Saturday Scores: Krch's big night leads Chicago over St. Louis
St. Louis Jr. Blues 2 @ Chicago Jr. Bulldogs 4: Chicago goaltender Michael Krch turned in the goaltending game of the season as he stopped a league high 67 shots to turn away the visiting Jr. Blues and earn the 4-2 victory. Krch, a native of Justice, Illinois, was perfect through two periods stopping all 41 shots that came his way but saved his best performance for the final frame. The Jr. Blues came pressing throwing 28 shots on him attempting to battle their way back into the game but it was Krch who prevailed yielding two goals but stopping 26 to end the night. Krch received offense almost immediately to start the game as Vince Bartkowiak took a pass from Tyler Dalton and buried his 5th goal of the season a mere 1:20 into the first period. Dalton, who had three points on the night, picked up a crucial power play goal to end the second period hitting the twine with 15 seconds remaining to give the Jr. Bulldogs a three-goal cushion to start the 3rd. Two third period St. Louis goals from Tommy Heinzman and Kyle Meeh had the Chicago crowd hushed as they pulled within one but it was Dalton again with the clutch goal beating goaltender Billy Hindle with under five minutes left in the game to solidify the victory. Boxscore
Toledo Cherokee 3 @ Michigan Mountain Cats 2 (SO): The Michigan Mountain Cats got the tying goal from John Arms with four seconds left in the 3rd period but the shoot out goal from Brody Duncan sealed it as the Toledo Cherokee came out on top 3-2. The first two periods finished with the teams tied at 1 with Toledo converting in the 1st period and Michigan in the 2nd. David Bogart scored on the power play to give Toledo the lead until Arms converted to bring the game to overtime. Guy Soulliere scored to open the shootout and it came down to the final two Toledo shooters as Dominic Antonelli and then Duncan finished it to give Toledo the win. Boxscore
Metro Jets 2 @ Cincinnati Swords 6: Nikita Korotkov and Nick Haase both turned in four point performances and the Cincinnati Swords put on a show for their home crowd beating the Metro Jets 6-2. Cincinnati goaltender Alec Rounds broke a four game losing streak stopping 31 shots to pick up the victory. It was Korotkov who picked up the first tally of the game to pick up his 7th goal of the season, good enough to be tied for second in goals for the Swords and Haase struck for his first of two as the Swords took an early two goal lead. The Metro Jets rallied back to tie the game picking up goals from Alex Holm and Matt Dempsey, which gave Dempsey his first power play goal of the season. The rest of the game was all Swords as Devin Fracassi gave the Swords the lead back and a three goal final period all but sealed the victory. Boxscore
Wisconsin Whalers 4 @ Peoria Mustangs 5: Both teams waited till the last frame for the majority of the scoring but it was the Peoria Mustangs who got the last laugh and the 5-4 victory over the Wisconsin Whalers. The first period was quiet as goaltenders Marc Hayton and David Volkmann stopped everything they faced with Hayton facing his busiest period stopping 10 Wisconsin shots. It wasn’t till the teams got the man advantage they would convert with Peoria getting a PP goal from Brennan Anderson and Wisconsin returning the favor with a goal from Brett Gates. The final frame told the story as the teams combined for 7 goals but it was Gage VanOrder who put home a very important empty net goal away that turned out to be the game winner. Boxscore
Pittsburgh Vengeance 7 @ Battle Creek Jr. Revolution 0: The Battle Creek Jr. Revolution continue their early season struggles as Joseph Randazzo led the Pittsburgh Vengeance to a 7-0 victory over the home team Revolution. Randazzo, who is tied with Lukas Friberger as the Vengeance top point getter, picked up two goals and added an assist during the game. He and Friberger were especially dangerous as they both picked up all three of their points while on the power play. The Revolution had trouble brewing up some offense and goaltender Tyler Babinski turned in a 26 save performance in defeat. Vengeance goaltender Tyler Geloneck stopped 12 shots for his 2nd shutout of the season; his first was against Battle Creek early in October by the same score of 7-0. Boxscore
Topeka Capitals 3 @ Dallas Jr. Stars 1: Topeka goaltender Jude Hull turned away 30 Dallas Jr. Stars attempts as he backstopped the Capitals to a 3-1 win on the road. Hull, who picked up his fourth win of the season on Saturday, was best in the final frame. Despite letting up a goal from the Jr. Stars forward Maxim Ledyankin, Hull turned away 18 Jr. Stars shots in the final frame. Forward Yu Hikosaka picked up a goal and an assist in the game to lead the Topeka offense. Hikosaka, a native of Tokyo, Japan, now has a point in every game this season so far for the Capitals bringing his season point total to 15. Boxscore
Breezy Point North Stars 2 @ North Iowa Bulls 11: The North Iowa Bulls used a big night from their top three point leaders to take down the visiting Breezy Point North Stars 11-2 in front of a home crowd of 1,700 North Iowa faithful. The combination of Timothy Santopoalo, Matt Kroska and Richie Marenis teamed up for 14 points and are all of to prolific scoring totals to start the season. The charge is led by Santopoalo, who is now tied for the NA3HL lead in points despite playing six less games then the player he is currently tied with. The Breezy Point North Stars were over powered in the first period but managed to pick up a tally from Joe Laskero in between the four North Iowa first period goals. North Iowa forward Matt Kroska had his best goal scoring game of the season so far picking up the hat trick in the win. Boxscore
Flint Junior Generals 3 @ Cleveland Jr. Lumberjacks 2: Jacob Drinkard picked a good time to pick up his 2nd goal of the night when he beat Cleveland goaltender Joseph Moza with 25 seconds left to lift the Junior Generals to their 16th straight victory. Drinkard, along with teammate Mark McGee, was involved in all the Junior Generals markers on the night. Flint goaltender Anders Franke increased his record to 10-1-0 on the season making 20 saves. Cleveland goaltender Joseph Moza turned in another impressive night in defeat stopping 38 shots his fourth straight game of turning away 30 or more shots. Boxscore
