Sunday Wrap Up: Sharks Double Up Nordiques
by Justice Covert & Drew Langevin
New Jersey 3 @ Northeast 6 - The Generals were firing on all cylinders in the opening frame, causing the Titans’ netminder to be yanked. A powerplay goal by Liam Schaentzler would start the floodgates, and Michael McLaughlin would follow up shortly after. Charlie Burchfield would add another, and McLaughlin scored another powerplay goal to put the Generals up by four. Nikita Suvorov would put the Titans on the board early in the second and this would be the only scoring of the period. Burchfield would regain the four-goal lead early in the third, but powerplay goals from Juno Ryu and Mateo Ruffolo would shrink the lead to two. Kien Stafford would score late to put the game out of reach, Roman Belli would make 24 saves in the win.
Austin 6 @ Atlanta 0 - Austin would enter Sunday’s matchup looking to complete the three-game weekend sweep. It wouldn’t be until the end of the first that Gunnar Hillman would find the back of the net on the powerplay. Mikhail Levaniuk would score a minute into the second period to double the Ice Bats lead, the only scoring of the second. The third period would have a plethora of scoring, but only for Austin. Aiden Deluna would light the lamp twice, and Sol Levy and Hilman would both pot goals to add to the lead. Gorial Yaro would get the shutout victory, while Jackson Black would put up 42 saves in the loss.
Willmar 2 @ Mason City 1 - The games started with an early goal from Nolan Smith, putting the Toros up early. Later on in the first, Nathan Hinze would score to level this game at one after 20 minutes. Midway through the second, Gabriel Adams would strike on the powerplay to give the WarHawks their first lead of the night. From then on, it was a goaltending battle, as both goaltenders stood on their heads. Kai Girard would make 36 saves while Brooks Currie made 39, with both goaltenders making 13 saves in the third period. Adams' goal would stand as the game-winner and Wilmar would take this one.
Maine 3 @ Long Beach 6 - Long Beach would look to get back-to-back victories over Maine on Sunday, but a goal from Hayden Brown of the Nordiques would make this difficult. Jackson Hampton would respond to level this game at one, but a pair of goals from Carter Walls and Cannon Gough in the second would put the Nordiques up 3-1. The Sharks would flip the script and score four unanswered goals from Mason Jackson, Spencer Nicoloff, Sam O'Neil, and Michal Stojka. A late empty netter from JD DiTomasso would seal the Long Beach victory. Kameron Ragon would be stellar in his surprise action, making 39 saves, an impressive 30 saves in the third period.
Binghamton 6 @ New Hampshire 2 - New Hampshire had a bountiful number of opportunities to score, but Binghamton kept its offense stifled. The Mountain Kings had 50 shots on goal and seven power play opportunities but could only slap two goals in the net past Binghamton goalie Matthew Ketcham. While Buzz had 16 fewer shots on goal, they were effective early. Binghamton got out to an early 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. From that point forward, the Buzz didn't let up the lead, which was highlighted by two additional goals scored by forward Carson Curry.
El Paso 1 @ Texas B 3 - For the fifth time this season, the Texas Bahamas defeated the El Paso Rhinos, beating them in each of the two teams' meetings so far this year. When you look across the landscape of the NA3HL, the Brahmas are ranked ahead offensively, and that superiority was displayed in this win. The league leader in points, forward Nikolai Meshkantsov, with 61, scored his 26th and 27th goals in the win. Forward Joseph Crowley, who has the third most points in the league with 51 points, scored the third goal for the Brahmas, his 21st of the season.
Texas R @ New Mexico 6 - In a completely lop-sided win, the New Mexico Ice Wolves outshot the Texas Roadrunners 58 to 19 and scored two goals each period. It was a team effort; a different skater scored each of those six goals for the Ice Wolves. The victory for Nex Mexico places them third in the South Division with 35 points, while Texas sits fifth with 24 points.
Tulsa 1 @ Louisiana 9 - The meeting between the first-place and last-place teams in the South Division favored the Louisiana Drillers, who dominated the Tulsa Jr. Oilers from start to finish. The first period went scoreless, but that was seemingly the calm before the storm, as Louisiana scored nine goals in 38 shots on goal between the second and third periods. Meanwhile, the Jr. Oilers had just eight shots on goal. Louisiana forwards Jake Bergstrom and Brendan Johnson led the way for the Drillers, each scoring two goals in the victory. The win increases Louisiana's point total to 49 points, leading the South Division, while Tulsa sits at 5 points - last in the division.
