Friday Finals: Generals win East, RoadRunners clinch playoff spot
RoadRunners forward Jack Herron had two goals in a 5-4 overtime win on Friday helping his team clinch a spot in the Fraser Cup Playoffs.
Bay State 0 @ Northeast 8: The Northeast Generals shutout the Bay State Bobcats in a 8-0 final. The win secured the East Division regular season title for the Generals. In the first period Nolan Murphy (1:55), Sean Gorman (6:27), Matthew Nuzzolilo (14:01) and Nolan Zotter (16:50) all scored for a 4-0 Generals lead after the first. Ayden Frolik added to the lead in the second making it a 5-0 score. In the third period Braeden Kennedy (2:04), Caiden Hess (3:37) and Ayden Frolik (11:40) scored for a 8-0 final.
TX RoadRunners 5 @ Oklahoma City 4 (OT): In a game that was decided in overtime, the Texas RoadRunners edged the Oklahoma City Ice Hawks, 5-4. The win secured a playoff spot for the RoadRunners. OKC opened up the scoring with Vincent Anderson (1:09) followed by Richard Indermill (6:25) for a 2-0 lead. Soon after, Jack Herron (7:00) would get the RoadRunners on the board. Nearing the end of the first, Aaron Best (16:45) scored to get the Ice Hawks a 3-1 lead. Ethan Geralnik (2:33) found the only goal in the second period making the score 3-2. The RoadRunners evened the game 3-3 with Ty Neckar (0:46) in the third. Robby Radbroker (6:23) broke the tie getting Texas ahead 4-3. Nearing the end of regulation, Jack Herron (16:25) evened the game 4-4 to force overtime. In the extra frame, Tim Marsico (2:16) would light the lamp to get the win for the RoadRunners, 5-4.
Wausau 0 @ Rochester 2: Nikola Goich kept out all 14 shots he faced to secure the shutout and help Rochester edge past the Cyclones 2-0. After a scoreless 1st and 2nd period, Kolton Kane scored his 5th goal of the season 2:39 into the final frame to break the deadlock. Two minutes later, Justin Wright lit the lamp to double up the lead and put the Grizzlies in the drivers seat. Zach Dosan produced a stellar performance in net for Wausau, stopping 49 of 51 shots in the losing effort.
Willmar 4 @ New Ulm 0: The WarHawks extended their win streak to four games in their Friday night victory over New Ulm on the road. Willmar took the lead early as Nolan Grier scored less than three minutes into the contest. Tyler Misialek and Anthony Foster would also score goals in the 1st period to extend the lead. No goals would be scored in the 2nd period but Foster would find the back of the net once again in the 3rd to put the finishing touches on the victory. Cooper Olsen captured the shutout victory, stopping all 23 shots that came at him. Zach Foster was dealt the loss making 54 saves.
St. Louis 1 @ Granite City 11: Eight Lumberjacks skaters found the scores sheet in their dominant victory over the Jr. Blues. Nick Mountain scored the lone goal in the opening period to give Granite City the first lead. Gianluca Boccardi made it a tie game, scoring his 6th of the season for the Jr. Blues early in the middle frame. Luke Delzer, Tucker Skime, and Cody Dias all buried a goal in the period to give Granite City a three-goal lead. The Lumberjacks tallied seven goals in the 3rd period coming from Skime, Mountain, Hayden Walters, Joe Greniuk, Cory Warner, Andre Butler, and Delzer. Xander Roberts snatched up the victory, keeping out all but one of 16 shots. Espen Reager made 46 saves for St. Louis.
Minnesota 1 @ Mason City 15: Luke Stevens and Nik Howell both scored hat tricks to help bring the Mason City Toros their 4th consecutive victory. Fifteen different skaters found the points sheet for the Toros with all of them recording at least two points. Defenseman Matt Kochanowski dished five assists, Andy Larsen buried two goals and fed an assist, and Derek Humphrey found the back of the net once and assisted twice. Minnesota’s lone goal came midway through the 2nd period as Kyler Couture scored his 12th of the season. Owen Carlson only faced eight shots on the night, stopping seven of them in the victory. Matthew Ryynanen completed the night saving 31 shots for the Loons.
Peoria 5 @ Oregon 2: Peoria extended their win streak to eleven games, largely due to a dominant four-goal first period. Jake Ratner and Hubert Guzy gave the Mustangs an early lead, each scoring before two minutes had passed in the game. Jared Wisely added another goal a few minutes later to increase the lead. Zachary Orwig scored his 1st of the season for Oregon to cut the lead to two but Tristan Trudel answered before the end of the period with a goal to retake that three-goal lead. In the middle frame, Christopher Kondiles lit the lamp to extend Peoria’s lead. Carter Watters added another goal for the visitors on the power play in the 3rd period to seal it. Joe Ambroffi stopped 23 of 25 shots in the victory. Evan Wittchow and Anthony Adleman both spent time in net for the Tradesmen, Adleman being credited the loss stopping 4 of 7 shots faced.
TX Brahmas 2 @ El Paso 5: The Rhinos inched closer to the top spot in the South division as they took down the Brahmas Friday night. Kaiden Hafele and Matthew Gross both scored goals in the 1st period to provide a quick lead for El Paso. Andrew Kungle helped Texas draw within one early in the middle frame with a goal but Caden Butler and Riley Hunt-Bahn both found the back of the net to answer him. Blake Rothstein scored for the Brahmas seven minutes into the 3rd to draw within a pair of goals but Noah Easterson sealed it with an empty netter 17:59 into the 3rd period. Camden Pendleton saved 24 shots for the Rhinos while Dolan Gilbert kept out 29 of 33 shots in the loss.
Gillette 7 @ Badlands 1: Gillette remains knotted up with Helena with 74 points at the top of the Frontier division after defeating the Sabres in convincing fashion. Badlands took the first lead of the game with Zach Vockler’s goal four minutes into the contest. Tucker Lien and Carson Kuche both buried a goal to answer and provide the Wild with a lead heading into the 2nd period. Declan Young, Lien, Nate Fanning, and Zack Slinger all scored goals in the middle frame to extend the lead out of reach. Sky Skolig put the finishing touches on the victory with a late goal in the 3rd period. Jake Turek was near perfect in net for Gillette, stopping all but one of 22 shots that came at him. Maxim Currie and Zach Broxterman shared time in net for the Sabres, combining for 48 saves and Currie being credited with the loss.
Bozeman 2 @ Helena 6: The Helena Bighorns scored in all three periods to lead them past the Icedogs in their fourth straight victory. Tylor Greene, Nick Cofer, and Tyler Alldrege gave Helena an early lead with 1st period goals. Bentley Simcox reduced the deficit for Bozeman with a late goal in the opening period. In the 2nd, Tyler Bloom found a powerplay goal for the Bighorns but Makhai Sparks answered with a score for Bozeman on the power play as well. Gavyn Galloway and Bloom each found the back of the net in the 3rd to cap off the victory. Aidan Wright was solid in between the pipes for Helena, stopping 40 of 42 shots. Collin Soderhelm made 53 saves for the Icedogs.
Great Falls 0 @ Yellowstone 2: Edvin Falkenstrom had an incredible goaltending performance for the Yellowstone Quake, stopping all 71 shots he faced to secure the shutout and victory for Yellowstone. The game remained scoreless through two periods but Gabe Coppo would break the deadlock with a goal 1:39 into the final frame. At the 15:24 mark, Coppo would score his 2nd of the night on the power play to extend the lead, both goals being assisted by Benjamin Angeli. Will Simpson kept out 25 of 27 shots that came at him in the loss.
New Jersey 2 @ Danbury 5: The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks defeated the New Jersey Jr. Titans in a 5-2 final score. Danbury opened up the first period taking a 3-0 lead with Nick Rodgers, Dylan Walker and Jacob Deitsch all scoring. In the second, Rodgers added another goal followed by Dylan Walker for a 5-0 Hat Trick lead. New Jersey would add a goal late in the third from Ryan Kenna. In the third period, Ryan Miller (15:50) added a goal for the Titans as Danbury held on for a 5-2 win.
