Sunday Wrap-Up: Drillers Clinch Playoff Berth With Sweep of Brahmas
by Drew Langevin
Brendan Johnson (top) scored twice for Louisiana on Sunday while Caleb Anderson's (bottom) goal was the difference for Granite City
New Hampshire 6 @ Northeast 1 - 14 seconds into the contest, Cameron Fanfa would set the tone early, delivering an early goal for the Jr. Mountain Kings. It would only take minutes before Francisco Romano would respond for the Generals. This would be all the momentum Northeast would have, as in the second period, they quickly got into penalty trouble. A powerplay goal from Aidan Palmeter would give the Generals the lead and they wouldn't look back. Goals from Xander St. Pierre and Jacob Landry would give Northeast the three-goal lead after two. Powerplay markers from Cameron Fanfa and Isaac Mansfield would put this game out of reach in the third. Charlie Donoghue would pick up the 36-save victory.
West Bend 4 @ St. Louis 3 (OT) - Kyle Settles and Michael Soell would light the lamp in the first period to give the Jr. Blues the two-goal lead heading into the intermission. In the second period, Evan Burchardt would put the Power on the board, this would be the only scoring of the period. Quickly into the third, both teams would exchange goals as Soell would get his second, and Quinn O'Connor would quickly respond. In the dying seconds of the game, Grant Schaible would tie this one and send it to overtime. Trace Shumlas would complete the comeback in overtime, with his goaltender, Owen Soderholm, making 23 saves in the process.
New Mexico 5 @ Texas R 4 - New Mexico would find themselves with the advantage early, as a pair of goals from Liam Mooney and Carson Gotelaere would get them going early. It wouldn't take long before this lead would slip away, as Lucas Dyer and Charles Blake would tie this one at two. Easton Armstrong scored in the second to put the Ice Wolves up, but Jackson Cox and Skylar Bawcom would give the RoadRunners their first lead. In the third, two quick goals from Edward Gregorin and Brant Tiedeman would give the Ice Wolves the lead again. This goal would stand as the winner and New Mexico would take the win in a very back-and-forth match.
Austin 12 @ Tulsa 2 - Austin would get going early and win this one easily. They would be dominant on special teams early, as a powerplay goal from Mikhail Levaniuk and two shorthanded goals from Taras Korotchenko and Levaniuk would put them up big early. Tulsa would respond with goals from Henry Pinkerman and Cooper Smolin, but this would go all downhill onward. Noah Howden-Rich, Thomas Forgrave, Korotchenko, and Levaniuk, would also score in the second to put Austin up five. A pair of goals from Daniel Sanna, two goals from Logan Verville and Kaiden Gordon, and Levaniuk's fourth goal of the game, would finish the beat down. Gavin Morris would make 27 saves in the blowout victory.
Binghamton 1 @ New Jersey 0 - It would take a while before the first goal of this game would be scored, as Preston Peterson would notch a goal late in the first to give the Buzz the lead after 20 minutes. Both teams would have good chances on both ends, but Peterson's goal would be the winner. Mathieu Chernauckas would have a 30-save shutout while Nicolas Gould made 39 saves on the other end.
Texas B 2 @ Louisiana 6 - Louisiana would make a big impact on the man-advantage on Friday night, as in the first, they got going with powerplay goals from Casper Rys Sakrisvold and Cameron McEwan. Brendan Johnson would get yet another powerplay goal and Alexander Boyd would score to put the Drillers up four. Wyatt Kerr would score to put the Brahmas on the board, but goals from Jake Bergstrom and Johnson would put this game out of reach. Finn Willson would make 23 saves en route to a win.
Rochester 3 @ Granite City 4 - Parker Comstock and the Lumberjacks would take the early lead, not before Mason Decker would light the lamp on the powerplay twice. Easton Sankey would get this game all tied up, and in the third, a powerplay goal from Ty Smith would give the Lumberjacks the lead. A goal from Caleb Alderson would give Granite City insurance, as Josh Wolf scored late to make this one a one-goal game. Trent Peterson would shut the door, making 32 saves in the win.
