Friday Finals: Peoria Blanks Rochester

Binghamton 4 @ New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings 1 - Binghamton’s three unanswered goals powered them over New Hampshire. The Buzz opened the scoring just over five minutes into the game. Tyler Hamlin potted his ninth of the season to break the ice. The lead did not stand long, though. Zach Sonia found the back of the net just 18 seconds later to level the game at one. Binghamton entered the first intermission with a 2-1 lead thanks to Hamlin’s 10^th goal of the season and second of the game. Goaltenders Dalton Elliott and Charlie Donoghue reigned in the scoring in the final two frames. The Buzz’s Jason DiMatteo scored his 18^th of the year in the middle portion of the second period before Hamlin completed his hat trick with a power play tally in the third to bring the score to its 4-1 final. Elliott stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Binghamton victory while Donoghue made 40 saves in a losing effort. The Buzz remain in second place in the East Division with 30 points. Binghamton sits two points behind the leading Sea Captains and one point ahead of Northeast. New Hampshire slots in fourth in the East at 25 points. Four points separate the Mountain Kings from third and fifth respectively.

Tulsa 1 @ Louisiana 6 - Louisiana netted six goals, continuing their NA3HL dominance. The Drillers came out of the gates firing on the power play with Roman Vitolo scoring his fourth of the year just 4:44 into the contest. Louisiana’s offensive onslaught continued as Brody Neish took the solo team-lead in goals with five seconds to play in the opening frame. The goal was Neish’s 16^th. Not to be outdone, Brendan Johnson re-tied Neish atop the Driller goal-scoring list, potting his 16^th in the second period. Jackson Lord and Cole Stranathan also added goals to give Louisiana a 5-0 lead after 40 minutes. Tulsa finally slipped a puck passed Finn Willson early in the third for his sixth of the campaign and team’s only goal of the game. Issac Erickson ended the 54-shot barrage with his fourth goal of 2024 to push the final to a 6-1 Driller victory. Louisiana improves to 21-0-2-1 on the year and sits seven points clear of second place Texas. Tulsa currently resides in the basement of the South Division with five points.

Rochester 0 @ Peoria 2 - Albert Ancinec pitched a shutout to give Peoria their second victory of the season. The Mustangs struck almost immediately in what would end up as the game-winning goal. Colten Cox scored his team-best 14^th goal of the season only 87 seconds into the game to put Peoria up 1-0. The only other goal of the game came late in the second period off the stick of Jordan Mini. It was his fifth of the year. Ancinec stopped every single one of the 56 Rochester shots he faced in the victory. Grizzly goaltender Riley Swanson made 10 saves in his 12 opportunities in the loss. The win pushes Peoria to four points on the year while Rochester remains in third place in the Central Division with 26 points.

Wisconsin 0 @ Minnesota M 3 - Minnesota shut out Wisconsin in an intra-divisional tilt. Goaltenders Lleyton Jaschke and Dylan Posch kept the game scoreless through the first frame before the Moose finally broke the ice. Bryce Laager lit the lap for the third time this season to give Minnesota the lead just over six minutes into the middle frame. The Mosse struck again just over two minutes later as Kaden Milles scoring his seventh of the year. Minnesota led 2-0 after two periods. Luke Steffen finished the scoring midway through the third period with his fourth of the year to give his side the 3-0 win. Posch stopped all 46 shots he saw in the shutout victory while Jaschke was replaced by Steven Kelley for the final two frames. Kelley suffered the loss but still stopped 26 of 29 shots he faced. Minnesota boosts itself to 18 points but remains in last place in the West Division. Wisconsin stays in fourth place with 25 points in the Central.

Granite City 4 @ Minnesota W 5 - Minnesota started hot and staved off a late comeback effort to defeat Granite City 5-4. The Wilderness came out on fire tallying a pair of goals in the first 3:09 of the game. Tyler Webb tied the team lead with his 11^th goal of the year to open the scoring before Broden Fawcett’s first put Minnesota up a pair. The Lumberjacks responded just over three minutes later as their leading goal scorer, Ty Smith, netted his 10^th of the year. The scoring settled until the final four minutes of the opening frame. Jake Hood-Chlebeck found twine on the power play for the Wilderness before Caleb Alderson responded with his ninth of the campaign in the final minute. The eventful first period ended with Minnesota leading 3-2. The Wilderness opened the middle frame like the first. Tyler Starich pushed the team’s lead back to two just 2:25 into the period. Minnesota again extended their lead later in the second. Jordan Fanti was the culprit this time and the Wilderness led 5-2 after a pair. Granite City made a strong attempt at the three-goal comeback but fell just short in the end. Thomas Gerum’s ninth and Smith’s 11^th of the year pushed the game to its 5-4 final. It was Smith’s second goal of the game as well. Jay Svaren made 34 saves in the Minnesota win. Trent Peterson stopped 25 of 28 shots in early relief of Tyler White for the Lumberjacks. Minnesota keeps pace with the teams directly around them, remaining in third place in the West Division with 25 points. Granite City stays atop the West despite the loss. The Lumberjacks have 36 points and are five clear of second-place Alexandria.

El Paso 0 @ Texas B 5 - Texas shut out El Paso in a dominant, 5-0 win. The Brahmas opened the scoring a meager 40 seconds into the game. Jack Malzone’s fifth would be all Texas would need to win the game. However, the Brahmas added on as the night progressed. Carter Kotrab scored his ninth goal on the power play before Zane Mazzola tacked on his second of the season. Texas led 3-0 after a period. The score stayed the same through the middle frame before Texas struck for two more insurance markers in the third. Jayani Benson and Breck Buettner polished off the scoring in the first half of the final period. Brahma goaltender Luke Romney stopped all 22 shots he faced in the victory while Rhino goalie Brayden Macko made 41 saves in the loss. Texas’ win gives the team 38 points on the year and keeps pace with the South Division leading Louisiana Drillers. The Brahmas are seven points behind the Drillers. El Paso continues to rank sixth in the South with 20 points.

West Bend 1 @ Alexandria 4 - Alexandria defeated West Bend in a battle of second place teams. The Blizzard jumped ahead 8:29 into the first period and never looked back. Eli Fletcher snagged his team-high 14^th goal of the year to open the scoring. It was again Alexandria striking in the second period. This time it was Markus Olson on the power play with his 10^th of the campaign. The Blizzard continued to pour it on in the third. Caleb Waller found his 10^th goal as well under two minutes into the third before Olson grabbed his 11^th of the year and second of the game into the empty net. West Bend broke the shutout bid with only eight seconds to play. Danny Jurcich scored the goal, his second of the season. Kyle Abrahamson lost the shutout late but still stopped 41 shots. Connor Dyole stopped 26 of 29 shots he faced for the Power. West Bend continues to trail Wausau by one point for the top spot in the Central Division. Alexandria sits second in the South Division with 31 points, five points behind Granite City and six ahead of Minnesota.

Mason City 5 @ Willmar 1 - A hat trick from Marcus Fritel gave the Mason City Toros the Friday win over the Willmar WarHawks. The scoring opened early with Grant Harder, picking up his second goal of the season, and his first since September 14. Fritel scored his first of the night less than two minutes later, propelling the Toros to a 2-0 lead after the first period. Five minutes into the second period saw the lead doubled for the Toros from back-to-back goals by Fritel, picking up the hat trick before half of regulation was even played. Mason Wanka would score the only WarHawks goal early in the third period, with Nolan Smith capping the game off with his fourth goal of the season, giving the Toros the first win in the weekend series.

Texas R @ New Mexico 2 (OT) - An overtime thriller on Friday night saw the Texas RoadRunners hit the game winner against the New Mexico Ice Wolves. Issa Murakami scored the only goal of the first period. He’s been on a heater, with five goals in the last three games. Connor Hanley would follow late in the second period for his first of the season to make the Ice Wolves’ lead 2-0, but the RoadRunners cut the lead with Kyle Mackintosh scoring his fourteenth goal. The tying goal from Tyson Ward-Dicks in the third period sent the game into overtime, and Charles Blake off assists from Brayden Bibby and Mackintosh gave the RoadRunners the comeback victory.

Austin 5 @ Atlanta 3 - A late push from the Atlanta Capitals was no match for the Austin Ice Bats, who took the first game in the series. Arys Perardi with his sixteenth goal of the season drew first blood for the Ice Bats, but the Capitals responded with a goal from Karlis Vancans. Their effort still ended with them being down after 20 minutes, a Mikhail Levaniuk goal late in the period giving the Ice Bats the lead. That lead was further extended from Frederik Henningsgard with the only goal in the second period for the Ice Bats. The third period saw the Capitals and Ice Bats trade goals. Aldiyar Irik cut the Ice Bats’ lead down to one early in the period, but Perardi two minutes later brought the lead back to two goals. Once again, Brett Phillips cut the lead back down to one, but any hope for overtime was dashed with Guhnar Hillman scoring the Ice Bats’ fifth goal.

Butte 1 @ Helena 5 - The Helena Bighorns took the Friday victory against the Butte Irish on a second period onslaught, scoring four goals. Jason Hammett opened the scoring in the first period, but the second period was dominated early in the second period. Austin Uecker scored his sixteenth goal within the first sixty seconds of the period, followed soon after by Jeffrey Hershberger. Two more of the leading scorers for the Bighorns joined the scoring with their own goals, Trey Pareja and Kade Pareja notching their thirteenth and fourteenth goals, respectively. Brennan Morgan took the final goal of the game in the final minute of the period to end the hopes of a Bighorns shutout.

Badlands 3 @ Gillette 4 (OT) - The Gillette Wild took the overtime victory over the Badlands Sabres in a shootout. An early score from Hudson Fisher was the only goal after one period, giving the Wild the early lead. It took forty five seconds in the second period for the game to be tied, Zach Vockler scoring his twenty first goal of the season. A response goal from Riley Schmidt gave the Wild the lead to end the period. Going into the third period down a goal, the Sabres responded with an early goal from Jaden Flor and a late goal in the period from Rhylan Olson. Their hopes of a regulation win were cut by an unassisted goal from Max Arlt with only twelve seconds left in play, sending the game into overtime where he would find the back of the net for the game winning goal. Sabres goaltender Lochlin Jackson stopped 39 of 43 shots in the loss, and Wild goaltender Austin Trieber stopped 42 of 45 shots in the victory.

Great Falls 3 @ Bozeman 4 - Three unanswered goals weren’t enough for the Great Falls Americans to comeback against the Bozeman Ice Dogs. The Ice Dogs scored two goals each in the first two periods to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. Lex Steckelberg and Devin Bruns in the first period, Andrew Kaunas and Dan Upton in the second. Ramping up the intensity, the Americans scored three goals from Aiden Kennedy, and two from Ty O’Bey, but a tightened defense from the Ice Dogs secured them the victory. Ice Dogs goaltender Jack Ryan played great in the victory, stopping 42 of 45 shots, all three goals allowed in the third period.

Yellowstone 0 @ Sheridan 10 - The Sheridan Hawks took the first game of the series against the Yellowstone Quake with a shutout. Leading scorer Josh Serino scored in the first minute, followed by Anthony DiCola for his first of the season. Ernest Allen and Kiefer Dunham would end the period for the Hawks with a 4-0 lead. The second period saw that lead extended quickly, three goals in ten minutes from Gavin Elliott, Serino for his second, and Vlad Zubriichuk. Serino secured his hat trick with the Hawk’s eighth goal soon after. Dunham and DiCola each scored their second goal of the game in the third period, capping off a ten goal night for the Hawks. Serino and Elijah White each led the Hawks in scoring with four points, the former now the second leading scorer in the NA3HL. Hawks goaltender Ryan Rainey blocked all 30 shots faced in the shutout.

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