A Back-And-Forth Battle Went Down Between the Ice Wolves and Rhinos

Norwich 3 @ New Hampshire 2 (OT) - The Sea Captains take a midweek road trip to the Delta Dental Arena to battle with the New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings. The contest kicked off with both teams trading chances in the first period. The second frame featured Norwich lighting the lamp first when Logan Niesen tallied a goal at the 10:17 minute mark. The Jr. Mountain Kings respond when Dylan Rakes finds the back of the net four minutes later. Heading into the third period, the Sea Captains were able to convert on the power play when Louis Allanson scored his first goal on the man advantage this season. That lead was short-lived because New Hampshire responded again when Sedrick Swygert Jr. tallied a goal around the 15-minute mark. The contest was forced into extra minutes. Third-year Norwich veteran was the hero in overtime, finding the back of the net to secure the Sea Captains' 3-2 overtime win. Norwich’s Peter Alfano turned away 22 out of 24 shots, earning him the win in the blue paint.

New Jersey 2 @ Long Beach 4 - The Titans head to Long Beach for an East Division showdown. The game starts off with the Sharks taking a quick lead in the first frame when Long Beach native, Brendan Dalton, lights the lamp. The Sharks head into the intermission with a 1-0 lead. Moving into the middle period, the Titans respond and tally two goals in the frame. Eduard Gubeladze and Nicholas Carey found the back of the net to give New Jersey a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes. The Sharks got to work in the third and battled back. Eli McCarthy tallied the first goal of the Sharks’ trio of goals at the 9:53 minute mark. Shortly behind him, Alec Dahlvang scored to give the Sharks a 3-2 lead. Finally, Wyatt Strahan delivers the final goal of the matchup to secure Long Beach the 4-2 victory. Between the pipes, Will Zinnen featured a 27-save performance for the Sharks, while Tony Shaw stopped 44 out of 47 shots for the Titans.

Mason City 0 @ Minnesota M 4 - As both teams were in the hunt to secure some West Division standing points midweek, the Moose would eventually become the team crowned the victor at the Fogerty Ice Arena. The contest kicked off with former Mason City Toro, Luca Salak, tallying two goals against his old team. As the matchup moved into the middle frame, the Moose would have a 2-0 edge over Mason City. Both teams traded chances in the second and eventually progressed into the final 20 minutes of play. Will Burnevik finds the back of the net at the 12:09 minute mark in the third period, extending Minnesota’s lead. With less than four minutes on the board, Charlie Marchand secures the final goal of the contest, giving Minnesota a decisive 4-0 shutout victory. This matchup marked the first time that Mason City was shut out this season. In the blue paint for the Moose, Gabe Otis turned away all 33 shots, notching his second shutout of the season.

El Paso 4 @ New Mexico 7 - A battle at the Outpost Ice Arenas went down between the El Paso Rhinos and the New Mexico Ice Wolves. The lamp was lit first by the Ice Wolves in the opening frame.  New Mexico’s Hunzeker Piersimoni tallied a goal at the 7:54 minute mark. Following shortly behind him, Caleb Debruyne extended New Mexico’s lead a little over a minute later. However, the Rhinos responded with a goal of their own, thanks to Nick Nunez, with less than two minutes of the clock in the first. As the contest moves into the second period, Andrew Goslin ties up the contest quickly for El Paso by notching his first NA3HL goal of the season. Almost ten minutes later, Carter Tuplin gives the Rhinos their first lead of the night with a goal at the 8:50 minute mark. New Mexico got to work, and Alex Ihling and Ryan Hoogsteen tallied goals to give the Ice Wolves the 4-3 lead heading into the third period. As the Rhinos were in the hunt to extend their win streak to three games, third-year veteran Donovan Bradford delivered the game-tying goal to keep El Paso’s hopes alive. Almost a minute and a half later, Jackson Antonelli responds to Bradford’s goal and lights the lamp to give the Ice Wolves the lead. Quickly tallying another goal for New Mexico, Brock Seeger finds the back of the net for the fourth time this season. Finally, delivering the last goal of the night, Hoogsteen shows up on the scoresheet again by securing his second goal of the contest with less than two minutes on the clock. New Mexico’s Hunzeker Piersimoni was crucial in New Mexico’s 7-4 victory. He had a four-point night, tallying the opening goal while notching three assists.