Friday Finals: Wild close gap on Bighorns
Helena 2 @ Gillette 6 - Gennadi Zabeline was all over the ice for Gillette, as he tallied two goals and two assists in Gillette's 6-2 win over Helena. Zabeline found the back of the net on the power play 11:31 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Gillette and again while on the power play 18:27 into the first to make the score 3-1 Gillette. Gillette also got points from Adam Maxfield, who also tallied one goal and two assists. Others who scored for Gillette included Kyle Traux, Cade Boreing, and Michael Doyle, who scored one goal each. More assists for Gillette came via Colt Johnson, Riley Holwegner, Alex King, and RJ Yusko, who each chipped in one. Helena kept Gillette's goalie busy throughout the game, and Alex Feese made 32 saves on 34 shots. Helena was helped by Bradley Estrada, who grabbed one goal. Estrada scored 1:30 into the third period to make the score 3-2 Gillette. Wyatt Stotts assisted on the tally. Helena also got a goal from Gavin Lubin as well. In addition, Helena received assists from Johnny Bonta and Blake Babineau, who contributed one each.
Alexandria 5 @ Breezy Point 2 - Behind a great game by AJ Gullickson, who had one goal and three assists, Alexandria defeated Breezy Point, 5-2. Gullickson beat Wes Paupore with a shot 3:11 into the third period to make the score 3-2 Alexandria. Jack Mellstrom assisted on the tally. Gullickson dished an assist on Aaron Ryback's goal that made the score 2-2 at 1:29 into the third period. He then added assists on Tyler Frischmon's goal at 6:36 into the third and on Mason Hautala's goal at 8:31 into the third. Breezy Point was helped by Tyler Larwood, who tallied one goal. Larwood scored short handed 3:32 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Breezy Point. Nick Blanchette also scored for Breezy Point. More assists for Breezy Point came via Nik Boyer, who had one. Derrick LaCombe recorded 28 saves for Alexandria.
Louisiana 4 @ Sugar Land 5 (SO) – The Imperials claimed the final playoff spot in the South as three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as Sugar Land defeated Louisiana in a shootout 5-4 (1-0 SO). Sugar Land came back from a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. Sugar Land was down 3-1 after a goal by Louisiana's Jacob Istre at 2:55 in the second period. Sugar Land knotted things up at 4-4 on a goal by Alex Norwinski at 11:48 in the third period. Sugar Land was led by Matt Cozzan, who racked up one goal. Cozzan scored 4:23 into the second period to make the score 3-2 Louisiana. Matt DeNure picked up the assist. Others who scored for Sugar Land included Luca Valenza and Joseph Brochu, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Sugar Land were Michael Crowley, Travis Witt, and Zac McKenna, who contributed one each and Kenny Garrett and Chris Conlin, who each chipped in two. Louisiana was helped by Davis VanGemerden, who registered two goals and one assist. VanGemerden scored the first of his two goals on the power play at 12:02 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Louisiana. Miko Siren assisted on the tally. VanGemerden's next tally on the power play made the score 4-3 Louisiana with 2:39 left in the second period. Istre picked up the assist. Louisiana also got points from Istre, who also had one goal and two assists. Mitch Dolese also scored for Louisiana. In addition, Louisiana received assists from Kolton Huff, who had one.
Texas 1 @ Atlanta 6 - Alex Johanson lifted Atlanta to a 6-1 victory with a hat trick against Texas.
Euless 4 @ Point Mallard 8 - Euless was within striking distance after one period, but Point Mallard put the pedal down in the second en route to an 8-4 victory. Justin Dunn was all over the ice for Point Mallard, as he tallied two goals and two assists in the win. Dunn scored the first of his two goals at 16:33 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Point Mallard. Grant Dukus picked up the assist. Dunn's next tally made the score 3-1 Point Mallard with 15:46 left in the second period. Point Mallard had taken the advantage when Euless' Kyle Dudley got sent off for tripping. Matt Goodman assisted on the tally. Point Mallard additionally got points from Dukus, who also finished with three goals and one assist and Justin Delisle, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Point Mallard included Chandler Brown and Jake Champaign, who each put in one. More assists for Point Mallard came via Matt Darnell, who had two and Jake Cox and Josh Hamilton, who contributed one each. Euless was helped by Chase Deacon, who registered one goal. Deacon scored 3:41 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Euless. Triston Wilson picked up the assist. Euless also had goals scored by Brandon Wade, Cody Gottfreid, and Wyatt Gentry, who scored one goal each. In addition, Euless received assists from Benjamin Kraus, who had one. Josh Martin rejected 19 shots on goal for Point Mallard.
Evansville 1 @ Nashville 5 - Behind a great game by Josh Hill, who had two goals and one assist, Nashville defeated Evansville, 5-1. Hill found the back of the net 13:01 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Nashville and again while 19:08 into the first to make the score 2-0 Nashville. Nashville also got points from Logan Orem, who also had one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Nashville included Peter Cabala and Trent Kulczyk, who each put in one. In addition, Nashville received assists from Max Dorfman, who had two and William Garrity, Brock James, Conor Cunningham, Colton Anderson, and Nathan Rieman, who contributed one each. Evansville was led by Brandon Rozema, who scored the team's only goal. Rozema scored 6:07 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Nashville. Mathieu Laforest provided the assist. Nashville's Ricky Gonzalez stopped 16 shots out of the 17 that he faced. Adam Conkling made 43 saves for Evansville on 48 shots.
Southern Tier 2 @ Toledo 6 - Ricky Kwapich lifted Toledo to a 6-2 victory with a hat trick against Southern Tier. Kwapich notched his first tally 17:38 into the first period. He then added goals at 54 seconds into the second and at 7:57 into the second. Toledo also got points from Isaiah Crawford, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Toledo also had goals scored by Austin Turner and Ethan Resetar, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Toledo were Blake Mullins, who had two and Tyler Zalecki, Daniel Goodwin, Josh Somers, Tristin Snyder, Nick Nappi, Graham Goupille, and Nick Papandrea, who contributed one each. Southern Tier was led by Nathan Butkowski, who finished with one goal. Butkowski scored on the power play 6:06 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Toledo. Jacob Zwieg picked up the assist. Southern Tier also got a goal from Hunter Kepple as well. In addition, Southern Tier received assists from Graham Josephson, who had one. Jeremy Hamerquist made 30 saves for Toledo on 32 shots.
West Michigan 5 @ Wooster 3 - West Michigan, which led by three goals at one point, survived a comeback attempt by Wooster and clinched a 5-3 victory. West Michigan led by three goals at one point and ended with the victory. The largest advantage in the game came when West Michigan's Mitch Campbell scored on the power play at 13:36 in the second period to put West Michigan up 3-0. West Michigan got the win behind a great game by Dakota Ulmer, who had two goals and two assists. Ulmer scored the first of his two goals at 47 seconds into the first period to make the score 1-0 West Michigan. Curtis Carlson provided the assist. Ulmer's next tally made the score 2-0 West Michigan with 13:55 left in the first period. Corey Siwula assisted on the tally.
Rochester 1 @ Minnesota 3 - Minnesota relied on the sparkling performance of Dakota McDonald in net to grab a 3-1 win against Rochester. Minnesota was led by Alec Skar, who tallied one goal. Skar scored 13:44 into the third period to make the score 2-1 Minnesota. Tre Opack picked up the assist. Minnesota additionally got points from Kyle Wendorf, who also had one goal and one assist to lead the team in points. Joe Guimont also scored for Minnesota. Other players who recorded assists for Minnesota were Tyler Leverty, who had two and Luke Erickson and Ty Ennis, who contributed one each. Rochester was led by Kenny Ree, who scored the team's only goal. Ree scored 7:28 into the second period to make the score 1-0 Rochester. Dan Trageser assisted on the tally. McDonald rejected 25 shots on goal for Minnesota. Zach Mains recorded 28 saves for Rochester.
Twin City 5 @ North Iowa 4 (SO) - Twin City's Joe Costello scored 4:18 into overtime to beat North Iowa, 5-4 (OT). Twin City came back from a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. Twin City was down 4-2 after a power play goal by North Iowa's Austin Jackson at 19:44 in the second period. Twin City knotted things up at 4-4 on a goal by Costello at 19:36 in the third period. Twin City also got points from Luc Kreuser, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Others who scored for Twin City included Paul Stehr and Tyler Hoff, who scored one goal each. In addition, Twin City received assists from Fritz Belisle, Nicholas Campbell, Alex Egle, and Bennett Witta, who each chipped in one and Jared Erickson and Yannick Zehnder, who contributed two each. North Iowa also got a goal from Quinn Fuchs as well. More assists for North Iowa came via Owen Larson, Joe Burgmeier, Sean Mallonee, Shane Bernhardson, Marshall Barnes, Connor Bump, and Brett Gravelle, who each chipped in one. Jon Albers made 31 saves for Twin City on 35 shots. North Iowa's David Johnson stopped 40 shots out of the 45 that he faced.
Wisconsin 7 @ Chicago 1 - Wisconsin's Peter Henderson had a big offensive game, scoring one goal and contributing four assists in his team's 7-1 win over Chicago. Henderson scored 5:26 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Wisconsin. Ben Ratner assisted on the tally. Henderson dished an assist on Ratner's goal that made the score 3-0 Wisconsin at 17:19 into the first period. He then added assists on Connor Boscaccy's goal at 13:44 into the second, on Thomas Hanson's goal at 16:04 into the second, and on Ratner's goal at 8:32 into the third. Wisconsin additionally got points from Hanson, who also tallied two goals and three assists and Ratner, who also grabbed two goals and two assists. Wisconsin also got a goal from Clayton Brown as well. In addition, Wisconsin received assists from Zachary Ross, who had one and Jake McNamara, who had four. Ian Dvorak recorded 16 saves for Wisconsin. Chicago's Alec Paloumpis stopped 62 shots out of the 69 that he faced.
Bozeman 5 @ Billings 2 - Kegan Couture was all over the ice for Bozeman, as he tallied two goals and one assist in Bozeman's 5-2 win over Billings. Couture scored at 2:58 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Bozeman and again while 14:53 into the second to make the score 5-1 Bozeman. Bozeman also got points from AJ ODell, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Bozeman also had goals scored by Liam Millar and Steven Nisbet, who scored one goal each. In addition, Bozeman received assists from Gunnar Mogck, who had two and Dylan Michaud, Casey Gobel, John Dixon, Nicholas Thompson, and Stephen Frank, who contributed one each. Billings was helped by Chris Nicolai, who finished with one goal. Nicolai scored 12:31 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Bozeman. Cameron Birklid picked up the assist. Billings also got a goal from Dillon Steh as well. More assists for Billings came via Jacob Yoho and Mason Graves, who each chipped in one. Stephen Frank made 28 saves for Bozeman on 30 shots. Gage Overby rejected 42 shots on goal for Billings.
Yellowstone 4 @ Glacier 3 - Glacier tried to dig itself out of a two-goal hole, but Yellowstone held on for a 4-3 victory. Yellowstone made the score 4-2 on a goal by Matt Runyon at 6:32 in the third period, and Glacier got as close as 4-3 when William Bostwick scored 9:03 into the third period. Runyon had one goal and two assists to lead Yellowstone. Others who scored for Yellowstone included Max Doner, Tony Dahlberg, and Manuel Manero, who each put in one. More assists for Yellowstone came via Hunter Ruschmeyer, Nick Greene, Reed Kelly, Tristan Henrichs, and Nick Ligocki, who contributed one each. Glacier also got points from Gavin Cline, who also had one goal and one assist. Glacier also got a goal from Logan Kraft as well. In addition, Glacier received assists from Ronald Robertson, Wyatt Fretheim, and Valter Midges, who each chipped in one. Lance Knudson recorded 17 saves for Yellowstone.
