Friday Finals: Americans Are In, West Bend Wins Central

Long Beach 1 @ New Hampshire 4 - The Mountain Kings would strike early, with efficiency on the man advantage, as they would score two power-play goals in the opening frame. First from Tommy Titone, later another from Cameron Fanfa. Late in the first, however, Long Beach would get on the board, with a goal coming from Spencer Nicoloff. New Hampshire would continue to add to their lead in the second as  Jacob Landry would pot one and Aidan Palmeter would score a shorthanded goal. Charlie Donoghue would hold the fort down for the rest of the game, making 16 saves. But on the other end, Kameron Ragon would have himself a day despite the loss, making 51 saves.

Norwich 4 @ Northeast 0 - Andrew Hill would lead the Sea Captains to the lead as he would score late in the first period. Hill added the second onto the lead once again, as he would put his team up a pair. Nicolas Piluso and Chase Leivian would pile on more goals for Norwich and cruise to the 4-0 victory. Peter Alfano would pick up the shutout, making 21 saves in the process.

Binghamton 5 @ Maine 1 - Maine would grab the lead just 22 seconds into the game, thanks to Jaxson Sardinha. The lead would hold until Griffin Gagnon would level the game late in the first period. Ethan Miller would strike on the powerplay to give the Buzz their first lead of the game. In the third, Binghamton would pile on goals, coming from Carson Curry, Gabriel Laszewski, and Andrew Heath. Dalton Elliott would have a good night, stopping 23 of 24 shots.

Peoria 5 @ St. Louis 6 - The first period would be action packed, as Edwin Peterson would score to put the Mistangs in front. The Jr. Blues would respond with goals from Jack Reuss and Mitchell Nappier to give their team the lead. Brendan Miller would tie the game with a goal in the last 18 seconds, but a goal 14 seconds later from Mason Andrew would put St. Louis back in front.  Andrew would put two more goals in the back of the net to complete the hat trick, while Skyler Tompkins would score to trim down the lead. In the third, Wyatt Duke and Tompkins would complete the comeback to get this game all knotted up at 5. Mason Andrew's magic would not end yet, as this time he would feed Jaxson Karandjef to score the game winning goal in one of the most chaotic games of the night.

Willmar 4 @ Minnesota M 2 - Minnesota would jump out in front, with a goal coming from Cadyn Campbell. With seconds remaining in the period, Henry Schultz would tie this game at one. In the next period, Wilmar would pick up goals from Kaiden Jackson and Elliot Domagala. Minnesota would get their own late goal magic, with a powerplay goal coming from Charlie Marchand to cut the lead to one. The Moose would be unable to tie, and a goal from Zane Irion would put this game on ice. Kai Girard would play great, making 36 saves on the night.

Louisiana 2 @ Texas B 3 - Casper Rys Sakrisvold would get the Drillers going, lighting the lamp minutes into the game. This lead would hold until the second period, when Patrick Garvey would score to tie the game. Quickly though, Roman Vitolo would score on the powerplay to regain the lead for Louisiana. The Brahmas would not back down, with Henry Griffin tying this game once again, this time in the third period. It would be a late powerplay goal from Joseph Crowley that would put the Brahmas in front for the first time, eventually being the game-winning goal. Luke Romney would make 37 saves on Friday, claiming the win.

Rochester 0 @ Wausau 5 - Thanks to Owen Gohm, Wasau would jump to the early 1-0 lead, as the Cyclones would strike on the powerplay. Later on, Micah Saxon would continue to add to the lead as they headed into the intermission up by two. In the second, Spencer Dahl and Eiji Hofmann would continue adding to the lead, with Mario Savino joining the party in the third. Tanner Bonjernoor would be stellar in the one, not only grabbing the shutout but making 43 saves en route to the win.

Granite City 4 @ Alexandria 1 - Three goals would be scored in the opening frame, but they would all come in the final minutes. Jackson Miller would strike for the Blizzard, but a pair of goals from TJ Lepisto and Dominic Thomas would put the Lumberjacks in front. Lepisto would keep the lamp light up, as he would get his second of the game just seconds into the second period. Finn Greeley would keep adding to the Granite City lead, as this one would come on the penalty kill. Trent Peterson would do everything he needed to do, picking up the win, making 28 saves on the night.

Minnesota W 8 @ Mason City 2 - The Minnesota Wilderness handed the Mason City Toros their seventh-straight loss in dominating fashion, scoring eight goals in Minnesota's final game of the regular season. A different skater slapped in each goal scored by the Wilderness, while Mason City forwards Dominic Despenas and Jameson Clark were the only two to light the lamp for the Toros in the loss. Goalie Jay Svaren was in the net for Minnesota the entire contest and saved 35 of 37 shots on goal. Mason City called on two goalies, Drew Blake and Sawyer Torkelson, who each allowed four goals.

Austin 4 @ Texas R 2 - Standing on the postseason's doorstep, the Austin Ice Bats won their sixth-straight game, handling the Texas Roadrunners 4-2. Ice Bats forward Georgii Tokarksii drove the puck in the net twice in the win, increasing his season goal total to 21. The pair of goals scored by the Roadrunners were driven in by forwards JT Brugaletta and Lucas Dyer. The Ice Bats outshot the Roadrunners 40 to 19 in the win, while Texas goalie Jimmy Packee had a valiant showing, saving 36 of 39 shots. The fourth goal was scored with an empty net.

West Bend 6 @ Wisconsin 2 - In what could be a preview of a future postseason meeting, the West Bend Power defeated the Wisconsin Woodsmen 6-2. West Bend forwards Jozef Silhar and Quinn O'Connor each scored a pair of goals in the win, with the other two coming from defenseman Tommy Kundinger and forward Jackson Hoem. The Woodsmen's only goals of the contest were worked in from forwards Nolan Mix and Vincent Greene. It was the fifth straight win for the Power, who clinched the Central Division.

Tulsa 1 @ El Paso 5 - The Tulsa Jr. Oilers losing streak was extended to 18 games following their 5-1 road loss to the El Paso Rhinos. Forwards Joseph Gutierrez and Jake Bamback led the way for the Rhinos in the win, each scoring a pair of goals. The goals extended Gutierrez's season total to 12 and Bamback's to 23. The other Rhinos score was by forward Francesco Sabato, his second of the year. Tulsa could only drive across one goal despite having nine power-play opportunities. The lone goal by the Jr. Oilers was driven in by forward Cooper Smolin, his tenth of the year.

Bozeman 4 @ Helena 5 (OT) - The first-place Helena Bighorns held onto their status as the top team in the Frontier Division, surviving an overtime win over the Bozeman Icedogs 5-4. Helena forward Ty Schell lit the lantern twice for the Bighorns, increasing his season goal total to 10 in a significant second period. Halena scored four goals, and Bozeman scored two in the frame. A different skater scored each of the Icedogs' goals, with the last one coming in the third period by forward Andrew Kaunas to tie it with 13 minutes of regulation remaining, eventually forcing overtime. Who else but Helena forward Marcus Fritel would be the one to win it for the BigHorns. Fritel leads the team with 34 goals, 71 points, 37 assists, and now seven game-winning goals.

Sheridan 1 @ Badlands 2 (OT) - In a low-scoring affair, the Badlands Sabres were the last ones standing, defeating the Sheridan Hawks 2-1 in overtime. Sheridan forward Zach Longnecker scored the first and only goal for the Hawks in the first period, but the hero through-and-through for the Sabres in the win was forward Zach Vockler, who tied the contest in the second period for his team-leading 33rd goal of the season. The game was sent to overtime, and within two minutes in the extra period, the game was wrapped up after Vockler lit the lantern for his 34th of the year.

Gillette 4 @ Yellowstone 2 - A hat trick by forward Hudson Fisher made the difference in the Gillette Wild's 4-2 road win over the Yellowstone Quake. Fisher's three goals increased his season goal total to 10 and marked his first multi-goal performance of the season. The fourth goal for Gillette was slapped in by defenseman Brady McGinn, his fourth of the year. The two goals by Yellowstone were scored by forwards Cayden May and Logan Nichols.

Great Falls 6 @ Butte 3 - A flurry of shots on goal, bookended by a pair of goals from forward Aiden Kennedy, energized the Great Falls Americans past the Butte Irish 6-3. Five different skaters scored a goal in the win for Great Falls. It was a result of the team shooting 71 shots on goal. Two goals were by Kennedy, who got things started in the first period and then wrapped things up with the last goal in the third period. Forwards Toby Kerr and Zachary Nimitz and defenseman Jeremiah Campbell slapped in the three goals by the Irish. Goaltending duties for the Irish were split up between Tim Nanson, who saved 31 of 36 shots, and Logan Hunter, who saved 34 of 35.

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