Friday Finals: Austin Shutouts New Mexico

Photo Credit: Lyca Williams

New Hampshire 4 @ Norwich 3 (OT) - The Norwich Sea Captains hosted the New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings for their fourth matchup of the season. New Hampshire won the first two matchups, while the Sea Captains won their most recent matchup. The Jr. Mountain Kings held a two-game losing streak prior to this game, while Norwich was on a three-game winning streak. In the first period, Norwich forward Matthew Johnson opened up the scoring on the power play at 13:11. The Jr. Mountain Kings came back three minutes later with forward Sedrick Swygert Jr. scoring at 10:31, followed by forward Noah Levesque at 7:22. The first period ended with the Jr. Mountain Kings leading 2-1. In the second period, the Sea Captains capitalized on their power play again, with forward Ryan Janik scoring at 15:52 to tie the game at 2-2. Less than a minute later, New Hampshire reclaimed their lead with a goal by forward Nick Brophy. Norwich forward Tristan LaLonde tied up the game at 10:40 to end the period 3-3. In the third period, neither team was able to score, and the game headed into overtime. Jr. Mountain Kings forward Levesque scored his second of the game and overtime winner at 2:05 to give New Hampshire the win. Jack Kawamura started in net for New Hampshire and made 43 saves on 46 shots. Peter Alfano started in net for the Sea Captains and made 37 saves on 41 shots.

Buzz 4 @ New Jersey 5 (OT) -The New Jersey Titans hosted the Buzz for their third matchup of the season. The New Jersey Titans lost their previous two games and held a five-game losing streak going into this game. The Buzz held a two-game winning streak prior to this game. In the first period, Buzz forward Tannan Nenninger opened up the scoring with 44 seconds remaining in the period. His teammate, forward Malachi Clark, extended their lead with a goal in the last second of the period. In the second period, Titans forward Ivan Korshikov scored in the first 39 seconds of the period. Buzz forward Ilya Baldwin extended the Buzz’s lead to 3-1 with an unassisted goal at 13:19. The Titans proceeded to tie up the game by capitalizing on the power play with a goal by forward Jackson Dougherty at 11:56 and a goal by forward Yosef Pievsky at 10:53 to end the period at 3-3. In the third period, Buzz forward Baldwin scored his second of the game at 10:10. In the last two minutes of the third, Titans forward Korshikov scored his second of the game to send the game into overtime. In overtime, Korshikov won the game for New Jersey by completing his hat trick at 1:55. Tait Sanchez started in net for New Jersey and made 28 saves. Dalton Elliott started in net for the Buzz and made 18 saves.

Pelham 5 @ Carolina 6 (OT) - The Carolina Rage hosted the Pelham Prowlers for their fourth matchup of the season. Carolina won their previous two matchups, while Pelham won their first matchup. Going into the game, Carolina had a three-game winning streak while Pelham had a five-game losing streak. In the first period, Pelham forward Matthew Hunter scored the first goal of the game at 8:27. Carolina tied up the score with 12 seconds remaining in the period on the power play with a goal by forward Tobin Tuzinsky. In the second period, Pelham defenseman Lorenzo Pekarek scored an unassisted goal at 16:34. Carolina proceeded to come back and capitalize on the power play with a goal by forward Roman Brown at 12:55. At 3:29, Pelham forward Marlon Derksen scored on the power play to give the Prowlers the lead. Carolina closed out the period by retaking the lead with a pair of goals by forwards Anderson Cornwell and Rocco Watson at 1:28 and 1:06 to end the period with a 4-3 lead. In the third period, Pelham retook the lead, first with a goal by defenseman Dylan Ray for his first of the season, and on the power play, at 8:50. Pelham forward Matthew Hunter scored at 5:44. Carolina managed to tie up the game with a goal by Cornwell for his second of the game at 1:51, and sent the game into overtime. In overtime, with 35 seconds remaining, Tuzinsky scored the game-winning goal, and his second of the game, to extend Carolina’s winning streak to four. Mason Orr started in net for Carolina and made 45 saves on 50 shots. Garrett Ambrose started in net for Pelham and made 51 saves on 57 shots.

Texas R 8 @ Atlanta 1 - The Atlanta Capitals hosted the Texas RoadRunners for their fourth matchup of the season. The RoadRunners have won their previous three matchups and had a 15-game winning streak going into this game. The Capitals had a 15-game losing streak going into this game, and have yet to win their first game of the season. In the first period, Texas forward Ronin Draffan opened up the scoring with a goal at 14:52. The RoadRunners continued to extend their lead with a goal by forward William Heskett on the power play at 4:00, and a goal by defenseman Hillard Johnmeyer on the power play at 2:47. In the second period, Texas was carrying a lead of 3-0 into the period, and forward Joseph Izzo scored the first of the period at 19:34. RoadRunners forward Logan Diskey scored on the power play at 14:20. Capitals forward Maddox Woulfin scored the first goal of the game for Atlanta at 1:21 to end the period one goal to five. In the third period, Diskey scored his second of the game for Texas at 9:52. His teammate, forward Lucas Dyer, scored on the power play at 7:22. Heskett scored his second of the game at 3:43, and closed the game 8-1 for the RoadRunners to extend their winning streak to 16 games. Calum Hartner started in net for Texas and made 13 saves on 14 shots. Maxwell Pelton started in net for the Capitals and made 43 saves on 51 shots.

Mason City 2 @ Willmar 7 -The Willmar Warhawks had a field day on home ice, racking seven goals to beat the Mason City Toros in a 7-2 bout. In this high shooting contest, it was Warhawks goaltender Sam Moen who posted 43 saves and helped his team to a victory. The Toros did not score many, but they broke the seal on this matchup when Grant Harder buried a power play goal around the midpoint of the first period. Just a minute later, Elliot Domagala found the equalizer on the power play as well. Shots were already 18-15 in favor of Willmar heading into the first intermission. Just five minutes into the second period, Kaiden Jackson deflected Mason Wanka’s shot from the point and gained the lead for the Warhawks. The final five minutes of the second frame featured three goals total, which started when Elijah Elmer scored a wraparound goal to even the score. Max Jackson and Dylan Mees scored a pair of goals just 27 seconds apart to give the Warhawks a 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission. The third period was all Willmar as Wanka picked up a pair of goals to start the frame. With only three minutes remaining, Gabe Adams got one-on-one with the goaltender and scored the final goal of the contest. With eight different players on the scoresheet and three multipoint games, the Willmar Warhawks put on an offensive masterclass that the Toros simply did not have an answer for. Pair that with some excellent goaltending from Moen, and you’ll put together an excellent night of hockey, which the Warhawks were able to do.

Texas B 2 @ West Texas 3 (OT) - The West Texas Wranglers sealed the victory on home ice in an exciting contest that required extra time to decide. Garret Lang held strong in net despite seeing 38 shots, and Justin Fielden potted the golden goal. It took only nine minutes to find the first goal of the contest when Dustin Woodfin broke loose and gave the Wranglers the lead. This would be the lone goal for the first period, and the score would stay at 1-0 heading into intermission. On the power play, Fielden deflected a puck out front on a shot from Cutter Daniel that extended the Wranglers' lead to 2-0. The Brahmas showed a great deal of resilience in the second period and began to heavily outshoot the opposing Wranglers. This paid off when Joshua Reaska got in alone against the goalie and lit the lamp to cut the lead in half. In need of a goal to start the third period, Benjamin Humphreys wasted no time and cleaned up a rebound to even the score. The final buzzer sounded, and this match went to overtime. The Wranglers dominated the overtime period, which came to a head when Fielden scored the game-winner and put this one away. Neither team had a clear, imposing presence on the game. The Brahmas outshot the contest, but the Wranglers kept the pressure on, and Lang backstopped the effort in net. Some clutch goal scoring from Fielden ultimately allowed the Wranglers to seal up the Brahmas' attempt at a comeback and secure the win.

El Paso 10 @ Tulsa 0 - A dominant performance from the Rhinos was simply no match for the Oilers, even on home ice. Just 55 seconds in, Parker Brinner scored to get things started. Then, it was Austin McPherson from Cayden Herrera and Benjamin Green. Minutes later, Nick Nunez got in on the action and extended the Rhinos' lead to three. About a minute and a half later, Aldiyar Irik scored to extend the lead, and Carter Tuplin followed up as well. With two minutes remaining in the first frame, Kenneth Cadwallader scored on the power play to give the Rhinos a whopping 6-0 lead heading into the first intermission. The second period was loud to start as Cadwallader picked up his second tally of the contest just 30 seconds into the frame. About three and a half minutes later, Irik also scored his second goal of the game. Finally, Tuplin joined the two-goal club and sent his team into the second intermission with a 9-0 lead. Andre Valenzuela grabbed the lone goal of the period and solidified the 10-goal win over the Oilers. Rhino’s goaltender, Brayden Macko, only saw 19 shots, but he turned away each and every single one of them. They were also able to register an astounding 14 players on the scoresheet, with two players scoring 4 points and a handful of other multipoint players. A dominant performance for El Paso, and they leave in the win column.

Minnesota M 2 @ Wisconsin 1 (SO) - A defensive and goaltending masterclass was put on at the Tomah Ice Center in a bout between the Minnesota Moose and Wisconsin Woodsmen. Ultimately, it was Minnesota that ended up with the shootout win. The first period featured just one goal from Tyler Osborne, with Cole Schreiber assisting on the play. Shots were 11-7 in favor of the Woodsmen, but it was Minnesota that led the game heading into the first intermission. Just two and a half minutes into the second frame, Luca Salak lit the lamp from Mark Denoyer and Charlie Marchand. 37 minutes and 18 seconds of game time elapsed, and was sent to overtime. The overtime period came and went, but neither side was able to break down the brick wall. It was another battle of netminders in the shootout as Gabe Otis was perfect and Luca Salak buried the lone goal to end the game. Both Alex Rivolta and Gabe Otis deserve heaps of credit for keeping their team in the game on some high shot totals. At the end of the contest, one team has to leave victorious. This time, it was Otis and the Minnesota Moose capturing the win.

Peoria 1 @ West Bend 8 - The West Bend Power powered past the Peoria Mustangs 8-1 on Friday night, fueled by a dominant second period. West Bend opened the scoring late in the first period when Quinn O’Connor put home his third of the season, assisted by Jackson Hoem and Andrew Sparacino. Just seven minutes earlier, West Bend added to their lead as Danny Jurcich scored his first of the year from Hoem and Shaun Paulson, giving West Bend a 2-0 advantage after one. West Bend erupted for five goals in the second period. Blake Kohnen made it 3-0, followed less than a minute later by another tally from Jurcich, set up by Grant Schiable. O’Connor scored again, his second goal of the night, assisted by Hoem and Jurcich. Elias Holan added a goal from Cole Craft, and Andrew Sparacino extended the lead to 7-0 with a shorthanded marker, assisted by O’Connor and Jurcich. In the third, Elias Holan netted his second goal of the night to make it 8-0. Peoria broke through on the power play when Nathan Pleva scored from Owen Gruden and Wyatt Duke, closing out the game at 8-1.

Austin 4 @ New Mexico 0 - The Austin Ice Bats shut out the New Mexico Ice Wolves on Friday night, skating to a 4-0 victory behind a dominant first period and teamwork. Austin opened the scoring at the start of the game when Matthieu LeBlanc scored off assists from Liam Cardona and Sol Levy. Less than two minutes later, New Mexico scored again shorthanded as Jake Bamback converted on a setup from Manderfield. Austin capped off the three-goal period when Mason Manderfield buried a power-play goal assisted by Guhnar Hillman. In the second period, New Mexico extended its lead on another power-play tally. Mason Manderfield netted his second goal of the night, assisted by Cardona and LeBlanc, making it 4-0 heading into the final period. Austin's goaltending and defense shut things down the rest of the way, holding New Mexico scoreless on all five of their power-play opportunities. Both teams finished with 27 shots on goal.

Minnesota W 0 @ Granite City 3 - The Granite City Lumberjacks beat the Minnesota Wilderness with a 3-0 shutout on Friday night, controlling the pace with a 45-29 shot advantage and scoring in all three periods. Granite City scored immediately on the power play, taking a 1-0 lead just 24 seconds into the game when Ty Smith buried his 11th of the season, assisted by Micah Saxon and Mason Ray. In the second period, Granite City extended its lead as Prentiss Maier scored his first of the year, finishing a setup from Eli Tiernan and Alexander Zelazowski to make it 2-0. Granite City sealed the win early in the third when Luke Anderson scored shorthanded into the empty net just 18 seconds into the period, pushing the lead to 3-0 and closing out the scoring. Minnesota finished 0-for-6 on the power play, while Granite City went 1-for-5.

Badlands 4 @ Yellowstone 5 (OT) - The Yellowstone Quake beat the Badlands Sabres 5-4 in overtime on Friday night, completing a back-and-forth battle with Jordan Murray scoring the game-winner in overtime. Badlands opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Dayton Niederett, assisted by Rhylan Olson and Gaven Marik. Yellowstone tied it when Rhylan Olson scored off assists from Niederett and Sawyer Vann, and Yellowstone took the lead on a power-play goal from Chance Bryson, assisted by Shayne Smith and Nicholas Carver. In the second period, Badlands evened the score with a goal from Tucker Sarkisian, assisted by Shayne Smith and Carver. Yellowstone regained the lead shortly after when Matthew Cordis scored, assisted by Olson. Badlands tied the game again early in the third on a goal from Lawson Hewitt, assisted by Jordan Murray and Cameron Beaver. Yellowstone went back on top when Chance Bryson scored his second goal of the night, assisted by Hewitt and Beaver, but Badlands pushed it to overtime with Rhylan Olson’s second goal of the game, assisted by Maddox Harn and Oliver Giles. In overtime, Jordan Murray lifted Yellowstone to victory, scoring the winner off assists from Lucas Hill and Nicholas Carver.

Bozeman 2 @ Helena 7 - It was an explosive night offensively for the Helena Bighorns on Friday, lighting the lamp seven times en route to a 7-2 drubbing over the Bozeman Icedogs. Caden Feinstein and Chase Berg led the way for the Bighorns, each tallying two goals and an assist for a combined six points on the night. The win keeps Helena just ahead of third-place Great Falls for second place in the Frontier Division, leading the Americans by just one point with 25. The Bighorns keep pace with first-place Sheridan, trailing by six points after the Hawks’ victory over Gillette Friday. Helena got the offense started just over halfway through the opening period off the stick of Feinstein. Bozeman responded in the first period with goals from Austin Storberg and Daniel Heath within the final half of the period to give the Icedogs the lead after 20 minutes. The offense came alive for Helena in the middle period. Feinstein recorded his second goal of the night just under three minutes into the frame. His goal was followed up by Berg’s first tally of the night just over two minutes later to put Helena ahead 3-2. Just 59 seconds after Berg’s goal, Austin Uecker scored a power-play marker to double the Bighorns’ advantage. Helena wasted no time again, adding to its lead just 58 seconds later via the power play thanks to Austin Tyler. The offensive explosion saw four goals scored in a span of just over four minutes and gave Helena a 5-2 lead heading to the third period. The special teams continued to shine for the Bighorns, as Mason Blair notched a short-handed goal with just over 13 minutes to go. Berg put a cap on the scoring frenzy on the power-play with his second tally of the night with just over three minutes remaining to seal the big 7-2 win for Helena.

Gillette 1 @ Sheridan 8 - The Sheridan Hawks flexed their muscles Friday night, stapling eight goals to the scoreboard on their way to an 8-1 win over the Gillette Wild. The Hawks’ offense was relentless in Friday’s tilt, posting a whopping 59 shots, which included a hat trick and four points from Jameson Clark. The win is Sheridan’s fifth in its last six contests and keeps them six points ahead of second-place Helena for the top spot in the Frontier Division, which downed Bozeman Friday night. The offense scored early and often for the Hawks. Daniel Shelden got things going for his squad just eight minutes into the contest. Clark notched his first tally of the night with 8:24 to go in the first. Clark’s goal was followed up by a tally from Caden Gleason just 42 seconds later to give Sheridan a 3-0 advantage after 20 minutes. Gillette finally found a response in the form of Beau Delich just under three minutes into the idle frame to cut the Sheridan lead to 3-1. The response lasted just under six minutes, as Shelden notched his second goal of the night to restore Sheridan’s three-goal cushion. Clark added his second goal of the game with just 1:18 left in the middle frame to send the teams to the intermission with the Hawks up 5-1. Sheridan kept its foot on the gas right out of the gate in the third period. Clark completed the hat trick just over a minute into the period to extend the lead to 6-1. Goals from Sheridan’s Deagan Watson and Jeff Slivon later in the third period rounded out the explosive 8-1 win for the Hawks.

Great Falls 7 @ Butte 3 - A goal-scoring frenzy in the second period Friday night propelled the Great Falls. Americans to a big 7-3 smashing over fellow Frontier Division foe the Butte Irish. Great Falls was led by an explosive outing from Reid Lezubski and Ethan Miller. Lezubski recorded two goals and three helpers in the win, while Ethan Miller notched a hat trick. Cooper Clouse also contributed in a big way offensively, putting up a goal and three assists – good for four points. The win helps Great Falls leapfrog Bozeman for third place with 24 points in the Frontier Division and get within just one point of second-place Helena, who sit with 25 points. Butte got the scoring started just under five minutes after puck drop, thanks to Loghan Weber’s seventh goal of the season. Lezubski and Miller responded with their sixth and 10th goals of the year later in the period to give Great Falls a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes. Lezubski wasted little time in the second period, notching his second goal of the game and seventh of the season just over three minutes after the puck dropped to extend the Great Falls lead to 3-1. The Americans began pulling away halfway through the period. Goals just 59 seconds apart from Miller and EJ Sanchez got Great Falls ahead 5-1. Miller’s tally was his 11th of the season and second of the game, while Sanchez’s marker was his fifth of the campaign. Clouse got in on the goal-scoring fun with his 12th of the season with just under five minutes to go in the middle frame. Butte’s Tyler Jones finally stopped the bleeding with an unassisted goal for his third of the season with 3:35 remaining in the second period – which sent the teams to break with Great Falls ahead 6-2. Weber got Butte back within three just before the halfway mark of the final period with his eighth tally of the campaign, but Miller completed the hat trick just under three minutes later to seal the 7-3 win for Great Falls.