Friday Finals: Wisconsin Take Home Win

Photo: Marah Vaillancourt

Norwich 8 @ Maine 4 - The Norwich Sea Captains put on a dominant display to earn their first win of the season. The first period was very eventful, with the score being tied at 3 heading into the first intermission. The second period is where the Sea Captains took off, scoring four of the five goals in that period. Both teams made great use of special teams throughout the first 40, scoring both power-play and shorthanded goals. Before the third period, the Nordiques made a goaltending change, which resulted in them only giving up one additional goal. The Sea Captains finished the game with a total of eight goals after dominating in the shot department, registering well over double the shots their opponent did each period. The only concern for this team seemed to be goaltending, as Peter Alfano gave up four goals on only 18 shots. With this huge win, the Sea Captains finally place themselves in the win column as the Nordiques drop to 3-4.

New Jersey 1 @ New Hampshire 2 - The New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings prevail over the New Jersey Titans in a close, low-scoring game. Dylan Rakes and Matthew Anderson found the back of the net late in the first period to give the Kings a two-goal lead heading into the first intermission. In the second period, some bad discipline from the Kings led to the Titans having multiple power-play opportunities to get on the board, but they were unable to convert. The third period featured much of the same, but New Jersey was finally able to put one past goaltender Jack Kawamura on the power play. Junsang Park cut the lead in half, but that was the most that New Jersey could do in this game. A late attempt to pull the goalie did not convert to any goals as the clock ran down. Overall, the Titans need to do a better job getting more opportunities on net. They only registered 17 shots the entire game and did not get more than seven in any period.

Texas R 4 @ Carolina 0 - In an extremely eventful game, the Texas Roadrunners shut out the Carolina Rage to add to their dominant start to the season. Wyatt Mineheine was the star for Texas, scoring a hat-trick within the first two periods. Lucas Dyer scored the other goal for the Roadrunners, which secured them the win. The third period was scoreless, with both goaltenders making big saves. The big story with this game was the shot count, with the two teams combining for over 90 total shots. Both goalies, especially Texas netminder Calum Hartner, put on incredible performances, giving their respective teams a great chance to win. However, despite Kole Roth’s efforts, the Rage skaters were unable to generate any offense that converted to a goal. The Roadrunners improve to 7-1 as they continue making waves in their tremendous start to the year.

New Mexico 3 @ Tulsa 0 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves continue with their hot start to the year, shutting out the Tulsa Oilers in a dominant win. All three goals were scored within the first 40 minutes, with Zachary Polkes finishing two of them. Christopher Mason was the other goal scorer for the Ice Wolves, propelling the team to a dominant win. The offense was on point tonight, registering 48 shots on goal. Despite the efforts of Oilers goaltender Jack Salverson, the rest of the team was unable to match his play, resulting in a scoreless game. Ice Wolves goaltender Joshua Middleton stopped all 27 shots he faced, leading his team to victory. The Ice Wolves earn their fifth win of the season, while the Oilers still remain winless through their first eight games.

Wausau 4 @ Minnesota M 5 - The Minnesota Moose came away with a 5-4 win over the Wausau Cyclones on Friday night. In the first period, Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Caleb Schwark, assisted by Carter Whitworth and Owen Chiodo, and Luca Salak, assisted by Aiden Schake and Will Cymbaluk. Late in the period, Wausau's Alec Mellon scored, assisted by Frank Goodman, narrowing the gap to 2-1 by the end of the first. Minnesota extended their lead in the second period, scoring three more goals. Salak netted his second goal of the night with assists from Charlie Marchand and Enzo Canevari, while George Ericson added another goal, assisted by Marchand and Jordan Giacomini. Wausau’s Brady Knutsen responded with a goal, set up by Brayden Ernst, but Schwark found the net again unassisted, bringing the score to 5-2 in favor of Minnesota after two periods. In the third period, Wausau made a comeback with goals from Maksim Salienko, assisted by Knutsen and Mario Savino, and Knutsen, assisted by Lucas Mankoff and Jackson Maddock. Despite Wausau’s efforts to close the gap, Minnesota held on for a 5-4 victory.

Alexandria 5 @ Willmar 1 - Despite their chilling team name, the Alexandria Blizzard brought the heat in the third period, resulting in a strong 5-1 win against the Willmar WarHawks. It was a quiet early battle, with both teams trading chances and both teams getting a look at the net. Blizzard’s Parker Welz opened the scoring at 7:10, with Connor Zgoda picking up the assist. The WarHawks responded with a shot by Mason Wanka, which was lended by Aidan Callaghan and Elliot Domagala. The second frame was completely absent of goals, keeping the scoreboard frozen at 1–0. However, when the third period clock began to tick, the Blizzard stormed in. The Alexandria squad unloaded four goals in the final period, beginning with Caleb Waller at 16:16. Just two minutes later, Kaden Roness doubled the fun. Blake Breiland joined the party with two back-to-back goals — the first net assisted by Will Bisset, and the second unassisted at 5:38 to seal the deal. Blizzard’s goalie Jayden Serene stopped all but one of the 35 shots he faced in net, truly playing a pivotal part in this victory.

West Bend 4 @ Wisconsin 6 - The Woodsmen shook off a slow start and fought back for a 6–4 win over the West Bend Power, fueled by a four-goal night from Maxim Lazo and a second-period scoring burst. West Bend came out energized, dominating the first period with 21 shots and two goals. Blake Kohnen and Austin Westergaard each chipped one home, giving the Power a 2–0 lead. The second period flipped the script, as it belonged entirely to the Woodsmen. Lazo put on a performance, netting three straight goals in under 18 minutes, with help from Nolan Mix and Patrik Lenkovskij. Jack Dahl also banked one in, giving Wisconsin a 4–2 lead going into the third. Going into the final frame, the matchup only got more intense. West Bend’s Wyatt Emmett scored twice to cut the lead to 5–4, but the Woodsmen refused to break. With 20 seconds left, Lazo sealed the win with an empty-netter.

Mason City 3 @ Granite City 5 - The Mason City Toros and Granite City Lumberjacks, the top two teams in the Western Division, faced off on Friday night. Granite City got off to a hot start this season and looked to protect their perfect record. The Toros opened the scoring in this one, with two goals scored in the first period courtesy of Mason Buchanan and Kellen Kantaris. The Lumberjacks responded in the second via a Micah Saxson power play goal to get Granite City within one heading into the final frame. Mason City’s T.J. Gibson dented the twine early in the third to extend the Toros' lead to three. After that, the Lumberjacks came storming back to rip off four goals in a row and maintain their perfect record at 4-0, with a 5-3 win over the Mason City Toros. Granite City nearly doubled Mason City’s shots on goal, 41 to 21. Matthew Nesser was between the pipes for the Lumberjacks; he padded away 17 of those 21 shots on goal and earned the win.

El Paso 3 @ Austin 4 - The El Paso Rhinos packed up and hit the road as they traveled to take on instate rival, the Austin Ice Bats, on Friday night. The Ice Bats' Jack Gissy lit the scoreboard first in this one when he dented the twine midway through the first period. The Rhinos would respond later in the first courtesy of Carter Tuplin to knot things at one heading into the first intermission. El Paso opened the second by scoring on one of their eight power plays of the night, courtesy of Huero Rivera. It was all Ice Bats for the remainder of the second and into the third. They ripped off three straight goals, including one shorthanded goal via Guhnar Hillman, to go along with two power play goals. Nick Nunez would add one late for the Rhinos to get within one, but the Ice Bats would take this one, 4-3 over the Rhinos.

Bozeman 5 @ Gillette 1 - Bozeman got on the scoreboard early with a goal from Andrew Kaunas, assisted by Avery Martin. Lex Steckelberg quickly followed with a goal of his own, with assistance from Michael Reich and Kaunas, bringing the score to 2-0. Gillette answered late in the first period when Brayden Waters scored with assists from Max Arlt and Riley Schmidt, narrowing the deficit to 2-1. In the second period, Bozeman took charge, scoring three unanswered goals. Jace Griffin scored two of the goals, his first assisted by Alex Brello and his second by Austin Storberg, extending the lead to 4-1. Devin Bruns then added a fifth goal, with assists from Steckelberg and Kaunas. Neither team scored in the third period, allowing Bozeman to seal the 5-1 victory.

Helena 9 @ Badlands 2 - The Helena Bighorns triumphed over the Badlands Sabres with a score of 9-2 on Friday night at the Roosevelt Park Ice Arena. Helena started strong, taking a 1-0 lead in the first period with a goal from Brandon McIhaney, assisted by Garrett Lindsey. In the second period, Helena broke the game open with three consecutive goals from Tyler Austin, who achieved a natural hat trick, receiving assists from Andrew Blake, Austin Uecker, and Blake Chapman. Kyyan Jahner managed to get Badlands on the board midway through the period with support from Tuncay Dogan. However, Helena quickly responded, with goals from Lincoln Kearney, assisted by Jeffrey Hershberger and Breck Buettner, assisted by Austin Uecker, making the score 6-1 heading into the third period. In the final frame, Tyler Parsons and Austin Uecker extended Helena’s lead even further before Carter Kilen scored a power-play goal for Badlands. McIhaney capped off the scoring with his second goal of the night in the final minute, sealing a dominant 9-2 victory for Helena.

Great Falls 5 @ Yellowstone 0 - The Great Falls Americans brought the offense and the defense in a powerful 5–0 shutout over the Yellowstone Quake, controlling all three periods on both ends of the ice. After a silent first period, the Americans kicked off the show in the second. Gavin Denis punched the first one in at 5:49, with a setup from Jarod Lemieux and Colton Bacon. Four minutes later, Reid Lezubski doubled the lead, putting Great Falls up 2–0 going into the third.The final period was all Americans. Lezubski added his second of the night just 12 seconds in, followed by goals from Wyatt Hanna and EJ Sanchez. Each of these goals were assisted by Logan Mese, finishing the game off strong with three assists. While the offense thrived, goalie Cole Murphy played his part in combating all 32 shots he faced.

Sheridan 4 @ Butte 1 - The Butte Irish played host to the visiting Sheridan Hawks on Friday night at the Butte Community Ice Center. Butte opened the scoring in this one when Easton Langemo lit the lamp early in the first period. After that, it was all Sheridan. The Hawks tallied up a total of fifty-four shots on goal in this one. They scored four goals, including two while on the power play. TJ Wonnacott kept the crease clean for the Hawks; he padded away 16 of the 17 shots on goal and secured the win, 4-1, over the Irish.