Friday Finals: Norwich stays hot in the East
Jack Herron led the RoadRunners to their 6th straight win and widened their lead atop the South with a 5-2 win in Louisiana on Friday.
Bay State 1 @ Norwich 2: Angelo Donzella’s goal 15:44 into the final frame proved to be the decisive goal in the Sea Captain’s 2-1 victory over Bay State. Jack Kinahan opened up the scoring with just 5 seconds remaining in the opening period. Bay State’s Nate Mastrony evened the scores with a powerplay goal 7:41 into the 2nd period. In the 3rd, Donzella put home the eventual game winner while Andrew Yocum remained Norwich’s backstop. Yocum kept out 12 of 13 shots in the win while Jacob King kept out 54 of 56 for the Bobcats.
TX RoadRunners 5 @ Louisiana 2: The RoadRunners picked up their 6th consecutive win after taking down the Drillers 5-2. Louisiana’s Jack Lambert broke the deadlock with a goal but Texas’ Matbey Ivanov and Gabe Stoner answered for the RoadRunners and gave them a 2-1 lead through 20 minutes. Jack Herron scored the lone goal in the middle frame to extend the lead. Tyler Walker cut the deficit with a score for Louisiana but Herron and Tyler Love answered with insurance goals for Texas. Hunter Hein came away with the victory, making 34 saves in the win for the RoadRunners. John Moriarty kept out 24 shots faced in the loss.
New Jersey 2 @ Danbury 1: Sam Levin’s goal 10:29 into the final frame proved to be the decisive one in the Titans’ 2-1 victory over Danbury. Danbury’s Roman Winicki broke the deadlock with a goal 13:38 into the 1st period. George Hinds leveled the scores with a goal 19:36 into the middle frame. Jake Agoglia picked up the win making 27 saves on 28 shots. Gennaro Demaio made 30 saves on 32 shots for the Jr. Hat Tricks.
El Paso 3 @ New Mexico 2 (OT): Carson Doyle found the back of the net 4:13 into the extra period to give the Rhinos an overtime win over New Mexico on the road. Noah Easterson scored the lone goal in the 1st period to give the Rhinos a lead through 20 minutes. El Paso’s Theo Jakobsson and New Mexico’s Bode Ensign brought the score to 2-1 through 40 minutes with goals. In the final frame, Fletcher Burnett found his 4th goal of the season to tie the gama and send it to an eventual overtime. Christopher Burns picked up the victory making 37 saves on 39 shots. Pierson Haislet made 26 stops for the Ice Wolves. In the loss.
Mid Cities 1 @ Atlanta 6: The Capitals dominated the Jr. Stars, holding them to 15 shots and one goal in their 6-1 win Friday night. The two clubs were tied after one period as Joe McLaughlin buried for the Capitals and Dakota Brandom tickled twine for the Jr. Stars. The Capitals’ offense caught fire in the middle frame as Austin Micale, Anthony O’Neal, and Landon Welch combined for four 2nd period goals. In the 3rd, Nick Mumford provided more insurance with a goa. Aleks Sumoski picked up the win making 14 saves on 15 shots faced. Cole Eckert kept out an impressive 61 shots in the loss.
Wausau 0 @ Alexandria 4: The Blizzard shutout Wausau 4-0 after a dominant goaltending performance from Alex Lamont. Ryan Hadland potted a pair of goals in the 1st period to get Alexandria’s offense rolling early. Joe Gronholz extended the lead with a score in the middle frame. Sean Kenny buried the final tally of the contest to make it 4-0 in the 3rd and seal the victory. Alex Lamont was perfect in between the pipes for the Blizzard, stopping all 18 shots faced in the shutout. Mitch Miskevich kept out 36 of 40 in the loss.
Willmar 6 @ Oregon 5 (OT): The Willmar WarHawks defeated the Oregon Tradesmen in a shootout, 6-5. In the opening period, the WarHawks added 3 unanswered goals with Luke McCarthy (3:02), Micheal Sweetland (10:46) and Sam Holm (12:48). Oregon answered back late in the opening period, with Ben Parent (15:04) and Will Falconer (15:34) for a 3-2 score. In the second period it was all Tradesmen as they added a shorthanded goal with Bryce Stensrud (5:03), Nathan Walker (7:33) and then Max Rotsaert (15:45) on the power-play for a 5-3 lead. In the third period, the WarHawks evened the game with Sam Holm (1:25) and Luc Corbin (6:39) to force overtime. In the extra frame, Connor Garcia (0:58) scored to take the win for the WarHawks. Micheal D’Orazio picked up the win in net after stopping 45 shots.
Rochester 7 @ Milwaukee 4: The Rochester Grizzlies took down the Milwaukee Power in a 7-4 final score after a strong third period push. Patrick Toomey (3:16) got the Power ahead 1-0 in the first period. Austin evened the game with a goal from Austin Meers (9:15). Milwaukee added back-to-back goals to take a 3-1 lead with Bryce Garber (14:30) and Patrick Toomey (17:04) on the power-play. In the middle period, Lycoln Bielenberg-Howarth (19:58) scored with seconds remaining for a 3-2 score. The Grizzlies got right back to work in the third period adding two goals in a row with Erik Hernborn (1:04) and Spencer Klotz (3:08) to take the lead, 4-3. Milwaukee tied the game 4-4 with Max Erstad (4:25). The Grizzlies battled to finish out the third period with 3 more unanswered goals with Per Waage (8:00), Zachary Laurila (14:48) and Maksim Lakic (16:03) for a 7-4 final. Lucas Henderson earned the win in net stopping 18 shots.
Yellowstone 3 @ Gillette 4 (OT): The Gillette Wild topped the Yellowstone Quake overtime, 4-3. Gillete got on the scoresheet in the first period with Avery McMahon (6:54). Yellowstone answered back with two unanswered goals with Nick Cofer (17:44) and Donovan Knuckles (19:48) to take the lead, 2-1. In the second period, Gillette evened the game 2-2 with Sky Solig (4:58). Later in the period, Zac Orwig (13:33) took back the lead for the Quake, 3-2. Gillette evened the game in the third period with Anthony Foster (6:00). In the overtime period, Sky Solig (3:27) scored to give the Wild the win 4-3 with his second goal of the game. Cole Wheaton got the win in net stopping 30 shots.
Great Falls 4 @ Sheridan 5 (OT): Overtime was the deciding factor as the Sheridan Hawks won 5-4 against the Great Falls Americans. Sheridan took a 3-0 lead in the first period as Danny Sherlden (7:05) scored on the power-play, Jackson LeBrasseur (7:16) and Dalton Thomas (15:35) all found the back of the net. In the second period, Great Falls scored back-to-back with Jace Thompson (7:31) and Wes Weisenburger (9:12) for a 3-2 score. In the third period, Tyler Sunagel (3:25) evened the game 3-3 for the Americans. Sheridan got ahead again with a goal from Josh Humphreys (7:58), 4-3. Nearing the end of regulation, Tyler Sunagel (12:52) tied the game with his second of the night, 4-4. Quickly into the extra frame, Wyatt Noble (0:38) scored to take the win for the Hawks, 5-4.
Badlands 4 @ Bozeman 3: The Badlands Sabres edged past the Bozeman Icedogs, 4-3. In the opening period Brady Ridnour (2:38) got the Sabres ahead 1-0. Soon after, the Icedogs evened the game with a goal from Kole Morris (3:32). In the second period, the Sabres scored back-to-back goals with Carter Johnson (7:58) and Zach Vockler (8:16) for a 3-1 lead. Bozeman answered back quickly to even the game 3-3 with Cole Busher (12:17) and Nate Brunelle (14:59). In the third period, Logan Powers (6:43) scored what would be the game winning goal. Oger Hunter was great in net stopping 35 shots in the win.
Helena 4 @ Butte 3: The Helena Bighorns took a 4-3 win against the Butte Cobras. Butte scored the lone goal of the first period with Cade Wessman (7:35) for a 1-0 lead. In the second period, Harlan Wojtusik (5:01) evened the game 1-1. In the third period, Butte took a 2-1 lead with Tamer Billman (1:28) scoring. Helena scored 3 unanswered goals with Derek Rassell (13:00), Zach Turner (18:15) and Andrew Deskin (18:24) to take a 4-2 lead. Nearing the end of the period, Caelin Chinery (19:08) scored for the Cobras. Marek Andres got the win in net after stopping 40 shots.
