Friday Finals: West Bend Steals the Shootout Win

New Jersey 6 @ Norwich 2 - The New Jersey Titans took the win over the Norwich Sea Captains 6-2 in the RoseGarden Ice Arena. Norwich opened the game with a goal from Louis Allanson at 18:21 of the first period, assisted by Tristin Scheuffele. The game was a showcase of New Jersey’s offensive efforts, led by Dewight Singleton, who netted two goals, including their opening goal at 4:42 of the first period, with an assist from Devin Wagner. The Titans continued to score in the second period, with Singleton scoring again at 12:30, and Wagner finding the back of the net at 10:19.  In the third period, Tristin Scheuffele gave Norwich a goal at 10:25, assisted by Keifer Scheuffele. The third period also saw Andrew Metzger score a power-play goal at 10:14, setting the tone for New Jersey’s dominance. The Titans put the game out of reach with Zach Huettl’s shorthanded goal at 00:43 and Timmy Gorlenko’s strike just before the buzzer at 00:03. Goaltender Tony Shaw was a fortress for the Titans, making 32 saves on 34 shots, while Michael Downey of Norwich faced a barrage of 43 shots, saving 38. New Jersey made use of their chances, scoring on one of their three power plays. 

Garden State 1 @ New Hampshire 4 - The New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings matched up with the Garden State Gamblers at the Delta Dental Arena with a commanding 4-1 victory. The game opened with Isaac Emmerich of the Gamblers scoring at 1:22 of the first period, assisted by Filip Piatowski and Alex Patsilevas. The Mountain Kings quickly responded. The equalizer came at 2:08 of the second period when Jacob Landry found the net on a power play, with assists from Jaxon Sardinha and Gabe Williams. The third period saw a flurry of goals from New Hampshire. Everett Horrocks struck shorthanded at 17:41, followed by Jaxon Sardinha's goal at 10:38, assisted by Kayden Hill and Landry. Just 21 seconds later, Landry scored again at 10:17 with contributions from Sardinha and Caleb Briggs. Max Guerra was a fortress in goal for the Mountain Kings, saving 17 of 18 shots. 

Austin 4 @ Bayou State 0 - The Austin Ice Bats triumphed over the Bayou State Rougarou with a decisive 4-0 victory. The action kicked off with Dax Farnsworth lighting the lamp at 00:58 of the first period, assisted by Ronan Howard and Rafe Poucher. Farnsworth's quick strike set the tone for the Ice Bats. In the second period, Cayden Reamer delivered quick back to back goals, scoring at 18:08 and again at 16:06, with Beau Keller providing the setup for both goals. The third period saw Guhnar Hillman add the cherry on top with a goal at 15:22, assisted by Owen Rattray and Reamer, sealing the deal for Austin. Hillman's effort capped off a balanced attack from the Ice Bats. Goaltender Kellen Hardy stopped all 25 shots to earn a shutout.

West Bend 5 @ Rochester 4 (SO) - The West Bend Power and Rochester Grizzlies played to a tie in regulation before the Power won in a shootout. The first period got off to a hot start as three goals would be scored. The first would be by the Power's Luca Doremus on a power-play goal coming just under seven minutes into the game. The Grizzlies would respond quickly as Jace Jordan would score his third of the season to tie the game, and just 23 seconds later teammate Benjamin Leary would score to give them a 2-1 lead at the end of the first period. The Power would tie the game with 6:59 left in the second period when Asher Ploeg would find the back of the net. The third period was full of action as four goals would be scored, the first coming just over one minute in as the Grizzlies' Sawyer Zaruba would sneak one in. The Power would respond with two goals, the first seeing Shaun Paulson net the second power-play goal of the night. Two minutes later Adam Sexton would score to give the Power a 4-3 lead. The Grizzlies would score with four seconds left in the period as Jake Kusch would get the clutch goal past the goalie. There would be no goals scored in overtime, leading the game to go to a shootout where West Bend was able to sneak two goals into the net. Rochester would fail to convert on their attempts. Jacob Iallonardo would stop 28 shots in the West Bend win, while Cameron Patrick was able to stop 27 of the shots he saw for the Grizzlies in the loss.

Alexandria 3 @ North Iowa 6 - The North Iowa Bulls built a four-goal lead before holding off the Alexandria Blizzard for a 6-3 victory. North Iowa opened the scoring in the first period when Andrew Sysko found the back of the net, assisted by Grant Harder and Rhett Mizwicki. Boone Theiler added another goal later in the period, with Harder and Wakley Holzer assisting, giving the Bulls a 2-0 lead after one period. North Iowa extended its advantage in the second period as Oscar Schneider scored, assisted by Logyn Kaufman and Alex Heinkel. Jackson Pinney then made it 4-0, with assists from Theiler and Christian Plaga. Alexandria answered with two goals late in the period. Wyatt Mineheine scored with assists from Jack Johnson and Charlie Kritzeck, before Blake Breiland added another goal, assisted by Landyn Randt, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Plaga restored North Iowa's three-goal lead early in the third period, with Theiler and Holzer assisting. Alexandria responded just 33 seconds later when Parker Welz scored, assisted by Mineheine and Tyler Meyer, making it 5-3. North Iowa added an insurance goal later in the period when Wakley Holzer scored, with Olli Niemela and Theiler recording the assists. The Bulls held on from there for the 6-3 victory.

Louisiana 6 @ Texas 2 - The Louisiana Drillers scored three times in the third period to pull away from the Texas Brahmas, earning a 6-2 victory Saturday in North Richland Hills. Louisiana opened the scoring in the first period when Braden Bates found the back of the net, with assists from Andrew Kozhushko and Drew Reiger, giving the Drillers a 1-0 lead entering the first intermission. The Drillers extended their advantage in the second period. Dayton Ruppel scored, assisted by Julian Saldi and Cohen Palmer, before Ruppel added his second goal with 33 seconds remaining in the period. Ryan Gill and Jackson Zych recorded assists on the goal, sending Louisiana into the third period with a 3-0 lead. Texas got on the board early in the third when Memphis Palmer Gummer scored, cutting the deficit to 3-1. Louisiana answered shortly after as Bates scored his second goal of the night, with Kozhushko and Zachary Marsell assisting to restore the three-goal advantage. Marsell added a goal of his own before Joey Moore III scored to extend Louisiana's lead to 6-1. Gill and Zych picked up their second assists of the game on Moore's goal. Texas added a late goal with 12 seconds remaining, as Nathan Pickett scored with assists from Bradley Hart and Cody Bristor, but Louisiana held on for the 6-2 victory. Bates and Ruppel each finished with two goals for Louisiana, while Gill and Zych each recorded two assists in the win.

Wausau 4 @ Fox Cities 2 - The Wausau Cyclones built a two-goal lead in the third period and held off the Fox Cities Stars for a 4-2 victory. Wausau opened the scoring in the first period when Lucas Mankoff found the back of the net, assisted by Bryton Thaxton. Fox Cities answered later in the period as Jonah Dickens scored to tie the game 1-1. Thaxton put Wausau back in front in the second period. Fox Cities responded with Cole MacDonald’s goal, assisted by Gavin Douglas, to send the teams into the third period tied 2-2. Wausau regained the lead in the third when Gabe Field scored, assisted by Nate Spencer. Michael Wolfenberg added an insurance goal with 48 seconds remaining, with Thaxton picking up the assist. Fox Cities pulled Eli Graf for an extra attacker late in the game and later made another goaltending change. The Stars were unable to capitalize, as Wausau held on for the 4-2 win.

Badlands 5 @ Butte 2 - The Badlands Sabres defeated the Butte Irish, 5-2, on Friday at Roosevelt Ice Arena. The teams traded goals in the opening period, with Butte’s Jacob Avgustovskiy scoring the first goal of the game before Badlands’ Gavin Compomizzi-Koehler tied the game. Badlands took control in the second period, scoring twice to take a 3-1 lead. Dayton Niedert scored both goals, including a short-handed goal and the eventual game-winning goal. Badlands added two power-play goals in the third period from Oliver Giles and Jackson Hepper to extend the lead to 5-1. Butte’s Tanner Damgaard scored with 28 seconds remaining, but the Sabres held on for the 5-2 victory. Niedert finished with two goals, while Hepper recorded a goal and two assists. Gavin Peery stopped 36 of 38 shots for the win. The Sabres outshot the Irish, 52-38, and improved to 3-2-0 on the season. Butte moved to 1-4-0.

Bozeman 4 @ Sheridan 3 (OT) - The Bozeman Icedogs defeated the Sheridan Hawks, 4-3, in overtime Friday at Whitney Rink in the M&M's Center. Bozeman scored the opening goal midway through the first period when Jacob Larned found the net to give the Icedogs a 1-0 lead heading into the second period. The Icedogs extended their lead early in the second period as Lex Steckelberg scored, followed by Seth Hanson to make it 3-0. Sheridan answered just over a minute later when Cooper Saari cut the deficit to two. The Hawks continued to close the gap in the third period. Luke Lebens scored to make it 3-2 before Frank Barncord tied the game with 14:22 remaining in regulation, sending the contest to overtime. Bozeman’s Daniel Heath scored 2:50 into overtime to secure the 4-3 victory for the Icedogs. The Icedogs improved to 3-2-0 on the season, while the Hawks moved to 2-3-0.

Wisconsin Woodsmen 4 @ St. Louis Jr. Blues 5: The St. Louis Jr. Blues defeated the Wisconsin Woodsmen thanks to 37 saves from goalie Keaton Pardy. Five Jr. Blues players contributed a goal to go along with Pardy's 37 saves. For the Woodsmen, Parker Holloway scored twice, while Ty Paulios contributed three assists in the losing effort. The first period saw six goals hit the back of the net, three by each team. The Woodsmen would get on the board first thanks to Jack Dahl scoring with 17:41 remaining in the first. The Jr. Blues would score the next two, the first coming off the stick of Charlie Harrison with 16:56 on the clock. Teammate Robert Kelly would score a power-play goal just over three minutes later. Parker Holloway would score twice in a span of two minutes to help retake the lead for the Woodsmen. Finn Boehm would score with just over three minutes remaining in the period to tie the game. The second period saw each team score once. The Jr. Blues would score when Jack Vahle would stick one in. For the Woodsmen, Ozbej Muzan would score on a power-play goal, with Ty Paulios registering his fifth assist of the season on the goal. The Jr. Blues would score the lone goal in the third thanks to Landon Knittel getting his first of the year. The Woodsmen would ultimately outshoot the Jr. Blues 14-8 in the third yet would fail to find the net. Wisconsin goalie Nicholas Foy would stop 21 shots. St. Louis would improve to 2-2-1 on the year, while the Woodsmen would fall for the first time in regulation and drop to 3-1-1.

Oklahoma City 1 @ Phoenix 5 - The Phoenix Inferno defeated the Oklahoma City Warriors, 5-1, Friday at AZ Ice Peoria. Phoenix built a 2-0 lead in the first period as Camden Babin and Stas Ershov found the net. The second period went scoreless, with the Inferno carrying their two-goal advantage into the third. Ershov added his second goal of the game early in the third period before Oklahoma City answered with a goal from Ansley Forsythe to make it 3-1. Phoenix responded with two more goals from Nicholas Nunez and Jacob Gabrick to close out the 5-1 victory. The Inferno outshot the Warriors, 52-18, and improved to 2-0-0 on the season. Oklahoma City moved to 1-4-0.