Friday Finals: Oklahoma City Warriors Secure Their First Ever Program Win

Provided by Kalen Ryden

New Hampshire 5 @ Garden State Gamblers 3 - The New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings defeated the Garden State Gamblers for the second consecutive game in a row. The Kings kicked off the scoring effort of the game when Anthony Alaya found a shot early in the first period. Garden State followed suit shortly after with a tally of their own. However, New Hampshire did not slow down there as they would find two more shots in the first period. The Gamblers responded with a scoring effort of their own, when Isaac Emmerich scored the only goal in the second period. They tied the score in the third when Gamblers forward Filip Piatowski opened the third period with a goal. New Hampshire recovered and secured the win with two more goals, one from Alaya and one from forward Kayden Hill. The Kings and the Gamblers will match up again next weekend on the King's home ice. 

Bayou State 2 @ Pelham 7 - The Pelham Prowlers secured the win in a dominant performance against The Bayou State Rougarou. What began as a quiet start quickly changed for the Prowlers when Lucas Bradley and Dylan Ray scored two goals late in the first period, giving the Prowlers a 2-0 lead going into the second. The Prowlers would break the game wide open in the second period, finding the back of the net four times, first on an early goal by Bryce Croyle, and with just under five minutes to go, Dylan Ray would locate the back of the net for the second time in the game. Penalties would plague the Prowlers late in the second, yet it yielded no hope of slowing them down for Bayou State, as Colton Edman and Jake Haydon would come up with two short-handed goals. Not all was lost, though, for Bayou State in the second period, as Kamdyn Smith would grab his third goal of the season. Kamdyn Smith would then open up the third period on a power-play goal on the assist of Nathan Daniels, with Bearic Wolle adding one final goal of the game for Pelham midway through the third period.  Pelham secured the 7-2 win and outshot their opponent 52-18 to extend their winning streak to three, remaining undefeated this season. 

Tulsa 1 @ Oklahoma City 3 - The Oklahoma City Warriors secured the win, snapping a two-game losing streak. Both goaltenders stood tall in the first period, with Hetland and Miller stopping all 11 shots they faced. The first lead of the night would come in the second period when The Warriors' Braxton Doherty would find the back of the net on a screen pass out in front. Both teams continued the pressure throughout the period before London McDougall would put the Warriors up by two midway through the second. Finding an answer early in the third period on the goal by Radul Galdzhian, his first of the season, wouldn't be enough for The Oilers. While it remained quiet throughout the remainder of the third period. Doherty would get his second of the night on an empty netter securing the win for The Warriors. A strong performance by goalie Tyler Miller, combined with the offense of Doherty and McDougall, allowed Oklahoma City to walk away with the win and snap their two game losing streak.

West Bend 6 @ Peoria 3 - The West Bend Power went on the road to take on the Peoria Mustangs. The first period started with West Bend getting on the board early with a goal from Brandon Behnke. West Bend added a second goal shortly after, with Evan Burchardt scoring on the rebound. In the second period, West Bend scored first with two goals from Ivan Schmitz. Peoria answered when Grant Hubert scored his first career NA3HL goal. West Bend had the final goal of the period when Schmitz scored on a power play, resulting in a hat trick. Peoria battled during the third period to cut down the score deficit. Just past the midway mark, Peoria’s Brady Babcock went bar-down to start the third-period scoring. Peoria cut the lead to two goals after Carter Charron hit the puck off Robin Sejba’s glove and scored. The final goal of the night would be in favor of West Bend when Shaun Paulson scored an empty-net goal during the final minutes of the game. Peoria aims to bounce back tomorrow against the West Bend Power.

Long Beach Sharks 6 @ New Jersey Titans 5 - The Long Beach Sharks took on the New Jersey Titans in a back and forth battle on Friday night. Titans forward Dom Marnauza started things off with a score in the first period, which remained the only goal of that period. The Titans would continue their offensive efforts in the second when Devin Wagner and Henry St. Germain both recorded goals of their own within three minutes of each other. The Sharks began their comeback efforts as Eli McCarthy rounded out the second period with New Jersey's first score of the night. The third period was a back and forth offensive chase. The Sharks went on a run early with two back to back goals by Kingsley Solomon and Anthony Valeriote before the Titans answered when forward Mike Underwood found his only goal of the night. The Sharks wasted no time responding with two more goals of their own. New Jersey tied the game up with less than six minutes remaining in the game. The Sharks could not be stopped from taking the victory however, as Rhett Micallef scored within the last few minutes of the game, sealing the deal for the Sharks, which earned them their season opener win. 

West Texas 2 @ New Mexico 10 - The New Mexico Ice Wolves dominated the West Texas Wranglers in the first home game of the season. New Mexico built an unanswered 4-0 lead in the first period. Ben Watripont scored the first goal for New Mexico on a wrist shot. Tanner Ross scored the next two goals, the second coming from a turnover in the neutral zone.  The final goal of the first period was scored on a backhand shot by Hunzeker Piersimoni. New Mexico started the scoring in the second period with a wrist shot from Grant Sexton. West Texas would score their first goal of the game with a power-play goal by Nicholas Carey. New Mexico answered back, capping the second period with a goal from Breckin Ross. Tanner Ross added to the lead with his third goal of the night coming on a power play just shy of the midway point of the third period. Watripont scored the next two goals, completing his hat trick and giving the Ice Wolves an eight-goal lead. With less than a minute on the clock, Piersimoni scored to extend New Mexico’s lead. West Texas immediately answered with a goal from Jonas Galvan. Backed by a pair of hat tricks, New Mexico remained undefeated with the victory.  

Wausau Cyclones 3 @ Rochester Grizzlies 7 - The Rochester Grizzlies stayed undefeated after beating the Wausau Cyclones. Rochester started strong with back-to-back short-handed goals from Konnor Goclan and Camryn Koch after a slashing call. With only 39 seconds left in the first period, Sam Paczan found the back of the net for the Grizzlies. Wausau gained momentum early in the second period when Bryton Thaxton scored on the power play less than two minutes in. However, Rochester answered soon after with Jace Jordan and Dominic Ardnt scoring. The Cyclones regained momentum with another power play goal to kick off the third period, this time by Brady Schutte. Rochester scored again soon after with Sawyer Zaruba finding the back of the net. Not even a minute later, Jordan scored on the Grizzlies power play. To end the action for the night, Jackson Maddock scored for the Cyclones, bringing the final score to 7-3 in favor of the Grizzlies.

Butte Irish 3 @ Great Falls Americans 8 - The Great Falls Americans beat the Butte Irish after an extremely offensive game. The game got off to a slow start, with the Irish only having nine shots on goal in the first period. Keifer Lundmark was able to score a short-handed goal for the Americans about halfway through the period. The game pace picked up in the second period with three goals being scored in a three-minute span. First, Riley Hattan found the back of the net for the Americans. Keegan Adams then responded for the Irish, but the Americans found momentum and kept it through the rest of the game. Jarrett Parker, Reid Lezubksi and Jordan Antar all scored for Great Falls before the second period ended. Parker Jusczak kept the drive for the Americans, scoring two minutes into the final period. Adams then responded for the Irish, but Lundmark scored a short-handed empty-net goal for the Americans soon after. The third period was very physical with eight penalties. Bryce Hodges found the back of the net for the Irish with four minutes left in the game. However, Jordan Antar scored the final goal of the game for the Americans. This brought Great Falls’ total shots on goal for the night to 58 and the final score to 8-3.

Sheridan 1 @ Helena 4 - The Helena Bighorns hold off the Sheridan Hawks for a 4-1 victory. The Bighorns controlled most of the first period, outshooting the Hawks 12-4 after the first 20 minutes. Both teams gained an advantage on the power play, but the Bighorns broke the ice with a power-play goal by Joey Hemr. The Bighorns carried that momentum into the second period. Six minutes in, Bighorns captain Jeffrey Hershberger extended the lead after receiving a nice pass from John Freitas on a two-on-one, but the Hawks answered back quickly. Just over a minute after Hershberger’s goal, Max Krueger found Eli Farris in front of the net to get the Hawks on the board. With six minutes left in the second, another two-on-one saw Austin Uecker find the back of the net, giving the Bighorns a two-goal lead going into the third period. The first five minutes of the third period kept Bighorns goaltender Liam Bowe busy as the Hawks poured on the pressure, including a partial breakaway he stopped. With four minutes left in regulation, the Hawks had a crucial power play and pulled the goalie as it expired, giving them a man advantage for the final two and a half minutes, but an empty-netter from Evan Scholl secured the win for the Bighorns. Bowe staved off seven shots in the third period, helping the Bighorns secure a 4-1 win.

Yellowstone 4 @ Gillette 2 - Carson Joersz's four-point night propelled the Yellowstone Quake to a 4-2 win against the Gillette Wild. Within the opening minute of the first period, a seeing-eye shot from CJ Lang got the Wild on the board. After the early goal, the game settled down, and the Quake tied it up. A blocked shot deflected to Carson Joersz’s stick for his third goal of the season. Halfway through the period, a deflection in front of the net by Jacen Rustand gave the Wild a 2-1 lead going into the second period. The Quake began the second period on the power play and generated quality chances, but Wild goaltender Andrew Knox stood tall. Despite this, the Quake broke through, scoring three unanswered goals in the second period to extend their lead to 4-2. Joersz scored twice to secure a hat trick and also assisted on Grady Perry’s goal with 54 seconds remaining in the period. Both Joersz’s third goal and Perry’s goal were scored in the final two minutes of the second period. The Wild’s final power play of the night in the third period gave them a chance to cut the deficit, but a strong penalty kill by the Quake squashed any comeback hopes and secured a 4-2 win.

St. Louis Jr. Blues 0 @ Wisconsin Woodsmen 2 - The Wisconsin Woodsmen beat the St. Louis Jr. Blues at home after a defensive game. Jackson Hauput found the goal five minutes into the first period with assists from linemates Cameron Hovden and Andrei Khomenko. This was the only goal of the period, with both defenses and goalies working hard. The second period was similar, as the Woodsmen held the Blues to three shots on goal again this period. Goalie Gavin Arnold was making important saves throughout this period as well, only allowing one goal on 17 shots. The final goal of the game came late in the second period after a pass from Khomenko to Hovden, who fed the puck to Hauput for his second goal of the game and second point for the whole line. The Blues were able to halt the Woodsmen in the third period, but were never able to score, as the Woodsmen held them to 11 shots on goal. Both goalies had impressive games, with Arnold’s save percentage being .947, despite the loss. Wisconsin goalie Nicklas Timm recorded his first shutout of the season in the 2-0 win as well.  

Badlands 4 @ Bozeman 1 – The Badlands Sabres traveled to take on the Bozeman Icedogs. Both goaltenders stood tall in a scoreless opening frame. Jakob Smith opened the scoring for the Sabres with a rebound goal in the second period. Before the Icedogs had time to recover, the Sabres scored two more goals within a 1-minute, 44-second span. The first goal was delivered by Oliver Giles and the second by Dayton Niedert. The Icedogs broke the shutout in the third period when Luke Fowler took advantage of a power play. The Sabres answered with the final goal of the night, scored by Justin Reams. The Badlands Sabres' offensive performance sealed a 4-1 victory over the Bozeman Icedogs.