Friday Finals: Capitals Open Season with Big Win
by NAHL Writing Team
Norwich knocked off Binghamton in their season opener
New Hampshire 9 @ Northeast 1 - The New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings blanketed the Northeast Generals in an early East Division matchup. The Mountain Kings ran to an early 1-0 lead on a powerplay goal from Xander St. Pierre following a roughing call on the Generals. Another Mountain Kings goal from Nick Cox 11 minutes later would bring the lead to 2-0. Mountain Kings forward Aidan Palmeter would score two more goals in the final 2 minutes of the first period, keeping the pressure on the Generals to make it 4-0 after 20 minutes. The second period was also unrelenting for the Generals, with the lead being elevated to 6-0 off goals from Noah Levesque and Braedan Gagnon. Entering the third period, the Mountain Kings were full steam ahead after a Brendan Folan goal less than a minute into the period. Palmeter would earn himself a hat-trick a few minutes later with his third goal of the night. St. Pierre would put himself on hat-trick watch with his second goal of the night late in the third period, but the ninth goal would end the scoring for the Mountain Kings. The only Generals goal of the night was from Mason Frary, ending the possibility of a Mountain Kings shutout. Palmeter was the highlight of the game, scoring a hat-trick and bringing his point total to six in only three games: five of those goals.
New Mexico 4 @ Louisiana 3 (OT) - The New Mexico Ice Wolves defeated the Louisiana Drillers in an overtime thriller this Saturday. With both teams in their season opener, a physical battle was expected and didn’t disappoint: six penalties in the first period alone. Max Workman in the final 10 seconds of the period scored to give the Drillers a 1-0 lead, assisted by Johnathon Berndt and Brendan Johnson. The Ice Wolves responded quickly in the second period, with Edward Gregorin and Carson Gotelaere each earning a goal in the first six minutes. Workman tied the game a few minutes later with an unassisted goal, scoring the first two goals for the Drillers. The Ice Wolves continued the back-and-forth scoring off a Dantae Hunziker goal. The final goal of the third period came from Drillers forward Brody Neish, making the score 3-3 at the end of the second period. The third period brought zero scores, taking the game into overtime. Overtime would be short lived after a goal three minutes in from Jack Arnold, giving the Ice Wolves their first win of the season.
Norwich 4 @ Binghamton 2 - The Norwich Sea Captains squashed any hope of the Binghamton Buzz continuing their winning streak. Coming into the season opener, the Sea Captains had a tall task against the Buzz, who had won four straight. The Sea Captains struck first in the beginning period, scoring off Connor Gilkeson, assisted by Mason Payne. Two more goals would follow in the second period to give the Sea Captains a 3-0 lead. The first goal came from forward Andrew Hill, and the second from Payne, giving the defenseman his second point of the night. Ethan Miller scored an unassisted goal for the Buzz, bringing the score to 3-1 in the third period. Following a Sea Captains goal from Quinten Olshan, one final Buzz goal would come from Tyler Hamlin, assisted by Miller. Miller’s two points tonight propelled him to 14 points in five games, tied for second best in the NA3HL with his teammate, Jason DiMatteo. Buzz goalie Chase Ebeyer was stout in the loss, stopping 34 of 38 shots.
St. Louis 0 @ Rochester 3 - The Rochester Grizzlies shutout the St. Louis Jr. Blues this evening in a game dominated by the goaltenders. The first period went scoreless despite both teams being on the powerplay once. Noah Gillette would score the first goal of the game off the powerplay, assisted by Sammy Johnson and Ben Parent. The third period was dominated by the Grizzlies offense, scoring two more goals from Isaac Flatley and Andrew Lahaie respectively. Grizzlies goaltender Gabe Otis earned the shutout, stopping all 16 shots that came his way. Jr. Blues goaltender Brooks Barofsky put up a spectacular performance, stopping 56 of 59 shots in the loss, 23 of those coming in the final period.
Minnesota W 2 @ Minnesota M 1 (OT) - The Minnesota Wilderness won a tense overtime thriller against the Minnesota Moose. The first period was dominated by strong defense, with neither team scoring. Rory Kronick would score the only goal of the first two periods, giving the Wilderness a 1-0 lead off of the powerplay. The Moose quickly tied the game in the third period off a Reid Watson goal, but neither team could get any momentum as the game was tied at the end of regulation. Simon Davidson would end the game for the Wild, scoring in overtime. Both teams had strong play between the pipes. Wilderness goaltender Nate Jansen stopped 20 of 28 shots tonight, and Moose goaltender Cooper Langley stopped 39 of 41.
Alexandria 2 @ Mason City 5 - The Alexandria Blizzard failed to freeze the scorching hot Mason City Toros as they took a dominating 3-0 lead in the first period of tonight’s matchup. Josh Giguere began the scoring with a powerplay goal halfway into the first. The next two goals were scored within 40 seconds of each other, from Teis Larsen and Jeff Slivon. The second period remained a back-and-forth affair for the first 10 minutes until Ashton Collings scored the Blizzard’s first goal of the game. The Toros responded right away, with two more goals from Marcus Fritel and Stone Resch a few minutes after, giving the Toros a commanding 5-1 lead entering the third period. Both teams locked down their defense in the third period, but it didn’t stop the Blizzard from getting one more goal from John Dube with 3:10 to go. Toros goalie Jonah Little was the first star of tonight's game, stopping 39 of 41 shots in the winning effort.
Wausau 2 @ Wisconsin 3 - The Cyclones would head to Tomah Ice Center on Friday night to take on the Wisconsin Woodsmen. The opening frame would be dominated by the home team however, with Hugh Deinema scoring, followed by Joshua Kauppinen several minutes later. The Woodsmen would have 18 shots in the first, but all 13 in the second were saved by the Cyclones goaltender, Tanner Bonjernoor. Late in the second, Owen Gohm would cut the Woodsmen lead to 1, which would lead to a John Kriz equalizer for Wausau. Nolan Mix would spoil the comeback, scoring a late goal to propel the Woodsmen to victory. Steven Kelley would save 27 of 29 in the win, and Bonjernoor would have 35 saves in the loss.
Texas R 2 @ Atlanta 6 - An early goal from Ben Reimer would put the Capitals up and they never looked back. Delton Hoffman would then score two goals in the second, having primary assists from Landon Thiessen on each. This would force the Road Runners to yank Jimmy Packee after 20 minutes. Reimer would add another in the second before Texas would get on the board from a goal by Kyle Mackintosh. Gibby Medina would regain the four-goal lead for the Capitals, scoring late in the second. Reimer would complete the hat trick in the third with a powerplay goal. Carson Spear would add a late tally, but Texas would ultimately fall short. Hunter Houle would have 20 saves in relief, while Jackson Black would make 30 saves in the win.
Texas B 3 @ El Paso 1 - The first period would be a physical one, both teams trading several minor penalties. Nikolai Meshkantsov would break this game open, giving Texas the lead after 20. The second period would have no action, leading to Joseph Crowley doubling the Brahmas lead early in the third. A shorthanded goal from Kayden Jones would put the Brahmas up by three, before Jake Bamback would put El Paso on the board in the dying minutes. Luke Romney would pick up the “W” with 28 saves, while Nathan Graybill made 35 saves in the loss.
Great Falls 1 @ Helena 7 - With both teams heading into this game riding win streaks, an early goal from Ty O'Bey would put the Americans on the right track. The Bighorns would have other plans, with two quick goals from Trey Pareja and Finn Theriault. Kaden Rhyder would be pulled from the game, despite making an outstanding 45 saves through two periods. Helena would only keep adding pressure, with Marcus Ray, Cam Young, Jeffrey Hershberger, all finding the twine in the second period. Maddux Hale would add another in the third, not before Theriault would score his second goal while shorthanded. Kale Witt would make 11 saves in the loss, with Tyler Miller cruising to a win with 22 saves.
Sheridan 5 @ Yellowstone 1 - Yellowstone would look for their first win of the season as they hosted the Hawks. Sheridan would strike first, with two goals in under a minute, from Kiefer Dunham and Josh Serino. Jordan Kennedy would give the Quake some life, cutting the lead to one in the final minute of the opening frame. Vlad Zubriichuk scored a late goal in the second period to extend the Hawks' lead to two. Early in the third, Gavin Elliott would extend the lead and Derrek Laite would add another shortly after. Ryan Rainey would make 34 saves on 35 shots, while Nicolas Ulyanov would stand on his head, making 55 saves in the loss.
Badlands 2 @ Gillette 3 - After finding themselves down a pair of goals, the Gillette Wild scored three unanswered to come back and defeat the Badlands Sabres 3-2 Friday night. Ryan Jordan and Keenan Howard started the outing off with a goal each in the first period to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead. Max Arlt netted one halfway through the second to cut the lead in half. From there Michael Mckernan broke the tie in the third, before Dylan Peterson would give the Wild their first lead of the game. In the end, Gillette held on to complete the comeback backed by Tate Cothern and his stellar 41 saves.
Butte 3 @ Bozeman 5 - In an intense matchup at Haynes Pavilion, the Bozeman Icedogs were able to escape with a 5-3 win over the Butte Irish in front of their home crowd. Loghan Weber and his fifth goal of the young season got the Irish on the board first, before Easton Langemo netted one to put them up by two early. Looking to overcome the deficit, Lex Steckelberg cut the lead in half, before Rocco Watson would extend Butte’s lead. Devin Brun was able to beat the clock, scoring with two seconds left in the second to bring Bozeman within one. He then picked up right where he left off, netting one early in the third to tie the game at three apiece. Steckelberg would break the tie, scoring his second of the game and giving Bozeman their first lead. In the end, their efforts proved to pay off as Andrew Kaunas sealed the deal with a late goal to solidify the Icedogs’ 5-3 win. Goaltender Brett DeVincent padded away 45 of 48 shots in the victory.
Tulsa 1 @ Austin 3 - In a relatively low scoring affair, the Austin Ice Bats found themselves on the winning side, 3-1, in a matchup versus the Tulsa Jr. Oilers Friday night. Despite Cooper Smolin netting a goal for Tulsa in the first to give them a 1-0 lead, Austin took over from there. A goal from Frederik Henningsgard tied the game in the second, however the Ice Bats ran away with the win in the final period, thanks to goals from Ashton Morin and Arys Perardi. Despite the loss, Jack Salverson had himself a night in the crease for the Jr. Oilers, stopping 50 of 53 shots.
