Friday Finals: Bighorns top Wild in battle of Frontier leaders
Texas RoadRunners forward Tyler Love had a hat-trick in an 8-1 win on Friday.
Gillette 1 @ Helena 3 - Harlan Wojtusik netted a pair of goals to lead the Helena Bighorns to a 3-1 victory over the Gillette Wild. Zach Turner also scored for the Bighorns in the win. Marek Andres was nearly perfect as he stopped 36 of 37 Gillette shots. Isaac Young netted the lone goal for the Wild while Jake Turek stopped 27 of the 29 shots fired in his direction. The loss snaps the Wild 17 game point streak.
TX RoadRunners 8 @ Mid Cities 1: The RoadRunners went into Mid Cities and dominated, their outpour of offense being highlighted by a hat trick performance from Tyler Love. After a scoreless opening frame, Matvey Ivanov, Jack Herron, and Love all found twine in the 2nd period. Love, Kyle Portlock, Tyler Singpradith, and Luke Weisman poured on more goals in the 3rd period. Mid Cities’ lone goal came midway through the 2nd period from Brendon Zeis, his 3rd of the season. Jimmy Packee was nearly perfect between the pipes, making 31 saves on 32 shots for the RoadRunners. Garrett Johnson kept out 58 shots in the loss.
Great Falls 0 @ Badlands 2 - Zach Broxterman was a perfect 31 of 31 for the Badlands Sabres as they blanked the Great Falls Americans by a score of 2-0. Dawson Wirth broke the scoreless tie as he netted his ninth goal of the season on the power play with the assists going to Jack Walters and Ian Vannelli. AJ Petrotto gave the Sabres some insurance late with his third of the season. Logan Powers and Zach Vockler got on the scoresheet with assists on that goal. Josh Koziol took the loss in net for Great Falls, he made 34 saves.
Butte 4 @ Yellowstone 2 - The Butte Cobras scored three goals in the final period to overcome a 2-1 deficit and defeat the Yellowstone Quake 4-2. The Quake had a third period lead thanks to goals by Zac Orwig and Teagan Scheurer but the Cobras received goals from Tyler Tosch, Nick Bradshaw and Luke Schleusner in the final 10 minutes of play. Caelin Chinery also netted a goal for the Cobras in the victory. Caleb Cross stopped 39 shots to earn the win in the blue paint while John Hughes stopped 47 shots in the loss.
Sheridan 10 @ Bozeman 2 - Parker Norling registered a hat trick and added two assists as the Sheridan Hawks took care of the Bozeman Icedogs by a score of 10-2. Ryan McKenna potted a pair of goals and three assists while Makhai Sparks logged a goal and four helpers for the Hawks. Teejay Torgrimson had a goal and three assists while Tie Schumacher, Josh Humphreys and Joseph Epplin all got on the scoresheet. Owen House and Bodie Shepardson had the goals for Bozeman. Jack Wood picked up the win as he maade 43 saves. Axel Rosenlund and Sean Smer combined to make 20 stops.
Long Beach 1 @ Danbury 2 (SO): Oleg Egorov and Brody Trew both tickled twine in the shootout to give their club a 2-1 victory over the Sharks. After a scoreless opening period, Seth Beagle broke the deadlock with his 3rd of the season for the Jr. Hat Tricks. 3:35 into the 3rd period, Christopher Keller gave Long Beach the answer with a goal from Tyler Fisher. Ryan Maguire had a stellar performance in net for Danbury, stopping 36 shots in regulation and three of the four shootout attempts he faced in the win. Ryo Murakami made 22 saves for the Sharks.
TX Brahmas 5 @ New Mexico 4 (OT): Wyatt Witham lit the lamp 1:33 into overtime to lift the Brahmas past New Mexico in comeback fashion on the road. Texas held a 3-1 lead through 20 minutes thanks to goals from Witham, George Keeley, and Joseph Crowley. Edmond O’Connell kept the Ice Wolves in it with his first goal in the NA3HL. Brady Trance cut the deficit in half with the lone score in the 2nd period. New Mexico got the lead back in the 3rd thanks to two quick goals coming from Zak Wentworth and Ethan Secord. Minutes after the go-ahead goal, Benjamin Mondou answered with a power-play goal to send the contest to overtime. Brendan Forden kept out 26 of 30 shots faced in the victory. Pierson Haislet was dealt the loss while making 27 saves.
New Jersey 5 @ Northeast 3: The Titans got goals from five different players including Antonio Vidal, William Peterson, George Hinds, Sam Levin, and Ryan Talorico to knock off the 1st place Generals, 5-3.
El Paso 2 @ Atlanta 4: The Capitals got off to a strong start and never turned back, taking down the Rhinos 4-2 in their first of three matchups this weekend. Brett Phillips and Ben Parker got Atlanta on the board and ahead with a pair of goals in the 1st. Nick Refine and Nick Jameus doubled Atlanta’s goal output with a pair in the middle frame. Trey Erramouspe got El Paso on the board early in the period. In the 3rd, Landon Cain scored on the powerplay midway through but it was too little, too late. Aleks Sumoski came away with the win, making 28 stops. Christopher Burns kept out 28 shots for the Rhinos.
Louisiana 4 @ Austin 1: A two goal performance from forward Brody Neish gave the Drillers the edge in their 4-1 road victory over Austin. Rory Neish scored the first of the game 1:59 into the contest to get Louisiana on the board early. Cheeno Gryska and Brody Neish both lit the lamp in the 2nd to extend the lead. Jack Hanson got the Ice Bats on the board late in the period with his 9th goal of the season. Brody Neish tallied his 2nd of the game 8:16 into the final period to seal the victory. John Moriarty had a quiet night in the Drillers’ crease, stopping 12 of 13 shots faced. Collin Lemanski kept out 37 in the loss.
Peoria 3 @ Rochester 7: Six different Rochester skaters found the back of the net in their 7-3 win over the Mustangs. Ben Oakland and Owen Van Tassel scored goals 1:10 apart in the 1st period to give the Grizzlies early momentum. Marco Sandelgard, Leo Milan, and Zachary Laurila each scored goals in the 2nd to continue Rochester’s offensive success. Perry Lagatuz and Ethan Chesney helped keep Peoria within reach with goals in the period. Lagatuz got another in the back of the net early in the 3rd but Lyncoln Bielenberg-Howarth and Laurila both shut down the comeback bid with powerplay scores. Kaleb Bents made 20 saves in the victory while Cam Pendleton and Joseph Ambroffi combined for 32 saves in net for the Mustangs.
Willmar 3 @ New Ulm Steel 0: Michael D’Orazio was the backstop for the WarHawks Friday night, keeping out all 38 of New Ulm’s shots to secure the 3-0 shutout. The eventual game winner came just 53 seconds into the game as Braydon Buckingham found the back of the net for his 9th of the season. Chandler Dennis doubled the lead 7:21 into the period. Christian Kankelfritz scored what would be the final goal of the game late in the middle frame. Nolan Lacosse made 32 stops in the loss for the Steel.
Minnesota 1 @ Mason City 4: A surge of offense in the 3rd period led the Mason City Toros past Minnesota in their first of a two game series. Dylan Duckson scored 12:52 into the opening frame to give the Toros a 1-0 lead that would hold through two periods. Dmitri Kuleshov tied the scores 7:05 into the 3rd period with his 11th tuck of the season. Cal Levis III, Carter Newpower, and Cullen Hogan fired off three consecutive goals all within 5 minutes apart to surge ahead of the Loons. Connor Graham stopped the remaining shots Minnesota sent his way, finishing the night with 19 saves on 20 shots. Matthew Ryynanen kept out 33 for Minnesota.
