Friday Finals: Wilderness Win First Game in Shootout
by NAHL Writing Team
Badlands made an emphatic statement in their opening night win
Minnesota 4 @ Mason City 3 (SO) - In an intense game that went back and forth the majority of the night, the Minnesota Wilderness narrowly defeated the Mason City Toros 4-3. Kellen Kantaris opened the scoring for the Toros to give them an early one goal lead. However, Kaden Rocheleau netted one late to tie the game at the end of the first. Mason City would take the lead again in the second, but Simon Davidson was quick to capitalize for Minnesota, scoring just 22 seconds later. Heading into the third period at two goals apiece, Minnesota would get their first lead of the night, thanks to a goal from Mark DeNoyer. Teis Larsen then leveled the score, as the period would come to a close. Following a scoreless OT, Kaden Postal netted the first and only goal of the shootout, as Minnesota wound up with the victory. Goaltender Pierson Haislet stopped all three Toros’ shots in the shootout to come up clutch and earn the win for the Wilderness.
Wausau 6 @ Peoria 0 - On the road, the Wausau Cyclones' erupted for six goals in their first regular season win, beating the Peoria Mustangs Friday night at the Owens Center.
The Cyclones had the upper hand against the Mustangs all of last season, winning each of their eight meetings. The streak continued thanks to an unrelenting offense, featuring Wausau drilling 17 more shots on goal than Peoria, with each of the six goals coming from a different player. A lot of work for Peoria Goalie Filip Kaczmarczyk's first start in the NA3HL, saving 33 of 39 shots for all three periods. Last year, the Cyclones had the best power play in the league, boasting a formidable conversion rate of 30.89%. The power play, however, wasn't a contributing factor for Peoria, who didn't score a goal in three power plays. Connor Dvorak, the Cyclones' leading scorer last season, continued his offensive contribution for Wausau Friday night, slashing the third goal of the night 16 minutes into the second period. The Mustangs weren't effective on offense, effectively neutralized by the defense of Wausau Goalie Tanner Bonjernoor, saving all 22 shots on goal.
Binghamton 10 @ Maine 2 - Binghamton Buzz forwards Tyler Hamlin and Jason DiMatteo each scored a pair of goals as the Buzz routed the Maine Nordiques 10-2 at the Norway Savings Bank Arena Friday night. The two new franchises in the NA3L squared off on the ice, with the Binghamton Buzz capturing their third regular season win over the debuting Maine Nordiques. The Buzz's offense controlled the contest from start to finish, scoring four goals in the first and third periods, with two coming in the second. The game's score was 1-0, Binghamton leading with 7:35 left in the first period; a minute and a half later, the Buzz were up 4-0. Swarming the Nordiques Goalie, Tyler Siuda, the Buzz attempted 24 shots on goal in the first period, nearly half of their total for the game, 51. After allowing the fourth goal in the first period, Siuda was substituted with Gabe Pomerleau, who allowed the following six Binghamton goals. Maine attempted 30 shots on goal in the game, with a goal coming from Forwards Canon Gough and Carter Walls.
West Bend Power 1 @ Rochester 0 - A Blake Mitchell goal in the second period helped West Bend overpower Rochester 1-0 at the Rochester Recreation Center Friday night. The Rochester Grizzlies and West Bend Power, who both finished second in the West and Central divisions last year, respectively, are now both Central division foes who met for the first time this season Friday night. An even match across the board, the Power had just six more shots on goal than the Grizzlies, outshooting Rochester 29 to 23. Both teams kept their goalies in for the whole contest, Riley Swanson defending the net for the Grizzlies and Ben Glaesman shutting out Rochester for West Bend. The Grizzlies, who had the best penalty kill in the league last season at 91%, continued to showcase that elite defense, stifling the Power's six power plays. Rochester also held the fifth-best power play efficiency at 21.6%, but that wasn't the case this game, with West Bend successfully defending the Grizzlies' seven power plays.
Wisconsin 4 @ St. Louis 3 (OT) - Fans certainly were in for a treat Friday night, as a game between the Wisconsin Woodsmen and St. Louis Jr. Blues came down to the wire. Daniel Svozil opened the scoring early, as his goal at 2:39 in would put the Woodsmen up. Towards the middle fo the period, Lonnie Land evened it up to tie the game at one apiece. Brandon Slasor would net the only goal of the second period for the Woodsmen, to give them a one goal advantage heading into the third. Mitchell Nappier quickly tied it up for St. Louis, before Hugh Deinema put Wisconsin back up. A goal late from Kyle Settles would force overtime. Despite intense saves by both netminders, the Woodsmen would come out on top by a final score of 4-3, thanks to Joshua Kauppinen’s late overtime goal.
Yellowstone 0 @ Badlands 10 - In a high scoring affair for the Badlands Sabres, who did not let off their pace throughout the night, the team wound up defeating the Yellowstone Quake by a whopping score of 10-0. A four goal first period would kick things off for Badlands, as Carter Kilen netted two, while Grady Nygaard and Zach Vockler tacked on one apiece. The Sabres didn’t pump the brakes quite yet as five goals in the second period quickly added to their total. Vockler got the period started with his second of the night, followed by Cole Schneider and Patrick Gosselin each scoring as well. Matthew Cordis recorded two goals as well. Ole Svangstu scored the lone goal of the third period to continue Badlands’ domination and conclude the game. Oger Hunter stood tall in net, stopping all 15 shots faced for the Sabres. 12 different players tallied at least one point for Badlands in their strong showing.
Sheridan 1 @ Gillette 0 - The first period of this game remained scoreless. In the second, Kiefer Dunham got Sheridan the one goal lead with an assist from Daniel Shelden. The third period increased the Sheridan Hawks lead. Elijah Farris scored with help from Dunham and Daniel Shelden. The next goal was from Vincent Leaf on the empty net and was assisted by Zach Longnecker and Josh Serino. John Simon was in net for the Sheridan Hawks, he made 45 saves total making it a shutout. Tate Cothern was in net for the Gillette Wild, he made 41 saves.
Helena 10 @ Butte 2 - Finn Theriault got the first period started for the Helena Bighorns with an unassisted goal. Kolin Krizan of the Bighorns had two goals in the second which were both assisted by Chase Berg. During the second period, Helena’s Garrett Lindsay scored with assists from Owen Gruener and Kolin Krizan. Toby Kerr scored the first goal of the game for the Irish. He had help from Andrew Browe and Weston Villers. Garrett Lindsay got his second goal of the period with assists from Krizan and Berg. Trey Pareja continued the Bighorns point streak with an assist from Kelton Chadwick. The goal from Theriault assisted by Kelton Chadwick would make the game 7-1. In the third, Pareja increased the lead with an assist from Cam Young. Brennan Morgan of the Irish made the score 8-2 with an assist from Andrew Browe. Gruener increased the Bighorns lead with assists from Berg and Maddux Hale. Peraja got the hat trick for Helena with assists from Berg and Brandon Mcilhany. Logan Hunter was in net for the Irish making 49 saves. Malik Johnson was in net for the Bighorns making 10 saves. Jeremy Carpenter was then put in net making 10 saves letting the puck slip past twice.
Great Falls 5 @ Bozeman 2 - The first period of the game got started with a goal from Great Falls Americans Aiden Kennedy with assists from Caleb Gamboa and Kennedy Easton. Seth Hanson tied up the game for the Icedogs with an unassisted goal. Ty O’Bey snuck one in at the end of the first for the Americans. The goal was assisted by Garren Narvaez and Kennedy Easton. The second period started with a goal for the Americans from Kennedy Easton assisted by Mercer Twomey and Mason Kerr. The other goal scored in the second was by Twomey assisted by Kerr. During the third, Lex Steckelberg scored an unassisted goal for the Icedogs. O’Bey scored another goal for the Americans with an assist from Masen Kerr. Kaden Rhyder made 29 saves for the Great Falls Americans. Brett DeVincent made 28 saves for the Bozeman Icedogs.
