Friday Finals: Flying Aces get big win
Atlanta 8 @ Louisiana 1 - Atlanta jumped out to a four-point advantage by the end of the first period and beat Louisiana, 8-1. Atlanta was led by Alex Johanson, who tallied one goal and one assist. Johanson scored 12:20 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Atlanta. Artus Laukaitis picked up the assist. Atlanta kept Louisiana's goalie busy throughout the game, and Alex Domas made 52 saves on 60 shots. Atlanta additionally got points from Laukaitis, who also had two goals and one assist and Frank Trazzera, who also registered one goal and two assists to lead the team in points. Atlanta also had goals scored by Evan Camba, who had two and Drake Cartwright and Jesse Brown, who scored one goal each. More assists for Atlanta came via Aleksi Hoivala, Andrew Cooley, Bear Ross, and Steve MacIver, who contributed one each and Kyle Rimbach and Philip Pugliese, who each chipped in two. Parks Ownesby rejected 15 shots on goal for Atlanta.
Alexandria 3 @ Minnesota 5 - Alexandria tried its best to erase a four-goal deficit, but Minnesota would not be denied the victory and hung on to win, 5-3. Minnesota made the score 4-0 on a goal by Alec Skar at 8:23 in the second period, and Alexandria got as close as 4-2 when Aaron Ryback scored 9:37 into the third period. Tre Opack had two goals and one assist to lead Minnesota. Opack scored the first of his two goals at 9:33 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Minnesota. Wyatt Toll assisted on the tally. Opack's next tally made the score 5-2 Minnesota with 1:23 left in the third period. Toll provided the assist. Ryan Conybear also scored for Minnesota. In addition, Minnesota received assists from Kyle Wendorf, who had three and Jace Cseter, Riley Scanlon, and Ty Ennis, who each chipped in one. Alexandria was helped by AJ Gullickson, who had one goal and one assist. Gullickson scored 19:08 into the third period to make the score 5-3 Minnesota. Ryback picked up the assist. Alexandria additionally got points from Ryback, who also registered one goal and one assist. Alexandria also got a goal from Jack Mellstrom as well. Other players who recorded assists for Alexandria were Jack Cernohous, Connor Busse, Logan Nelson, and Riley Holwegner, who contributed one each. Brady Griffin made 35 saves for Minnesota on 38 shots.
Texas 6 @ Euless 1 - Texas had a three-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 6-1 win over Euless. Texas was led by Noah Klinsky, who had one goal. Klinsky scored 16:49 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Texas. Dakota Davis picked up the assist. Texas forced Euless goalie Mike Severson to work between the pipes, taking 39 shots. Texas additionally got points from Matt Araujo, who also tallied one goal and one assist, Oliver Hay, who also registered one goal and two assists, and Davis, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Texas also had goals scored by Kyle Galloway and Ryan Dunner, who each put in one. In addition, Texas received assists from Jacob Elrod, Victor Ekk, Bryan Whelan, Chase Deacon, George Hansen, Bennett Weycker, and Mykyta Sheptytsky, who each chipped in one. Euless was led by Triston Wilson, who scored the team's only goal. Wilson scored 14:47 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Texas. Benjamin Kraus provided the assist. Texas' starting goalie, Brandon Perrone, made 15 saves and finished with the win.
Twin City 4 @ Granite City 2 - Granite City tried to dig itself out of a three-goal hole, but Twin City held on for a 4-2 victory. Twin City took a 4-1 lead during the second period, only to have Granite City storm back on a Tommy Hutsell goal 5:52 into the third period to pull to two goals down. Twin City was paced by James Hale, who registered one goal. Hale scored 10:17 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Twin City. Cory Martinez picked up the assist. Luc Kreuser also scored for Twin City. Other players who recorded assists for Twin City were Paul Stehr, Ryan Hartzell, Trevor Woytcke, and Joe Costello, who each chipped in one. Granite City was helped by Will Mix, who had one goal. Mix scored on the power play 14:54 into the first period to make the score 1-1. Tyler Mros assisted on the tally. More assists for Granite City came via Spencer Nelson and Tanner Skaja, who contributed one each. Twin City's Gunnar Howg stopped 31 shots out of the 33 that he faced.
Yellowstone 6 @ Bozeman 2 - Will Landsverk was all over the ice for Yellowstone, as he tallied two goals and one assist in Yellowstone's 6-2 win over Bozeman. Landsverk's tallies came at 8:41 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Yellowstone and 8:41 into the second to make the score 3-3. Yellowstone additionally got points from Max Doner, who also grabbed one goal and three assists. Yellowstone also had goals scored by Cosimo Yapello, Hunter Ruschmeyer, and Nick Green, who each put in one. Other players who recorded assists for Yellowstone were Mike McCullen, who had two, Matt Runyon, who had four, and Mason Stewart and Justin Berezinski, who each chipped in one. Bozeman kept Yellowstone's goalie busy throughout the game, and Lance Knudson made 35 saves on 37 shots. Bozeman was led by Kyle Amundson, who racked up one goal and one assist. Amundson scored on the power play 1:06 into the second period to make the score 2-2. Nicholas Thompson picked up the assist. Others who scored for Bozeman included Elliott Hopkins and Kegan Couture, who scored one goal each. More assists for Bozeman came via Gunnar Mogck, who had two.
Billings 4 @ Glacier 3 - Billings survived a determined comeback attempt by Glacier on the way to a 4-3 win. Billings made the score 4-2 on a goal by Edward Hoppmann at 18:03 in the third period, and Glacier got as close as 4-3 when Tyler McMahon scored 19:36 into the third period.
Great Falls 5 @ Gillette 2 - Behind a great game by Stevan Goran, who had one goal and two assists, Great Falls defeated Gillette, 5-2. Goran beat Alex Feese with a shot 10:47 into the third period on the power play to make the score 3-1 Great Falls. Reed Link assisted on the tally. Goran dished an assist on Brendan Jester's goal that made the score 1-0 Great Falls at 5:26 into the first period. He added another helper on Link's goal that made the score 5-2 Great Falls at 19:24 into the third period. Great Falls also got points from Link, who also had one goal and two assists to lead the team in points, Jester, who also registered one goal and one assist, and Adam Apangalook, who also racked up one goal and one assist. Tanner Congdon also scored for Great Falls. Other players who recorded assists for Great Falls were Arseny Ivanov, Miles Giorgione, and Connor Barta, who each chipped in one. Gillette was helped by Alex King, who tallied one goal. King scored on the power play 13:37 into the third period to make the score 4-2 Great Falls. Gennadi Zabeline provided the assist. Gillette also got a goal from Kyle Traux as well. In addition, Gillette received assists from Tyler Reble, who had one. Jake Stephan recorded 23 saves for Great Falls.
Nashville 7 @ Evansville 1 - Nashville had a two-goal lead after two periods and cruised the rest of the way en route to a 7-1 win over Evansville. Colton Anderson was all over the ice for Nashville, as he tallied one goal and two assists in the win. Anderson scored 2:29 into the second period to make the score 2-0 Nashville. Josh Hill picked up the assist. Nashville also got points from Hill, who also had two goals and one assist, Michael Redmon, who also registered one goal and one assist, and Trent Kulczyk, who also grabbed one goal and one assist. Nashville also had goals scored by Jesse Hyde and Nicholas Redmon, who scored one goal each. More assists for Nashville came via Dylan Schmidt, who had two and Brandon Orth, Riley McCann, Max Dorfman, Logan Orem, and Shane Dunsmore, who each chipped in one. Evansville was led by Brandon Bornkamp, who scored the team's only goal. Bornkamp scored on the power play 9:52 into the second period to make the score 3-1 Nashville. Brian Crink assisted on the tally. Nashville's Nicholas Ottenbacher stopped 21 shots out of the 22 that he faced.
La Crosse 3 @ Breezy Point 2 (SO) - Three periods of regulation and an overtime session were not enough to settle matters as La Crosse defeated Breezy Point in a shootout 3-2 (2-1 SO). The shootout featured eight attempts between both teams. Breezy Point's shootout goal was scored by Josh Laven. La Crosse also got a shootout goal from Hunter Dolan. La Crosse came back from a two-goal deficit to capture the victory. La Crosse trailed 2-0 after a goal by Breezy Point's Christian Lenzmeier at 5:10 in the second period. La Crosse knotted things up at 2-2 on a power play goal by Jared Bromberg at 19:05 in the second period. La Crosse kept Breezy Point's goalie busy throughout the game, and Wes Paupore made 36 saves on 39 shots. Breezy Point forced La Crosse goalie Andrew Wagner to work between the pipes, taking 38 shots. Breezy Point was helped by Ryan Mezera, who racked up one goal. Mezera scored 9:55 into the first period to make the score 1-0 Breezy Point. Laven assisted on the tally. In addition, Breezy Point received assists from Sean Viti and Austin Langworthy, who contributed one each.
Point Mallard 3 @ Sugar Land 2 - The game between Point Mallard and Sugar Land was tight through all 60 minutes, but in the end Point Mallard emerged with a 3-2 win. No lead was more than one goal during the contest, and the winning goal was scored by Cody Thomas at 6:27 of the third period. Thomas was all over the ice for Point Mallard, as he grabbed two goals in the win. Point Mallard also got a goal from Justin Clark as well. In addition, Point Mallard received assists from Cody LaValley, Justin Dunn, and Austin Weber, who each chipped in one. Sugar Land was helped by Matt Cozzan, who racked up one goal. Cozzan scored 14:09 into the first period to make the score 2-1 Sugar Land. RC Randall picked up the assist. Zac McKenna also scored for Sugar Land. Other players who recorded assists for Sugar Land were Alex Norwinski, Keegan Chesnick, and Jonathan Adnell, who contributed one each. Josh Martin made 16 saves for Point Mallard on 18 shots. Sugar Land's Kevin Mackey stopped 34 shots out of the 37 that he faced.
Southern Tier 3 @ Toledo 4 - In a game where neither team could get a cushion, Toledo escaped with a 4-3 victory over Southern Tier. No lead was more than two goals during the contest, and the winning goal was scored by Austin Turner at 16:39 of the third period. Turner had two goals to lead Toledo to victory. Toledo forced Southern Tier's netminders to work hard to keep the puck out of the net, ripping 49 shots and forcing 45 saves. Tyler Geloneck made 36 stops and Ryan Pascarella made nine. Others who scored for Toledo included Nolan Stanley and Alec Walny, who scored one goal each. More assists for Toledo came via Tyler Zalecki, Ben Hamilton, and Nick Nappi, who each chipped in one and Ricky Kwapich and Tristin Snyder, who contributed two each. Southern Tier was led by Elijah Williams, who registered one goal and two assists. Williams scored 15:23 into the second period to make the score 2-2. Victor McCutcheon picked up the assist. Southern Tier additionally got points from McCutcheon, who also finished with one goal and one assist. Curtis Carlson also scored for Southern Tier. In addition, Southern Tier received assists from Brian Grant, who had one and Jake Andriaccio, who had two. Jeremy Hamerquist made 30 saves for Toledo on 33 shots.
