls' Chris Amsden stopped 21 shots out of the 21 that he faced. Jesse Garcia made 37 saves for Granite City on 40 shots.
Gillette 1 @ Helena 3 - The Gillette Wild tried their best to erase a three-goal deficit, but the Helena Bighorns would not be denied the victory and hung on to win, 3-1. A goal by Nick Trefry put Helena up 3-0 in the second period, but Gillette pulled to within two on Mitchell McEwan's tally 13:51 into the third period. The Bighorns' Grant Martens was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 30 saves and let only one puck past him. Martens managed to improve on his goals against average, which stood at 1.93 prior to the game. Helena was helped by Blake Babineau, who registered one goal. Babineau scored 9:15 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Helena. Jay Forbes picked up the assist. Helena also got a goal from Cody Vanthournout as well. In addition, Helena received assists from Daniel Liberko, Kendall Bolen-Porter, and Brandt Miller, who each chipped in one. More assists for Gillette came via Bryce Mitzel and Brandon Beard, who contributed one each. Helena registered one goal on seven power play opportunities. The Wild's starting goalie, Alex Feese, made 12 saves and finished with the loss before he was taken out in favor of Sean Kelley, who stopped seven shots.
Yellowstone 1 @ Billings 7 - A hat trick by Cameron Birklid was the highlight in Bulls' 7-1 win against the Yellowstone Quake. Birklid's first goal came 19:32 into the first period. He then added goals at 19:44 into the first and at 19:47 into the third. The Billings Bulls' Ray Smith was a brick wall in net, as he came up with 41 saves and let only one puck past him. Smith certainly lowered his goals against average, which was 2.71 entering the contest. Billings additionally got points from Bryce Jensen, who also tallied one goal and two assists, Nick Rizzo, who also registered one goal and one assist, TJ Theodosopoulos, who also racked up one goal and one assist, and Tristan Henrichs, who also had one goal and two assists. More assists for Billings came via Steven Thompson, who had three and Wolfgang Davis, Torin Foundos, and Joe Mata, who each chipped in one. The Quake's offense rang up 42 shots on the Bulls' net. Yellowstone was led by Sawyer Scanlan, who scored the team's only goal. Scanlan scored 1:48 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Billings. Ross Mullen provided the assist.
Southern Tier 4 @ Cleveland 1 – No report available.
