Perfection from Central Division Wraps Up 2024 Showcase
by Camryn Connors, Sydney Cordova & Trevor Jolley
Texas R 2 @ New Hampshire 1 - In the first period, Skylar Bawcom scored a goal for the Roadrunners assisted by Josh Giguere. In the second period, Jacob Landry tied up the game for the Jr. Mountain Kings with help from Tommy Titone. During the third period, Giguere scored an unassisted goal to take the lead for Texas. Jimmy Packee made 33 saves for the Texas Roadrunners. Evan Johnston made 36 saves for the New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings.
Bozeman 1 @ Long Beach 2 - The Long Beach Sharks took a tightly contested affair over the Bozeman Icedogs with a 2-1 win on Tuesday morning. Ryan McCreary struck first to give Bozeman the lead in the first, but it was Michal Stojka who proved to be the hero for Long Beach. Stojka netted an equalizer early in the second to answer McCreary, then followed up with a go-ahead goal of his own which stood to be the game winner. Long Beach goaltender Turner England made 37 saves on 38 shots to pick up the win.
Atlanta 4 @ Butte 6 - Offense was the name of the game as the Butte Irish picked up a 6-4 win over the Atlanta Capitals. Bobby Anselmo and Aldiyar Irik each potted first period goals for Butte and Atlanta, respectively. However, the second period took a turn as Butte’s offense exploded with four goals in just 12 minutes. Fireworks came from Easton Langemo, Loghan Weber, Rocco Watson and Andrew Browe for Butte, while Brad Camp scored the lone goal for Atlanta. The third period saw Atlanta make a small comeback bid with goals from Camp once more, as well as Brett Philips, but Langemo put the nail in Atlanta’s coffin with his second score of the game in the third to keep the game out of reach.
Louisiana 4 @ Helena 3 (OT) - The Louisiana Drillers grabbed an exciting 4-3 victory over the Helena Bighorns on Tuesday afternoon. Carter Tymchak opened the scoring for Louisiana at 17:11 in the 1st period. The game remained tight until the 2nd period, where Trey Pareja scored twice for Helena, first at 16:12, then again at 13:24, giving his Bighorns a 2-1 lead. However, Dayton Ruppel responded for the opposition, netting a goal at 17:44 to tie the game at 2-2.As the game entered the 3rd period, Roman Vitolo put Louisiana ahead with a goal at 4:50, making it 3-2. But Austin Uecker answered back for the other side, scoring at 17:15 to once again level the score at 3-3.With both teams searching for an answer, it was Dayton Ruppel who became the hero, scoring the game-winning goal at 2:51 of overtime to give Louisiana a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
Binghamton 3 @ Texas B 4 (OT) - The Texas Brahmas triumphed over the Binghamton Buzz with a 4-3 overtime win on Tuesday. The game started fast, with Jake Malzone giving the Brahmas a 1-0 lead at 18:31 in the 1st period. Just eight seconds later, at 9:39, Malzone added another goal to make it 2-0. However, The Buzz responded in the 2nd period, as Preston Peterson cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:52, followed by Owen McAlister who tied the game at 2-2 with a goal at 18:01. But the Brahmas struck back quickly, as Joseph Crowley put them ahead again with a goal at 1:08 in the 2nd period. Heading into the third period, the Buzz battled hard to stay alive. Andrew Heath tied the game at 3-3 with a goal at 14:48, forcing the game into overtime. In the extra period, Chase Forry became the hero for the Brahmas, potting the game-winning goal just 2:32 into the final frame to secure the win.
Great Falls 1 @ New Mexico 2 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves took a 2-1 decision over the Great Falls Americans on Tuesday. Cooper Clouse got the Americans on the board early in the first period. Clouss’s tally stood unanswered throughout the remainder of the first period and all of the second. Just as things started to look bleak for New Mexico, Ethan Coleman netted a goal for the Ice Wolves to knot the score at one a piece. Jack Arnold followed suit as he scored the go-ahead goal for New Mexico, a goal which would remain unanswered and serve as the game winner.
Maine 0 @ El Paso 3 - The El Paso Rhinos blanked the Maine Nordiques in a 3-0 win on Tuesday. El Paso jumped out to an early first period and did not let their foot off the gas for the rest of the game. Nicholas Maffeo and Jake Bamback each netted goals for the Rhinos in the first period to put El Paso up 2-0. After a scoreless second period, and almost an entirely scoreless third, Bamback came-back and scored once more as he put the icing on the cake for El Paso as the Rhinos went up 3-0 with just a minute remaining in the game. El Paso goaltender turned aside all 26 shots faced to pickup the shoutout victory.
NA3HL Selects 3 @ Yellowstone 8 - The Yellowstone Quake shook the NA3HL Selects with a five goal period as they picked up an 8-3 win on Tuesday. Things started off equally as both teams netted a pair of goals to start the first period. Yellowstone scored back to back from the sticks of Josh Kruppa and Preston Mushlock, but were answered back by Joshua Meyers and Gavin Brown, all of whose scores were their first goals with their respective teams. The second period mirrored the first with less goals but equal play. Adrian Dixson put the Selects up early in the second 3-2, a lead which was eventually leveled by Jordan Murray to close out the frame. The third period saw the tide turn as Yellowstone scored five straight unanswered goals. Scores came from Sam Goulden, Macen Heisler, Mac Goulden, and Mushlock again. The offensive onslaught quickly put the game out of reach as the Quake went on to secure the win.
Northeast 3 @ Alexandria 8 - The Alexandria Blizzard flew past the Northeast Generals with an 8-3 win on Tuesday. Alexandria started the scoring early and often with a three goal first period. Kaden Rosness put the Blizzard up with effort in the first. Matej Dovorsky responded in the second period for Northeast, but was met with goals again from Caleb Waller and Markus Olson for Alexandria. Mason Frary got one back for Northeast to close the second period 6-2. Blake Brieland and Jacob Simpson joined the fun with goals of their own for Alexandria in the third, with Ruslyn Tuchyn depositing a goal Northeast to end the game 8-3.
Minnesota M 4 @ New Jersey 2 - The Minnesota Moose picked up a solid 4-2 win over the New Jersey Titans on Tuesday. A quiet first period only saw a single goal from Reid Watson before transitioning into a back-and-forth second period that saw each team level off with a goal of their own. Daniil Korobeynikov evened the score at 1-1 with a goal for New Jersey, but Owen Meyer retook the lead for Minnesota, 2-1. Watson was lively in the third as he dished an assist to Sam Knight for the insurance goal before following up with his second goal of the evening to make the score 4-1. Nikita Suvorov snuck a goal in with 21 seconds left in the game, but Minnesota’s 4-2 lead proved insurmountable in only 20 seconds.
St. Louis 4 @ Austin 3 - The St Louis Jr. Blues snuck by the Austin Ice Bats with a 4-3 win on Tuesday. St. Louis and Austin began by playing hot potato with the score as there were four lead changes before either team scored consecutively. Jaxson Karandjeff opened the scoring for St. Louis, but was answered by Thomas Forgrave for Austin. Brayden Davis put the Blues back on top, before Forgrave cut them down and evened the score once again. Kaiden Gordon found a bingo to open the third period and put Austin on top, a feat which was not held for long before Rece Sanderson evened the score at 3-3. Davis played spoiler for Austin as his second goal for the evening put St, Louis up 4-3 late in the third, a lead which the Jr. Blues were able to cling onto to secure the victory.
Sheridan 7 @ Norwich 3 - The Sheridan Hawks claimed a decisive 7-3 victory over the Norwich Sea Captains on Tuesday afternoon. Norwich came out strong in the first period, opening the scoring with a power play goal from Glen Farmer. Andrew Fischer added another late in the period, giving the Sea Captains a 2-0 lead at the end of the first. Sheridan came alive in the second period, with Vincent Leaf kicking off the scoring on the power play. Goals from Gavin Elliot and Vlad Zubriichuk quickly followed, giving the Hawks their first lead of the game. Ian Buckley scored for Norwich to briefly bring the game to a tie, but Sheridan responded with two more goals from Leaf and Josh Serino to close the period with a 5-3 lead. In the third period, Leaf completed his hat trick with another power play goal, and Sean Harris added one more to secure the Hawks' 7-3 victory.
Wisconsin 3 @ Badlands 0 - The Wisconsin Woodsmen defeated the Badlands Sabres in Blaine Tuesday evening. After a scoreless first period, Wisconsin broke through in the second with goals from Hugh Deinema and Tristen May-Robinson. In the third period, Joshua Kauppinen netted a goal to secure the Woodsmen’s 3-0 win.
West Bend 3 @ Minnesota W 2 - The West Bend Power faced off in a close matchup against the Minnesota Wilderness Tuesday afternoon. Minnesota opened the scoring in the first with a goal from Jake Hodd-Chlebeck. West Bend quickly answered with Quinn O’Connor finding the back of the net, followed shortly after by Tommy Kundinger to give the Power the lead. In the second, Simon Davidson evened things up for the Wilderness. Mike Sobaski responded for West Bend, netting the eventual game-winner. West Bend’s goaltenders saved a combined 24 out of 26 shots, while Minnesota’s netminder Jay Svaren saved 22 out of the 25 shots he faced.
Gillette 3 @ Willmar 4 - The Wilmar WarHawks battled the Gillette Wild in a hard-fought matchup. Scott Holman kicked off the scoring for Wilmar, followed by a goal from Zane Irion to give the WarHawks a 2-0 lead. Jett Wheeler extended Wilmar’s lead midway through the second period with a power play goal, but Gillette fought back with goals from Caden Graham and Max Arlt to close the gap. Mason Wanka responded by netting a late second-period goal for Wilmar, making it 4-2 heading into the final period. Zach Lebens found the back of the net early in the third to help earn the WarHawks 4-3 victory.
Tulsa 2 @ Peoria 5 - The Peoria Mustangs claimed a strong 5-2 victory over the Tulsa Jr. Oilers. Peoria’s Colten Cox opened the scoring midway through the first period. In the second period, Austin Taylor netted a power play goal to tie the game for Tulsa early on. Peoria retaliated back quickly with goals from Nickolas Martin, Skyler Tompkins, and Johnny Switzer bringing the score to 4-1 at the end of the second. Willy Fischer scored for Tulsa in the third, but Tompkins’ second goal of the night sealed the 5-2 victory for Peoria.
Wausau 3 @ Granite City 2 - The Wausau Cyclones edged the Granite City Lumberjacks in a close game in Blaine on Tuesday. Granite City took the early lead with Coltin Johnson netting a goal, but Wausau quickly responded with a tally from Landon Bechtolt to tie it up. The Cyclones took the lead in the second period with a goal by Eiji Hofmann, then extended it in the third with a score from Easton Plachetka. Granite City made it a one-goal game with a late shorthanded effort by Ty Smith but couldn’t complete the comeback giving the Cyclones a 3-2 victory.
Rochester 4 @ Mason City 3 - The Rochester Grizzlies defeated the Mason City Toros 4-3 in a tight contest on Tuesday. Rochester took an early 2-0 lead with two goals from Mason Decker, but Mason City responded with a late goal from Sam Menne to put them within one. Brody Olson added a goal for the Grizzlies late in the first, giving them a 3-1 lead. The Toros came back strong in the second, tying the game with goals from Stone Resch and Nolan Smith. In the third period, Tyler Steuck found the back of the net for the Grizzlies just 50 seconds into the period to seal the Grizzlies 4-3 victory over the Toros. Rochester’s goalie Andrew Dubin saved 20 out of the 23 shots he faced, while the Toros’ netminder Brooks Currie made 33 saves out of 37 shots.