New Mexico and Louisiana Clinch Spots in Semifinals
by Brian Gornick
New Mexico 4 @ Helena 2 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves secured their spot in the semifinals of the Fraser Cup Championship with their win over the defending champion Helena Bighorns. The Ice Wolves got off to a hot start, scoring first on the power play after Jack Arnold rifled the puck behind the net. Team-leading scorer Kyle Mackintosh followed six minutes later to give New Mexico a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. Despite having the lead, the Ice Wolves were on the defensive for much of the second period, but still added another goal thanks to Max Arlt with 15 seconds left of play. The Bighorns finally scored a goal after the midway point of the third period, Jason Hammett bringing them within two goals. Unfortunately for them, the Ice Wolves picked up one last goal from Jake Wenner on the empty net. Down three goals once again, Cai Robinson with his first goal tried to bring his team back in, but it wasn’t enough as the Ice Wolves survived to advance to the final four.
Binghamton 1 @ Louisiana 5 - The Louisiana Drillers opposed their will offensively on the Binghamton Buzz, moving on to the Fraser Cup Championship semifinals. Registering 15 shots in the first period alone, the Drillers struck on one. Casper Rys Sakrisvold gave his team the lead after the first period. Louisiana extended their lead with two more goals in the second period, both on the power play. Skylar Bawcom scored the first for his 36th goal of the season, and Alexander Thomas followed from the corner to extend the lead to 3-0. Joey Roselli of the Buzz tried to get his team back in the game, but the Drillers kept the pressure on with an unassisted Jake Bergstrom goal two minutes later. Alexander Boyd scored the final goal for the Drillers late on an empty net, highlighting a victory to keep them in the hunt for a Fraser Cup Championship.
