Friday Finals: Ice Wolves Win Thriller Over Drillers

New Jersey 2 @ Maine 8 - The Maine Nordiques never pumped the breaks, as they dominated the New Jersey Titans from start to finish, winning 8-2. Three goals were scored by Maine in the opening period, courtesy of Trenton Impens, Brody Emond, and Cannon Gough. William Fliss netted a goal in the middle frame, as New Jersey looked to cut the lead, however the Nordiques’ dominance continued. Carter Walls, Ryan Mileikis, and Edmond each netted one, followed by another, thanks to a beautiful setup from Peyton Dyer and Jacoby Turcotte. Edmond scored early on in the third to complete the natural hat-trick, while Hayden Stack tacked one on for the Titans, but it was too little too late. Netminder Riley Burnett stood tall, padding away 20/22 in the win.

Binghamton 5 @ Norwich 4 - After an intense back-and-forth game, the Binghamton Buzz narrowly defeated the Norwich Sea Captains 5-4 Friday night. Preston Peterson got the scoring going for the Buzz, before Tony Morran quickly tied the game for the Sea Captains. Early in the second, Adian Ready hit the back of the net for a pair of goals to extend Norwich’s lead. Peterson and Jason DiMatteo quickly evened the score, as the teams headed to the third tied at three apiece. There, Chase Leivian put Norwich back up. However, Cole Brown and Tyler Hamlin helped give Binghamton the final edge, as they hung onto win this one.

St. Louis 4 @ Rochester 5 (OT) - The Rochester Grizzlies successfully completed a 5-4 comeback overtime victory over the St. Louis Jr. Blues Friday night. St. Louis put the burners on early, thanks to goals from Kelly Coldwater, Jack Reuss, and Brayden Davis in the opening period. Ben Parent and Tommy Woods put Rochester within one, before Brady Cook extended the Jr. Blues’ lead. Tyler Steuck then lit the lamp, before Mason Decker tied it up for the Grizzlies. Heading into overtime, Steuck snuck one past the goaltender to secure Rochester’s come from behind win.

Minnesota W 2 @ Minnesota M 8 - In a battle of the hockey state, the Minnesota Moose dominated the Minnesota Wilderness en route to an 8-2 victory. Jake Hodd-Chlebeck opened the scoring just 27 seconds in for the Wilderness, before Owen Meyer would tie it up for the Moose halfway through the period. Jordan Fanti then regained the lead for the Wilderness, but from then on, it was all the Moose with seven straight. Easton Simpson, Kaden Milles, Reid Watson, and Xander Willham all scored in the second, as the Moose asserted their dominance in this one. Gavin Jensen and Luke Steffen sealed the deal with a pair of goals in the third. Goaltender Dyan Posch was outstanding in net, saving 31/33.

Wisconsin 2 @ Wausau 4 - Despite a late comeback attempt, the Wisconsin Woodsmen were narrowly defeated by the Wausau Cyclones Friday night, 4-2. In the opening frame, the Cyclones scored twice within an 18-second span to give them the two-goal advantage. Landon Bechtolt tacked on another one, before Cole Schrieber broke the shutout to put the Woodsmen within a pair. Hugh Deinema made it interesting by lighting the lamp for Wisconsin late in the third, however Connor Dvorak sealed the deal for Wausau with an empty netter. Both goaltenders, Steven Kelley (41/44) and Tanner Bonjernoor (34/36) were excellent for their respect clubs.

Granite City 2 @ Alexandria 1 - It only took the opening period to decide this one, as the Granite City Lumberjacks edged the Alexandria Blizzard 2-1 The Lumberjacks came ripping right out of the gate, with an early pair of goals thanks to Parker Comstock and Brayden Willis. Kaden Roness netted one late in the first, however those would be the only tallies, as the Lumberjacks hung on. Granite City’s Nick Hansen was great in stopping 27/28 shots in the crease. Despite the loss, Alexandria’s Jayden Serene stood tall padding aside 21/23.

Willmar 8 @ Mason City 5 - The Willmar Warhawks successfully eyed Mason City as their prey, outlasting them 8-5 in a Friday barnburner. A whopping 5 combined goals in the opening period, and 6 goals in the middle frame had the crowd roaring with this high-paced and high scoring action. In the end, it would be Willmar who came out on top, as 13 different members tallied themselves in the stat sheet, while 11 found themselves tallied for the Toros.

Louisiana 3 @ New Mexico 4 (OT) - This game would need overtime to be the deciding factor, as the New Mexico Ice Wolves edged the Louisiana Drillers 4-3. Jake Bergstrom gave the Drillers an early lead, before Kyle Mackintosh evened the score for the Ice Wolves. From there. Louisiana had a strong second period, thanks to a pair of goals from Derek Johnson and Braden Balgemann. However, New Mexico was not to be counted out, as Mackintosh and Evan Scholl lit the lamp in the third to send this one into overtime. There, Easton Armstrong hit the back of the net to give New Mexico the extra point.  

Peoria 1 @ West Bend 3 - In the first period, Lucca Weinkauf scored a goal for West Bend assisted by Mike Sobaski and Brody Josselyn. In the second period, Sobaski scored assisted by Trace Shumlas and Weinkauf. During the third period, Rex Rhodes put the Mustangs on the board with a goal assisted by Wyatt Duke and Colten Cox. Tommy Kundinger increased the Power’s lead with a goal assisted by Brayden Graning and Brody Josselyn. Albert Ancinec made 30 saves for the Peoria Mustangs and Adam Prokop made 18 saves for the West Bend Power.

Atlanta 3 @ El Paso 2 (OT) - During the first period, Donovan Bradford scored a goal for the Rhinos assisted by Liam McCall and Jacob Mish. In the second period, Kolton Plant scored another goal for El Paso assisted by Britton Oldham and Andre Valenzuela. Nick Macri with help from Alex Catalano put the Capitals on the board. In the third, Delton Hoffman tied up the game for the Capitals assisted by Yosef Pievsky and Brett Phillips. In overtime, Atlanta’s Riley Erickson scored a goal with help from Landon Thiessen and Zane Hultquist for the win. Jackson Black made 33 saves for the Atlanta Capitals. Brayden Macko made 10 saves for the El Paso Rhinos and Dylan Newton made 22 saves for the El Paso Rhinos.

Yellowstone 0 @ Helena 7 - During the first period, Jason Hammett scored a goal for the Bighorns assisted by Chase Berg. A player for Helena scored a goal assisted by Austin Uecker. In the second period, Uecker scored a goal assisted by Hammett and Caden Fenstein. Garrett Lindsey increased the lead with a goal assisted by Fenstein and Jeffrey Hershberger. Owen Gruener added a goal to the lead assisted by Fenstein. In the third period, Warren Ryser scored an unassisted goal. A Helena Bighorns player scored one more goal for the team. Chase Ebeyer made 64 saves for the Yellowstone Quake. Branson Appelman made 17 saves for the Helena Bighorns getting the shutout. 

Butte 3 @ Badlands 6 - During the first period, Zach Vockler scored for the Sabres assisted by Dawson Wirth and Charlie Lorbiecki. Lorbiecki increased the lead for the Sabres with an unassisted goal. Keegan Adams assisted by Bobby Anselmo put the Irish on the board. In the second period, Butte’s Zachary Pilkinton scored a goal assisted by Andrew Browe and Toby Kerr. Vockler scored an unassisted goal. Browe scored an unassisted goal to tie up the game. In the third period, Thayne Coston scored a goal for Badlands with an assist from Rhylan Olson. Matthew Cordis scored a goal assisted by Cole Schneider and Ethan Seanor. Rylan Salo scored an unassisted goal to clutch the win for the Sabres. Nicolas Ulyanov made 47 saves for the Butte Irish and Jackson Roethler made 32 saves for the Badlands Sabres.

Gillette 5 @ Great Falls 3 - In the first period, Chase Hapka scored for the Americans assisted by Cooper Clouse and Aiden Kennedy. During the second period, Christopher Lang scored for the Wild assisted by Beau Delich and Dylan Peterson. Max Arlt added a goal for the Wild assisted by Riley Schmidt and Ryan Kirkman. Jayden Rogen tied the game up for the Americans with help from Sebe Perez and Garren Narvaez. During the third, Ty O’Bey took the lead for Great Falls assisted by John Lang and Cal Laggis. Kontrec tied the game up for the Wild assisted by Arlt and Brady Johnson. Peterson took the lead for Gillette with a goal assisted by Beau Delich and Dylan Peterson. Johnson scored the final goal of the game with help from Kontrec and Arlt. Austin Trieber made 43 saves for the Gillette Wild and Kaden Rhyder made 36 saves for the Great Falls Americans.

Bozeman 4 @ Sheridan 2 - During the first period, Bozeman’s Spencer Wilkinson scored a goal assisted by Seth Hanson. In the second period, Sheridan’s Daniel Shelden scored a goal with help from Vlad Zubriichuk. Cody Hogan increased the Hawks lead with a goal assisted by Kadin Edwards and Charles Stow. In the third period, Andrew Kaunas tied up the game for the Icedogs assisted by Cole Schwengerdt and Lex Steckelberg. Steckelberg scored a goal with help from Kaunas and Dan Upton. Steckelberg scored another goal assisted by Kaunas and Devin Bruns. Brett DeVincent made 50 saves for the Bozeman Icedogs and Jaxon Stiller made 32 saves for the Sheridan Hawks.

Texas B 4 @ Austin 3 - In the first period, Jake Malzone got the game started for the Brahmas with a goal assisted by Jayani Benson and Patrick Garvey. During the second period, Kaiden Gordon scored for the Ice Bats assisted by Ashton Morin. Benson scored a goal with help from Henry Griffin. Griffin scored an unassisted goal. Paul Wiese scored for the Ice Bats assisted by Morin. In the third period, Gordon scored a goal assisted by Mikhail Levaniuk. Zane Mazzola scored a goal assisted by Malzone and Chase Forry. Connor Broderick made 44 saves for the Texas Brahmas and Gavin Morris made 31 saves for the Austin Ice Bats. 

Boxscores