Sunday Wrap-Up: Louisiana Finishes Weekend Sweep

New Mexico 4 @ West Texas 0 - After splitting the first two games of a three-game weekend series, the New Mexico Ice Wolves took the third and final game Sunday afternoon over the West Texas Wranglers in a fiery, physical 4-0 shutout. The game started hot at puck drop, as New Mexico forward Grant Sexton notched his first goal of the year on the power play just 1:28 into the opening frame. Sexton’s goal stood as the lone tally of the period. Forward Christopher Mason potted the only goal of the second period to put New Mexico ahead 2-0 with 20 minutes to play. The goal was Christopher’s first of the season. Despite being on the kill for five minutes, New Mexico goaltender Joshua Middleton held off the Wrangler power play attack. New Mexico found its game after the kill to post two more goals from defenseman Brock Seeger – his first of the year – and forward Breckin Ross –his second of the year – to seal the 4-0 win. Middleton pitched the Ice Wolves’ second-consecutive shutout of the Wranglers, turning aside all 35 shots he faced.

Carolina 0 @ Texas R 11 - The Texas RoadRunners host the Carolina Rage for the teams’ second matchup of the weekend. The RoadRunners are on a five-game winning streak and won yesterday’s match against Carolina in a resounding 12-0 victory. Carolina is looking to redeem themselves from last night’s performance. In the first period, the scoring opened quickly for the RoadRunners with the first goal coming from Forward Wyatt Mineheine at 18:48. Mineheine netted his second goal three minutes later. Defenseman Nathan Pickett extended the RoadRunners’ lead to 3-0 at 13:34. At 11:06, RoadRunners Forward Lucas Dyer scored an unassisted shorthanded goal. With two and a half minutes remaining in the first, Forward Joseph Izzo extended the RoadRunners’ lead to 5-0 at the end of the period. In the second period, Dyer scored his second of the game at 13:43. RoadRunners’ Forward William Heskett scored his first of the game at 11:47, which gave the RoadRunners the advantage of 7-0 by the end of the second period. In the third period, Dyer completed his hat trick 14 seconds into the period. RoadRunners’ Forward Jayden Hitt scored an unassisted goal at 10:17. At 9:16, Mineheine completed his hat trick on the power play. Mineheine proceeded to close out the game with his fourth goal of the game at 2:26 to extend the RoadRunners’ win streak to six games. Brenden Patterson started the game for the RoadRunners and achieved a shutout with 19 stops. Austin Enslin started the game for Carolina, but Derek Strong finished the game after swapping with Enslin at 3:01 in the first period.

Louisiana 13 @ Pelham 4 - The reigning champions of the NA3HL continue their flawless season as they advance to 3-0 with a 13-4 win over the now 0-6 Pelham Prowlers. The Drillers spread out the offense with 14 different players on the scoresheet and 10 different goal scorers. The first period was quiet with the Drillers scoring the lone goal of the period thanks to an Emerson Laroche tally eight minutes into the period. The flood gates would open in the second period with a whopping seven goals from the Drillers and a late Prowlers goal from Benjamen Salter to set the score at 8-1 going into the second intermission. Four more goals to start the third period from the Drillers officially brought the game out of reach for the Prowlers despite a goal from Matthew Cavanaugh and two from Marlon Derksen. The game ended at 13-4 with a whopping 51-12 shot advantage for the Drillers.  The Drillers simply outclassed the Prowlers in this contest, proving yet again why they are the reigning champions and that they’re out to repeat that success. Zachary Marsell got himself a hat trick and two assists, Emerson Laroche with a goal and three assists, and the same stat line can be found for Nick Fabio. It wasn’t all bad for the Prowlers as Marlon Derksen would post two goals late, showing resilience and a ‘never quit’ attitude that is quintessential for finding success in junior hockey.

Austin 12 @ Tulsa 1 - Jake Bamback was a man possessed on Sunday afternoon as he found the back of the net five times as the Austin Ice Bats took down the Tulsa Oilers 12-1. Liam Cardona had a hat trick of his own while Dylan Jimenez had three assists in the win. Arys Perardi, Sol Levy and Wynn Giswold each had a goal and an assist. Luke Fowler also added a tally for Austin. Colin Sharp provided the offense for Tulsa. Tyler White earned the win in net for Austin by making 30 saves.