Saturday Scores: Blazers, Americans stay hot with wins
Great Falls forward Jake Hayes had a goal in a 4-1 win on Saturday.
Great Falls 4 @ Butte 1 – Americans goalie Trever Mellen made 43 saves to lead his team to a 4-1 road win in Butte on Friday. The Americans jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a 1st period goal from Hunter Maschke and a 2nd period goal from Nick Silance. The Cobras cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal midway through the 3rd period from Luke Schlensner, but two more Americans goals late in the period on empty-nets from Jake Hayes and Connor Chesner secured the 4-1 win. Cobras goalie Tommy Near stopped 33 of 35 shots in the loss.
Oklahoma City 3 vs. Atlanta 2 – The Blazers completed the weekend road sweep of the Capitals thanks to a 3-2 win on Saturday. Petr Philippov followed up his four-point game on Friday with a goal and assist on Saturday. After a scoreless 1st period, the Blazers took a 1-0 lead with a 2nd period goal from Artem Korolev. In the 3rd period, Tristan Rand scored for the Blazers to make it 2-0. The Capitals stormed back with goals from Vyacheslav Nilov and Gunner Moore to tie the game at 2-2, but a goal from Philippov with just 1:53 remaining stood as the game-winner. Jacob Ahl made 27 saves in the win, while Matthew Genter made 43 saves in the loss.
Jr. Hat Tricks 5 vs. Sharks 3 – Nicholas Rogers scored twice to lead the Jr. Hat Tricks to a 5-3 win on the road against the Sharks. The lead went back and forth until late in the 2nd period when the Jr. Hat Tricks scored the final three goals to win the game, which included two from Rogers and another from Ryan Wojciechowski. The Sharks got goals from Jake Weikel, George Fomin, and Kyle Gilbert. Carson Holliday and Nick Cullinan had the other goals for the Jr. Hat Tricks, which came in the 1st period. Nathan Hadley picked up the win in goal, while Artem Lantukh took the loss.
El Paso 4 @ Louisiana 0 – In his first NA3HL game, newly acquired goalie Ryan Nocerino stopped all 23 shots that came his way to help El Paso post a 4-0 shutout in Louisiana. It was all Rhinos from the beginning of the game, as they jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three 1st period goals from Cole Schneider, Nate Beamish, and Ian Carpenter. Schneider would add his second goal of the game in the 2nd period to complete the scoring. Drillers goalie Chris Branch was saddled with the loss, making 11 saves, while Kyle Karoleski made 27 saves in a relief appearance.
Rochester 2 @ Peoria 0 – Grizzlies goalie Shane Soderwall stood tall, making 27 saves for his 4th shutout of the season as Rochester salvaged a weekend split with the Mustangs thanks to a 2-0 win on Saturday. The Grizzlies took a 1-0 lead thanks to a 1st period goal from Blake Arneson. The lead stood the entire game and then the Grizzlies would add a late empty-net goal from Peyton Hart. Mustangs goalie Cole Walter played well in the loss, stopped 20 of 21 shots.
North Iowa 2 @ Alexandria 4 – The Blizzard snapped the eight-game winning streak of the Bulls thanks to a 4-2 win on Saturday. Colin Tushie had two goals and an assist and Blizzard goalie Joey Greilich made 38 saves in the win. The Bulls got on the board first with a 1st period goal from Caden Smith. The Blizzard responded with back-to-back goals from Tushie and Caleb Strong to take a 2-1 lead. The Bulls tied the game at 2-2 in the 3rd period thanks to a goal from Max Savaloja. However, the Blizzard would pull away with two goals late in the 3rd period, including Tushie’s second of the game and one from Anthony Rajala. Bulls goalie Carsen Stokes made 26 saves in the loss.
Granite City 5 @ Willmar 3 – The Lumberjacks cooled down the red-hot WarHawks as five different players scored in the win. Willmar led 2-1 after two periods as Alex Kupka and Lewis Rowan scored for the home side, while Wyatt Halverson had the lone goal for the Lumberjacks. In the 3rd period, Granite City exploded for four goals, which came from Braeden Bartoo, Carson Simon, Brett Reed, and Brockston Masseth. Lewis Rowan had a second goal late in the game to complete the scoring. Granite City goalie Bailey Huber made 30 saves in the win, while Lukas Haugen made 21 saves in the loss.
Milwaukee 2 @ St. Louis 5 – Five different players scored for the Jr. Blues as the picked up a weekend sweep of the Power thanks to a 5-2 win on Saturday. It was all St. Louis from the start as they opened up a 5-0 lead, which included 1st period goals from Tommy Ramer and Derek Cagle, 2nd period goals from Blake Kern and Trey Walton, and a 3rd period goal from Mike Ivory. The Power netted two goals late in the 3rd period from Nate Stone and Maxwell Erstad. Jr. Blues goalie Danny Fraga made 39 saves in the win, while Ewan McDevitt made 44 saves in the loss.
Yellowstone 2 @ Helena 1 – Dylan Rumpke scored both Quake goals and Connor Carroll made 27 saves to lead Yellowstone to a 2-1 win in Helena on Saturday. Rumpke put the Quake ahead 1-0 with a goal in the 1st period. Helena tied the game at 1-1 thanks to a 2nd period goal from Corey Miscovich. Rumpke’s second of the game and game-winner came with under five minutes remaining in regulation in the 3rd period. Bighorns goalie Nate Gulsvig played well in the loss, stopping 44 of 46 shots.
