Friday Finals: Peoria Continues Winning Ways with a Come-From-Behind Overtime Victory

Louisiana 11 @ Bayou State 1 - The Bayou State Rougarou opened up their season at home, taking on the undefeated Louisiana Drillers in the first game of a three game series. The Drillers offense got out to a hot start, with Logan Woods opening the scoring off of an assist from Dayton Ruppel. Less than two minutes later, Braden Bates doubled the Drillers’ lead with a goal assisted by Trent LaRoche. Adam Polecki added to Louisiana’s advantage with his first goal of the season, and just 12 seconds later, Jackson Zych found the back of the net off an assist from Elijah Pleva. Bayou State scored their lone goal of the matchup with Kamdyn Smith finding Nathan Daniels to close out the opening frame. However, the Drillers remained in control for the remaining two frames, Dante Zaffarano took advantage of the power play opportunity for his first goal of the period with an assist from Dayton Ruppel, his second of the game. Cohen Palmer lit the lamp for the second time this season with Zachary Marsell assisting on play. Zaffarano closed out the middle period with his second goal of the matchup assisted by Joey Moore III. The Drillers carried their momentum into the final 20 minutes, with Andrew Kozhusko extending Louisiana’s advantage in the opening minute. Ruppel finished his night with a pair of goals, adding to his two assists with a power play goal and an even strength tally in the final two minutes. Woods ended the matchup with his second goal, giving the Drillers a double digit lead and their fifth win of the season. Louisiana outshot Bayou State 61-3. The Rougarou and Drillers will return for the second game of their three game series on September 12 at 1 P.M. CDT. 

Wisconsin 5 @ Peoria 6 (OT) - The Wisconsin Woodsmen traveled to Peoria for a pair of games against the Mustangs, who defended their home ice in a thrilling overtime win in the Friday night matchup. The Woodsmen came out hot holding the Mustangs scoreless in the opening period while scoring four of their own. Myles Bible opened the scoring from a Parker Holloway assist. Holloway earned his second helper of the night setting up Jayden Hervey to double the Wisconsin lead in the opening five minutes. Damien Calzada netted his first goal of the season assisted by Bryce Bechen. Bechen added another assist, setting up Paxton Raymond to close out the scoring for the Woodsmen.The momentum shifted in the middle frame with Peoria outshooting Wisconsin 25-16. After Ty Paulios opened the period with an early goal for the Woodsmen, the Mustangs offense found its rhythm, with Breyon Maroney answering just 20 seconds later. Carter Charron netted his first of the season to cut the deficit to three. The momentum carried into the final period as the Mustangs added three more goals to even the score and send the game to overtime. Brady Babcock scored the opening goal with a setup from Carter Charron. Despite two power play chances the Mustangs weren’t able to capitalize until the final two minutes where back to back goals from Brendan Miller and Zach Staelgrave tied the game at five. Peoria completed its second straight comeback with Landen Smith scoring his second game winning goal in two games with an assist from Brendan Smith. The Woodsmen and Mustangs will face off for the second game of the series on September 12 at 5:30 P.M. CDT. 

New Mexico 4 @ Oklahoma City 0 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves traveled to Oklahoma City for a Friday night matchup against the Warriors. The Ice Wolves came out ready to play, outshooting the Warriors 16-2 in the opening period. Brody Ososki capitalized on a power-play opportunity to give New Mexico the early lead. The second period went similar as the first, the Ice Wolves controlled possession and limited Oklahoma City to just three shots on goal. Breckin Ross extended New Mexico’s lead with an assist from Dominic Fosco. Ososki then found the back of the net for the second time, with Ross picking up the assist. The Ice Wolves continued to control the pace in the final period, keeping the Warriors off the scoreboard.New Mexico added one final goal to close out the matchup, with Grant Sexton finding the back of the net to close out the matchup and give the Ice Wolves a 4-0 victory. Chase Rayburn recorded a shutout in his NA3HL debut making 8 saves on 8 shots against while Ososki was named First Star of the Game for his two goal performance. The Ice Wolves and Warriors will be back in action on September 12 at 7 P.M. CDT. 

Phoenix 10 @ Tulsa 2 - The Phoenix Inferno spoiled the night for the Oilers in Tulsa’s home opener, taking control of a penalty-ridden first period. Phoenix would outshoot Tulsa 18-6 in the first frame. Cash Johnson opened up scoring for Phoenix with a strike midway through the first period. Phoenix’s lead would not last long, as Tulsa answered quickly. Stone Baulch scored the Oilers’ first power-play goal of the season. Izack Parsons earned an assist on Baulch's opening goal, then scored a power-play goal of his own. The Inferno answered, as Zayne Maragh drilled a power-play equalizer. Phoenix managed to stay on the attack for the majority of the remainder of the period. Phoenix’s momentum then led to an even-strength goal by Otaro Inoue, giving the Inferno a 3-2 lead going into the first intermission. The Inferno took control in the second frame, only allowing two shots from Tulsa. Phoenix continued to apply pressure as Jacob Gabrick scored an even-strength goal to start the second period. Phoenix’s barrage of goals would not stop, as Nicholas Nunez piled on another score to bring the Inferno lead to three. Jacob Gabrick scored his second goal of the night midway through the frame to widen the point differential. Anthony Smith added his name to the list of scorers, as he found the net with minutes left in the second period. Tulsa’s defensive struggles continued as Camden Babin scored a four-on-four goal, followed immediately by a goal by Chase Olson. The Inferno held a 9-2 lead heading into the second intermission. The third period started with both teams limiting shots from the opposition. The teams exchanged penalties throughout the game, but the third period saw a series of penalty kills from both units. Phoenix’s Anthony Smith was able to score his second goal of the night with less than a minute left in regulation. The Phoenix Inferno silenced the home crowd with a 10-2 win on opening night, outshooting Tulsa 45-14. Phoenix hopes to carry over this momentum heading into game two on Saturday, while Tulsa looks to turn things around to finish off the opening weekend. 

Sheridan 3 @ Badlands 5 - The Badlands Sabres looked to protect their home ice in a matchup against the Sheridan Hawks. The opening game of the season started with both teams exchanging minutes on the power play. The night would be defined by a series of penalties on both sides. The tension was broken by Bentley Michalak scoring the Sabres’ first goal of the year. Michalak’s goal was the difference maker in the first period, as both teams saw numerous attacking opportunities. The Hawks held a 10-8 lead in shots going into the first intermission. The Sabres stayed on the attack after the break. Oliver Giles found the back of the net at the start of the second period with an even-strength goal. Giles would then score a second consecutive goal to give the Sabres a three-goal lead. The Sabres stayed on the attack for the first half of the second period, but the Hawks’ offense looked to strengthen as the period progressed. The late second frame saw many penalties from each side, but Sheridan was the first to capitalize on the power play. Max Kreuger scored late in the second period on a five-on-three power play. Kreuger’s goal was immediately followed by an even-strength goal by his teammate, Rex Rider, less than two minutes later. The Sabres wasted no time getting back on the board in the third period. Rhylan Olson scored a four-on-four goal to kick off the third period less than a minute into the frame. The Sabres thrived on defense in the third frame, limiting Sheridan to four shots. The final minutes saw an empty-net goal scored by Sabres’ Gavin Compomizzi-Koehler. The game concluded with a last-second goal by Hawks’ Caden Gleason, cutting the Sabres’ lead to two. The Sabres won this penalty-filled game 5-3 and will face off with the Hawks again on Saturday night for game two. 

Yellowstone 0 @ Great Falls 3 - The Great Falls Americans kicked their season off with a matchup against the Yellowstone Quake. The Americans started strong, outshooting the Quake 19-7 in the first period. Xander Troyer scored the first goal of the Americans’ season midway through the first frame. Troyer’s even-strength goal would be the only one to find the net in the period, as Yellowstone’s goaltender, Damen Baxter, saved 18 shots in the opening frame. The second period started with great performances from both defenses. The deadlocked second period saw a four-on-four goal from Reid Lezubksi late in the frame to give the Americans a 2-0 lead. The latter half of the second period saw more evenly matched offenses, with both teams exchanging opportunities before heading into the locker room. The third period started with strong performances from both defensive units, shutting down each offense before they could reach the crease. The game would conclude with Xander Troyer recording his second goal of the night on an empty net, giving goaltender JD Stephens a 29-save shutout and the Great Falls Americans their first win of the year. The Americans outshot the Quakes 45-29 and will look to repeat this success in game two on Saturday, while Yellowstone hopes to find a way around Great Falls’ defense.

Helena 14 @ Butte 0 - The Helena Bighorns dominate in the season opener against the Butte Irish. Both teams ran into penalty trouble throughout the game, but it was Helena that capitalized early, scoring five power-play goals during a five-minute major penalty early in the game. The goal scorers included Cal Kellenberg, Cameron Kimmerly, Ty Schell, Caden Feinstein, and Alexander Collin. Helena would go on to score four more goals in the first period to make the score 9-0 after outshooting the Irish 35-0 in the first period. Special teams were firing on all cylinders tonight for Helena as they would go on to score 10 goals on the power-play and one on the penalty-kill. Coming into the second period, Butte would make a goalie change, subbing in Jackson Wagner in relief of Mathieu Chernaukus. Wagner would go on to have a solid period, giving up two goals on 30 shots, both coming on the penalty kill. With the shot totals going into the third being 65-4 in favor of Helena, the third period was surprisingly back and forth, at least in terms of shot production, being 25-14 for the period in favor of Helena. However, Helena did bury three more goals in the third, two from Blake Chapman and one from Breck Buettner, while goaltender Kayden Thalhuber would stop all 14 shots faced in the period. Thalhuber would end up stopping all 18 shots faced in the shutout win, while Wagner would stop 50 out of 55 for a .909 save percentage in the relief effort. Chapman, Kimmerly, and Chase Berg each had two goals and two assists to lead Helena in points. The Helena Bighorns will take on the Bozeman Icedogs on the road next, while the Butte Irish will stay home and look to regroup against the Yellowstone Quake.

Wausau 2 @ St. Louis 4 – On an exciting opening night to the 2026-2027 season, the Wausau Cyclones went on the road to take on the St. Louis Jr. Blues. After a quiet opening to the game, Wausau’s Brayden Myers opened the scoring with 6:11 remaining in the first period. Less than two minutes into the second period, Wausau struck again with a goal from Bryton Thaxton following an impressive breakaway, assisted by Lucas Mankoff and Maksim Salienko. The teams traded minor penalties back and forth before St. Louis was able to get on the board with a goal from Finn Boehm. Roughly four minutes later, St. Louis capitalized on a power play when Jack Vahle went bar down to tie the game. In the third period, St. Louis took over on a one-timer from Robert Kelly with 6:56 left. Just minutes later, Stephen ‘Fonz’ Craig added another goal for St. Louis to give them a two-goal advantage. With Wausau unable to answer back, St. Louis was able to secure the comeback and begin their season with a 4-2 victory.

Gillette 2 @ Bozeman 3 - In a thrilling showdown at Bottcher Arena, the Bozeman Icedogs edged past the Gillette Wild with a final score of 3-2. The action-packed second period was where all the scoring frenzy unfolded. Gillette's Greyson Ecker set the tone with a powerplay goal at 00:40, assisted by Jay Reese and Andrew Knox. Just over 14 minutes later, Ecker returned the favor by assisting Reese, who netted a goal at 15:05, with Thomas McDonald also providing support. However, the Icedogs were quick to respond. Avery Martin ignited Bozeman’s comeback with a goal at 13:48, assisted by Daniel Heath and Hayes Masopust. Lex Steckelberg then stole the show by scoring back-to-back powerplay goals, first at 12:13, assisted by Seth Hanson and Matthew Stamp, and then again at 05:28, with assists from Hanson and Austin Storberg. The standout performances included Lex Steckelberg's two-goal game and Seth Hanson's two assists, despite his 19 penalty minutes. Goalie Jack Ryan held strong for Bozeman, saving 16 of 18 shots. Meanwhile, Gillette’s netminder Andrew Knox faced 20 shots, stopping 17. Both teams took advantage of power plays, with Bozeman scoring on 50% of their opportunities. The game was punctuated by numerous penalties, with Bozeman totaling 27 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct for Seth Hanson. Despite the penalty troubles, the Icedogs prevailed, keeping their early season record spotless.