Saturday Scores: New Mexico Strikes Back at Phoenix, Evens the Series

Provided by Maddux Hoover

New Jersey 6 @ Garden State 2 – The New Jersey Titans earned a 6-2 victory over the Garden State Gamblers at The Ice Palace, using a strong special teams performance to secure the win. New Jersey opened the scoring with a short-handed goal from Dom Marnauza before Kane Clark added a power-play tally. Garden State responded with a power-play goal from Johnny Iwankiw, but the Titans maintained a 2-1 lead after the first period. New Jersey extended its advantage in the second period with two goals from Clark, completing a hat trick and giving the Titans a 4-1 lead. Miles Lara and Devyn Tarlton added third-period goals to help New Jersey pull away, while Garden State received a late goal from Cristiano Da Silva. Titans goaltender Danny Gurtner made 37 saves on 43 shots to help secure the 6-2 victory.

Texas Brahmas 5 @ Oklahoma City Warriors 1 – The Texas Brahmas earned a 5-1 victory over the Oklahoma City Warriors on Saturday at Blazers Ice Centre, using a four-goal stretch across the first two periods to take control of the contest. Texas opened the scoring in the first period with a goal from Caleb Carlance, assisted by Tyler Conrad and Xavier Othon. The Brahmas added three goals in the second period, with Peyton DePerno and Logan Chesna each finding the back of the net before Carlance scored his second of the game. Xavier Othon added a third-period goal to extend the lead, while Oklahoma City got on the board with a goal from Carter Kelley, assisted by London McDougall and Carter Halling. Texas goaltender Tyler Miller stopped 52 of 57 shots to help secure the 5-1 win.

Peoria 7 @ St. Louis 4 – The Peoria Mustangs earned a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Jr. Blues on Saturday at Affton Ice Rink, using a strong opening period and timely third-period scoring to secure the win. Peoria struck four times in the first period, including a power-play goal from Zach Staelgraeve with two seconds remaining. Max Greenya, Braden Hillebrand and Breyon Maroney also scored during the opening frame as the Mustangs built an early advantage. St. Louis responded with four second-period goals from Brayden Davis, Ashton Sesti, Tanner Roessler and Wyatt Thomas to keep the game competitive. Staelgraeve scored again in the third period, Jackson Alilovich added a power-play goal, and Staelgraeve completed his hat trick late in the period to seal the victory. St. Louis goaltender Keaton Pardy made 29 saves on 32 shots.

Wisconsin 5 @ Rochester 3 – The Wisconsin Woodsmen earned a 5-3 victory over the Rochester Grizzlies on Saturday at Rochester Recreation Center, pulling away with three third-period goals to secure the win. Wisconsin opened the scoring in the second period with a power-play goal from Parker Holloway, who added a short-handed goal later in the frame. Rochester responded with a goal from Andrei Khomenko to keep the game close heading into the third period. Myles Bible gave Wisconsin the lead in the third, and Ozbej Muzan extended the advantage before Jackson Haupt added a late goal to make it 5-2. Rochester’s Tai Kontrec scored with 26 seconds remaining, but the Woodsmen held on for the 5-3 victory. Wisconsin goaltender Nicklas Timm stopped 40 of 43 shots, while Rochester’s Cameron Patrick made 30 saves on 33 shots.

New Hampshire 2 @ Long Beach 5 – The Long Beach Sharks earned a 5-2 victory over the New Hampshire Jr. Mountain Kings on Saturday at Long Beach Municipal Ice Arena, using a three-goal second period to take control of the game. New Hampshire opened the scoring just 2:46 into the first period with a goal from Jacob Landry, assisted by Ethan Ross. Long Beach answered through Anthony Valeriote to even the score before the Sharks broke the game open in the second period. Thatcher Beaudoin, Tate Cakir and Roberto Gamez each scored to give Long Beach a 4-1 advantage. Landry added his second goal of the game in the third period, but Kingsley Solomon responded with a power-play goal for the Sharks to secure the 5-2 win. Long Beach goaltender Caden Wright made 21 saves on 23 shots.

Minnesota 4 @ North Iowa 0 - The Minnesota Vulcans delivered a commanding performance Saturday night, shutting out the North Iowa Bulls 4-0 at Mason City Arena to complete a weekend sweep. Nolan Border led the offensive charge with two goals, opening the scoring late in the first period before adding his second midway through the second. Brooks Skogland also found the back of the net in the middle frame, extending Minnesota's advantage to three goals. Wyatt Hoepfl capped off the victory with a shorthanded tally early in the third period. Between the pipes, Dawson Desjardins was perfect, turning aside all 24 shots he faced to secure the shutout as Minnesota outshot North Iowa 41-24. The contest featured a physical finish, with multiple fighting majors and misconduct penalties assessed in the closing minutes, but the Vulcans maintained control throughout to secure their second consecutive victory over the Bulls.

Wausau 6 @ Fox Cities 1- The Wausau Cyclones overwhelmed the Fox Cities Forge on Saturday afternoon, cruising to a 6-1 victory at Appleton Family Ice Center behind a Jackson Schroeder hat trick. Alec Mellon and Brady Schutte opened the scoring in the first period before Schroeder and Sean Hall doubled the advantage to 4-0 in the second. Fox Cities briefly broke through early in the third with a power-play goal from Jack Clunn, but Schroeder answered with two goals just 10 seconds apart to complete his hat trick and put the game out of reach. Joel Anderson contributed three assists, while Michael Wolfenberg added three of his own. Wausau dominated the shot count 67-28, with goaltender Draven Wirth stopping 27 shots to secure the victory. Despite a 61-save effort from Fox Cities netminder Braedyn Sullivan, the Cyclones' relentless offense proved too much as Wausau extended its winning streak to three games.

Granite City 13 @ Willmar 0 - The Granite City Lumberjacks delivered an offensive explosion Saturday night, dismantling the Willmar WarHawks 13-0 at Willmar Civic Center Arena to remain undefeated through nine games. Cam McCormack and Connor Posthumus opened the scoring in the first period before Granite City erupted for four goals in the second and seven more in the third. McCormack, Jackson Engberg, Elijah Fitch, and Manny Pearce each scored twice, while Prentiss Maier contributed a goal and two assists. The Lumberjacks capitalized on special teams with five power-play goals and a shorthanded tally from Pearce, overwhelming Willmar with a 66-14 advantage in shots. Goaltender Griffen Bunnell turned aside all 14 shots for the shutout, while Granite City extended its winning streak to nine games and handed the WarHawks their fifth consecutive defeat.

Minnesota 3 @ Alexandria 4 (OT) – The Minnesota Wilderness and Alexandria Blizzard faced off in an overtime thriller at Runestone Community Center. The Wilderness earned an early lead scoring the opening frames’ with Evan Brown and Ethan Jacobson each scoring their first goals of the season, giving Minnesota a 2-0 lead after the first twenty minutes. Alexandria found their first of the contest when Wyatt Minheine scored off an assist from Charlie Kritzeck to cut the Blizzard deficit to one. Minnesota struck first in the third period, when Jayden DeGuzman converted on the power play opportunity to restore the two-goal lead, but the Blizzard were not going to go quietly. Blizzard power play goals from Jace Griffin and Parker Welz in the final five minutes of the game, tied the score at 3-3 and sent the matchup into extra time. It took just 20 seconds into extra time for Wyatt Mineheine to put it away giving Atlanta the 4-3 victory. 

Bayou State 2 @ Austin 1 – Bayou State Rougarou goalie Alexis Dumont took over second place in the NA3HL record books for saves made in a game, making 81 in the Rougarou’s victory over the Austin Bats, as Austin outshot Bayou State 82-22. However the Rougarou were the first to get on the board with Nathan Daniels finding Brycen Madison for Madison’s first goal of the season. The Bats found the equalizer with just :28 remaining in the opening period as Ronon Howard netted the tally with assists from Marek Gallenberger and Matthieu Leblanc. The Bats continued to generate offensive pressure, outshooting the Rougarou 23-7, but it was the Rougarous who took the lead and this time it was Madison finding Daniels for the go-ahead goal. Austin continued to pressure the Rougarou in the final period, recording 39 shots on goal, but Dumont stood tall to preserve the 2-1 victory and close out the weekend with a win for Bayou State.

Gillette 5 @ Great Falls 8 – The Great Falls Americans defeated the Gillette Wild 8-5 on Saturday at Great Falls Ice Plex, using a five-goal third period to pull away in a high-scoring matchup. Gillette opened the scoring with goals from Maguire Dewees and Dylan Crossley, but Great Falls responded with goals from Jordan Antar and Keifer Lundmark to take a 2-2 tie into the second period. Lundmark scored again in the second, and Paxon Sacre added another goal to give the Americans a 4-3 lead entering the final frame. Great Falls then erupted for five third-period goals, with EJ Sanchez scoring twice and Gordon Jennings and Xander Troyer also finding the net. Gillette added two third-period goals of its own through Brady McGinn and Thomas McDonald, but the Americans secured the 8-5 victory.

Pelham 5 @ Atlanta 2 – The Pelham Prowlers earned a 5-2 road victory over Atlanta, using a strong offensive performance and timely scoring to secure the win. Pelham opened the scoring with 17:52 remaining in the first period as Lucas Bradley found the back of the net off an assist from Aiden Whitmore. William Hartle extended the Prowlers’ lead to 2-0 with 9:40 remaining, finishing a play set up by Colton Edman to give Pelham a larger advantage heading into the first intermission. Hartle struck again early in the second period, scoring an unassisted goal with 16:37 remaining to complete his second goal of the game and put Pelham ahead 3-0. Atlanta responded with 11:15 remaining in the period when Isaiah Ronson scored an unassisted shorthanded goal to get Atlanta on the board. However, Pelham answered with a power-play goal from Bearic Wolle at the 6:33 mark. Carsen Domarus and Benjamin Yerxa assisted on the goal, restoring Pelham’s three-goal lead at 4-1. Atlanta continued to push in the third period, cutting the deficit to 4-2 with 10:46 remaining when Janson Best scored off assists from Sebastian Jaso and Tyler Mason. Despite the late push, Atlanta could not capitalize on its remaining opportunities to close the gap. Bradley sealed the victory for Pelham with his second goal of the game, scoring with 2 minutes remaining in the third period off an assist from Dominic Cattelane to secure the 5-2 final. Pelham’s scoring attacks and ability to respond to Atlanta’s second-period shorthanded goal proved key in the victory, as the Prowlers maintained control and closed out the game.

Badlands 3 @ Yellowstone 2 – The Badlands squared off against Yellowstone in a tightly contested matchup, with a third-period shorthanded goal proving to be the difference in a 3-2 Badlands victory. Badlands struck first with 11:44 remaining in the opening period when Matthew Cordis lit the lamp off an assist from Jackson Hepper. The team doubled its lead late in the period as Dayton Niedert converted on the power play with 3:47 remaining, assisted by Cordis and Oliver Giles, sending Badlands into the first intermission with a 2-0 advantage. Yellowstone responded in the second period, cutting the deficit to one with 4:09 remaining when Parker Roelfsema found the back of the net off an assist from Cooper Anderson. Yellowstone continued its push late in the period, as Grady Perry capitalized on the power play with just 45 seconds remaining. Assisted by Chance Bryson and Cameron Beaver, Perry's goal evened the score at 2-2 heading into the third. With the game tied, Badlands regained the lead with 13 minutes remaining in the final period as Rhylan Olson scored a shorthanded goal to make it 3-2. Yellowstone looked to find an equalizer but could not capitalize on its opportunities down the stretch. Badlands held on through the final minutes to secure the 3-2 win, with Olson's third-period shorthanded goal ultimately making the difference in a hard-fought matchup.

Sheridan 6 @ Butte 2 – Sheridan delivered a strong offensive performance to secure a 6-2 win over Butte, capitalizing on special teams opportunities and pulling away late to close out the game. Michael Buckowitz opened the scoring early in the first period, putting Sheridan on the scoresheet off assists from Lance Feagans and Tyler Karchut. With just 14 seconds remaining in the period, Caden Gleason found the back of the net off an assist from Luke Arteaga to give Sheridan a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission. Sheridan continued to build its advantage in the second period with back-to-back power-play goals. Andrew Bushbaum converted with six minutes remaining, assisted by Gleason and Eli Farris, extending the lead to 3-0. Three minutes later, Farris added another power-play goal off assists from Paliwodzinski and Bushbaum, sending Sheridan into the second intermission with a commanding 4-0 advantage. Gleason struck again to open the third period, scoring off an assist from Max Krueger to push Sheridan's lead to five. Butte responded on the power play as Keegan Adams scored off assists from Jacob Avgustovskiy and Jack Whitelaw. Adams found the net again shortly after, this time assisted by Cohen Weiderick and Avgustovskiy, cutting Sheridan's lead to 5-2. With two minutes remaining, Butte pulled its goaltender in an attempt to mount a late comeback. Sheridan capitalized on the empty net, as Gleason completed his scoring performance with a power-play goal to seal the 6-2 victory. Sheridan's special teams proved crucial throughout the matchup, with multiple power-play conversions helping establish and maintain control. Gleason's offensive contributions and Sheridan's late-game execution secured the decisive win over Butte.

Helena 7 @ Bozeman 3 – Helena delivered a dominant offensive performance against Bozeman, earning a 7-2 victory behind a hat trick from Cameron Kimmerly and a strong special teams effort. Kimmerly opened the scoring for Helena, lighting the lamp off assists from Cal Kellenberg and Fisher Hellmann. Austin Uecker added to the lead with a goal assisted by John Freitas and Lincoln Kearney, sending Helena into the first intermission ahead 2-0. Bozeman responded early in the second period as Seth Hanson converted on the power play, assisted by Clint Isakson, cutting Helena's lead to 2-1. However, Helena quickly regained control. Kimmerly scored his second goal of the night off assists from Uecker and Kellenberg before Caden Feinstein converted on the power play, with Uecker and Kellenberg picking up assists to extend the lead to 4-1. Uecker added another power-play goal, assisted by Feinstein and Joey Hemr, before Kimmerly completed his hat trick with a goal set up by Kearney and Aiden Voller. The goal pushed Helena's advantage to 6-1. Bozeman answered late in the second period when Daniel Heath scored off an assist from Oden Fiebelkorn, bringing the score to 6-2 heading into the third. Helena maintained its momentum in the final period, as Hellmann scored off an assist from Blake Chapman to secure the 7-2 victory. Kimmerly's three-goal performance led the way for Helena, while the team's power-play production helped establish a commanding lead. Helena's balanced scoring attack and consistent pressure proved too much for Bozeman to overcome.

New Mexico 3 @ Phoenix 2 – New Mexico secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Phoenix, with Dominic Cicco's third-period goal proving to be the difference in a back-and-forth contest. Both teams battled through a scoreless first period before New Mexico broke through in the second. Michael Manchik opened the scoring with an unassisted goal to put New Mexico ahead 1-0. Phoenix responded as Trevor Grazier found the back of the net off assists from Stas Ershov and Otaro Inque, tying the game at 1-1 heading into the second intermission. Manchik struck again to open the third period, scoring off an assist from Dominic Fosco to give New Mexico a 2-1 advantage. Phoenix answered once more as Jacob Gabrick scored to even the contest at 2-2. With the game hanging in the balance, New Mexico regained the lead when Dominic Cicco scored off an assist from Ben Watripont, putting his team ahead 3-2 in the third period. Phoenix pushed for another equalizer but could not capitalize on its opportunities down the stretch. New Mexico held on to secure the 3-2 win, with Cicco's late goal sealing the victory in a tightly contested matchup.