Saturday Scores: Butte Pulls Off Upset in Helena

The Irish took down Helena for their first win of the season. (Photo credit: Michelle Kase)

Austin 4 @ Tulsa 2 - After a convincing 9-1 win on Friday evening, the now 3-1 Austin Ice Bats came back into WeStreet Ice Center with a 4-2 win over the Tulsa Oilers. Despite an impressive performance by Tulsa compared to their game on Friday, the Ice Bats were able to take the second game of this series. Although the Ice Bats won the first period on Friday evening, the Oilers came out stronger to start this game with an unassisted goal from Stone Baulch just three minutes in. This would be the only tally for the period and would give the Oilers their first and final lead of the contest heading into the first intermission. Not even two minutes into the second period, Ice Bats star forward Liam Cardona lit the lamp for an unassisted goal of his own. Ten minutes later, Jared Breunig picked up a goal to give the Ice Bats the lead. It wouldn’t last long, however, as Luke Yahola would tie up the game for the Oilers heading into the second intermission. The Ice Bats would come out again and score a quick goal courtesy of Guhnar Hillman to take back the lead. Matthieu Leblanc provided some insurance with 13 minutes remaining in the contest. The Oilers presented a much better game compared to the previous meeting against the Ice Bats. Though their offense struggled breaking out and controlling the puck Friday night, they were now able to get pucks up the walls and use their speed to attack the net. The Ice Bats were clearly caught off guard by this in the first period but made necessary adjustments as the game went on to capture the win.

Minnesota W 3 @ Mason City 8 - After a close 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wilderness, the Mason City Toros were able to capture the victory and even up the 2-game weekend series in a high scoring bought. The first period was jam packed as the Toros took a 3-0 lead courtesy of Dom Despenas, Jason Williams, and Hunter Anderson. Zacary Norberg cut the lead for the Wilderness going in the first intermission, but the Toros would respond within minutes of the beginning of the second period thanks to a Michael Ertle tally. A little back and forth started as Ethan Jacobson would cut the lead in half to 4-2, but another goal from Jason Williams and Blaze Bauer’s first of the year would extend the lead for the Toros. Mark Denoyer lit the lamp in the waning moments of the second period to cut the lead again to 6-3. For the final period, the Toros showed an excellent defensive display all while outshooting the Wilderness and securing some insurance in the process. A gritty Grant Harder goal and an empty netter from Jason Williams for the hat trick put this game on ice. What seemed like a night and day difference of a game compared to Friday evening, both teams had plenty of offensive success. The Toros were able to shut the door in the third period on the Wilderness’ hopes of a comeback and finish the weekend off with a statement win.

Carolina 0 @ Texas R 12 - The RoadRunners are on a four-game winning streak and are looking to extend that streak, while Carolina lost their only game of the season so far. In the first period, the first goal came on the power play for the RoadRunners with William Heskett scoring at 15:02. The second goal for Texas came two minutes later with Forward Lucas Dyer netting one. Dyer scored his second of the period on a power play at 7:34, five and a half minutes after his first goal. Heskett proceeded to score his second of the period at 1:20 on a five-on-three, and later completed a hat trick with 16 seconds remaining in the period to give the RoadRunners a 5-0 lead by the end of the first. In the second period, Texas Forward Michael Garrett scored an unassisted goal at 18:45. Garrett proceeded to score again at 8:58. The second period closed out with a goal by RoadRunners’ Forward Wyatt Mineheine at 5:36 to extend the RoadRunners’ lead to 8-0. In the third period, Carolina was unable to provide an answer to the RoadRunners’ offense. RoadRunners’ forward Ronin Draffan scored at 14:34. He was soon followed by Mineheine scoring his second of the game at 13:12. Dyer completed his hat trick on a power play goal at 12:04. Heskett scored his fourth of the game at 8:50 to give the RoadRunners a resounding victory of 12-0 and extend their win streak to five games. Calum Hartner started between the pipes for the RoadRunners and made 11 stops until Brenden Patterson closed out the game with two stops.

Wisconsin 1 @ Rochester 3 - The Rochester Grizzlies are hosting the Wisconsin Woodsmen as they’re looking to redeem themselves from Friday night’s loss against the Woodsmen. Both teams have only played one game so far in the season, and that one was against each other on Friday, with Wisconsin coming out on top 6-3. In the first period, Grizzlies Forward Ole Fevold netted the first of the game at 6:19. His teammate, Forward Andrew Bastian, extended the lead for the Grizzlies three minutes later, giving the Grizzlies a 2-0 lead by the end of the first. The second period seemed like it would end in the same score as the first until Grizzlies Forward Tanner Lozano netted one with twelve seconds remaining in the period, extending the lead to 3-0. In the third period, the Woodsmen were eager to close the lead while the Grizzlies were looking to maintain the score. Two penalties were given to each team. With fifteen seconds remaining in the third, Woodsmen Forward Maxim Lazo netted the only goal for Wisconsin in the game, making the final score 3-1 in the Grizzlies’ favor. Kyle Lappi started in net for the Grizzlies and made 24 stops en route to the victory. Lleyton Jaschke started in net for the Woodsmen and made 38 stops during the game.

Louisiana 16 @ Pelham 1 - The Pelham Prowlers are hosting the Louisiana Drillers at home again following the Drillers’ Friday victory over the Prowlers 12-0. The Prowlers are looking to shake their four-game losing streak, while the Drillers are looking for their second victory of the season. In the first period, the Drillers were quick to strike first with a goal by Forward Dylan Crossley at 19:22 followed by another by Forward Brody Neish 22 seconds later to give them the early lead. The Prowlers closed the gap by a goal from Forward Matthew Hunter at 12:22. The Drillers, however, closed off the second half of the period with a series of goals from Forward Emerson Laroche at 9:42, and two goals from Defenseman Dayton Ruppel, the second of which was on the power play, at 6:33 and 1:01. Starting in the second period, the Drillers were ahead by 5-1 and continued to extend their lead. Neish scored his second of the night at 18:23, Forward Isaac Erickson scored at 15:20, Forward Carter Gnau scored at 13:50, Defenseman Nick Fabio scored at 10:59, and Neish completed his hat trick at 6:35. The score was 10-1 in the Drillers’ favor by the end of the second. In the third period, Neish scored his fourth of the game less than two minutes into the period. Forward Cohen Palmer scored at 15:34, Forward Makhai Santiago scored an unassisted goal at 8:33, Gnau scored his second of the game at 6:10, Santiago scored his second of the game at 4:25, and Fabio scored his second of the game at 2:55 to close off the game with a victory for the Drillers 16-1. Owen Huisman started in net for the Drillers and made nine stops. Garrett Ambrose started in net for the Prowlers and made 49 stops.

New Mexico 3 @ West Texas 0 - Joshua Middleton was a perfect 30-for-30 as he secured his first shutout of the season as the New Mexico Ice Wolves blanked the West Texas Wranglers 3-0. Caleb Debruyne got the scoring started late in the first period with his first goal of the season. After a scoreless middle frame, the Ice Wolves struck quickly with back-to-back goals off the sticks of Jacob Wenner and Hunzeker Piersimoni to give the Ice Wolves some insurance midway through the third. Middleton would finish his shutout with eight saves in the final period to secure the first win of the season for his Ice Wolves. Garrett Lant suffered the loss for West Texas, stopping 37 of the 40 shots he faced.

Peoria 3 @ West Bend 5 - Jace Fitzgerald potted a pair of goals and added two helpers as the Power took down the Mustangs 5-3. Danny Jurcich had three assists in the victory while Cole Craft, Andrew Burny and Elias Holan all lit the lamp as well. Peter Burke was the winner in the blue paint as he stopped 23 shots. Wyatt Duke had a goal and an assist to lead the Mustangs offense. Jordan Mini and Charlie Anthony also provided goals for Peoria. 

Willmar 2 @ Granite City 6 - Garrett Plaude scored twice to lead the Granite City Lumberjacks to a season opening win over the Willmar WarHawks. Michael Schmidt notched a goal and an assist for the Lumberjacks while Luke Anderson tallied a goal and an assist as well. Eli Tiernan also found the back of the net for Granite City. Max Jackson provided both Willmar goals. Matthew Neeser stopped 11 shots for the decision in goal while Sam Moen took the loss after making 31 saves. 

Badlands 3 @ Great Falls 4 (SO) - After a rough 0-3 start to the season, the Great Falls Americans finally posted its first win of the season Saturday night, taking down the previously undefeated Badlands Sabres 4-3 via a thrilling shootout. Great Falls goaltender Cole Murphy was the star of the show Saturday, turning away 40 of Badlands’ 43 shots on goal. Murphy faced a relentless attack from Badlands in the third period, facing 18 shots and making 16 saves to keep his team within striking distance. Murphy also turned away all three Sabres shots in overtime and stopped all three Badlands shootout attempts to propel his team to its first win. Great Falls got off to a hot start, posting two goals in the first period from forwards EJ Sanchez and Tallon Caron for a 2-0 lead after the opening 20 minutes. Badlands responded with the lone goal of the second period in just over nine minutes. Forward Dayton Niedert’s tally got his squad within a goal heading to the final frame. Goals just 19 seconds from Badlands forwards Wyatt Pink and Justin Reams flipped the score from a 2-1 Great Falls lead to a 3-2 Badlands lead. Unfazed, Great Falls forward Cooper Clouse squares the game right back up to send the teams to overtime. The teams traded misses in the first round of the shootout. After a save from Murphy in the top of the second round, Great Falls forward Jase Troyer potted what ended up as the shootout winner past badlands goaltender Gavin Peery. Murphy converted on the Sabres’ third and final attempt to seal the win.

Sheridan 1 @ Gillette 2 (SO) - A stellar performance in the blue paint from goaltender Austin Trieber allowed the Gillette Wild to steal a victory right from under frontier division foe, the Sheridan Hawks, by a final score of 2-1 in a shootout. Despite just 22 shots on goal, Gillette came away with its first win of the season thanks to a whopping 50 save, lights-out performance from Trieber. Of his 50 saves, 16 of Trieber’s denials came in the second period, which saw his squad outshot 17-2. Despite the lopsided offensive pressure, Gillette escaped the period even. Goals from Hawks forward Jameson Clark and Wild forward Dominic Arndt contributed to the offense to secure a 1-1 score after 40 minutes. The third period was more of the same from Trieber, who turned away all 15 Hawks shots to keep his team alive and get them into overtime. Even in overtime, Trieber kept his team alive despite being outshot 8-1. At the end of 65 minutes, Gillette made it to a shootout with just 22 shots to Sheridan’s 51. The teams traded goals in the first round of the shootout. Then two consecutive rounds of stops from Trieber and Sheridan goaltender TJ Wonnacott sent the shootout to sudden death. Yet another stop from Trieber and a goal from forward Beau Delich finally put the finishing touches on Trieber’s gem in net and a win for Gillette.

Butte 4 @ Helena 3 - After back-to-back 8-1 season-opening defeats last weekend, the Butte Irish finally got in the win column with a tightly contested 4-3 win over the Helena Bighorns Saturday night in Helena. A big two-goal performance by Irish forward Easton Langemo – including the game-winning goal in the third period – helped lift his team to its first win. Butte got off to its best start of the season, sending two pucks past Helena goaltender John Namos off the stick of Langemo (his third of the season) and defenseman Keegan Adams. Adams’ goal was his first of the season. Helena responded quickly in the second period. Forward Chase Berg tallied his fifth goal of the season just 23 seconds into the middle period. Later in the same period, Berg made his presence felt again with his sixth lamp-lighter of the season to even the game at 2-2. Butte stabilized late in the period thanks to forward Tyler Jones’ first of the year, sending the game to the third period with Butte leading 3-2. The final period started with fireworks. Langemo’s fourth of the season just under two minutes in proved to be the dagger. The fireworks continued just under five minutes in when Adams and Helena forward Clint Isakson were each ejected for fighting. Helena tried to battle back late, with forward Austin Uecker getting Helena back within a goal, but Butte goaltender Zander Harp stood tall in the final 11 minutes to seal his team's first win of the young season. Harp finished the contest with 30 saves.

Yellowstone 1 @ Bozeman 4 - Lex Steckelberg did it all himself as he registered a hat trick and added an assist in the Icedogs 4-1 victory over the Yellowstone Quake on Saturday night. Steckelberg’s big night now gives him seven goals on the young season. Andrew Kaunas got his first of the year in the victory for Bozeman. Mario Rodriguez provided the lone goal for Yellowstone. Jack Ryan stopped 26 shots to earn the victory in between the pipes while Damen Baxter was saddled with the loss as he made 42 saves.