Saturday Scores: El Paso, Helena punch tickets to Fraser Cup
The Helena Bighorns won Games 2 and 3 in overtime to win the Frontier Finals and advance to the 2022 Fraser Cup Championship.
South Division Finals, Game 2: TX RoadRunners 4 @ El Paso 5 (El Paso wins series, 2-0): Connor Thompson’s goal with 24 seconds left propelled the El Paso Rhinos to a 5-4 win over the Texas RoadRunners and a berth in the Fraser Cup. The first period belonged to the Rhinos as Matthew Gross scored four minutes into play. Jaron Ketterman answered to tie the game but Blake Polifka scored with just one second remaining to give El Paso the lead after 20 minutes. In the middle frame, Jack Herron scored twice to give the RoadRunners their first lead of the night. Caden Butler tied the game just 65 seconds into the third period but that fun was short lived as Tim Marsico scored just 45 seconds later to put Texas back in front. Riley Hunt-Bahn tied the game at four with just 3:39 left in regulation before Thompson netted the game winner in the closing seconds. Camden Pendleton picked up the win in between the pipes as he turned aside 43 shots, Hunter Hein took the tough loss as he made 38 saves.
Frontier Division Finals, Game 3: Gillette 5 @ Helena 6 (OT) (Helena wins series, 2-1): Sam Feamster tipped in the game winning goal in overtime to send the Helena Bighorns to the Fraser Cup. After trailing 4-1 midway through the contest, the Bighorns came all the way back to win the Frontier Division playoff championship. For the second straight game, Liam Bland registered a hat trick while Feamster finished with two goals and two assists. Tylor Greene netted the game tying goal with just over seven minutes remaining in regulation. Declan Young notched two goals and two assists for the Wild. Isaac Young grabbed a goal and two helpers as well. Brock Trboyevich and Vance Kleinschmidt also scored for Gillette. Eric Buccholz picked up the win in goal as he made 57 saves for Helena. Jack Orchard played his heart out, making 67 stops.
West Division Finals, Game 2: Granite City 1 @ Mason City 3 (Series Tied, 1-1): The Mason City Toros kept their season alive as they defeated the Granite City Lumberjacks 3-1. After a scoreless opening frame, Luke Robertson and Ethan Peterson found the back of the net to give Mason City a two goal lead after two periods. The Lumberjacks would get within one with Luke Delzer’s first goal of the playoffs. Shota Kaneko sealed the win in the closing seconds with an empty net goal. Erik Chaffe was nearly perfect as he stopped 35 of 36 shots. Quentin Sigurdson took the loss as he made 26 saves for Granite City.
East Division Finals, Game 2: Northeast 1 @ Danbury 3 (Series Tied, 1-1): The Danbury Jr. Hat Tricks lived to see another day as they beat the Northeast Generals 3-1. Payton Felix struck first on the power play to put Northeast ahead first. Reese Tamburo responded with a power play goal of his own to start the second period. Nick Rogers scored his playoff leading fifth goal with under five minutes to play to give Danbury their first lead of the night. Rogers would add his sixth playoff goal with an empty netter in the dying seconds. Brennan Churchill played the game of his life as he made 46 stops. Mason Joseph suffered his first loss of the season, he made 28 saves.
Central Division Finals, Game 2: Rochester 2 @ Oregon 3 (Series Tied, 1-1): The Oregon Tradesmen scored a comeback 3-2 victory over the Rochester Tradesmen to force a decisive Game 3 in the Central Division Finals. Cole Gibson scored twice in a span of 17 seconds for the Grizzlies to give them a 2-0 lead. Abe Laggis recorded a power play goal late in the period to get the Tradesmen within one. Amir Velikhanov tied the game with just 6:05 remaining in the third before Tyler Steuck’s game winner came with just 1:38 left on the clock. Austin Bartell finished the night with 43 saves for Oregon while Zach Wiese denied 36 shots for the Grizzlies.
