Friday Finals: Bighorns shutout Wild in clash of Frontier leaders
Oregon forward Bryce Stensrud scored a career-high four goals in a win on Friday.
Gillette 0 @ Helena 4: The Helena Bighorns blanked the Gillette Wild in a 4-0 final. Camden Cunningham scored the only goal of the fist for a 1-0 Helena lead. The game did not see a goal in the second period, so in the third Harlan Wojusik, Joe Feamseter and Andrew Deskin scored for a 4-0 win. Jesse Schindel took the shutout win after stopping 29 shots.
St. Louis 0 @ Oregon 13: The Tradesmen made a statement in their first home game since the showcase, dominating and shutting out the Jr. Blues 13-0. Fifteen different Oregon skaters found the points sheet, led by Carter Watters who scored a hat trick and seven points in the game. Bryce Stensrud scored four times and recorded six points in the win. Cooper Routheau, Troy Tollefson, Sam Knight, Dayne Deanovich, Easton Simpson, and Connor Byrne all had multiple points as well. Connor Carroll was perfect in net for Oregon, stopping all 29 shots faced. Ian Zeumer and Jordan Behnen combined for 62 saves in the loss.
Long Beach 4 @ Norwich 0: The Sharks started their weekend off on the right foot, shutting out Norwich 4-0 thanks to a 56 save shutout from Ryo Murakami. The game remained scoreless until 6:40 into the 2nd period when Jack Fitzpatrick found the back of the net. Zac Kretzschmer increased the lead to two with his 11th of the season 13:13 into the period. Kretzschmer buried his 2nd of the game 3:40 into the final frame and Christopher Keller added more insurance with a score at the 9:17 mark. In the other crease, Andrew Yocum was dealt the loss making 20 saves.
Austin 1 @ El Paso 2: A late score in the 3rd period from Zachary Ware fueled El Paso past the Ice Bats in comeback fashion. Tyler Moore got the visitors on the board first with his 1st goal of the season 9:25 into the opening period. After a scoreless 2nd period, Liam Sbrocca evened the score line with an unassisted tally for his 5th of the season. Ware scored shortly after to give the lead to the Rhinos, a lead they would hold onto until the final buzzer. Phillip O’Neill picked up the win making 11 saves. Bryson Frazee kept the Ice Bats in the game, keeping out 42 shots in the loss.
Wausau 4 @ Peoria 3 (OT): Chase Heckerson buried the game winner 1:12 into overtime to lift the Cyclones past Peoria on the road. Gabe Randel gave the visitors the first lead with his 8th of the season 3:02 into the contest. Peoria then fired off three consecutive goals before intermission, coming twice from Ethan Chesney and once from Tristan Trudel. That 3-1 score would hold true until Cael Bolton found twine with 2:56 remaining and Isaac Baker tied it with 43 seconds remaining. Mitch Miskevich kept out 29 of 32 in the victory while Cam Pendleton kept out 34 for the Mustangs.
Mason City 3 @ Rochester 2 (SO): Cullen Hogan and Jordan Newpower both capitalized on their shootout attempts to provide the Toros with a hard-fought win over the Grizzlies Friday night. Both squads got off to a hot start, trading pairs of goals to leave a 2-2 score after 20 minutes. Per Waage and Dawson McLaughlin scored for Rochester while Carter and Jordan Newpower provided Mason City with goals. After a scoreless remaining 45 minutes of play, Newpower, Hogan, and netminder Connor Graham helped their squad pick up the extra point in the shootout. Graham finished the night stopping 26 shots and both shootout attempts. Chris Brown kept out 10 shots in the loss.
Granite City 3 @ Willmar 1: In what turned out to be a goaltending battle, Ryan Lehet came out on top as he stopped 33 of 34 for Granite City in their 3-1 win over the WarHawks. Blaise Schutt gave Willmar the first lead of the contest 12:16 into the opening frame. Ashton Erickson tied it up 5:27 into the 2nd period and Hayden Johnson lit the lamp to give Granite City a lead later in the period. Luke Delzer found the back of the net late in the 3rd period on the powerplay to seal it. Michael D’Orazio gave a valiant effort in net for Willmar, stopping 41 shots of 44 faced.
Alexandria 4 @ New Ulm 5: A pair of 3rd period goals from Nicholas O’Brien and Harrison Albrecht gave New Ulm the edge in their back-and-forth matchup against the Blizzard. The Steel jumped out to a three-goal lead quickly as Blake Biermaier scored twice and Griffin Lennes tickled twine before 8 minutes into the game. Gavin Carlson kept Alexandria within reach after scoring before the 1st intermission. Alexandria found their stride in the 2nd period as Jayden Luck, Sean Kenny, and Matt McIntyre all scored goals to give the Blizzard a 4-3 lead heading into the final frame. Nolan Lacosse kept out an astounding 50 shots in the victory while Kyle Abrahamson and Alex Lamont combined for 19 saves for Alexandria.
Atlanta 3 @ TX Brahmas 5: The Texas Brahmas defeated the Atlanta Capitals in a 5-3 final after a strong second period. The Capitals got ahead 2-0 after Anthony O’Neal and Harrison Flaacke scored. The Brahmas answered back late in the period with a goal from Ryan Spreyne to end the period with a 2-1 score. In the second period the Brahams added three goals with Aaron Best, George Keeley, Trent Barker to take a 4-2 lead. In the third Atlanta opened up with a goal from Marcus Glenn to make the score 4-3. Chase Forry added a late goal for Texas for a final score of 5-3. Brendan Forden got the win in net after stopping 29 of the 32 shots he faced.
Milwaukee 5 @ Minnesota 1: The Milwaukee Power dominated the Minnesota Loons in a 5-1 final score. After a scoreless first period the Power added three unanswered goals with Blake Keller, Max Mudge and Micheal Dalaly for a 3-0 score. In the third Bryce Garber added to the power lead for a 4-0 score. The Loons answered back with Jack Hanson scoring late in the period for a 4-1 score. On the power-play and with an empty net, Tyer Kowalchuck scored for a final score of 5-1 for the Power as they took the win. Adam Prokop took the win in net stopping 30 of the shots he faced.
Mid Cities 1 @ TX RoadRunners 8: The Texas RoadRunners turned away the Mid Cities Jr. Stars with a 8-1 score. In the first period, the RoadRunners added three unanswered goals with Jake Sherry, Kyle Portlock and Eitan Geralnik for a 3-0 score. The Stars added a late goal with Keegan Mcartur to end the period, 3-1. The RoadRunners finished off the game adding three goals in the second period with Eitan Geralnik, Jake Sherry, and Jt Brugaletta scoring and then in the third period with Gerlanik netting a hat-trick goal and Tyler Singpadith scoring for a final of 8-1. Alex Opalacz took the win in net, stopping 23 Stars shots.
Yellowstone 5 @ Sheridan 4: The Yellowstone Quake and Sheridan Hawks decided the winner in overtime, as the Quake edged past the Hawks 5-4. In the first period, Sheridan took a 2-0 lead as Nahtan Awoyemi and Danny Shelden scored. Late in the period, Blake Mitchell scored for the Quake making the score 2-1. In the second, Nathan Awoyemi netted his second to add to the Hawks lead, 3-1. Brayson Bennett scored to get the Quake back on the board, 3-2. In the third Ryan Hiles got things going early for the Quake to get the game tied up, 3-3. The Hawks answered back with a goal from Tie Schumacher for a 4-3 Hawks lead. Late in the period, Yellowstone evened the game to force overtime with a goal from Nick Cofer, 4-4. In the OT period, Cofer had the hot stick again as he scored to take the win for the Hawks, 5-4.
Great Falls 1 @ Butte 2: The Butte Cobras edged the Great Falls Americans in a 2-1 contest. After a silent first period, the Cobras added two goals in the second with Nick Bradshaw scoring twice. In the third Silas Hughes scored for the Americans for a 2-1 final. Goaltender Caleb Cross took the win in net as he turned away 48 shots.
